Determinants of Entrepreneurial Intent: A Meta–Analytic Test and Integration of Competing Models

TLDR

Increasing interest in entrepreneurial intentions has heightened the importance of theories that predict and explain individuals’ propensity to start a firm. The study meta‑analytically tests and integrates the theory of planned behavior and the entrepreneurial event model. The authors summarize 98 studies (123 samples, n = 114,007) and use meta‑analytic structural equation modeling to assess the empirical fit of the competing theories and the integrated model. Results support both theories, show contextual boundary conditions moderate entrepreneurial intent, and demonstrate that the integrated model offers additional explanatory power and a fuller understanding of the process.

Abstract

Increasing interest in the development of entrepreneurial intentions has elevated the importance of theories that predict and explain individuals’ propensity to start a firm. The purpose of this study is to meta–analytically test and integrate the theory of planned behavior and the entrepreneurial event model. We summarize the findings of 98 studies (123 samples, n = 114,007) and utilize meta–analytic structural equation modeling to examine the empirical fit of the competing theories and the integrated model. Our results demonstrate support for the competing theories and indicate the moderating role of contextual boundary conditions in the development of entrepreneurial intent. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the integrated model provides additional explanatory power and a fuller understanding of the process through which entrepreneurial intent develops.