The Role of Perceived Abilities, Subjective Norm and Intentions in Entrepreneurial Activity

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the relationship between country-level entrepreneurial activity and individuals’ perceived abilities, subjective norm and intentions to pursue entrepreneurship. The theory of planned behaviour and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) conceptual model are used to formulate hypotheses concerning factors that influence the level of societies’ entrepreneurial intentions and activity in 43 countries included in the GEM 2010 study, as well as factors that influence the level of entrepreneurial intentions in Croatia from 2003 to 2011. In the analyzed GEM countries, the results confirm that antecedents to entrepreneurial intentions, as defined by the theory of planned behaviour, have a significant impact on entrepreneurial intentions which, in turn, significantly influence entrepreneurial activity. The results for Croatia were mixed. Subjective norm had a limited relationship with intentions while perceived behavioural control did.