Refining the linkage between perceived capability and entrepreneurial intention: roles of perceived opportunity, fear of failure, and gender

Abstract

This study refines the relationship between perceived capability and entrepreneurial intention by considering the mediating roles of perceived opportunity and fear of failure and the moderating role of gender. A moderated mediation framework is developed on the basis of perspectives of the cognitive phenomenon of categorization and the social role theory. Two samples of Taiwan and China obtained from the database released by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor were used to test the hypotheses. A logistic regression analysis followed by a bootstrap approach reveals several interesting results. First, perceived capability positively affects entrepreneurial intention through perceived opportunity; this indirect linkage is stronger in China than in Taiwan. Second, compared with the fear of failure, perceived opportunity has a stronger mediating effect in linking perceived capability and entrepreneurial intention. This difference is more remarkable in China than in Taiwan. Third, gender partially moderates the mediating effect of perceived opportunity. Specifically, perceived capability has a stronger indirect effect on entrepreneurial intention through perceived opportunity among men than among women in Taiwan; however, the difference is not significant between men and women in China. In addition, age negatively affects perceived opportunity and entrepreneurial intention.