This study investigates the mediating role of innovative behaviour in the relationship between psychological capital and self-employment among graduates. A questionnaire survey of 338 self-employed graduates was utilized. Structural equation modelling analyses were performed to test the hypotheses and the mediating effect. Results show that innovative behaviour has a significant bootstrapping mediating effect on the relationship between psychological capital and self-employment among graduates. Specifically, result found partial mediation, meaning it has direct and indirect relationship. A survey questionnaire was employed in this study, suggesting that follow up interviews which would have informed us of the reasons why the respondents held certain views were not undertaken. Future studies might benefit from a mixed methodology. Differences across types of business were not considered, yet could have a bearing on psychological resources and self-employment. Other studies could benefit from testing the sectoral differences. This study was cross sectional and therefore did not capture changes in attitudes over time. This may necessitate follow-up studies in a longitudinal design to capture the trend of results. The education system/curriculum needs to be revisited to incorporate action learning in order to prepare graduates for self-employment at an early stage in school. In addition, government should take keen interest in developing programs that build and shape mind-sets of individuals. This study contributes to the dearth of evidence of self-employment among graduates literature by investigating the mediating role of innovative behaviour.
Keywords: Self-employment; psychological capital and Innovative Behaviour
