Original scientific paper
To leave the country or to start your own business? Exploring the relationship between entrepreneurial and migration intention
Ljiljan Veselinović
orcid.org/0000-0003-2585-5016
; School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 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
Abstract
The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between the entrepreneurial intention and the intention to leave the country. We collected data from 245 students in Bosnia and Herzegovina about their intentions to become entrepreneurs, intentions to leave the country, and their perception about different sources of conflict: interreligious and interethnic tolerance, gender inequality, sexual discrimination, and economic situation. As expected, social interactions seem to be an important predictor of the intention to migrate. Those respondents whose friends and family members migrated have higher chances of migrating themselves. None of the conflict sources influence willingness to leave the country either. Contrary to our expectations, the entrepreneurial intention has a statistically significant and positive effect on the intention to leave the country. A possible explanation might be that individuals with higher entrepreneurial intention also have higher expectations regarding life achievements; which might be achieved in developed countries. However, it seems that preference for opportunity-driven entrepreneurship plays an important role in decreasing the intention to migrate. If individuals prefer opportunity-driven instead of necessity entrepreneurship, these preferences have a statistically significant and negative influence on the intention to migrate. A possible explanation for this might be that individuals who can perceive opportunity in the environment, have a higher motivation to stay in the country because their motivation comes from observing and pursuing an opportunity rather than out of necessity. Policymakers should create an environment to stimulate opportunity instead of necessity entrepreneurship.
Keywords
migration; entrepreneurial intention; opportunity-driven entrepreneurship; necessity entrepreneurship
Hrčak ID:
213870
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2018.
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