The role of entrepreneurship policy and culture in transitional routes from entrepreneurial intention to job creation: a moderated mediation model

Abstract

It has long been assumed that entrepreneurship has significant social and economic benefits, including the creation of jobs. Based on the literature, however, small businesses have often had difficulty expanding to recruit and even surviving due to their plight. In spite of this, little is known about how institutional factors facilitate and constrain the path from entrepreneurial intention to create jobs. Therefore, we develop and test a moderated mediation model to examine how the government's policymaking and national entrepreneurship culture regulate entrepreneurship-based job creation. With the Adult population survey and the National expert survey of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), this study compiled 417 observations from 39 European and North American countries between 2002 and 2020. We prove the partial mediation effect of entrepreneurial behaviour on the relationship between individuals' entrepreneurial intention and job creation. The findings of our study suggest that institutional changes should be mobilised to relieve the pressures on small business owners instead of residing on size-neutral approaches. Furthermore, a progressive, contextually based entrepreneurial culture serves as a critical stimulant to the growth of latent entrepreneurs and early-stage start-ups. Therefore, the study not only describes a new path that underpins entrepreneurship-based job creation, but also highlights a new motive for necessary institutional change.