The foundation of corporate entrepreneurial intention

In this paper we study the determinants (microfoundation) of Corporate Entrepreneurial Intention (CEI) within small and newly established firms. Given that in these ventures entrepreneurial activities are usually informal and improvisational and are often nurtured by individuals' skills, knowledge, creativity and cognitive properties, the Corporate Entrepreneurial Intention of their founders is key to explain these companies' ability to get engaged in entrepreneurial behaviours. We draw on a widely used intentional paradigm, the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), and we build on it to assess how individual characteristics and contextual variables influence CEI. Relying on a sample of 200 entrepreneurs, founders of 133 new technology-based firms, we test a theoretical model of the micro-foundation of CEI. Our results show that CEI within newly established firms is influenced by situationally specific motivation, by individual skills and by environmental dynamism. Environmental support does not predict CEI. Managerial implications for the enactment of entrepreneurial behaviors within newly established companies are discussed