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Influence of institutional environment on entrepreneurial intention: a comparative study of two countries university students

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Abstract

Institutional environment influences the perceptions of desirability and feasibility, society’s social and cultural environment, such as beliefs, values and attitudes, conditions behaviour and decisions made by individuals. This research evaluates the influence of institutional environment on entrepreneurial intention using a comparative analysis of different attitudes among university students in two countries: Portugal and Spain. In particular, this study aims to examine the perceptions of desirability, feasibility and intention toward the creation of one’s own business and how that variables influence the entrepreneurial intention as compared these two different institutional contexts. Results revealed difference among attitudes toward entrepreneurship in both countries. With respect to the perception of feasibility, the majority of students in Extremadura (Spain) consider that it is easier to create a business in nowadays than it was several decades ago. However, from the students of Beira Interior (Portugal) consider that it is more difficult. Furthermore, in Extremadura, the entrepreneurial intention is higher than in Beira Interior.

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Notes

  1. The impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth can be found in several researches, for example: Audretsch, D. and Thurik, R. (2004); Audretsch, et al. (2001); Baptista, R. and Thurik, R. (2004); Carree, M. and Thurik, R. (2005); Carree, M. et al. (2002); Grilo, I. and Thurik, R. (2004); and Stel, A. (2006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business Administration and Tourism, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain

    Juan Carlos Díaz-Casero & Ricardo Hernández Mogollón

  2. Department of Business and Economics, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    Joao José M. Ferreira & Mario Lino Barata Raposo

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  1. Juan Carlos Díaz-Casero
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  2. Joao José M. Ferreira
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  3. Ricardo Hernández Mogollón
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  4. Mario Lino Barata Raposo
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Correspondence to Juan Carlos Díaz-Casero.

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Project financed by Acciones Integradas (Spain-Portugal), Ref: HP2004-007.

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Díaz-Casero, J.C., Ferreira, J.J.M., Hernández Mogollón, R. et al. Influence of institutional environment on entrepreneurial intention: a comparative study of two countries university students. Int Entrep Manag J 8, 55–74 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-009-0134-3

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