Management and Entrepreneurship in Sport

Management and Entrepreneurship in Sport

Examining the Mediating Role of Individual Capital and Intellectual Capital in the Relationship Between Academic Supportive Environment and Academic Entrepreneurship Among Physical Education and Sport Sciences Students

Document Type : Original Article

Author
mehdi emadi
Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.48301/jmes.2025.526689.1113
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of individual capital and intellectual capital in the relationship between the academic supportive environment and academic entrepreneurship among students of physical education and sport sciences. This research was descriptive in nature and applied in terms of its objective. The statistical population included all undergraduate students of physical education and sport sciences at the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, totaling 700 individuals. Using random sampling and referring to Morgan's sample size table, a sample of 248 students was selected. Data were collected through standardized questionnaires: Academic Supportive Environment (Akinboye & Morish, 2022), Individual Capital (Nguyen et al., 2024), Intellectual Capital (Kianto et al., 2017), and Academic Entrepreneurship (Akinboye & Morish, 2022). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the relationships among variables. All data analyses were conducted using SPSS version 20 and PLS version 3. Based on the Sobel test and a t-value of 2.379, it was found that individual capital mediates the relationship between the academic supportive environment and academic entrepreneurship. Additionally, the results showed that intellectual capital also plays a mediating role in this relationship, with a t-value of 3.176. Therefore, the findings indicate that both individual and intellectual capital function as key mediators in strengthening the relationship between an academic supportive environment and the entrepreneurial orientation of physical education students.
Keywords
Academic Supportive Environment
Entrepreneurship
Personal Development
Innovation
Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch
Management and Entrepreneurship in Sport
Volume 4, Issue 2
Autumn and Winter 1404
October 2025