Factors Determining Desirability of Entrepreneurship in Romania

Abstract

Studies in entrepreneurship have identified that a positive entrepreneurial attitude and willingness to start a business influence future entrepreneurial intention. In the study of entrepreneurial intention, there is a growing interest in understanding the factors that determine desirability of entrepreneurship. Earlier studies have identified that there is a significant correlation between individuals’ perceived desirability of entrepreneurship and their entrepreneurial intention. This study addressed the question of what factors determine the desirability of entrepreneurship and how these different factors affect the desire to become an entrepreneur. We discussed the key determinants of the desirability of entrepreneurship in Romania. Using the Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report (AGER) dataset for 2016, we examined the desirability of entrepreneurship among Romanian respondents by considering multiple factors indicated by the theory as being significant predictors of entrepreneurship: feasibility, social stability, and comfort with acquiring customers, as well as socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, education, income level and working status. The results of our regression analysis demonstrate that social stability and feasibility have the most impact on the desirability of entrepreneurship. In addition, we document that comfort with acquiring customers is perceived as an important factor in increasing the desirability of entrepreneurship. These results suggest that a good understanding of individuals’ social environment and their need for skills and capabilities may lead to greater entrepreneurial efficacy, which is fundamental to sustaining economic growth. Future research should be grounded on testing if level of education, working status and income influence desirability of entrepreneurship as our existing data did not prove that it did.