Abstract
This study explores the multifaceted influences on entrepreneurial intention and behaviour, particularly focusing on the intersection of early-life experiences, family dynamics, and neurobiological determinants. The research is a literature review of 10 articles investigating factors such as self-efficacy, family support, risk-taking propensity, and childhood adversities in shaping entrepreneurial intentions among university students and Generation Z. Additionally, the impact of family dynamics, social class origins, and exposure to hardship during events like the Great Famine on entrepreneurial agency and entry come into play in the review. The neurobiological perspective delves into the relationship between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and entrepreneurial traits while also exploring the impact of early-life exposure to hardship on entrepreneurship during the Great Famine. The proposed model integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior, as validated in the context of digital entrepreneurship, emphasizing the positive influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on entrepreneurial intention. The findings suggest that childhood experiences, family dynamics, and neurobiological factors play pivotal roles in shaping entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours, contributing valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners. Implications underscore the need for holistic approaches in entrepreneurial education and support, considering diverse individual backgrounds and early-life experiences.
Keywords: Entrepreneurial intention, childhood adversities, family dynamics, neurobiological determinants, Theory of Planned Behavior, digital entrepreneurship.
Introduction
The decision to become a part-time or full-time entrepreneur depends on various factors, which could be personal traits or family history. This literature review analyzes the different reasons behind certain entrepreneurial intentions and decisions that make one become an entrepreneur. The review began with a search for relevant peer-reviewed journal articles through Google Scholar search. The search involved the use of keywords like entrepreneurial propensity, early influences, childhood adversities, self-efficacy, family dynamics, risk-taking, and ADHD. The review indicates a positive relationship between self-efficacy, family support, risk-taking propensity, and entrepreneurial intention. However, the availability of more parental resources negatively impacted entrepreneurial propensity under the one-child policy in China. Also, there was a negative relationship between childhood adversities and entrepreneurial entry since such adversities may promote rule-breaking tendencies while simultaneously lowering self-efficacy and hindering entry.
Literature Review
The Early Influences on Entrepreneurial Intention
Martins et al. (2023) embarked on a study to find out the factors that influence entrepreneurial intention among university students, which could be self-efficacy, family, institutional, and peer support. The researchers used a qualitative survey where 716 master’s students from universities in Pakistan answered questionnaires. The data was analyzed using SPSS and SMART-PLS 3.3 to determine the impact of self-efficacy, family support, institutional support, and peer support. The researchers found that self-efficacy, family, peer, and institutional support significantly influence the student’s entrepreneurial intention to become business owners. The study also revealed that knowledge of entrepreneurial skills, risk-taking, and innovativeness also support entrepreneurial intention. While the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory helps understand how entrepreneurs benefit from social and psychological resources, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) explains how attitudes and behaviours influence objectives and decision-making in entrepreneurship.
Similarly, Agustina and Fauzia (2021) conducted a study to reveal the impact of two factors, the need for achievement and risk-taking propensity, on the entrepreneurial intention of Generation Z students. The researchers used a quantitative method where data from 61 students in the Student Entrepreneurship Program (PMW) at Airlangga University in 2020 was gathered through online questionnaires and interviews following the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers concluded that the need for achievement and risk-taking propensity positively influence the entrepreneurial intentions of Gen Z students at the PMW program. Given that the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the feedback needs to be more reliable since the perceptions and intentions of students may have changed. The small sample size may need to be more generalizable to the global Gen Z population.
The Impact of Family Dynamics on Entrepreneurship
On the other hand, Hayward et al. (2023) conducted a study to examine the relationship between parental resources, the number of siblings, and the propensity for entrepreneurship in China’s one-child policy. In other words, the study was to show whether individuals with more siblings and fewer parental resources were more likely to become entrepreneurs. The researchers used data from the 2016 China Labor-Dynamics Survey and found that individuals with more siblings have a high probability of becoming entrepreneurs. On the other hand, the availability of more parental resources negatively impacts the entrepreneurial propensity under the one-child policy. Wealthier and more controlling parents are less likely to have entrepreneurial children. Greater human capital through higher education negatively affects entrepreneurial intention as children move to more secure employment. While policymakers should stay aware of the impact of family size on entrepreneurial propensity, parents must reduce doting children and have more siblings to influence risk-taking and cooperative upbringing that is resourceful for entrepreneurship.
Brändle and Kuckertz (2023) also researched the influence of social class origins on entrepreneurial agency beliefs. The authors started with a pretest survey of 107 undergraduate students in Germany to show how social class is linked with entrepreneurial concepts. A panel provider then sampled 1,224 higher education students in Germany in 2019. In addition to 700 students, the study also analyzed 390 entrepreneurs from the US to find the association between social class and entrepreneurial agency beliefs like self-efficacy (ESE) in adulthood. The researchers found that childhood social class determines entrepreneurial agency in adulthood. For individuals who had early experiences with entrepreneurship, class differences persist in their beliefs. However, achieving social mobility or entrepreneurial success later enhances their belief in entrepreneurial abilities, especially for those from lower social classes.
Yu et al. (2023) also investigated the relationship between childhood adversities and entrepreneurial entry. The researchers claimed that childhood adversities could promote rule-breaking tendencies and negatively impact individual abilities like self-efficacy and educational attainment. The researchers used a sample of 4,222 individuals through the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult (CYA) dataset. The study showed that childhood adversities affected entrepreneurial entry. The findings indicated that while childhood adversities may facilitate entrepreneurial entry through a propensity for rule-breaking, they simultaneously hinder entry by lowering self-efficacy. However, based on the type of entrepreneurship, like incorporated vs. unincorporated, and gender, women experience more negative outcomes. They are less likely to engage in rule-breaking behaviour in response to childhood adversities.
The Neurobiological Determinants of Entrepreneurial Behavior
Another study by Muûls and Carvajal (2023) aimed to reveal the relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and entrepreneurial behaviour. The authors compared ten respondents from three groups, namely entrepreneurs, individuals with ADHD, and a control group, to understand how ADHD neurological aspects like risk-taking, creativity, and decision-making influence entrepreneurship traits. The researchers started with a qualitative phase where individuals with ADHD and a control group were interviewed via Zoom, and data was analyzed through transcription. The quantitative phase involved the Iowa Gambling Task to assess the decision-making patterns of the three categories of respondents. The study revealed that individuals with ADHD have higher levels of entrepreneurial traits like creativity, risk-taking propensity, and opportunity recognition compared to those without ADHD.
Yi et al. (2022) similarly researched to investigate the impact of early-life exposure to hardship during the Great Famine on the individual’s entrepreneurship traits. The researchers used geographical variations during the intense Great Famine, particularly random weather shocks, to model famine intensity. They explored the relationship between childhood exposure to hardship during the famine and individual personality traits regarding entrepreneurship. The research concluded that individuals who had more hardship experience during China’s Great Famine were more likely to become entrepreneurs. The study had gender differences in that the men were more likely than women to become business owners, as the Chinese social norm where men focus on the market and women on domestic work.
Proposed Model – Theory of Planned Behavior
Al-Mamary and Alraja (2022) conducted a study with the aim of investigating and validating the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model regarding entrepreneurial intention. The authors focused on digital entrepreneurship, where 248 students from the University of Hail answered questionnaires in Google Forms. The quantitative approach tested the TPB model through structural equation modelling (SEM) with Amos software and SPSS in one month. The researchers found that attitudes, subjective norms (SNs), and perceived behavioural control (PBC) positively influence Entrepreneurial Intention (EI) among business students. They also discovered that higher EI is associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial behaviours, supporting the applicability of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in predicting and understanding entrepreneurship intention and behaviour in the context of digital entrepreneurship. The TPB emphasizes the positive influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on entrepreneurial intention.
Conclusion
This literature review delves into the multifaceted aspects influencing entrepreneurial intentions and behaviour, with a focus on early influences, family dynamics, and neurobiological determinants. Martins et al. (2023) and Agustina and Fauzia (2021) underscore the importance of self-efficacy, family, and peer support in shaping entrepreneurial intentions among university students. Hayward et al. (2023) and Yu et al. (2023) shed light on the role of family dynamics, indicating that parental resources, family size, and childhood adversities can significantly influence entrepreneurial propensities. Moreover, Muûls and Carvajal’s (2023) exploration of ADHD and entrepreneurial behaviour and Yi et al.’s (2022) investigation into the impact of early-life exposure to hardship further enrich our understanding of neurobiological and historical determinants. The proposed model, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), as validated by Al-Mamary and Alraja (2022), provides a comprehensive framework to understand the influences on entrepreneurial intention. Future research should explore the role of cultural and regional differences, which could enhance the generalizability of findings.
References
Agustina, T. S., & Fauzia, D. S. (2021). The need for achievement, risk-taking propensity, and entrepreneurial intention of the generation Z. Risenologi, 6(1), 96-106. http://ejurnal.kpmunj.org/index.php/risenologi/article/download/161/105
Al-Mamary, Y. H. S., & Alraja, M. M. (2022). Understanding entrepreneurship intention and behaviour in the light of the TPB model from the digital entrepreneurship perspective. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights, 2(2), 100106. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667096822000490
Brändle, L., & Kuckertz, A. (2023). Inequality and Entrepreneurial Agency: How Social Class Origins Affect Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy. Business & Society, 62(8), 1586-1636. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00076503231158603
Hayward, M., Cheng, Z., Wang, H., & Smyth, R. (2023). Parental influence and the propensity for entrepreneurship: Evidence from the one-child policy. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 20, e00428. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352673423000574
Martins, J. M., Shahzad, M. F., & Xu, S. (2023). Factors influencing entrepreneurial intention to initiate new ventures: evidence from university students. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12(1), 63. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13731-023-00333-9
Muûls, M., & Carvajal, R. (2023). Impact of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder on Entrepreneurial Behavior: A Neurobiological Approach. Journal of Applied Cognitive Neuroscience, 4(2), e00395858-e00395858. https://revistascientificas.cuc.edu.co/JACN/article/download/5258/5144
Yi, J., Chu, J., & Png, I. P. (2022). Early-life exposure to hardship increased risk tolerance and entrepreneurship in adulthood with gender differences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(15), e2104033119. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2104033119
Yu, W., Stephan, U., & Bao, J. (2023). Childhood adversities: Mixed blessings for entrepreneurial entry. Journal of Business Venturing, 38(2), 106287. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902623000010
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