A chip off the old block? The role of dominance and parental entrepreneurship for entrepreneurial intention

Abstract

The major aim of this article is to investigate the effect of individual dominance and entrepreneurial family background on entrepreneurial intentions (EI). By linking the EI model with social learning theory and the framework of the theory of planned behaviour, endogenous as well as exogenous factors for becoming an entrepreneur are considered simultaneously. Dominance (striving for autonomy and power) is conceptually connected with established antecedents of EI. By taking into account entrepreneurial family background, occurrence of social support (i.e. subjective norms) and effects of role modelling from childhood on competence beliefs (i.e. perceived behavioural control and dominance) are studied. Based on a sample comprising 3342 students from Austria and Liechtenstein, of whom at least one of the parents was self-employed, structural equation modelling confirms subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and dominance as antecedents of EI. In line with previous entrepreneurship research but contrary to Ajzen’s initial model, attitudes towards entrepreneurship mediated this relationship, whereas entrepreneurial family background leads to higher scores in EI and its antecedents.