Institution-based model of entrepreneurial intentions using the theory of planned behaviour. Institutional voids, entrepreneurship and small business development

The continued political and academic interest in small firms is allied to the belief that new independent small firm lay the foundation for innovation and growth in the private sector and wider socioeconomic developments (Alsos et al., 2006; Davidsson, 1995; van Gelderen at al., 2008). This interest is particularly relevant in today’s business landscape plagued with diminishing opportunities for sustained formal sector employment and individual work preferences which increasingly favour self-reliance, self-direction and entrepreneurship (Hall, 2002; van Gelderen at al., 2008). All of which compel us to increase our understanding of these individuals and the factors that contribute to their entrepreneurial decisions. The entrepreneurship literature has mainly focused on intentions as the best predictors of individual entrepreneurial behaviours (Bird, 1988; Krueger at al., 2000). Entrepreneurial intention is defined as the cognitive representation or disposition for individuals to establish new independent small firms (Fini et al., 2009; Guerrero et al., 2008; Nabi, et al., 2006; Remeikiene et al., 2013), where the cognitive dimension is described as the complex and intricate mental processes of perceptions that underline action (Linan, 2008). It adopts the universal condition of intentionality for all human activity and helps us understand why and how individuals respond to situational factors and the incentives that motivate them to actively seek-out and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities