The impact of role models and prior experience on entrepreneurial intentions

There is a general consensus that attitudes towards starting a business are influenced by prior exposure through experience in family or other small businesses and role models, but the impact depends on the positiveness of these experiences. Empirical studies have focused largely on the effect of having parents who have started or own their own business, and other forms of experience have tended to be neglected in empirical studies. There is also little information on who the role models are or whether their impact is captured in the experience variables. This study identifies role models for business start-up and explores the impact that they and various experiences have on perceptions of the feasibility and desirability of starting a business. Data was collected through a questionnaire completed by over 1000 first-year students at metropolitan University in South Eastern Queensland. The findings of the study indicate the importance of a variety of experiences and role models on the development of positive attitudes to starting a business.