Bridging the Intention-Behavior Gap in Entrepreneurship Education: Implementation Intentions, Programme Design, and Venture Outcomes in Higher Education

University-based entrepreneurship education reliably raises entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intentions, but conversion to venture creation remains low where measured, and effects on venture performance cannot be assessed due to the absence of longitudinal tracking infrastructure. Using the German university system as an evidential case, this systematic review examines EE effects on proximal outcomes and their downstream translation into startup formation and venture outcomes. Five electronic databases were searched covering 1990-2025. German and international evidence indicates EE leads to moderate positive effects on proximal outcomes (Cohen's d = 0.335 for self-efficacy; d = 0.207 for intentions), with significant heterogeneity moderated by programme design, student demographics, and institutional factors. A critical intention-behaviour gap persists: conversion from student startup idea to implementation has been documented at 3.7%, versus approximately 87% founding rates among EXIST grant recipients, however these populations are not directly comparable. EXIST participation more than quadruples startup formation likelihood (OR ≥ 4.8), with 80% five-year survival rates and an average of 13 employees per venture. Babson College's mandatory FME programme confirms that experiential curriculum design operationalises implementation intention formation structurally. Gender disparities persist: women constitute 49% of students but approximately 30% of EXIST recipients. These patterns collectively identify the intention-to-behaviour stage as the binding constraint and implementation intention theory, operationalised through experiential programme design and ecosystem support, as the theoretically operative mechanism for closing it.