Impact of Childhood Experiences on the Development of Entrepreneurial Intentions

A key policy aim of governments is fostering andencouraging entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial culture. Understanding thefactors influencing intentions to start businesses are important for policydevelopment. While it is well established that younger persons whose familiesown their own businesses are more likely to intend to start their ownbusinesses, this study explores the impact of other childhood experiences. A total of 1,034 undergraduate students in Australia were administered astructured questionnaire in 2002. The impact of family business background,perceptions of family business experience, difficult childhood, and perceptionsof the feasibility and desirability of starting one's own business weremeasured. Analysis of perceived feasibility and desirability found that having parentswho owned a business may increase the attractiveness, but not necessarily theperceived feasibility of self-employment. Those reporting a positive view ofthe family's business experience perceive starting a business as desirable andfeasible. Those perceiving childhoods to have been hard or challenging findstarting a business more desirable and more feasible than those who believedtheir childhoods less challenging. (TNM)