Nascent Entrepreneurs and the Moderators of Race, Gender, and Government Support

Abstract

Purpose: In a better attempt to understand nascent entrepreneurship, this paper explores the relationship between opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial intent of nascent entrepreneurs. Contrary to conventional wisdom, research on this relationship is fragmented and empirically underdeveloped. In addition, the contextual and perceptual boundary conditions of government support, gender, and minorities are explored. Design: We surveyed 1246 nascent entrepreneurs in the state of Florida, which is the largest data set on this topic. Respondents answered 55 survey questions on potential barriers to entrepreneurship to help understand how their context impacts their intent. Findings: Our empirical results indicate that opportunity recognition by nascent entrepreneurs significantly affects entrepreneurial intent, the strength of which is moderated by government support and gender, but not by minorities. Originality: The nascent entrepreneur is viewed through the lens of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) which refers to an individual’s belief in one’s capability to produce entrepreneurial outcomes and engage in entrepreneurial behavior. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of contextual factors that influence nascent entrepreneurs within the state of Florida.