Original scientific paper
What drives a student to start a business? Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mirza Kulenović
orcid.org/0000-0002-9372-300X
; College "Center for Business Studies", Kiseljak, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Azra Pašić Mesihović
; School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ljiljan Veselinović
orcid.org/0000-0003-2585-5016
; School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
The existing literature pays particular attention to the investigation of motives and start-up intentions of potential entrepreneurs, especially investigating students’ intention to start a firm after the completion of studies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of fifteen motives and entrepreneurship experience of student’s family on the intention to start a business. Given the importance of entrepreneurship for the growth of developing countries, this insight from a post-conflict, transitional country such as Bosnia and Herzegovina will provide valuable feedback for policymakers and will deepen our understanding of motives and intention to start a business. Our research supports existing findings that growing up in a family where parents are entrepreneurs represents an important predictor of intention to start a business. These family-related early life experiences play a major role in molding an individual’s beliefs, attitudes, personality, and intentions. In addition, our findings suggest that the following motives have statistically significant effects on the intention to start a business: two independence motives (opportunity to be your own boss and proving that you can do it), propensity for risk acceptance, opportunity for better organization of work and private time, and ensuring appropriate care for future generations. In the context of Bosnia- Herzegovina, a possible explanation of our results might be that less attractive working conditions in the private companies combined with high unemployment rates influence the motives of potential entrepreneurs. Their intention to start a business comes from a perceived opportunity, but taking care of future generations and being independent can contribute to the explanation of the intention to start a business. Bosnia-Herzegovina is considered a collectivistic society, which explains why one of the statistically significant motives is an opportunity to pass a business to future generations.
Keywords
entrepreneurship intentions; entrepreneurship motives; family business background
Hrčak ID:
213869
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2018.
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