The Roles of Culture and Spirituality in Entrepreneurial Behavior: A Comparison Between South Korea and China

This study tests an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), examining how culture, religion, and spirituality shape entrepreneurial cognition among final-year university students in South Korea and China—two Confucian-heritage societies with sharply divergent religious compositions (30.4% vs. 9.2% religiously affiliated). Using a mixed-methods design, we analyzed survey data from 411 students and alumni via PLS-SEM, triangulated with four focus groups. The core TPB chain held in both countries: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predicted entrepreneurial intention, which predicted behavior. Spirituality, however, operated differently across contexts. In the religiously diverse Korean sample, it directly affected intention and behavior and amplified the intention–behavior link; in the predominantly non-religious Chinese sample, its effects were null—focus groups there emphasized practical capability and social support instead. We propose a context-contingent model distinguishing spirituality as a direct driver (in religiously diverse settings) from spirituality as an amplifier (moderating TPB relationships). Because the sample comprises pre-entrepreneurial students, findings speak to early-stage cognition rather than practicing founders. Integrative entrepreneurship models should incorporate cultural and religious boundary conditions; future work should adopt longitudinal designs and include practicing entrepreneurs across more varied populations.