Socio-demographic determinants of entrepreneurial intentions: A case from Iran

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify rural youths’ entrepreneurial intentions in the western part of Iran. The research also sought to investigate impacts of socio demographic traits on this intention. The study concentrated on the population of 15 to 28 years old rural youth (boys) in Kermanshah Province, west of Iran. A sample of 351 rural youth was selected through a stratified random sampling. The results showed that approximately one third of respondents had high and very high entrepreneurial intentions. In general, the rural youth intended to become future entrepreneurs moderately (equal to 3 in a Lykert scale). A stepwise multiple regression revealed six factors to be statistically significant determinants of entrepreneurial intentions namely: relation with parents, attitude towards agriculture, work experience, intent to migrate, parents’ level of income, and parents’ educational level. Motivating rural youth through their parents’ support, supporting agricultural activities and running entrepreneurship training courses, could significantly strengthen rural youth attitudes towards local rural environment opportunities and its everyday activities. This can consequently reinforce entrepreneurial intentions and behavior in rural areas. Key words : Rural development, entrepreneurial intentions, agriculture, youth. INTRODUCTION As the engine of economic growth world leaders have turned on to entrepreneurs on how to develop entrepreneurship spirit of individuals; and eventually get out of current crises namely: (1) meltdown of world’s financial markets (starting from so-called first world countries and then reaching developing nations); and (2) people’s uprisings (in the middle east for instance). Both blended in with internal problematic situations of every particular nation have created case-specific socio-economic problems where again entrepreneurship emerged as the silver bullet to resolve the issues, although one might argue that these are the very same entrepreneurs who just started it all! Entrepreneurship is defined as “the opportunistic pursuit of economic wealth via creative initiatives of the individual operating within an uncertain environment constrained by limited tangible