Predicting entrepreneurial intentions when satisfactory employment opportunities are scarce

Purpose - The present survey seeks to investigate the moderating effect of the availability of employee positions on the configuration of intention to start a business in the post-Soviet context. The research question is whether the perceived availability of employment opportunities moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents. Design/methodology/approach - The sample for this study consists of 276 military officers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine who transferred into the reserve and undertook a retraining programme designed by a Norwegian business school. Findings - The results indicate that the availability of satisfactory employment moderates the relationship between subjective norm and entrepreneurial intentions, so that the subjective norm is even more important when employment opportunities are scarce. In contrast with this result, the availability of satisfactory employment opportunities was found not to have a moderating effect on the relationship between attitudes and intentions or the relationship between perceived behavioural control and intentions. Research limitations/implications - When jobs are scarce, the intention to start a business is more strongly influenced by the extent of support from relatives, friends and significant others. In such conditions, it is important that individuals are surrounded by people who are willing to support them if they engage in an entrepreneurial endeavour. Business training programmes aimed at improved attitudes and perceived behavioural control are also expected to be effective in crises and in transitional economies. The limitations of this study are related to the possibility of generalizing results from a study in a specific context, and the use of an imperfect measure of perceived availability of employment opportunities. Originality/value - The availability of employee positions, as an alternative to an entrepreneurial career path, plays an important part in the configuration of the intention to start a venture. The attractiveness of alternative career options should be included in future studies of entrepreneurial intentions and endeavours