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While most policymakers and researchers focus on how students' entrepreneurial intentions can be increased, this study examines what makes the change so difficult, i.e., why pre- and post-course entrepreneurial intentions are strongly related. Building on dissonance reduction theory pursuant to the self-imposed self-fulfilling prophecy phenomenon, we tested a serial mediation model in contexts that give rise to differing expectations regarding the role of inspiration: entrepreneurship versus other courses, in developed versus developing countries. Using pre-test post-test survey data collected from (mostly business) students at 16 universities across nine countries, we analysed an internationally representative sample of 580 valid responses through structural equation modelling. The results confirmed the serial mediation mechanism: pre-course intentions are positively related to students' expected entrepreneurial inspiration, enhancing in turn their experienced entrepreneurial inspiration, which ultimately leads to higher post-course intentions. This mechanism is significantly stronger among students taking entrepreneurship (versus other) courses but is unaffected by the economic context, as it is equally significant across developed and developing countries. Our findings shed light on exploring the determinants of intention fixedness, which is severely under-researched. Furthermore, our study enables policymakers and entrepreneurship educators to draft a more realistic expectation of students’ post-course entrepreneurial intentions.

This article proposes the definition of and motivation for diversity (policy) as an important research topic that should be studied before focusing on diversity policy measures. As such, it strives to demonstrate the academic potential of an analytical framework that outlines fundamental choices made in these respects. What types of diversity do organizations focus on? And what do they want to achieve with (increased) diversity? In this article the discourses underlying the diversity policies in two regional European police forces—the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Politie Utrecht—are analyzed. The main observation is that the results are surprisingly similar in spite of contextual factors that may lead observers to expect otherwise: they both focus on gender and migrant background, identifying these types of diversity as collective in nature, while striving for equal opportunities for individuals despite these collective differences. This article also explores possibilities for further theory building by formulating possible explanations for the similarities and differences which have been identified, suggesting a possible hierarchy in diversity within European organizations, and describing how the motivation for diversity might influence the effectiveness of diversity policies.