The influence of personal characteristics on entrepreneurial intentions: International comparison
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study is to establish which factors are the most influential with regard to the development of entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and to establish whether it is the environment (each respondent’s country of origin), gender, or personal characteristics the influence of which factor prevails.
Research Design & Methods: The created hypotheses were tested using the classification tree method, following a logistic regression. The research population (n=789) comprised students of economic fields from universities in three countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, and the United Kingdom. ‘Willingness to run a business’ was a dependent variable whereas the countries of respondents’ origin, their gender, prior work experience, and personal characteristics (self-reliance, ability to accept risk, creativity, proactivity, and responsibility) were independent variables.
Findings: We found that the most significant factor in the willingness to run a business is the ability to accept risk. Other factors, such as the country of origin or respondents’ gender, are also statistically significant. Prior work experience did not prove to be a strong predictor.
Implications & Recommendations: The results show that the willingness to run a business, which forms an integral part of EI, is to a large extent influenced by relatively stable variables (i.e., personal characteristics, gender, and country of origin). Therefore, it is possible that certain measures aimed at starting and developing a business (e.g., education) will be less effective if the monitored variables (e.g., personal characteristics) are not taken into account.
Contribution & Value Added: The added value of this study is the identification and verification of variables influencing business within the international context.
Keywords
entreprenurship; personality; gender; Czech Republic; Germany; United Kingdom
References
Adachi, T., & Hisada, T. (2017). Gender differences in entrepreneurship and
intrapreneurship: an empirical analysis. Small Business Economics, 48(3), 447-486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016-9793-y
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Al-Jubari, I., Hassan, A., & Liñán, F. (2019). Entrepreneurial intention among University students in Malaysia: integrating self-determination theory and the theory of planned behavior. International Entrepreneurship & Management Journal, 15(4), 1323.
Asante, E.A., & Affum-Osei, E. (2019). Entrepreneurship as a career choice: The impact of locus of control on aspiring entrepreneurs’ opportunity recognition. Journal of Business Research, 98, 227-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.02.006
Blanchflower, D.G. (2000). Self-employment in OECD countries. Labour Economics, 7(5), 471-505. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0927-5371(00)00011-7
Brizek, M.G., & Poorani, A.A. (2006). Making the Case for Entrepreneurship: A Survey of Small Business Management Courses within Hospitality and Tourism Programmes. Journal of Hos-pitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education (Oxford Brookes University), 5(2), 36-47. https://doi.org/10.3794/johlste.52.119
Cera, G., Mlouk, A., Cera, E., & Shumeli, A. (2020). The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Intention. A Quasi-Experimental Research Design. Journal of Competitiveness, 1, 39-56. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2020.01.03
Chen, Y.-F., & Lai, M.-C. (2010). Factors Influencing the Entrepreneurial Attitude of Taiwanese Tertiary-Level Business Students. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 38(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2010.38.1.1
Chmielecki, M., & Sułkowski, Ł. (2016). Metaphors of Entrepreneurship among Polish Students: Preliminary Research Findings. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 4(4), 141-151. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2016.040409
Dolhey, S. (2019), A bibliometric analysis of research on entrepreneurial intentions from 2000 to 2018, Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 21(2), 180-199. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRME-02-2019-0015
Eid, R., Badewi, A., Selim, H., & El-Gohary, H. (2019). Integrating and Extending Competing Inten-tion Models to Understand the Entrepreneurial Intention of Senior University Students. Education & Training, 61(2), 234-254. https://doi.org/10.1108/et-02-2018-0030
Gieure, C., Benavides-Espinosa, M. del M., & Roig-Dobón, S. (2020). The entrepreneurial process: The link between intentions and behavior. Journal of Business Research, 112, 541-548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.088
Ghina, A. (2014). Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Education in Higher Education Institutions. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 115, 332-345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.02.440
Giacomin, O., Janssen, F., Pruett, M., Shinnar, R.S., & Llopis, F. (2011). Entrepreneurial intentions, motivations and barriers : differences among American, Asian and European students. Inter-national Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 7(2), 219-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-010-0155-y
Gordon, I., Hamilton, E., & Jack, S. (2012). A study of a university-led entrepreneurship education programme for small business owner/managers. Entrepreneurship and Regional Develop-ment: An International Journal, 24(9-10), 767-805. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2011.566377
Holienka, M., Pilková, A., & Jančovičová, Z. (2016). Youth Entrepreneurship in Visegrad
Countries. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 4(4), 105-121. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2016.040407
Iskandarini. (2014). The Impact of Entrepreneurial Barrier toward Entrepreneurial Intention for Decreasing Unemployment through Community Empowerment. Procedia – Social and Behav-ioral Sciences, 115, 166-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.02.425
Jafari-Sadeghi, V. (2019). The motivational factors of business venturing: Opportunity versus ne-cessity? A gendered perspective on European countries. Journal of Business Research. 13(May 2020), 279-289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.09.058
Jena, R.K. (2020). Measuring the impact of business management students’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention: A case study. Computers in Human Behavior, 107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106275
Khursheed, A., Mustafa, F., Fatima, M., & Siddique, F. (2018). Entrepreneurial Intentions: Gem Based Emipirical Analysis on the Northern Europe and Asian Countries. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 6(2), 59-70 https://doi.org/10.2478/ijek-2018-0014
Khursheed, A., Mustafa, F., Fatima, M., & Khalid, F. (2019). Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Inten-tions: A Cross-Country Study of Northern Europe and the Danube Region. Iranian Journal of Management Studies, 12(4), 593. https://doi.org/10.22059/ijms.2019.265108.673301
Kristiansen, S., & Indarti, N. (2004). Entrepreneurial Intention among Indonesian and Norwegian Students. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 12(1), 55.
Krueger, N.F., Reilly, M.D., & Carsrud, A.L. (2000). Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing, 15(5), 411-432. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(98)00033-0
Lee, L., Wong, P.K., Foo, M.D., & Leung, A. (2011). Entrepreneurial intentions: The influence of organizational and individual factors. Journal of Business Venturing, 26(1), 124-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.04.00
Lee, S.M., & Peterson, S.J. (2000). Culture, entrepreneurial orientation, and global competitive-ness. Journal of World Business, 35(4), 401-416. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1090-9516(00)00045-6
Lee, S.M., Chang, D., & Lim, S.B. (2005). Impact of entrepreneurship education: A comparative study of the U.S. and Korea. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 1(1), 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-005-6674-2
Liñán, F. (2008). Skill and value perceptions: how do they affect entrepreneurial intentions?. Inter-national Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 4(3), 257-272.
Liñán, F., & Chen, Y.-W. (2009). Development and Cross-Cultural Application of a Specific Instru-ment to Measure Entrepreneurial Intentions. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 33(3), 593.
Liñán, F., & Fayolle, A. (2015). A systematic literature review on entrepreneurial intentions: cita-tion, thematic analyses, and research agenda. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 11(4), 907-933.
Liñán, F., Rodríguez-Cohard, J., & Rueda-Cantuche, J. (2011). Factors affecting entrepreneurial intention levels: a role for education. International Entrepreneurship & Management Journal, 7(2), 195.
Maes, J., Leroy, H., & Sels, L. (2014). Gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions: A TPB mul-ti-group analysis at factor and indicator level. European Management Journal, 32(5), 784-794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2014.01.001
Machado, H.P.V., Gazola, S., Fabricio, J.D.S., & Anez, M.E.M. (2016). Women Entrepreneurs: Rea-sons and Difficulties for Starting In Business. RAM. Revista de Administração Mackenzie, 17(3), 15-38. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-69712016/administracao.v17n3p15-38
Maresch, D., Harms, R., Kailer, N., & Wimmer-Wurm, B. (2016). The impact of entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial intention of students in science and engineering versus business studies university programs. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 104, 172-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.11.006
Murnieks, C.Y., Cardon, M.S., & Haynie, J.M. (2020). Fueling the fire: Examining identity centrality, affective interpersonal commitment and gender as drivers of entrepreneurial passion. Journal of Business Venturing, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.10.007
Murugesan, R. (2010). Association between entrepreneurial inclination and entrepreneurial char-acteristics. Southern Journal of Entrepreneurship, 3(1), 36.
Ng, K.S., & Fu, P.P. (2018). Factors Driving Foreign Women Entrepreneurship in China. Entrepre-neurial Business and Economics Review, 6(4), 49-69. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2018.060403
Nowiński, W., & Haddoud, M.Y. (2019). The role of inspiring role models in enhancing entrepre-neurial intention. Journal of Business Research, 96, 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.11.005
Oliveira, A., & Rua, O.L., (2018). From intention to entrepreneurial action Assessing the impact of the barriers on the creation of new organizations. RAUSP Management Journal, 53(4), 507-534. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-07-2018-0039
Porfírio, J.A., Felício, J.A., & Carrilho, T. (2019). Family business succession: Analysis of the drivers of success based on entrepreneurship theory. Journal of Business Research. 115(C), 250-257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.054
Postigo, S., Iacobucci, D., & Tamborini, M.F. (2006). Undergraduate students as a source of poten-tial entrepreneurs: a comparative study between Italy and Argentina. International Entrepre-neurship Education: Issues and Newness, 218-240.
Pruett, M., Shinnar, R.S., Toney, B., Llopis, F., & Fox, J. (2009). Explaining entrepreneurial inten-tions of university students: a cross-cultural study. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 15(6), 571-594. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550910995443
Rau, S.B., Werner, A., & Schell, S. (2019). Psychological ownership as a driving factor
of innovation in older family firms. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2018.03.001
Reissová, A., & Šimsová, J. (2019). Earning or Learning – the Dilemma for Generation Y. EDU-LEARN19 Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2019.2206
Rustiadi, S. (2015). Creating Better Education System, Building Stronger Human Capital: A Creative Industries Perspective. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 169, 378-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.323
Sitaridis, I., & Kitsios, F. (2019). Entrepreneurship as a Career Option for Information Technology Students: Critical Barriers and the Role of Motivation. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 10(3), 1133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-018-0519-z
Sondari, M.C. (2014). Is Entrepreneurship Education Really Needed?: Examining the Antecedent of Entrepreneurial Career Intention. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 115, 44-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.02.414
Souitaris, V., Zerbinati, S., & Al-Laham, A. (2007). Do entrepreneurship programmes raise entre-preneurial intention of science and engineering students? The effect of learning, inspiration and resources. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(4), 566-591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.05.002
Turker, D., & Selcuk, S.S. (2009). Which Factors Affect Entrepreneurial Intention of University Students?. Journal of European Industrial Training, 33(2), 142-159.
Verheul, I., Thurik, R., Grilo, I., & van der Zwan, P. (2012). Explaining preferences and actual in-volvement in self-employment: Gender and the entrepreneurial personality. Journal of Eco-nomic Psychology, 33(2), 325-341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.02.009
Wach, K., & Wojciechowski, L. (2016). Entrepreneurial Intentions of Students in Poland in the View of Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 4(1), 83-94. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2016.040106
Ward, A., Hernández-Sánchez, B.R., & Sánchez-García, J.C. (2019). Entrepreneurial Potential and Gender Effects: The Role of Personality Traits in University Students’ Entrepreneurial Inten-tions. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2700. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02700
Wąsowska, A. (2016). Who Doesn’t Want to be an Entrepreneur? The Role of Need for Closure in Forming Entrepreneurial Intentions of Polish Students. Entrepreneurial Business and Econom-ics Review, (3), 27-39. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2016.040303
Wilson, F., Marlino, D., & Kickul, J. (2004). Our entrepreneurial future: examining the diverse atti-tudes and motivations of teens across gender and ethnic identity. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 9(3), 177-197.
Zapkau, F.B., Schwens, C., Steinmetz, H., & Kabst, R. (2015). Disentangling the effect of prior entrepreneurial exposure on entrepreneurial intention. Journal of Business Research, 68(3), 639-653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.08.007
Zhang, S.-N., Li, Y.-Q., Liu, C.-H., & Ruan, W.-Q. (2020). Critical factors identification and prediction of tourism and hospitality students’ entrepreneurial intention. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 26, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2019.100234
Zhang, T., & Acs, Z. (2018). Age and entrepreneurship: nuances from entrepreneur
types and generation effects. Small Business Economics, 51(4), 773-809. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0079-4
Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Faculty of Social and Economic Studies Czechia
Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Faculty of Social and Economic Studies Czechia
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6344-7457
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-ND licence that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are asked to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) only the final version of the article, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). We advise using any of the following research society portals:
