Entrepreneurial intentions: the relevance of nature and nurture

• Published in: Education & training (London) 2021-11, Vol.63 (7/8), p.1195-1212
• Main Authors: Farrukh, Muhammad, Raza, Ali, Sajid, Muhammad, Rafiq, Muhammad, Hameed, Rizwana, Ali, Tanzila
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Behavior Patterns; Biological effects; Biology; Brain; Brain research; Business Administration Education; Cognitive Processes; Colleges & universities; Decision making; Developmental Psychology; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship education; Evidence; Foreign Countries; Gender; Human influences; Hypotheses; Intention; Learning Theories; Locus of Control; Meta Analysis; Multivariate statistical analysis; Nature Nurture Controversy; Personality Traits; Predictor Variables; Prenatal Influences; Psychological factors; Psychological Patterns; Resistance (Psychology); Risk; Risk aversion; Self Efficacy; Socialization; Students; Testosterone; Undergraduate Students
• ISSN: 0040-0912; 1758-6127
• DOI: 10.1108/ET-01-2021-0028

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the role of nature and nurture in students’ entrepreneurial intention (EIs). In doing so, the study examines the relationship between prenatal testosterone exposure (2D:4D), risk-taking propensity, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and EIs. Moreover, the moderating role of entrepreneurial education between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and EI is also investigated.Design/methodology/approachIn line with previous studies on EI, the authors tested hypotheses based on quantitative data obtained from university students.FindingsData were analyzed with the help of the structural equation modeling technique, and the results revealed that all the hypothesized relationships were supported.Originality/valueThe field of entrepreneurship has become an attractive area of research for practitioners and academics. One tinted area of research in entrepreneurship is the investigation of EI because it is a good predictor of entrepreneurial behavior. Several antecedents of EIs have been recognized in the literature ranging from personality traits to environmental factors. However, less is known about the role of biology in entrepreneurship. Incorporating biological factors in the field of entrepreneurship appears to be theoretically viable and sound. Thus, this study investigates the effect of biological factors in the presence of psychological factors on EIs, which is a unique contribution to the literature on entrepreneurship.