Personality, Prior Knowledge, Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Intentions: Entrepreneurial Alertness as Mediator

Author(s):  
Wei Lee Lim ◽  
Yvonne Lean-Ee Lee ◽  
Ravindran Ramasamy

Objective – This empirical study aims to examine the role of entrepreneurial alertness as a mediator to personality traits, prior knowledge and social capital in influencing the potential of entrepreneurial intention. Methodology/Technique – A total of 212 questionnaires were personally distributed in the Kuala Lumpur area. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM) employing the Baron and Kenny method with the bootstrapping method in testing for mediation effect. Findings – The findings concluded that there are significant relationships between the three variables; prior knowledge, social capital and personality traits with the entrepreneurial intention which is mediated by entrepreneurial alertness. Social capital and prior knowledge in the form of entrepreneurships courses and entrepreneurial experience have a positive relationship with entrepreneurial intention and hence attention should be directed towards them. Novelty – Demonstrate the originality or value of the paper which makes it different from prior studies. Type of Paper: Empirical Keywords: Entrepreneurial intention; Alertness; Prior knowledge; Social capital; Personality; Mediator. JEL Classification: L26, L31.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Suleiman Awwad ◽  
Rana Mohammad Najati Al-Aseer

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the Big Five personality traits on the entrepreneurial intentions of undergrad university students in Jordan. It further investigates the mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey method was conducted with a convenience sample of Jordanian university students. A total of 323 valid questionnaires were received and analyzed. A structural equation modeling with partial least square (PLS) is used to analyze data. Findings Results revealed that conscientiousness, openness and alertness were associated with entrepreneurial intention. Extraversion and openness were associated with alertness, while agreeableness and neuroticism were unrelated to either outcome. Finally, alertness mediates the relationship between extraversion and openness with entrepreneurial intention. Originality/value There is a lack of previous studies investigating the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and students’ entrepreneurial intentions in Jordan, particularly the role of mediating variables in this relationship. This study is considered the first one that examined the mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness in the relationship between personality traits and entrepreneurial intentions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (02) ◽  
pp. 1596-1609
Author(s):  
Alain Vilard Ndi Isoh ◽  
Ongia Cheyenne Fongum ◽  
Nkam Michael Cho

The importance of corporate social responsibility is shaping investment decisions and entrepreneurial actions in diverse perspectives. The rapid growth of SMEs has tremendous impacts on the environment. Nonetheless, the economic emergence plan of Cameroon has prompted government support of SMEs through diverse projects. This saw economic growth increased to 3.8% and unemployment dropped to 4.3% caused by the expansion of private sector investments. The dilemma that necessitated this study is the response strategy of SMEs operators towards environmental sustainability. This study, thus seeks to examine the effects of entrepreneurial intentions and actions on environmental sustainability. The research is a conclusive case study design supported by the philosophical underpins of objectivism ontology and positivism epistemology. Data was sourced from four hundred (400) SMEs operators purposively sampled from the Centre and Littoral regions of Cameroon using structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling technique with the aid of statistical packages including: SPSS 24 and AMOS 23.  The study revealed that entrepreneurial action has weak positive statistical significant impacts on environmental sustainability; whereas entrepreneurial intention has strong positive statistical significant effects on environmental sustainability. Entrepreneurial intention comprised of self-efficacy and perceived control whereas, entrepreneurial actions involved entrepreneurial alertness and uncertainty. This study concludes that entrepreneurs in Cameroon have sustainable intentions to protect the environment but; the current actions taken are inadequate. This research recommends that entrepreneurs should enhance efforts toward attaining the state of genuine sustainability. Keywords: Entrepreneurial Intention, Entrepreneurial Actions, Cameroon, Genuine sustainability


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olawale Fatoki

Entrepreneurship is no longer about only economic growth but also about social and environmental performance. This has led to the development of sustainable entrepreneurship as a field in entrepreneurship research. The study discussed in this article investigated the determinants of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial intentions (SOEI) of university students by extending the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Four personality traits were added to the TPB to develop a predictive model of SOEI. The moderating effect of gender in the relationships between the determinants and SOEI was also examined. The study adopted a quantitative research design. The cross-sectional survey method was used for data collection from final year business management students in three South African universities. Structural equation modelling (PLS SEM) was used for data analysis. The findings indicated significant positive relationships between attitude; perceived behavioural control; internal locus of control; perceived creativity; proactive personality, and SOEI. Overall, 55.9% of the variance in SOEI was explained by the expanded TPB model. The moderating effect of gender was not found to be significant. Theoretically, the study used personality traits to extend the TPB in order to develop a unique model of the antecedents of SOEI. Practically, recommendations to promote the SOEI of university students are suggested. The study contributes towards the understanding of SOEI of university students in South Africa. While the conventional entrepreneurial intention of university students has stimulated many studies, research on SOEI is sparse. Based on the TPB, the study developed and tested a unique multi-dimensional model that incorporates personality traits as antecedents of SOEI.


Author(s):  
Huatao Peng ◽  
Bingbing Li ◽  
Chen Zhou ◽  
Bert M. Sadowski

Global challenges posed by climate change and environmental deterioration are increasingly driving entrepreneurship with sustainable entrepreneurial intention as a key driver in predicting entrepreneurial activities. Together with experience, the environmental values of an entrepreneur are vital for sustainable entrepreneurial intention. However, the extent to which experience is a key factor to start up a sustainable enterprise is still rather unclear. To study the role of experience, we derive from the theory of planned behaviour three factors (personal attitude, social norm and self-efficacy) to examine their impact on environmental values and sustainable entrepreneurial intention. Based on a meta-analysis, the overall directions and effect intensity of the different factors in this relationship can be investigated. We develop a structural equation model to explore the mechanism behind the interaction between the different variables. We utilize information from 37 scientific articles using 40 empirical samples, 117 effect sizes and 192,015 observations. We found that environmental values are indeed positively related to a sustainable entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, the relationship between environmental values and sustainable entrepreneurial intention is moderated by experience, as well as personal attitude, social norms and self-efficacy. In addition, environmental values are more positively related to the intention to set up a sustainable venture for entrepreneurs with low-experience compared to those entrepreneurs with high-experience. For policy makers and managers, it becomes important to stimulate environmental values to promote sustainable entrepreneurial intentions in order to stimulate the growth of sustainable enterprises. By enhancing these three factors, sustainable entrepreneurial behaviour can be facilitated by increasing entrepreneurs’ sustainable intention.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Yeşim İlerisoy ◽  
Ali Aycı ◽  
Hilal Aycı ◽  
Esra Betül Kınacı

PurposeThe aim of the study is to investigate whether architectural education has a positive attitude toward entrepreneurship and it encourages to have management skills. The hypothesis is based on the fact that core courses in architectural education have an impact on individuals' entrepreneurial intentions.Design/methodology/approachThe correlation of design, construction and technology courses with entrepreneurship intentions, namely, learning motivation, a motivation on innovation, a progressive attitude and self-efficacy as an outcome, was investigated in senior-year students of architecture enrolled in six universities of Turkey. The data collected were analyzed through the structural equation model, which mainly focuses on the causal relationships between chosen variables.FindingsThe initial outcome is that learning motivation, attitude and self-efficacy through design courses have an effect on entrepreneurship. However, contrary to expectations, it was found that innovation does not have an effect on entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, while innovation, attitude and self-efficacy through construction courses have an impact on entrepreneurial intent, learning motivation does not. Finally, it was revealed that attitude, self-efficacy, innovation and learning motivation affect entrepreneurial intention through technology courses.Originality/valueEntrepreneurship skills are generally considered within the field of interest by business schools. Even though there exist some studies into entrepreneurial architecture education, they are few in numbers, and they usually evaluate the problem mainly through a qualitative research. This study could be regarded as a different research in terms of its traditional perspective, and it investigates the role of entrepreneurial intent in a “technical” discipline such as architecture.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi Thi Phuong Nguyen ◽  
Duong Tuan Nguyen ◽  
Hang Thu Nguyen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of entrepreneurs’ personality traits on firm innovation performance through the mediation role of entrepreneurs’ innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach The data consist of 2,574 firms from a survey of small and medium-scale manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam, a developing and transitioning economy where SMEs constitute an integral part of the economy. The estimation results based on the structural equation model was applied to analyze the data. Findings The results indicate that an entrepreneur’s innovativeness is positively associated with his extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience but negatively accompanied with his neuroticism. Besides, the three traits – openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion have positive indirect effects, while neuroticism has a negative indirect effect on technological improvement and new technology adoption. However, the effects of agreeableness on entrepreneurial innovativeness and firm innovation performance are insignificant. In addition, the diverse backgrounds of the entrepreneur such as education and ethnics are also found to influence his innovativeness and to have indirect effects on firm innovation performance. Originality/value This study may contribute to the immature literature on the entrepreneurial process within SMEs by presenting empirical evidence on the relationship between entrepreneurial personality traits and firm innovation with a large sample of SMEs in Vietnam, an emerging economy where SMEs constitute an integral part of the economy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohan Yan ◽  
Dongxiao Gu ◽  
Changyong Liang ◽  
Shuping Zhao ◽  
Wenxing Lu

Entrepreneurial activities of college students have received unprecedented attention under the “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” program. This program encourages individuals to start their own businesses and stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative genes of the nation. Sustainable entrepreneurship is a new form of entrepreneurship that plays an important role in addressing the employment problems of college students, promoting sustainable social and economic development, and alleviating China’s environmental problems. Based on the platform of the China College Students’ “Internet Plus” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (CSIPC) organized by the Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China, we investigated the specific paths of personality trait influence on sustainable entrepreneurial intention of college students with entrepreneurial alertness and opportunity recognition as mediating variables. We conducted an empirical analysis based on 316 data collected from CSIPC participants. Results of data analysis show that personality traits had a significantly effect on sustainable entrepreneurial intention of college students, and entrepreneurial alertness and opportunity recognition played a mediating role between personality traits and sustainable entrepreneurial intention of college students. This study contributes to research on sustainable entrepreneurship and the practices of colleges to foster sustainable entrepreneurs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9249
Author(s):  
Nosheena Yasir ◽  
Nasir Mahmood ◽  
Hafiz Shakir Mehmood ◽  
Osama Rashid ◽  
An Liren

Intentions have been described as a key driver of sustainable entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and eventually activity. As a result of this study, interest may increase in entrepreneurship intentions across numerous entrepreneurial levels and styles, specifically from the point of view of sustainability. However, research to date has not been able to completely determine how the intrinsic complications of instantaneously producing social, environmental, and economic means will have an impact on the intentions of university students. This study sought to inspect the impact of self-transcending and self-enhancing value on the advent of intentions. The theory of planned behavior is an adaptive theory that this study quantitatively analyzed using a structural equation model and survey data from 577 university students in Punjab, Pakistan. The empirical findings show that altruistic, biospheric, hedonic, and egoistic values all have an indirect effect on sustainability-driven entrepreneurial intentions, which is important to understand when assessing attitudes toward sustainable entrepreneurship and perceived behavior control. In essence, attitudes, perceived behavior, and social norms all affect aspirations to become a sustainable entrepreneur. In real-world terms, the findings indicate that by using value activation techniques to increase attitudes and educational interest, practitioners may promote sustainable entrepreneurial intentions. It is also suggested how government services could be improved as part of the strategy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid Alammari ◽  
Robert Newbery ◽  
Mohamed Yacine Haddoud ◽  
Emily Beaumont

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how cultural values influence the entrepreneurial process. It conceptualises the relationship between post-materialistic values and entrepreneurial intention to explain low entrepreneurial activity.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted in Saudi Arabia with non-entrepreneurs. An online survey returned 405 valid questionnaires, representing a 27 per cent response rate. The data were analysed using partial least structural equation modelling.FindingsThe paper identifies key factors that explain the influence of changing cultural values on entrepreneurial activity. The results show that post-materialistic values influence entrepreneurial intention by decreasing desirability and entrepreneurial self-efficacy.Research limitations/implicationsThe study conceptualises the interplay between cultural values and entrepreneurial intention in Saudi Arabia. Further insights can be developed by comparing Saudi Arabia with other countries. The study was conducted as a “snapshot” of the current situation of entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia with a cross-sectional survey design.Practical implicationsThe paper holds important implications for entrepreneurship educators when addressing unsupportive cultures for entrepreneurial activity. Cultural and motivational approaches are suggested. While the former focuses on aspects that encourage the desire and confidence to start a business, the latter involves encouraging setting venture creation as a goal.Originality/valuePrevious studies indicated that post-materialistic values negatively influence entrepreneurship; this paper contributes further by exploring how this relationship manifests by exploring the intervening factors between post-materialistic values and entrepreneurial intention. It advances entrepreneurship research by investigating deep assumptions underlying the formulation of entrepreneurial intentions. It also responds to the need to understand the difference in the levels of entrepreneurial activity across countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thuy Thu Nguyen ◽  
Diep Ngoc Do

Purpose This study aims to investigate the structural relationships between pedagogy methods, creativity and entrepreneurial intentions. This study theorizes that work-integrated and active learning methods positively influence personal creativity, which in turn positively influences entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, entrepreneurial inspiration moderates the impact of creativity on entrepreneurial intentions. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 701 valid questionnaires from university students is used to investigate the proposed research model empirically. As the methodological approach, structural equation modelling with multigroup analysis is used. Findings The statistical results confirm the positive impacts of work-integrated and active learning methods on individual perceived creativity and of creativity on entrepreneurial intentions. Further, inspiration towards entrepreneurship moderates the link between individual creativity and entrepreneurial intentions. Originality/value This research fills the gap in the realm of examining the structural relationship among learning methods, creativity and entrepreneurial intentions in an emerging economy context. Specifically, this study confirms experiential teaching methods as important predictors of the development of students’ creativity capability and the moderating role of entrepreneurial inspiration in the relationship between perceived creativity and entrepreneurial intention. These results add to the academic literature on entrepreneurial intentions in emerging economies and provide new insights into how universities in emerging economies can foster the entrepreneurial intentions of their students.


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