Understanding the predictors of entrepreneurial intentions of young people from Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, and Romania

Abstract

Entrepreneurship helps grow economies. Thus, under comprehensive competence frameworks, such as European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp), entrepreneurial skills development is a global priority. However, under no guarantee, newly developed skills will be utilised in entrepreneurial activity. The question of which entrepreneurial skills predict entrepreneurial intentions remains with no definite answer. Our study examines the extent to which entrepreneurial intentions can be predicted in young people (aged 18 to 25, n=203) by a model grounded in the Self-Efficacy Theory. Our model tested the contribution of demographics, Big Five personality characteristics and entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE). Through a hierarchical multiple regression, we reveal that our participants' entrepreneurial intentions are predicted by two variables: developing new product and market opportunities and conscientiousness. As a result, we found that participants are likely to think of becoming entrepreneurs when confident in their ability to innovate and leverage the market. Interestingly, those same people tended to be somewhat less conscientious. The results showed a significant influence of neither nationality nor age or gender on entrepreneurial intentions. The novelty of our findings is three-fold. First, underlying data is derived from a multicultural sample of young people from three continents. Second, contrary to common sense, they reveal no influence of demographics on entrepreneurial intentions. Third, when ESE is explored as sub-dimensions, not all of them predict entrepreneurial intentions. Overall, our model explained 44% of the entrepreneurial intentions variation. Those results show a path to help develop better-targeted entrepreneurship education or more impactful initiatives for young people. They can be found helpful by policymakers, researchers and practitioners alike.