Entrepreneurial intentions: the role of family factors, personality traits and self-efficacy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of family background, big five personality traits and self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) of business students in private universities in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected with the help of structured questionnaires, 500 questionnaires were distributed among the students and 306 useable questionnaires were received and analyzed. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the relationship among the study variables. SmartPLS was utilized to run the analysis. Findings The findings revealed a strong relationship between the exogenous and endogenous variables. The variance accounted by the independent variables was 74.3 percent in the EIs of the students. Family background was found to have a positive impact on the EIs of students. The findings also showed a positive relationship between self-efficacy and EIs. Consciousness, extroversion and openness to experience are positively linked with EIs while neuroticism and agreeableness did not show any relationship. Originality/value The study’s findings attract the attention of the academicians to take note of the factors examined while training the students the art of entrepreneurship. This is because this study has revealed that if these factors are not present the intention of the students to start a business venture may prove to be weak. Entrepreneurial activities are one of the biggest ways to reduce unemployment, thus, it is suggested that academicians should develop psychological plans and training to motivate the students to convert their intentions into actions.