Exploring the impact of entrepreneurial experience on future entrepreneurship aspirations

Abstract

This paper evaluates how different types of direct and vicarious experience in entrepreneurship determine the perceived entrepreneurial intention in short, medium, and long-term horizons. The paper concludes with a discussion of the importance of considering both personal experiences and social influences in designing curriculum. A survey was conducted on four types of entrepreneurial experience and four intention horizons. Two of the experiences were direct experiences: current and previous, whilst two were vicarious: family and knowing someone. The four intention horizons were now, short-term, long-term and no intention. The study looks at 679 agricultural students from universities in both China and the United Kingdom. The paper uses the integrated model of entrepreneurial intentions together with a temporal horizon model of intention as the theoretical underpinning for this approach. The study’s results reinforce the positive relationship between family experience and long-term intentions, thus supporting the idea that familial exposure to entrepreneurship can shape individuals’ long-term entrepreneurial aspirations. The lack of a significant association between current direct experience and long-term intentions deviates from previous research and may be attributed to other factors influencing individuals’ long-term intentions, such as changing circumstances or evolving entrepreneurial opportunities. The cohorts available, whilst from China and UK, as participants were limited which presents several opportunities to expand upon this work and challenge its central premise. An understanding of the role of family in shaping long-term entrepreneurial intention has widespread social implications. The discovery that individuals with entrepreneurial experience, be it direct or through vicarious means, generally show heightened entrepreneurial intentions, coupled with the insight that knowing an entrepreneur correlates with shorter-term intention horizons, whereas family-influenced experiences align with longer-term venture creation ambitions, offers valuable new perspectives for those involved in entrepreneurial education and support.