The Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Intention Among Nascent Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Research confirms that entrepreneurial intention plays an important role in the decision to start a new firm. For this reason, it has received a lot of attention from researchers who have studied it from different perspectives, using different variables. The goal of this chapter is to investigate the reasons why some individuals tend more to entrepreneurship than others. By utilizing Schwartz's theory of cultural values as the explaining model, this paper analyzes cultural values in relation to three bipolar dimensions: conservation vs. autonomy, hierarchy vs. egalitarianism, and mastery vs. harmony. The authors applied the EOQ scale to a sample of 600 nascent entrepreneurs aged between 25 and 35, belonging to several autonomous communities in Spain. The results show significant differences in the variables of personal, contextual, and entrepreneurial intention regarding the gender, occupation, or professions of the parents and the autonomous community.