A Career Theory Approach on Entrepreneurial Choice: The case of Italian University Graduates

This dissertation adopts a career theory approach as a research lens to explain the choice to become an entrepreneur. As opposed to intentional theories, which are general psychological theories applicable to a range of human behaviors, career theories deal specifically with how individuals form career goals and convert them into action. Adopting a career perspective, this study looks at entrepreneurship as one of several careers individuals pursue during their lifetime. In particular, the aim is to understand the conditions in which individuals enter entrepreneurship, and to what extent individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions are translated into action. To answer these questions, this study extends career theory to the realm of entrepreneurship, proposing that the environment is an important explanation to illustrate why some individuals and not others engage in entrepreneurial action. The research is conducted in the under-investigated context of student entrepreneurship, which considers the creation of new ventures by students and university graduates. A unique dataset has been created that concerns entrepreneurial intentions and subsequent behavior for almost 1/3 of all students who graduated from 64 Italian universities in the fall of 2014. This dissertation provides a new perspective on the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, focusing on new connections among previous concepts and exploring the practical information of these concepts. The purpose is to contribute to a current conversation that looks at entrepreneurship as a career choice that an individual can pursue during his or her lifetime. In building on existing models of career choices, we aim to extend this growing stream of literature, and in doing so, we contribute in different ways to the entrepreneurship theory.