Abstract:
The increasing importance of entrepreneurship for flourishing economic progression, innovation and job creation have raised the concerns of decision makers and researchers for the investigation of the dynamics that could have an influence on the entrepreneurial activity levels. Indeed, transformations in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity levels are considerable, persistent and distinctive in their history in different regions, particularly in Europe. This study extends Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior by developing a highly integrated conceptual framework to analyze the entrepreneurial intentions by analyzing individualistic and collectivistic dimensions to entrepreneurship. This framework determines how both dimensions influence the entrepreneurial intentions. This incorporates the significant role of individualism and collectivism along with entrepreneurial capability, social status and social norms across European countries. The study analyzed the cross-cultural applicability of the proposed model across Northern Europe and the Danube Region by using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) databases. Structural equation modeling is applied to overcome the limitations of past research studies. The study also provides practical implications for entrepreneurship academicians and policy makers. Specifically, developing awareness and knowledge about entrepreneurship would improve self-efficacy and ultimately entrepreneurial intentions.
The increasing importance of entrepreneurship for flourishing economic progression, innovation and job creation have raised the concerns of decision makers and researchers for the investigation of the dynamics that could have an influence on the entrepreneurial activity levels. Indeed, transformations in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity levels are considerable, persistent and distinctive in their history in different regions, particularly in Europe. This study extends Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior by developing a highly integrated conceptual framework to analyze the entrepreneurial intentions by analyzing individualistic and collectivistic dimensions to entrepreneurship. This framework determines how both dimensions influence the entrepreneurial intentions. This incorporates the significant role of individualism and collectivism along with entrepreneurial capability, social status and social norms across European countries. The study analyzed the cross-cultural applicability of the proposed model across Northern Europe and the Danube Region by using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) databases. Structural equation modeling is applied to overcome the limitations of past research studies. The study also provides practical implications for entrepreneurship academicians and policy makers. Specifically, developing awareness and knowledge about entrepreneurship would improve self-efficacy and ultimately entrepreneurial intentions.
Machine summary:
Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Cross- Country Study of Northern Europe and the Danube Region Ambreen Khursheed, Faisal Mustafa, Maham Fatima, Faiza Khalid UCP Business School, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan (Received: November 15, 2018; Revised: July 4, 2019; Accepted: July 14, 2019) Abstract The increasing importance of entrepreneurship for flourishing economic progression, innovation and job creation have raised the concerns of decision makers and researchers for the investigation of the dynamics that could have an influence on the entrepreneurial activity levels.
Several past studies in the area of entrepreneurship highlighted the significance of analyzing cognitive factors such as entrepreneurial intentions and motivation in order to explain the complicated process of startups by using the theory of planned behavior (Peterman & Kennedy, 2003; Coduras, Clemente, & Ruiz, 2016).
Prior studies have highlighted the importance of considering prior experience, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and personal attitude for promoting entrepreneurial activities, and according to TPB, values shared within any culture affect the antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions.
Therefore, with a cross-country viewpoint, the study at hands compares the attitudes, norms and behavioral intentions of entrepreneurs from 18 European countries with an objective to find the applicability of the proposed intention-based model for the conduction of cross-country analysis, and to examine the traditional and novel factors and their influence on the EI in Northern Europe and the Danube Region.
Our findings are also supported by the literature, in which significance of cultural differences, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control for shaping entrepreneurial intentions are highlighted (Krueger & Carsrud, 1993; Trenkler & Stahlecker, 1996; Solesvik, Westhead, & Matlay, 2014).