The Entrepreneurial Intention-Action Relationships among Young Entrepreneurs: A Taxonomy-Based Perspective

Although entrepreneurial intentions have been widely studied, however, the relationship between intention and action is an understudied area, especially in the Middle East/North African (MENA) region. This paper investigates the antecedents of the intention-action relationships based on the doer, procrastinator, dreamer, and abstainer taxonomy of student entrepreneurs. In this paper, a sample (N = 12,947) from seven countries from the MENA region, and a multinomial logistic regression modelling. Findings show that university contextual factors play a significant role in the likelihood of students actively starting their own business, or just procrastinating and dreaming about it. More specifically, entrepreneurial-oriented learning programs reduce the probability of students completely abstaining from choosing entrepreneurship as a career. Past research primarily has utilized a singular intention framework (an “all-or-nothing” decision), without reflecting the stepwise commitment of the entrepreneurial process.