Entrepreneurial intentions in selected Southeast European countries

Entrepreneurship has an increasingly important role in economic growth and development in both developed and underdeveloped countries. In order to explore entrepreneurial intentions and their antecedents in the post-transition context, we have conducted a survey among 1,200 students of economics and business in four Southeast European countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia. The following scales were included in the highly structured questionnaire: locus of control, risk taking propensity, perceived barriers, perceived support factors, personal attitude towards entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm and entrepreneurial intention. Collected data were analyzed with multiple regression technique in order to explore the effects of various antecedents on entrepreneurial intention in the context of Southeast European countries. The results indicate that personal attitude towards entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control and subjective norm positively and significantly affect entrepreneurial intent. Respondents from Bosnia and Herzegovina exhibit higher levels of entrepreneurial intent compared to other observed countries. The findings of our research provide better understanding of entrepreneurial intentions and their antecedents in the specific post-transition context of Southeast European countries. Theoretical and policy implications of the research findings are discussed in the paper.