How perceived feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurship influence entrepreneurial intentions

There is a general agreement that cognitive factors such as attitudes and perceptions towards entrepreneurship play an important role in the involvement in entrepreneurial process. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of perceptions of feasibility and desirability towards entrepreneurship on entrepreneurial intentions and investigate whether differences exist between southern and northern European countries. Data is taken from 1Flash Eurobarometer Survey (No 283), conducted on December 2009 and January 2010. A total of 22156 respondents in 32 countries consist our sample. Results suggest that the effect of perceived self-efficacy on self-employment intentions is higher for individuals residing in southern European countries. On the contrary, it was found that perceived desirability influences in a greater extent individuals’ self-employment intentions’ in northern European countries. The findings of this study should be taken into consideration by policy makers in southern European countries who have to increase perceptions of desirability. The paper contributes both to the cognitive theory literature and to the empirical literature which assesses the impact of perceptions at a country level.