The Influence of Contextual and Individual Factors on Entrepreneurial Intentions among Youth in Transitional Rural Slovakia

Abstract

The reduction of out-migration and supporting new job creation are important goals for regional and rural development policies among post-communist EU member states, including Slovakia. Hence, policy makers and educators are interested in studies targeting factors that influence entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and activity in rural areas. This study reveals (i) some of the factors influencing EI among final-year students in a high school environment and (ii) the possible implementation of our results in educational policy. Data were collected in high schools located in three rural Slovakian regions: Banská Bystrica, Prešov, and Žilina. The main findings are that former policy discouraging entrepreneurship left a post-communist generation almost without an entrepreneurial background, and this was reflected in the lack of importance given to creativity and living in an entrepreneurial environment in relation to the EI of Slovakian youth. This could be caused by necessity-driven EI whereby financial motives for self-employment dominate individual interests and preferences. On the other hand, leadership and proactive personality as career anchors, and perceived support from family and friends, are prominent factors explaining EI among these young people. These factors, together with supporting and building a desire for autonomy and creativity, should be developed principally within entrepreneurship education for pupils at high schools in the Slovakian regions investigated.