This analysis demonstrates the relevance and robustness of the Theory of Planned Behavior in the prediction of business start-up intentions and subsequent behavior based on longitudinal survey data (2011 and 2012; N=969) from the adult population in Austria and Finland. By doing so, the study addresses two weaknesses in current research: the limited scope of samples used in the majority of prior studies and the scarcity of investigations studying the translation of entrepreneurial intentions into behavior. The article discusses conceptual and methodological issues related to studying the intention-behavior relationship and outlines avenues for future research.2

PurposeThis paper sets out to present a detailed empirical investigation of the entrepreneurial intentions of business students. The authors employ the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), in which intentions are regarded as resulting from attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and subjective norms.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used was a replication study among samples of undergraduate students of business administration at four different universities (total n=1,225). Five operationalisations of intentions are used as well as a composite measure. Prior to the main study, qualitative research conducted at two other universities (total n=373) was held to operationalise the components of the TPB.FindingsThe results show that the two most important variables to explain entrepreneurial intentions are entrepreneurial alertness and the importance attached to financial security.Research limitations/implicationsVarious research design features are used that result in better and more detailed explanations of entrepreneurial intentions.Practical implicationsShould one want to stimulate entrepreneurship in educational or training settings, then this paper's results provide guidance. Several suggestions are offered on how entrepreneurial alertness can be improved and financial security concerns can be reduced.Originality/valueThe study provides detailed and solid results on entrepreneurial intentions which are positioned in the career literature.

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Several drivers of entrepreneurial aspirations and entrepreneurial motivations are investigated using country-level data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for the years 2005 and 2006. We estimate a two-equation model explaining aspirations using motivations and socioeconomic variables, and explaining motivations using socioeconomic variables. We find that countries with a higher incidence of increase-wealth-motivated entrepreneurs tend to have a higher prevalence of high-job-growth and export-oriented entrepreneurship and that a country's level of social security relates negatively to the prevalence of innovative, high-job-growth, and export-oriented entrepreneurship. We also find that the increase-wealth motive mediates the relationship between socioeconomic variables and entrepreneurial aspirations.

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