The role of fear of failure on students’ entrepreneurial intentions in Latin America

Abstract

Applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and given the scarcity of scientific literature, this study consists of integrating and evaluating the role of fear of failure as an antecedent of entrepreneurial intention (EI). Based on a sample of 979 higher education students from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, it was found that fear of failure negatively influences attitude and perceived behavioral control (PBC) for the Brazilian and Mexican samples. Likewise, in Peru, fear of failure negatively influences attitude, but not PBC, and for the Colombian sample, fear of failure does not influence attitude and PBC. However, for all four countries, EI was positively affected by attitude and PBC. These findings extend the theory for understanding the influence of fear of failure on entrepreneurial intention. Likewise, its practical contribution consists of including fear of failure as an antecedent of attitude and PBC. In this sense, professionals should work to mitigate fear in attitude and PBC, thus increasing the likelihood of higher EI in students.