GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM BULGARIA

Despite the increasing interest in researching female entrepreneurship, little is known about gender differences in pre-venture process and the variables that mediate the relationship between gender and entrepreneurial intentions. The purpose of this study is to provide a conceptual framework for understanding gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions. Using this framework, we explore gender effects on entrepreneurial intentions and identify factors that may account for the gender gap in entrepreneurial intentions in a sample of Bulgarian university students. Our results show that women have lower entrepreneurial intentions than men. The gender effect on entrepreneurial intentions is fully mediated by perceived behavioral control and partially mediated by perceived subjective norms and attitudes toward entrepreneurship. Policy measures designed to encourage female start-ups should be directed at attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and the link between entrepreneurial intentions and behavior among women.