The Effect of Perceived Corruption on Entrepreneurial Intention: Evidence from Italy

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the entrepreneurial intention of undergraduate students, using a modified version of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB), considering the perception of corruption. We conducted a questionnaire survey with Italian students. There were a total of 350 student participants. In order to analyze the data collected with the questionnaire, structural equation modeling is provided. Our results indicate that the majority of students have strong entrepreneurial intention but due to the effect of corruption students are dissuaded from engaging in entrepreneurship. Corruption has a negative effect on students’ entrepreneurial behavior. This paper provides a new model that helps to understand the students’ entrepreneurial intentions considering the corruption perception.