Translating entrepreneurial intention to behaviour amongst micro and small entrepreneurs
Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies
ISSN: 2053-4604
Article publication date: 16 June 2022
Issue publication date: 20 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurship studies have established various antecedents leading to eventual entrepreneurship by measuring entrepreneurial intention (EI). However, evidence has shown that intention does not necessarily translate into behaviour, especially for complex behaviours such as creating a business venture. Hence, this paper aims to examine how contextual and individual factors interact with one another to promote or inhibit one’s translation of EI into entrepreneurial action in an emerging economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt a retrospective qualitative approach by interviewing 37 Malaysian micro and small business owners. Then, multidimensional scaling is used to examine the interactions between the identified factors.
Findings
The authors find that social networks are the main influence on an individual’s propensity to start a business – it provides financial and social capital, provides other means of support such as practical help and business opportunities and instils passion and drive. Furthermore, organisations such as schools, universities and employers play an important role in instilling the motivation for a career shift to entrepreneurship and by providing opportunities to upskill. In addition, the findings indicate that entrepreneurial traits such as proactiveness, resourcefulness and passion enable individuals to overcome entrepreneurial structural constraints, such as lack of resources and negative action-related emotions. By contrast, the role of macro-environmental factors such as governmental support play less prominent roles in the narratives of the entrepreneurs.
Practical implications
This study has important implications for governments and policymakers in implementing support for those transitioning from salaried employment to self-employment and for entrepreneurship interventions to adopt a holistic approach that encompasses building one’s entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and mindsets, alongside providing external incentives.
Originality/value
The authors provide a more holistic approach to exploring the EI–behaviour gap. In addition, this study explored facilitators and barriers to entrepreneurship specific to the context of an emerging economy such as Malaysia, which is highly dependent on small-scale self-employment.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Melati Nungsari and Sam Flanders are Assistant Professors of Economics and Research Affiliates at MIT Sloan School of Management. Kirjane Ngu, Denise Wong, Jia Wei Chin, Shu Yee Chee and Xin Shi Wong are either currently or have previously worked for the Rapid Youth Success Entrepreneurship (RYSE) Program, a Malaysian research and social outreach program at the Asia School of Business. Please address all questions to Melati. Email: melati@mit.edu; Address: Asia School of Business, 11 Jalan Dato’ Onn, Kuala Lumpur 50480, Malaysia. The authors thank RYSE for using their online interview series of local entrepreneurs as a platform for this study, William Tham for his copy-editing of the manuscripts and our transcribers. This research was supported by Citi Foundation (Grant ID: G-IDS-20196635).
Citation
Nungsari, M., Ngu, K., Wong Ni Shi, D., Chin, J.W., Chee, S.Y., Wong, X.S. and Flanders, S. (2023), "Translating entrepreneurial intention to behaviour amongst micro and small entrepreneurs", Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 1512-1533. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-11-2021-0429
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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