Reimagining Entrepreneurial Futures: How Futures Perceptions Shape Entrepreneurial Intentions

This research bridges the disciplines of futures studies and entrepreneurship to explore individuals’ perceptions of probable, desirable, and alternative futures in entrepreneurship. It contributes to innovative teaching and learning pedagogy by examining a Futures Literacy Lab as a futures-oriented intervention in entrepreneurship education. In times of uncertainty, entrepreneurship education equips learners to engage productively with ambiguity, experiment with new ideas, and develop innovative solutions, empowering them to actively shape the future of the economy and society. This qualitative research explores how individuals’ perceived futures relate to entrepreneurial intentions within a structured futures literacy learning environment. We recruited 48 participants focusing on women and young adults. Through pedagogical engagement with different futures, the Futures Literacy Lab enables participants to surface and critically reflect on their assumptions, perceived constraints, and aspirations regarding entrepreneurship. The findings show that futures perceptions are closely connected to entrepreneurial intentions, both by revealing barriers such as limited resources, social expectations, and risk perceptions, and by uncovering latent possibilities for entrepreneurial and socially oriented action. Importantly, the intervention demonstrates how futures-oriented pedagogy can foster reflexivity, agency, and confidence in engaging with uncertain futures. By applying the Futures Literacy Lab as an innovative intervention in entrepreneurship education, this study repositions entrepreneurial intention as a futures-dependent concept within entrepreneurship. The findings offer actionable insights for entrepreneurship educators seeking to design impactful, futures-oriented learning environments that encourage learners to envision and proactively shape their futures.