Multidimensional entrepreneurial intent: an internationally validated measurement approach

Entrepreneurial intent (EI) is a foundational construct in theories of entrepreneurship. But three challenges currently threaten the author’s ability to accurately measure EI. First, previous measurement approaches have confounded EI with closely related but theoretically distinct constructs such as attitudes and beliefs about entrepreneurship. Second, they have treated EI as an “all-or-nothing” decision, without reflecting the step-wise commitment of the entrepreneuring process. And finally, much of past EI research has been done in Western developed countries without validation in a diverse international context in which unstated assumptions about the EI construct may not hold. The purpose of this paper is to report on the development of a new EI scale that addresses these issues.

Nested structural equation modelling is used to develop and validate a novel scale for measuring EI in international contexts, based on data from 998 respondents in eight countries.

A two-dimensional substructure to the EI construct is revealed as especially apparent in non-Western countries. Based on this, a new 11-item scale is proposed and validated.

Previous studies utilizing the EI construct may be biased by its imprecise measurement and confounding by other constructs in the nomological net. The present study provides new insight into the nature of the EI construct and a novel instrument for measuring it without bias. The discovered two-dimensional structure for EI measurement may also have implications for theorists interested in antecedents and effects of EI.

Accurate measurement of EI is essential to developing and targeting policies to effect changes in national entrepreneurship. Previous measurements may therefore have contributed to misstatement of policy objectives and allocation of national resources.

This research provides a validated method of measuring EI without the serious confounds of previous scales, and that is robust to a wide range of international settings. It also provides new insight into a two-dimensional substructure to the EI construct that has not been observed in previous studies.