June 24, 2006 1:11 WSPC WS-JDE SPI-J076 00034

Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship

Vol. 11, No. 2 (2006) 157–167
© World Scientific Publishing Company

THE INFLUENCE OF ROLE MODELS ON

ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS
by HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS on 12/29/14. For personal use only.
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HOWARD VAN AUKEN

3363 Gerdin, College of Business
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
vanauken@iastate.edu

FRED L. FRY and PAUL STEPHENS

Foster College of Business Administration
Bradley University, Peoria, IL 61625, USA

Received September 2005

Revised February 2006

This study examines the impact of role model activities on potential entrepreneur’s desire to own a
business. A group of students, whose role model owned a business, were asked to rank the influence on
career intentions of twenty specific activities in which role models and potential entrepreneurs might
engage. The study looks at the relationship between these activities and the desire to own a business.
Role model activities related to involving the respondent in professional activities, employment in the
business, and discussions about the business were found to be significantly related with interest in
starting a business. The results can be useful to those involved in teaching entrepreneurship courses,
owners of businesses who are interested in encouraging entrepreneurship, and providers of assistance
who council owners of firms.

Keywords: Role models; entrepreneurial intentions; small business.

1. Introduction
Most work in both the popular and academic press about the decision to start a business
includes background or antecedent factors underlying the entrepreneurial decision. Included
among those antecedent factors is the influence of role models on the potential entrepreneur’s
thought process. Studies have shown that between 35–70 percent of entrepreneurs had
entrepreneurial role models (Scherer et al., 1989b). Business owners share their practical
experience and knowledge with learners. In addition, many business owners include their
children and other young people in their business. Potential entrepreneurs are thought to
develop an affinity for entrepreneurship through osmosis and absorb entrepreneurial knowl-
edge that will become valuable when they enter the entrepreneurial world (Dyer, 1994).
While it is generally accepted that a role model is a key influence in a potential entrepreneur’s
decision-making, little research has investigated the impact of role models on desire to own
a business. A better understanding of the influence of role models on career intentions can

157
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158 H. Van Auken, F. L. Fry & P. Stephens

be important in structuring student experiences in an entrepreneurship curriculum and to

business owners who are interested in encouraging entrepreneurship among young people.
This study presents the results of an empirical study that investigates the nature of the
influence of role models on potential entrepreneurs. A sample of 82 students was used
to examine the relative influence of 20 specific role model activities on the respondents’
desire to own a business. Factor analysis was used to group role model activities into
six categories. Role model activities related to involving the respondent in professional
by HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS on 12/29/14. For personal use only.

activities, employment in the business, and discussions about the business were found to be
significantly related with interest in starting a business.
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The next section of the study provides a review of relevant research on role models’
influences on career (including entrepreneurial) intentions. The subsequent section describes
the methodology used to collect and analyze the data. The following sections present the
results of the analysis and discussion of the results.

2. Role Models and Career Intentions

2.1. Entrepreneurial intentions
Self-efficacy, according to Bandura (1982), is the conviction that one can successfully exe-
cute the desired behavior (e.g., successfully launch a business) required to produce an
outcome. Bandura contended that role model influence occurs primarily through mastery of
experiences (repeated performance accomplishments), observational learning (observing
rather than direct involvement), and social persuasion (convincing that tasks can be per-
formed). Building on Shapero (1982) and Ajzen (1991), Krueger et al. (2000) asserted that
intentions predict entrepreneurship better than personality traits and situations and that “a
strong intention to start a business should result in an eventual attempt, even if immediate
circumstances … may dictate a long delay.” Role models can affect entrepreneurial inten-
tions if they change attitudes and beliefs about a person’s perceived ability to be successful
in a new venture. Krueger (2000) posited that intentions were directly related to perceived
feasibility and desirability.
Noel (2000) found that entrepreneurial intentions were stronger among students with
entrepreneurship majors. He suggested that entrepreneurship majors have higher intentions
to start a business within two to five years. Douglas and Shepherd (2002) suggested that
risk, need for independence, and income potential affect career decisions, and that risk
and independence are important for those intending entrepreneurial careers. Income was
not an important factor that influenced the intention to start a business. Kuratko et al.
(1997) believed that goals, motivations, and intentions are intertwined in predicting the
entrepreneurial decision. Extrinsic goals that concentrate on wealth and personal income and
intrinsic goals, such as recognition, challenge, autonomy, family security, and excitement
were important for sustaining entrepreneurial intentions.

2.2. Role models and career planning

Scott and Twomey (1988) proposed that parental role models and experience led to the
perception of oneself as an entrepreneur. Self-perception, a triggering event, and a business
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The Influence of Role Models on Entrepreneurial Intentions 159

idea led to an entrepreneurial career preference. Students whose parents owned a business
showed a significantly higher preference for self-employment and lower preference for
employment in a large or small firm. Dyer (1994) found that antecedents to career choice
included entrepreneurial, social (family relationships and role models), and economic fac-
tors. Children of entrepreneurs were more likely to view business ownership as being more
acceptable than working as an employee. Dalton and Holdaway (1989) found that many
entrepreneurs often started entrepreneurial ventures during their youth.
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Carroll and Mosakowski (1987) asserted that children with self-employed parents were
likely to have worked in the family firm at an early age and, later, started their own business.
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Scherer et al. (1989a and 1989b) concluded that role model performance was not as important
as having a role model. The Scherer studies added strength to the contention that role models
do affect entrepreneurial intentions. This suggests that being associated with a role model
was sufficient to develop the desire and self-efficacy to become an entrepreneur.

3. Methodology
Students at two Midwestern universities were surveyed regarding the influence of their role
models on career decisions. A total of 213 valid responses were received, of which 82 had
entrepreneurial role models. The 82 respondents whose role model owned a business were
used in the analysis.
The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first section asked students to
(1) identify their most significant role model, (2) rank the extent to which the role model
influenced the respondent’s career thinking, and (3) indicate whether their role model owned
a business. The second section asked students to rank the influence of twenty interactions
between the role model and student (5-point Likert scale, 1 = never and 5 = often). The
final section asked students to rate the extent to which they wanted to own a business in the
future and collected characteristics of the respondents.
The purpose of the questionnaire was to collect information that could be used to make
a significant contribution to understanding the nature of specific role model-student inter-
actions on entrepreneurial intentions rather than validating past research. Thus, the survey
was based on a set of questions that focused on specific role model-respondent activities
rather than using questions that were used in previous studies. Since few previous studies
have examined the influence of specific role model activities, the previous research provided
guidelines in questionnaire development. The development of the questions was based on a
review of literature in the area of role models in entrepreneurship. Specifically, research by
Krueger et al. (2000), Kuratko et al. (1997), Scherer et al. (1989b), Dalton and Holdaway
(1989), Carroll and Mosakowski (1987), Scott and Twomey (1988), Schere et al. (1989a),
and Bandura (1982) was used to gain a perspective on the types of questions that should be
included in the survey instrument. These papers provided valuable insight and perspective
into which variables might best capture the nature of the influence of role model.
The questions were developed through several stages. First, important themes in the
literature relevant to role models and entrepreneurship were identified. These themes were
then organized into topical, specifically associated with the influence of role models on
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160 H. Van Auken, F. L. Fry & P. Stephens

entrepreneur intentions. Subsequently, specific questions were developed and pre-tested.

The questions were revised based on pre-test results and the final questionnaire completed.
The data was initially summarized using univariate statistics (means and frequencies)
to provide a better understanding of the respondents and characteristics of the data. The ini-
tial summary statistics included those relating to demographic information and the means
rankings of role model influence variables. Factor analysis was used to group the role model
influence variables into categories. Factor analysis identified six groups of related variables.
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The variables in each group were summed to form independent variables that were subse-
quently used in a regression analysis model. General least squares regression analysis was
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used to determine the relationship between each category and the extent to which students
wanted to own a business within ten years of graduation from college. The dependent vari-
able was interest in business ownership after graduation. The independent variables were
the six factors identified through factor analysis. The students’ major and classification
(freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior) were used as control variables. Spearman corre-
lation coefficients were calculated between all independent variables. Since no significant
correlations were evident, multicollinearity should not be a problem. Spearman correlations
coefficient estimation is a non-parametric technique based on ranks rather than value of
responses.
Own = b0 + b1 Ma + b2 Cl + b3 PeI + b4 PrI + b5 Me + b6 Em + b7 Ob + b8 Di + e
where,
Own = Respondents’ interest in owning business within ten years of graduation
(1 = Strongly Not Interested and 7 = Strongly Interested)
Ma = Major
Cl = Classification (1 = Freshman, 2 = Sophomore, 3 = Junior, 4 = Senior)
PeI = Personal Involvement
PrI = Professional Involvement
Me = Mentoring
Em = Employment
Ob = Observation
Di = Discussions

4. Results
4.1. Respondent characteristics
Respondents consisted of 65.9 percent males and 34.1 percent female students. All respon-
dents were undergraduate students (25.9 percent — freshman, 3.7 percent — sophomores,
14.8 percent — juniors, and 51.9 percent — seniors). About 46 percent were business
majors while about 54 percent were non-business majors. The majority of respondents (62.2
percent) listed Fathers as being the most significant role model. Approximately the same
percentage of respondents believed that other relatives (8.5 percent), other non-relatives
(8.2 percent), mothers (7.3 percent), teachers (7.3 percent), and friends (6.1 percent) were
their most significant role model.
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The Influence of Role Models on Entrepreneurial Intentions 161

4.2. Mean ranking of specific role model influences

Table 1 shows the respondents’ meaning ranking of each role model influence variable. The
mean frequencies in the table reveal several patterns. The influence variables had a relatively
similar impact on the career thinking of respondents in that almost all were ranked between
3.0 and 4.0. Only two influence variables had a mean ranking above 4.0. The variable,
“Had a Comfortable Lifestyle as a Result of Their Career or Business,” was ranked as
having the greatest influence (meaning ranking = 4.28) on the respondents’ career thinking.
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This influence variable provided students the opportunity to view positive results of career
decisions. Students were strongly and positively influenced by lifestyle rewards arising
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from the appearance of career success. The variable, “Had Significant Discussions with
You About their Job or Business” (mean ranking = 4.05) was the second highest ranked.
Active communication between the role model and student about the role model’s job/career
can provide mentoring in the context of career thinking. Students highly valued these types
of discussions.
Six influence variables had mean frequencies between 3.80 and 3.91 (Took You to Work
with Them when you were 10 Years Old or Younger (3.91), Paid You to do Minor Tasks for
Them at Work When You Were 10–15 Years Old (3.90), Hired You in Their Organization
or Company When You Were in High School or College (3.89), Discussed Work at Home
(3.82), Taught You Significant Details About Managing a Business or Organization (3.80),
and Discussed the Advantages/Disadvantages of Joining The Organization in Which They
Work (3.59)). A common theme among all of these activities, including the two variables

Table 1. Mean rankings of influence of role model on respondent.

Influence Variable Mean Ranking

Had a Comfortable Lifestyle as a Result of Their Career or Business 4.28
Had Significant Discussions with You About Their Job or Business 4.05
Took You to Work with Them when you were 10 Years Old or Younger 3.91
Paid You to do Minor Tasks for Them at Work When You Were 10–15 Years Old 3.90
Hired You in Their Organization or Company When You Were in High School or College 3.89
Discussed Work at Home 3.82
Taught You Significant Details About Managing a Business or Organization 3.80
Discussed the Advantages/Disadvantages of Joining the Organization in Which They Work 3.80
Included you in Business Discussions 3.74
Encouraged You to Take a Career Other Than Their Organization Where They Work 3.68
Worked Long Hours in a Business They Owned 3.65
Encouraged You to Know Their Colleagues 3.63
Encouraged You to Read About Their Job or Business 3.50
Encouraged You to Join Their Organization 3.38
Assumed that You Would Follow Their Career Path 3.35
Took You to Professional Meetings 3.33
Were Away from Home a lot on Business 3.33
Brought Work Home 3.29
Worked Long Hours in an Organization They Did Not Own 3.26
Encouraged You to Join Another Organization for a Few years and Then Join the Organization 3.21
Where They Work

Note: (1 = Strong negative influence and 5 = Strong positive influence) (n = 82).

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162 H. Van Auken, F. L. Fry & P. Stephens

that had the highest mean rankings, is active interaction between the role model and the
respondent.
The role model influence variables that had the least impact on students’ career thinking
were “Encouraged You to Join Another Business or Organization for a Few Years and Then
Join the Business or Organization in Which They Own or Work” (3.21), “Worked Long
Hours with an Organization They Did Not Own” (3.26), “Brought Work Home with Them”
(3.29), “Were Away from Home a Lot on Business” (3.33), “Took You to Professional
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Meetings” (3.33), “Assumed that You Would Follow Them in Their Career Path” (3.35),
and “Encouraged You to Join Their Organization” (3.38). An apparent common theme
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among these variable is that they are primarily passive and observational activities.

4.3. Influence variable grouping

Variable groupings from the factor analysis are shown in Table 2. Factor loadings of 0.5000
and above were considered to be high enough to be included in a factor grouping. The first

Table 2. Rotated orthogonal factor analysis of influence variables (n = 82).

Influence Variable Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6

Personal Professional Mentoring Employment Observation Discussions
Involvement Involvement
Took You to Work 0.7030 0.2421 −0.0603 0.3364 0.0560 −0.0999
with Them When
You Were <10
Years Old
Encouraged you to 0.6379 −0.0174 0.1300 0.3762 0.0387 −0.0550
Know Their
Colleagues
Taught You About 0.8635 0.0259 0.2894 0.0217 0.0021 0.0523
Managing a
Business
Worked long Hours in −0.2294 0.7079 −0.0868 −0.1979 −0.0670 −0.2211
an Organization
They Did Not Own
Discussed Work at 0.2708 0.7787 0.1403 0.1662 0.1866 0.0326
Home
Included you in That 0.1965 0.8077 0.1597 0.3493 −0.0726 0.0823
Discussion
Encouraged You to 0.0269 0.6975 −0.1034 −0.1501 0.2559 0.2235
Have a Career
Other Than the
Organization in
Which They
Worked
Encouraged You to 0.2080 0.0465 0.7678 −0.1336 −0.0755 −0.1437
Read About Their
Business
Took You to Business 0.3659 0.0940 0.6601 0.3953 0.0019 0.0437
Meetings
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The Influence of Role Models on Entrepreneurial Intentions 163

Table 2. (Continued)

Influence Variable Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6

Personal Professional Mentoring Employment Observation Discussions
Involvement Involvement
Assumed You Would −0.2095 −0.0767 0.7021 0.2268 0.0703 0.2035
Follow Their
Career Path
Paid You to do Tasks 0.2628 −0.0509 0.1029 0.7397 0.0939 0.0432
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at Work When You

Were 10–15 Years
Old
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Hired You in Their 0.1240 0.0402 0.0929 0.8235 −0.0179 0.0246

Organization When
You Were in High
School or College
Worked Long Hours 0.3237 −0.0024 0.1038 0.0573 0.7556 0.0295
in a Business They
Owned
Were Away from −0.2400 0.2526 −0.3279 −0.1330 0.6102 0.3304
Home a Lot on
Business
Brought Work Home −0.0473 0.1162 0.1447 0.0626 0.8384 −0.1891
Discussed the Ad/Dis 0.3609 0.3229 0.1893 −0.2098 −0.0356 0.6459
of Joining The
Business in Which
They Worked
Encouraged You to −0.1374 −0.0635 0.0438 0.1694 −0.0404 0.8837
Work for a Few
Years Before
Joining the
Business in Which
They Owned or
Worked

grouping of influence variables (factor 1) included variables related to personal involvement

between the role model and student (Took You to Work With Them When You Were < 10
Years Old, Encouraged You to Know Their Colleagues, and Taught You About Managing
a Business). Factor one was labeled Personal Involvement. Personal involvement activities
between a role model and student can be profound and provide significant insight into the
advantages or disadvantages of career alternatives.
Factor two included four influence variables (Worked Long Hours in an Organization
They Did Not Own, Discussed Work at Home, Included You in That Discussion, and Encour-
aged You to Have a Career Other Than the Organization in Which They Worked). These
influence variables are related to involvement of the respondent in business/professional
activities of the role model. Factor two was labeled Professional Involvement. Involving a
young person in role model business activities can be a very positive experience that can
create a positive perception of the career.
Factor three included three variables (Encouraged You to Read About Their Business,
Took You to Professional Meetings, and Assumed That You Would Follow Their Career
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164 H. Van Auken, F. L. Fry & P. Stephens

Path). Since these influence variables are associated with mentoring-oriented activities
between the role model and respondent, factor three was labeled Mentoring. Conversations
and discussions can be a powerful method of mentoring and influencing career interests.
Personal mentoring can have enormous value and provide significant insight into career
alternatives.
Factor four included two variables that were related to role model influences on the
respondent (Paid You to do Minor Tasks for Them at Work When You Were 10-15 Years
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Old and Hired You in the Organization When You Were in High School or College). This
factor was labeled Employment. Employment in the business/organization can provide the
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student with an in-depth insight into business operations, challenges, and rewards. This
type of experience can provide a much deeper understanding of the business than would
otherwise be experienced.
Factor five included three variables that were related to the respondent being able to
observe the role model (Worked Long Hours in a Business They Owned, Were Away From
Home a Lot on Business, and Brought Work Home). Variables associated with respondent
observing the role model provide direct evidence of the demands of the career.
Factor six included two variables (Discussed the Advantages and Disadvantages of
Joining the Business/Organization in Which They Worked and Encourage You to Work for
a Few Years Before Joining the Organization). Factor six was labeled Discussions because
both variables were related to interactions between the role model and student.

4.4. Respondents’ desire to own a business and factor groupings

Table 3 shows the results of the regression analysis (X2 = 35.25, significant at 1 per-
cent) that examined the relationship between the respondents’ desire to own a business
within ten years of graduation and the six factor groupings (F1 = Personal Involvement,
F2 = Professional Involvement, F3 = Mentoring, F4 = Employment, F5 = Observation,
and F6 = Discussions). The results indicate that the coefficients for the Professional Involve-
ment (coefficient = −0.0881, significant at 1 percent), Employment (coefficient = 0.1209,
significant at 1 percent), and Discussions (coefficient = 0.1537, significant at 1 percent)

Table 3. Logit regression results: Desire to own business vs. influence variables.

Dependent Variable Independent Variables Regression Coefficient

Desire to Own Business (χ 2 = 35.25∗ ) Intercept 4.2964∗∗
Major −0.1651
Class 0.0556
Personal Involvement 0.0821
Professional Involvement −0.0881∗
Mentoring −0.0651
Employment 0.1182∗
Observation 0.0944
Discussions 0.1413∗

Note: *Significant at 0.01.

**Significant at 0.05.
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The Influence of Role Models on Entrepreneurial Intentions 165

were significantly related to the respondents’ desire to own a business within tem years
of graduation. The results indicated that greater role model-respondent interaction rela-
tive to Employment, and Discussions activities resulted in greater respondent interest in
starting a business within ten years of graduation while greater Professional Involvement
activities led to less interest in starting a business within ten years of graduation. Per-
sonal Involvement, Mentoring, and Observation were not significantly related to the respon-
dents’ desire to own a business within ten years of graduation. Neither control variable was
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significant.
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5. Discussion
The findings of this study provide insight into the impact of role models on the career thinking
of students. The analysis segments role models relative to those who own a business and
those who don’t own a business. The results also provide evidence on specific role model
activities that influence the career thinking of students.
Role models are assumed to have an important impact on career development. Literature
in the career planning area has long shown that role models are important in shaping one’s
career aspirations (Krueger et al., 2000; Douglas and Shepherd, 2002; Scherer et al., 1989b;
Scherer et al., 1989a; Scott and Twomey, 1988). The results of this study are consistent with
these previous studies.
Mean rankings of the influence variables showed that role model life style and dis-
cussions about role model career had the greatest influence on career intentions of the
respondent. The high ranking of these variables suggests that directly observing and hear-
ing about positive aspects of the role model career had a powerful influence on respondents.
On the other hand, issues related to the negative aspects of the role models’ career (e.g.,
encouragement to work for another organization, long hours, and brought work home) had
the least impact on career intentions. These results may imply that positive influences have
a more powerful impact on respondents than negative influences.
The results provide evidence on the relative importance of specific types of interaction
between role models and students. The categories of role model-respondent interac-
tion include issues related to personal involvement, professional involvement, mentor-
ing, employment, observation, and discussion. All of these categories revolved around
some type of relationship-oriented interaction between the role model and respondent.
Relationship-oriented activities have the greatest likelihood of influencing respondent career
intentions.
The regression analysis indicated that groupings of influence variables related to profes-
sional involvement, employment, and discussions were significantly related to respondent
interest in starting a business. Greater interaction among the employment and discussion
variables led to higher interest in starting a business. Greater interaction among the per-
sonal involvement variables lessened interest in starting a business. These results may be
explained in several ways. Direct respondent involvement through professional involve-
ment activities and employment can provide the respondent with important insight into the
nature of the small firm ownership. Involvement through employment also provides the
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166 H. Van Auken, F. L. Fry & P. Stephens

role model the opportunity to interact with the respondent and, thus, have more opportu-
nities to influence the respondent’s career intentions. Active interaction between the role
model and respondent can provide positive experiences that significantly influence career
intentions. This influence can be especially strong during early adulthood. Variables in the
professional involvement factor could be viewed as negative influences. Respondents who
saw role models working long hours, discussing business at home (which could have been
complaints about working long hours), and who were encouraged to seek a different career
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appear to be receiving negative signals that would be expected to discourage the respondent
from pursuing a business start-up.
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6. Summary and Conclusions

This study used a sample of 82 students from two Midwestern universities to examine the
influence of role models on entrepreneurial intentions. Respondents were asked about the
influence of their most significant role model from an overall viewpoint and in regard to
specific activities. A very limited amount of research has examined the relationship between
individual role model activities and career thinking. The results suggest that the interaction
and involvement an individual has in a business has the greatest impact on intentions.
Specifically, direct role model-respondent interactions through positive discussions and
involvement in a business have a significant impact on interest in starting a business. Negative
interactions appear to discourage respondents from being interested in starting a business.
The results of this study provide managerial implications that may be useful to those
interested in facilitating interest in entrepreneurship. University professors could, for exam-
ple, include course material on the role of mentoring in encouraging interest in entrepreneur-
ship. University programs could also incorporate mentoring opportunities to generate greater
interest in business ownership among students. Business owners can provide a wonderful
influence on student interest in business ownership by becoming actively involved with stu-
dents through a mentoring relationship. Economic development and entrepreneurship cen-
ter professionals may also facilitate the interaction between business owners and students.
Extending the knowledge of the impact of role models may be of interest to entrepreneur-
ship programs in colleges and universities, especially as part of their curriculum (e.g.,
entrepreneurship internships).
The limitations of the study provide an opportunity for future research. The sample was
relatively small and based on students from two universities in the midwestern region of the
US. Future research could examine the generality of the results through a national sample.
Comparison of results between countries provides another opportunity for future research. In
addition, the data was collected at a single point in time. A longitudinal study could provide
evidence in the changing patterns over time. This paper also did not explore role model
influence relative to type of business. Some small businesses, for example, lend themselves
nicely to role model influences through the inclusion of the next generation in the business
while others may not. In addition, we did not ask how long the role model owned a business.
An interesting stream of research may come from asking whether a family business has a
greater influence on entrepreneurial intentions than actively working in any business.
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The Influence of Role Models on Entrepreneurial Intentions 167

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