지식재산 교과목 이수 대학생의 지식재산권 인식이 창업의지와 혁신활동에 미치는 영향: 지식재산권 교육경험의 매개효과

This study analyzes how university students’ awareness of intellectual property rights (IPR) influences their entrepreneurial intentions and innovative activities, and examines whether IP education experiences mediate the relationship between these variables. This study focuses on prior theory, which suggests that IP awareness, based on an understanding of the need to protect creative assets, can influence the development of entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities. Furthermore, educational experiences can serve as a crucial catalyst for translating this awareness into actual action. Accordingly, this study conducted a survey of university students enrolled in intellectual property-focused universities and conducted hierarchical regression and mediation analysis based on the collected data. The results showed that higher awareness of intellectual property rights was associated with greater participation in related education, and that such educational experiences positively influenced entrepreneurial intentions and innovative activities. In particular, educational experience was found to have a significant indirect effect on the relationship between awareness and performance, suggesting that the process of internalizing intellectual property rights through practical education, rather than simply understanding them, leads to entrepreneurship and innovative behavior. This study empirically demonstrates that university intellectual property education can be a strategic tool for fostering students’ practical entrepreneurial capabilities and innovative problem-solving skills, emphasizing the need to strengthen intellectual property education programs.