Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity

Davy Vercruysse; Stephanie Birkner

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13

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Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity

Davy Vercruysse, Stephanie Birkner

Published in European Business & Management (Volume 7, Issue 3)

Received: 27 May 2021 Accepted: 10 June 2021 Published: 21 June 2021

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the entrepreneurial intention of business students, with an emphasis on their masculine and feminine characteristics, instead of the usual classification male / female. While recent studies have increased the understanding of the implications of being a man or woman (sex differences) on entrepreneurial intention, papers which examine whether masculinity and/or femininity (gender differences) impact entrepreneurial intention are rare. The following paper offers insights into the latter research gap by quantitatively investigating the genderedness of intentions of business students, which is of particular importance for fostering entrepreneurship. The Theory of Planned Behavior is used as underlying framework, with entrepreneurial intention as dependent variable and its three antecedents (‘attitude towards behavior’, ‘subjective norms’, and ‘perceived behavior control’). A survey is administered and filled out by 501 Belgian business students of different universities. Masculinity and femininity are measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory Model. The results are analyzed by structural equation modeling. Students with high masculinity have significant higher entrepreneurial intentions than students with low masculinity. There is a significant association between masculinity and entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating role of attitude towards behavior and subjective norms. Furthermore femininity has a positive impact on entrepreneurial intentions with subjective norms as mediator. This study contributes to the debate which personality traits influence entrepreneurial intention and further deepens the discussion how educators could approach different types of students in order to stimulate their interest in entrepreneurship. Previously conflicting results about the impact of sex on entrepreneurial intention can perhaps be solved if studies are in the future enriched with socially constructed gender variables.

Published in	European Business & Management (Volume 7, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13
Page(s)	72-84
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Entrepreneurial Intention, Sex, Gender, Masculinity, Femininity, Structural Equation Modeling, Mediation

References

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Davy Vercruysse, Stephanie Birkner. (2021). Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity. European Business & Management, 7(3), 72-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13

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Davy Vercruysse; Stephanie Birkner. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity. Eur. Bus. Manag. 2021, 7(3), 72-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13

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Davy Vercruysse, Stephanie Birkner. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity. Eur Bus Manag. 2021;7(3):72-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13,
  author = {Davy Vercruysse and Stephanie Birkner},
  title = {Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity},
  journal = {European Business & Management},
  volume = {7},
  number = {3},
  pages = {72-84},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ebm.20210703.13},
  abstract = {The purpose of this paper is to investigate the entrepreneurial intention of business students, with an emphasis on their masculine and feminine characteristics, instead of the usual classification male / female. While recent studies have increased the understanding of the implications of being a man or woman (sex differences) on entrepreneurial intention, papers which examine whether masculinity and/or femininity (gender differences) impact entrepreneurial intention are rare. The following paper offers insights into the latter research gap by quantitatively investigating the genderedness of intentions of business students, which is of particular importance for fostering entrepreneurship. The Theory of Planned Behavior is used as underlying framework, with entrepreneurial intention as dependent variable and its three antecedents (‘attitude towards behavior’, ‘subjective norms’, and ‘perceived behavior control’). A survey is administered and filled out by 501 Belgian business students of different universities. Masculinity and femininity are measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory Model. The results are analyzed by structural equation modeling. Students with high masculinity have significant higher entrepreneurial intentions than students with low masculinity. There is a significant association between masculinity and entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating role of attitude towards behavior and subjective norms. Furthermore femininity has a positive impact on entrepreneurial intentions with subjective norms as mediator. This study contributes to the debate which personality traits influence entrepreneurial intention and further deepens the discussion how educators could approach different types of students in order to stimulate their interest in entrepreneurship. Previously conflicting results about the impact of sex on entrepreneurial intention can perhaps be solved if studies are in the future enriched with socially constructed gender variables.},
 year = {2021}
}

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T1  - Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity
AU  - Davy Vercruysse
AU  - Stephanie Birkner
Y1  - 2021/06/21
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JO  - European Business & Management
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
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AB  - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the entrepreneurial intention of business students, with an emphasis on their masculine and feminine characteristics, instead of the usual classification male / female. While recent studies have increased the understanding of the implications of being a man or woman (sex differences) on entrepreneurial intention, papers which examine whether masculinity and/or femininity (gender differences) impact entrepreneurial intention are rare. The following paper offers insights into the latter research gap by quantitatively investigating the genderedness of intentions of business students, which is of particular importance for fostering entrepreneurship. The Theory of Planned Behavior is used as underlying framework, with entrepreneurial intention as dependent variable and its three antecedents (‘attitude towards behavior’, ‘subjective norms’, and ‘perceived behavior control’). A survey is administered and filled out by 501 Belgian business students of different universities. Masculinity and femininity are measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory Model. The results are analyzed by structural equation modeling. Students with high masculinity have significant higher entrepreneurial intentions than students with low masculinity. There is a significant association between masculinity and entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating role of attitude towards behavior and subjective norms. Furthermore femininity has a positive impact on entrepreneurial intentions with subjective norms as mediator. This study contributes to the debate which personality traits influence entrepreneurial intention and further deepens the discussion how educators could approach different types of students in order to stimulate their interest in entrepreneurship. Previously conflicting results about the impact of sex on entrepreneurial intention can perhaps be solved if studies are in the future enriched with socially constructed gender variables.
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Author Information

Davy Vercruysse

Department of Accountancy, Corporate Finance & Fiscality, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Stephanie Birkner

Department of Economics and Law, Faculty II, Oldenburg University, Oldenburg, Germany

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Davy Vercruysse, Stephanie Birkner. (2021). Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity. European Business & Management, 7(3), 72-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13

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Davy Vercruysse; Stephanie Birkner. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity. Eur. Bus. Manag. 2021, 7(3), 72-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13

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Davy Vercruysse, Stephanie Birkner. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity. Eur Bus Manag. 2021;7(3):72-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13,
  author = {Davy Vercruysse and Stephanie Birkner},
  title = {Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity},
  journal = {European Business & Management},
  volume = {7},
  number = {3},
  pages = {72-84},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ebm.20210703.13},
  abstract = {The purpose of this paper is to investigate the entrepreneurial intention of business students, with an emphasis on their masculine and feminine characteristics, instead of the usual classification male / female. While recent studies have increased the understanding of the implications of being a man or woman (sex differences) on entrepreneurial intention, papers which examine whether masculinity and/or femininity (gender differences) impact entrepreneurial intention are rare. The following paper offers insights into the latter research gap by quantitatively investigating the genderedness of intentions of business students, which is of particular importance for fostering entrepreneurship. The Theory of Planned Behavior is used as underlying framework, with entrepreneurial intention as dependent variable and its three antecedents (‘attitude towards behavior’, ‘subjective norms’, and ‘perceived behavior control’). A survey is administered and filled out by 501 Belgian business students of different universities. Masculinity and femininity are measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory Model. The results are analyzed by structural equation modeling. Students with high masculinity have significant higher entrepreneurial intentions than students with low masculinity. There is a significant association between masculinity and entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating role of attitude towards behavior and subjective norms. Furthermore femininity has a positive impact on entrepreneurial intentions with subjective norms as mediator. This study contributes to the debate which personality traits influence entrepreneurial intention and further deepens the discussion how educators could approach different types of students in order to stimulate their interest in entrepreneurship. Previously conflicting results about the impact of sex on entrepreneurial intention can perhaps be solved if studies are in the future enriched with socially constructed gender variables.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students: A Matter of Masculinity and Femininity
AU  - Davy Vercruysse
AU  - Stephanie Birkner
Y1  - 2021/06/21
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13
T2  - European Business & Management
JF  - European Business & Management
JO  - European Business & Management
SP  - 72
EP  - 84
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-5811
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ebm.20210703.13
AB  - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the entrepreneurial intention of business students, with an emphasis on their masculine and feminine characteristics, instead of the usual classification male / female. While recent studies have increased the understanding of the implications of being a man or woman (sex differences) on entrepreneurial intention, papers which examine whether masculinity and/or femininity (gender differences) impact entrepreneurial intention are rare. The following paper offers insights into the latter research gap by quantitatively investigating the genderedness of intentions of business students, which is of particular importance for fostering entrepreneurship. The Theory of Planned Behavior is used as underlying framework, with entrepreneurial intention as dependent variable and its three antecedents (‘attitude towards behavior’, ‘subjective norms’, and ‘perceived behavior control’). A survey is administered and filled out by 501 Belgian business students of different universities. Masculinity and femininity are measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory Model. The results are analyzed by structural equation modeling. Students with high masculinity have significant higher entrepreneurial intentions than students with low masculinity. There is a significant association between masculinity and entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating role of attitude towards behavior and subjective norms. Furthermore femininity has a positive impact on entrepreneurial intentions with subjective norms as mediator. This study contributes to the debate which personality traits influence entrepreneurial intention and further deepens the discussion how educators could approach different types of students in order to stimulate their interest in entrepreneurship. Previously conflicting results about the impact of sex on entrepreneurial intention can perhaps be solved if studies are in the future enriched with socially constructed gender variables.
VL  - 7
IS  - 3
ER  -

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