The effects of demographic, cognitive and institutional factors on development of entrepreneurial intention: Toward a socio-cognitive model of entrepreneurial career

Upon a well-established theoretical foundation Social Cognitive Career Theory; Lent, Brown, and Hackett (J Vocat Behav 45:79–122, 1994 ; J Couns Psychol 47:36–49, 2000 ), this study examines the effects of cognitive, affective, social, demographic, and contextual factors on the development of entrepreneurial intention. To test the hypotheses, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted using data from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey in which 183,049 individuals nested within 54 countries that participated. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy beliefs and entrepreneurial career outcome expectations are significantly correlated with entrepreneurial intention. Mastery experience including previous business ownership, entrepreneurial activity as part of a regular job or investing in a venture, exposure to a role model, social persuasion through media, and fear of failure are significant sources of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. A moderate relationship exists between country-level institutional profile and the sources of self-efficacy.