Entrepreneurship as a career choice: intentions, attitudes, and outcome expectations

Abstract

This manuscript presents an empirically tested model of entrepreneurial intentions based upon social cognitive career theory (SCCT). Our study consisted of 320 undergraduate business students at a large U.S. university and emphasizes the important influences of prior exposure to entrepreneurship, as well as social support mechanisms on formation of entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial outcome expectations. We offer strong theoretical support to the entrepreneurial intentions literature through the lens of SCCT. Additionally, our manuscript highlights the important role of entrepreneurial attitude in mediating the relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and intention. SCCT offers additional explanation to the existing underspecified model and complexity of entrepreneurial intentions. In this manuscript the authors identify attitude as an important precursor to entrepreneurial intent.