Principal Topic

This research is concerned with the entrepreneurial intentions of two specific groups of nascent entrepreneursinn—ovators and graduate students in two transition economies—Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Both countries have significant levels of entrepreneurial activity as measured by the number of new ventures created. Even more ventures are still needed, in particular those contributing high value-added activities: technology and knowledge-based businesses. The analysis further contributes to earlier research on predicting entrepreneurial events using items in the inventory of entrepreneurial self-efficacy previously developed and now tested in the specific environments of post-socialist economies.

Method

The central construct we measure is entrepreneurial self-efficacy as a predictor of future entrepreneurial action. In the first step of analysis, we filter all respondents into two groups by measuring their entrepreneurial intentions for the next five years; the first group is our prime interest – respondents planning to start up a private business (nascent entrepreneurs), while the second group includes respondents who do not plan to start up a new venture within five years. Structural equation modelling is used to estimate the construct, whereas multivariate discriminant analysis is used to compare the different groups and the two countries. The data was gathered via postal surveys and in class interviews during February and March 2001.

Results and Implications

Self-efficacy is an individual’s cognitive estimate of their own capabilities to mobilise the courses of action needed to exercise control over events in their lives. In the study of entrepreneurial action, it is a task-specific construct as it incorporates five specific tasks of an entrepreneur: marketing, innovation, management, risk-taking and financial control. Preliminary results show there are relatively more nascent entrepreneurs among innovators than among graduate students of business. Further, consistent with our hypothesis, graduate students are oriented towards service businesses whereas innovators focus more on production. Where self-efficacy is concerned, innovators feel comfortable when dealing with innovation and risk, while graduate students express higher self-efficacy in the business-related aspects of a new venture—marketing and finance.

CONTACT: Mateja Drnovsek, Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Kardeljeva ploscad 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (T) ++386 1 5892400; (F) ++386 1 5892698; mateja.drnovsek@uni-lj.si