How does entrepreneurial curiosity stimulate new venture ideas among Chinese undergraduates? The mediating role of promotion focus and the moderating role of entrepreneurial education

New venture ideas denotes “imagined future ventures”, which are vital for undergraduates’ entrepreneurial success. As existing studies concentrating more on entrepreneurial opportunity, intention, and behavior, there remains a research gap in understanding how new venture ideas emerge. By integrating the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, the information-gap theory of curiosity, the regulatory focus theory and the regulatory fit theory, this study aims to explore how two different types of entrepreneurial curiosity (I-type entrepreneurial curiosity and D-type entrepreneurial curiosity) affect the undergraduates’ new venture ideas through promotion focus, as well as the moderating effect of entrepreneurial education. With a sample of 650 undergraduates in Chinese universities through questionnaire star platform, this study employs a PLS-SEM to test hypotheses. I-type curiosity, rather than D-type curiosity, has a positive effect on undergraduates’ new venture ideas. Promotion focus plays a full mediating role in the effect of D-type entrepreneurial curiosity on new venture ideas, and a partial mediating role in the effect of I-type entrepreneurial curiosity on new venture ideas. In addition, entrepreneurial education positively moderates those mediating effects. This study elaborates on how entrepreneurial curiosity drives undergraduates’ generation of new venture ideas. It proposes that Chinese universities can effectively foster new venture ideas by cultivating undergraduates’ entrepreneurial curiosity and improving entrepreneurial education. The findings also offer practical advice for facilitating entrepreneurship.