Entrepreneurial risk perception and entrepreneurial intention of employed and unemployed in the context of entrepreneurial individual resources
Entrepreneurial risk perception and entrepreneurial intention of employed and unemployed in the context of entrepreneurial individual resources

Summary/Abstract: Aim: The changes in the nature of economic and social issues has renewed the attention on the role of entrepreneurship, and point to a multifaceted way of how entrepreneurship activities can mediate and foster sustainable development and social welfare. Recent research on entrepreneurship has redirected attention away from the entrepreneur as an individual with inborn personality dispositions and more towards entrepreneurship competence as a composition of skills and attitudes interacting with a range of factors affecting individual and his/her work and life circumstances. In this paper we point to the way risk perception and entrepreneurial intentions are associated with the entrepreneurial individual resources of the employed and unemployed. Method: The online questionnaire was completed by 413 individuals, 23 respondents were excluded from analysis because of their work status (entrepreneurs). Data was collected using the survey agency panel of respondents across Slovakia. The period of data collection was November 2017. The final sample consisted of 390 respondents, 182 males (46.7 %), 208 females (53.3 %) with an age range between 18 – 50 (M=32,37).193 respondents were currently unemployed (49.5%) and 197 employed (50.5%). The majority of the sample had high school diplomas (56.2 %), followed by a master´s degree (33.8 %), a bachelor´s degree (7.9 %), and a doctorate (1.8 %). To secure the comparability of employed and unemployed respondents the composition of these two groups was controlled. The current paper aims to contribute to the studies of entrepreneurship through evidence of the interaction between entrepreneurial intentions, risk perception and entrepreneurial resources. Additionally, the context of employment and unemployment status is considered. The following research questions were formulated: 1. Do employed and unemployed people differ in their entrepreneurial intentions? 2. Do they differ in the entrepreneurial risk perception? 3. Do employed and unemployed people see their entrepreneurial resources differently? 4. Is there a correlation between risk perception and entrepreneurial intention and is it significant for both groups of respondents (employed and unemployed)? 5. Is there a difference between the employed and unemployed in terms of the associations between the entrepreneurial resources and the intention to enterprise? 6. Is there a difference between the employed and unemployed in terms of the associations between the entrepreneurial resources and the entrepreneurial risk perception? 7. Do internal and external resources and the employment status stand as predictors of entrepreneurial risk perception and entrepreneurial intention? Results: This paper contributes to the field of entrepreneurship studies by proposing that perceived individual resources for enterprising activity are relevant in the research of entrepreneurial intention and risk perception. When comparing the subjective perception of the entrepreneurial resources, sufficiency employed and unemployed “created” the same ranking starting with the internal resources at the top: education, skills, relevant personality characteristics and experience; ending with two external resources: sufficient social capital and needed financial capital. The results show that employed and unemployed people in our sample did not significantly differ either in intention or in risk perception. However, they do differ in the perception of external entrepreneurial resources when employed respondents reported a significantly higher level of them in comparison to unemployed. We found that perceived risk which was often sought to function as a barrier for being open to entrepreneurial opportunities correlated negatively with the external entrepreneurial resources of both the employed and unemployed. The differences between the employed and unemployed in risk perception were present in association with internal individual resources; where the risk perception of employed correlated significantly negatively while in the sample of unemployed there was no significant correlation present. Interestingly, the outcomes were different for the association between entrepreneurial intention and perceived individual resources for enterprising. In both samples of the employed and unemployed the correlations between intention for enterprising and individual´s internal and external resources were all positively significant. When identifying predictors of entrepreneurial risk perception, two out of three predictors in the regression model were significant: external resources and employment status. Results confirmed that lower level of external entrepreneurial resources and being employed are both predictors of higher level of entrepreneurial risk perception. Further, when identifying predictors of entrepreneurial intention two predictors in the regression model were significant: internal and external resources. Results indicated that higher level of internal and external entrepreneurial resources were predicting a higher level of entrepreneurial intention. The employment status turned out not to be a significant predictor of entrepreneurial intention in the analysed sample. Conclusion: The main findings of the current paper were summarized separately in the context of employment and unemployment. Employed respondents in our sample did not indicate serious intentions to undertake entrepreneurial activities within the following 3 years, and they stated quite a high perception of risk related to entrepreneurship. Surprisingly, the association between entrepreneurial intention and risk perception was not significant, which indicates that the lower level of entrepreneurial intention is not related to the more intense perception of the risk. This finding could be explained by the employed being content with their work situation and feeling secure to such extent that they do not consider changing it. Regarding the entrepreneurial resources, employed respondents reported a higher level of internal entrepreneurial resources than external. The entrepreneurial intention of the employed was associated with both internal and external entrepreneurial resources. Moreover, both internal and external entrepreneurial resources were confirmed as significant predictors of entrepreneurial intention. The entrepreneurial risk perception of employed respondents was associated with both internal and external entrepreneurial resources, but negatively. When identifying predictors of entrepreneurial risk perception, external resources and employment status turned out predicting risk perception both significantly and negatively. Interestingly, being employed acted as a significant predictor of higher entrepreneurial risk perception. Similarly, unemployed respondents in our sample did not indicate a serious intention to undertake entrepreneurial activities within the following 3 years and they also perceived quite a high level of risk related to entrepreneurship. The association between entrepreneurial intention and risk perception was significant and negative, which indicates that the lower level of entrepreneurial intention could be affected by quite intense perception of the risk. This is in line with other studies where fear of failure and financial instability acted as barriers to entrepreneurship (Shinnar et al., 2012; Thurik et al., 2008). Regarding entrepreneurial resources, similarly to the sample of employed, unemployed respondents reported a higher level of internal entrepreneurial resources than external. The entrepreneurial intention of the unemployed was associated with both internal and external entrepreneurial resources. The entrepreneurial risk perception of unemployed respondents was associated with the external entrepreneurial resources only, and the relationship was negative. When identifying predictors of entrepreneurial risk perception, external resources and employment status turned out predicting risk perception significantly and negatively. Interestingly, being unemployed acted as a significant predictor of lower entrepreneurial risk perception. Our evidence provides an initial indication for understanding the preconditions of entrepreneurial intentions and how these can be altered by interventions seeking to support individuals in the uptake of entrepreneurial activities. However, based on our findings it is not possible to conclude whether the perceived entrepreneurial resources would be used in an efficient way.

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