Mediation Effect of Entrepreneurial Alertness Between Prior Knowledge and Experience on Entrepreneurial Intention Among Accountancy Students

Abstract

The ability to recognize valuable business prospects is the primary meta-skill for entrepreneurship and can be deliberated through entrepreneurial alertness. In the opportunity identification perspective of entrepreneurship, inadequate attention is provided for the development of entrepreneurial alertness and its effectiveness among students pursuing professional or postgraduate courses in a specific discipline. Therefore, the present study determines the intervening role of entrepreneurial alertness in the causal association of students’ prior knowledge and experience on their entrepreneurial intention. The data of 408 final level students studying Chartered accountancy course from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) were gathered through cluster sampling. The statistical method of structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to examine the postulated associations. The results indicate that the students’ knowledge and experience appropriately stimulate the alertness for potential business prospects, which further motivates the intention for entrepreneurial actions. The partial intervention of entrepreneurial alertness is also observed ensuring that the use of knowledge and experience in identifying profitable business opportunity increases the chances of selecting a successful entrepreneurial career. The findings of the study contribute to the promotion of early-stage entrepreneurship among students of a specific discipline.

Keywords

Alertness entrepreneurship intention prior knowledge and experience

Introduction

Entrepreneurship is “the combination of business opportunity sources and the individuals who identify, analyze and capitalize the opportunity” (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). In developing countries, entrepreneurship is poorly perceived due to uncertainty, lack of support from influencers, risk and immense efforts required in starting and nurturing a new business (Henderson & Robertson, 1999), which has led to a huge drop in total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) (GEM, 2020). This requires the development of intention among students to choose an entrepreneurial career (Li et al., 2020). The majority of adult population perceive themselves to possess the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience required to establish a venture, but still lack the intention to become an entrepreneur (GEM, 2020). This indicates that mere possession of such capabilities does not ensure intention and requires predisposition. The intervening impact of entrepreneurial alertness can strengthen the causal effect of individual capabilities in predicting entrepreneurial intention. Bueckmann-Diegoli and Gutierrez (2020) suggested that the models focusing on emergence of entrepreneurial intention must aggregate the entrepreneurial alertness and opportunity-related constructs as its predictors, to enhance the robustness and predictability of the subsequent intention. Additionally, the previous studies have focused more on entrepreneurial alertness of established entrepreneurs rather than prospective entrepreneurs. The present study also emphasizes on extending the theory of opportunity identification (suggested by Ardichvili et al., 2003) and assessed the effectiveness of students’ entrepreneurial alertness by analyzing their intention for a new start-up.

Entrepreneurial intention indicates “a concrete plan to prepare for and then eventually start a new business in future” (Obschonka et al., 2017). Intention plays a crucial role in comprehending the primary stage of entrepreneurship, that is, opportunity identification process (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). This indicates the relevance of studying opportunity recognition aspect among potential entrepreneurs, which could be the missing entrepreneurial character in development of entrepreneurial intention (Valliere, 2013).

The concept of opportunity identification leads to the most fundamental question of why only few people spot fresh business prospects, which are overlooked by others and only some intend to execute the discovered business prospect (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). The empirical studies suggest that such ability is entrepreneurial alertness, as it differentiates potential entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs in interpreting the market (Kirzner, 1973). It justifies why some see only constraints while alert entrepreneurs see lucrative business chances scattered everywhere (Valliere, 2013). This allows an entrepreneur to understand how the disequilibrium of the market can be corrected (Kirzner, 1973). Not all entrepreneurs who are capable of spotting commercial opportunities can convert them to create a new value. This requires the need to study the impact of entrepreneurial alertness on entrepreneurial intention among students. Previous literature lacks in identifying antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurial alertness in the context of developing country (Ardichvili et al., 2003; Tang et al., 2012). Hence, it is important to investigate such relationship to strengthen the entrepreneurship theories (Adomako et al., 2008; Zahra, 200).

Previous studies have investigated the direct role of various personal factors but lack in studying contextual factors. The role of entrepreneurial alertness in the development of entrepreneurial intention is also understudied (Valliere, 2013). It implies that involvement of alertness for new commercial chances can strengthen the predictability of entrepreneurial intention among prospective entrepreneurs (Bueckmann-Diegoli & Gutierrez, 2020). Ardichvili et al. (2003) theorize that prior knowledge and experience are the potential antecedent of entrepreneurial alertness. Idiosyncratic prior information and practice of a field guides early-stage entrepreneurs in discovering related valuable venture ideas and provides corridor of knowledge allowing to recognize those opportunities which others cannot due to lack of similar knowledge (Fiet, 2002; Fiet et al., 2004; Shane, 2000). The vast array of information frames a mental structure, which helps in interpreting business opportunity occurring from new shifts and fluctuations in the market (Mitchell et al., 2007).

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2020) has reported that service sector entrepreneurship highly contributes to developed country’s overall growth and requires similar assistance among developing countries as well. Indian Accounting service market is driven by government initiatives and growing at an impressive rate. A lot of opportunities are created for accounting start-ups. Agrawal and Majupuria (2010) highlighted the need for healthy development of human capital; ICAI should design the curricula to promote entrepreneurship during the learning stage of education to promote high achievement career goals and entrepreneurship.

CA students are effective entrepreneurs, as they acquire key business skills through studying and practical training; therefore, they are the most appropriate to examine intention for entrepreneurial career (Almeda et al., 2020; Husna et al., 2010). According to previous studies, accounting students have positive attitudes toward entrepreneurship (Mtshali, 2019), are calculated risk-takers (Fetsch et al., 2015), and are the most extensively trained business professionals (Schoenfeld et al., 2017). They are proposed to relevant prior knowledge and social network (Law & Hung, 2009). Current studies focus on determining entrepreneurial intention of students studying engineering, business management, hotel management, and agriculture, but limited empirical research has focused to investigate such intention of students enrolled in specific discipline such as Chartered Accountancy, doctors, and lawyers (Lyns & Bandura, 2016; Thiranagama, 2016). According to Almeda et al. (2020), the integration of professional/technical and entrepreneurial characteristics within an individual can be a promising study. Personal traits such as self-efficacy (Scheonfeld et al., 2017), entrepreneurial intention (Law & Hung, 2009, Lyons & Bandura, 2016), and contextual factors such as prior knowledge (Law & Hung, 2019) are the proposed factors that are required to determine entrepreneurship among accountancy students.

Thus, the study proposes the investigation of a comprehensive mediated model for developing intention to start a new business. First, the assessment of direct influence of students’ experience and knowledge in determining entrepreneurial intention is conducted. This study also proposes the mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness in the causal association of prior knowledge and experience of students on their intention to choose entrepreneurial career and suggests that the mediation effects may vary depending on students’ involvement in entrepreneurship.

Literature Review

Entrepreneurial Intention

Entrepreneurial intention indicates the degree of commitment and readiness to perform activities required to establish a new venture (Liñán & Chen, 2009). The planned behavior of entrepreneurship requires deliberation, involves time lag, and becomes difficult to measure among nascent entrepreneurs (Krueger et al., 2000). Hence, it is studied through related intention, as it is the most proximate and immediate prior state indicating that all the forces influence behavior through intention. Consequently, impact of such forces is studied through entrepreneurial intention (Ardichvili et al., 2003). The study explains entrepreneurial intention as the students’ determination of establishing a new business. Higher intention signifies that an individual is well prepared for the entrepreneurial goal and will eventually implement the subsequent behavior (Obschonka et al., 2017). Therefore, it is important to study students’ entrepreneurial intention and its predictors, as students in the final stage of education have the potential to choose early-stage entrepreneurship and strength of intention determines the success rate of start- up (Miralles et al., 2016). Intention also offers critical insights about the process of opportunity identification, without which entrepreneurship cannot happen (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000).

Prior Knowledge and Experience and Entrepreneurial Intention

Recognition of entrepreneurial opportunities does not solely depend on the special traits that make an entrepreneur capable but also on their distinctive knowledge which enables them to comprehend the business chances (Fiet, 1996). Roundy et al. (2018) stated that individuals do not aim for entrepreneurship until they possess appropriate knowledge and abilities. An entrepreneur starts business of those services or products which are related to their previous work experiences (Aldrich & Wiedenmayer, 2019). Related prior knowledge and experience increases the ability to interpret, evaluate, and application of information for business exploitation (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990). An individual will become more confident when he realizes that he is equipped with sufficient knowledge of customer problems, markets, and ways to serve markets. It also influences the approach that entrepreneurs apply in their business (Boeker, 1988). The three dimensions which are important in influencing entrepreneurship are prior knowledge about markets, prior knowledge about ways to serve markets, and prior knowledge about customer problems (Shane, 2000). Working experience in a small firm and information positively influence entrepreneurial interest (Liguori et al., 2019). Prior knowledge is the unique stock of information that an individual possesses about a specific field, generated through experiences. It improves the entrepreneurs’ ability to identify, interpret, and comprehend new business opportunity in ways that others with lacking information cannot imitate (Roberts, 1991). All potential entrepreneurs do not have same information at the same time (Ardichvili et al., 2003). An experienced entrepreneur, on the basis of idiosyncratic knowledge, perceives specific opportunities desirable and likely to pursue it by exploiting the available resources (Eckhardt & Shane, 2003). An entrepreneur will select that opportunity which matches to his prior knowledge because knowledge triggers the value of the new information (Shane, 2000). Previous studies have shown that entrepreneurs with proficient information and experience successfully started and managed a new business (Davidsson & Honig, 2003). With increased ability to scan business chances, the possibility to establish a new venture with considerable intention enhances (Lim et al., 2014; Quan, 2012), as it reduces uncertainty and improves control over the system of establishing an organization (Venkatesh et al., 2008). In this way, individuals strengthen their initial entrepreneurial intention because with increasing experience, people will become more familiar with the external factors and become prepared to find support for establishment of the venture. Entrepreneurial intention is “the state of mind that guides the behavior and efforts of an individual towards generation and execution of a new business idea” (Bird, 1988). Relevant job experience contributes in decision making about the possibility of starting a new venture, as it facilitates with accessibility to pertinent resources, which boosts the deliberate intention (Quan, 2012). It is well accepted that prior knowledge and experience facilitate entrepreneurship behavior (Ardichvili et al., 2003; Shane, 2000). This objective emphasizes on filling the research gap that there is a theoretical dearth of comprehending the role of individual factors in determining the intention of starting a business (Shook et al., 2003). Hence, it focuses on prior knowledge and experience of CA students in predicting their entrepreneurial intention.

Prior Knowledge and Experience and Entrepreneurial Alertness

Entrepreneurial alertness refers to “the proactive attentiveness to identify business opportunities overlooked by others and determining whether such opportunities reflect any profit potential” (Tang et al., 2012). The idea of entrepreneurial alertness is introduced by Israel Kirzner (1973, 1979, 1985), alertness enables an entrepreneur to actively spot disequilibrium signals in the market, transform business evidences swiftly, and build complex yet flexible business plans without sacrificing accuracy (Gaglio & Katz, 2001). The alertness theory also deliberated the question of how fresh business ideas are generated and pursued in the market and who can spot such business possibilities? The knowledge of market trend, customers, competitors will motivate prospective entrepreneur’s zeal to seek for appropriate business opportunity (Hajizadeh & Zali, 2015). Adeel et al. (2023) confirmed that students with strong prior knowledge of a field exhibit greater alertness for entrepreneurial opportunities existing in the business environment.

Tang et al. (2012) postulated the three components of entrepreneurial alertness, namely, scanning and searching, associating and connecting, and evaluation and judgment. In the context of early-stage entrepreneurship, students as potential entrepreneurs are new and unfamiliar with the business world. Hence, they perceive it uncertain and difficult to start their own venture. Tang et al. (2021) suggested to investigate the manner in which potential entrepreneurs leverage their unique knowledge and resources. Therefore, they suggested to include the aspect of human capital in strengthening an individual’s decision to establish a new venture. According to Human capital theory, increased knowledge and practice allow to emphasize on key aspects which may lead to positive outcomes of decisions (Becker, 1975). Hence, expertise strengthens the ability to infer different pieces of information and take efficient decisions (Tang et al., 2012). Prior knowledge and experience provide fresh graduate students the required skill set and guide to choose entrepreneurial career (Liguori et al., 2019; Ma & Huang, 2019; Sang & Lin, 2019).

Social cognitive theory also asserts that building an entrepreneurial venture requires prior knowledge and hands-on experience in complementary industries, skills, and methods. knowledge and experience build a unique cognitive framework, which helps in identifying and deliberating a profitable opportunity and therefore strengthen entrepreneurial alertness by influencing all the three dimensions (Corbett, 2005; Lumpkin & Lichtenstein, 2005). This fulfils the research gap of associating cognitive theories will strengthen the predictability of entrepreneurial intention (Chavoushi et al., 2021; Daniel et al., 2021). The association of human capital theory and social cognitive theory with alertness theory enhances an individual’s start-up intention. The prospective entrepreneurs’ intelligence and expertise of a specific field may enhance the entrepreneurial alertness, as it assists in formulating an image of the future, prepare precise business plans and schemas in advance to grab the identified opportunity with profit potentials (Gaglio & Katz, 2001; Kirzner, 1985). Business opportunities exist externally and can be identified by those who possess appropriate knowledge and experience (Kirzner, 1973; Shane & Venkatraman, 2003). Prior knowledge and experience about industries, customers, and technical knowhow builds a mental framework through which a prospective entrepreneur analyze distinct business evidences of a particular field (Fiske & Taylor, 1991). This enhances alertness for related business opportunity (Ardichvli et al., 2003). If the prospective entrepreneur believes that an identified business opportunity has the potential and can be manipulated through existing knowledge, then he will plan to start a new business by exploiting such opportunity. In a nutshell, the identified opportunity provides a chance to act and motivates students to choose entrepreneurial career (Uy et al., 2015). The ability of alertness can be learned and enhanced, which may guide aspiring entrepreneurs to discover profitable business prospects. Therefore, students are the most suitable to study entrepreneurial alertness and prior knowledge and experience as its potential antecedent (Tang, 2008). Therefore, this study proposes that prior knowledge and experience develops entrepreneurial intention through entrepreneurial alertness.

Entrepreneurial Intention and Entrepreneurial Alertness

The development of entrepreneurial intention is a complex yet essential process to promote entrepreneurship among students who are in the final leg of completing their education, as they are the most probable ones to take their career decisions. Students having stronger entrepreneurial intention are highly committed and well-prepared to invest their consistent efforts in business development activities to achieve a specified entrepreneurial goal in a fixed period of time (Shinnar et al., 2018; Shirokova et al., 2016; Van Gelderen et al., 2015). In the context of early-stage entrepreneurship, the strength of intention reflects the extent to which an individual can be successful in executing the business-related activities to accomplish the entrepreneurial goal (Shirokova et al., 2016). Intention is the immediate prior and the most proximate state of the targeted behavior, therefore known as the single best predictor (MacMillan & Katz, 1992). Entrepreneurship behavior requires substantial planning, which results in unpredictable time lag (Krueger et al., 2000). Intention offers critical insights to understand the underlying process of opportunity identification (Lim et al., 2014), without which entrepreneurship cannot happen (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). The recognition of a profitable opportunity can act as a personal disposition to transform a perceived business idea into commercializable business prospect (Tang et al., 2012). For instance, if an entrepreneur identifies a profitable business chance, then he will form an intention to manipulate it within a certain period of time, as every opportunity involves time constrain and entrepreneurial intention act as a motivating factor to utilize such opportunity (Gaglio & Katz, 2001). This can be supported with the help of Vroom’s expectancy theory, as the ability of spotting lucrative business opportunity acts as a motivator for prospective entrepreneurs and allows to anticipate future gains, which can be achieved by executing entrepreneurial behavior (Bueckmann-Diegoli & Gutierrez, 2020). Anwar et al. (2021) affirmed that the consistent recognition of business opportunities enhances new venture performance. In this context, it is required to investigate how and when students develop entrepreneurial intention (Matlay, 2018). Earlier studies may have overlooked the crucial role that opportunity identification plays in the formation of entrepreneurial intention (Bueckmann-Diegoli and Gutierrez, 2020). Therefore, in the context of early-stage entrepreneurship, it necessitates to investigate the role of opportunity-identification construct in the development of entrepreneurial intention. Such construct could be entrepreneurial alertness (Bueckmann-Diegoli & Gutierrez, 2020) because it highly influences the decision-making process of establishment of a new business (Birley, 1986; Gupta & Bostrom, 2005; Kier & McMullen, 2020, Pidduck et al., 2020; Warnick et al., 2021). Entrepreneurial alertness is “the unique ability of being consistently aware of market fluctuations and judge whether such changes or shifts reflect business opportunities with profit potential” (Tang et al., 2012). Alert entrepreneurs have stronger entrepreneurial mind-set (Ireland et al., 2003), as they are proactive, creative, and have the ability to take risk to convert a commercial idea into profitable opportunity (Cui et al., 2016), which could eventually lead to formation of a new business (Birley, 1986; Hu et al., 2018; Neneh, 2019). Sachitra and Rathnayake (2022) posit that entrepreneurial alertness can increase undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intention.

Therefore, this could be the plausible reason behind alert entrepreneurs becoming prepared to take entrepreneurial action. Despite focusing on the development of entrepreneurial alertness, the relationship between alertness, its antecedents, and intention is usually not clear always (Bueckmann-Diegoli & Gutierrez, 2020). Lim et al. (2017) found entrepreneurial alertness significant mediating influence in determining entrepreneurship among nascent entrepreneurs. Hence, it is promising to suggest that entrepreneurial alertness among students as prospective entrepreneurs triggers their intention to choose entrepreneurial career.

Aim and Hypotheses

As discussed in the section of Introduction and literature review, the relationship between prior knowledge and experience, entrepreneurial alertness, and entrepreneurial intention remains understudied, especially among students. Therefore, the present study aims to fill this gap in literature. Firstly, evaluation of effectiveness of past knowledge and experience in development of entrepreneurial intention in Indian culture has been conducted. Second, the study mainly focuses on how entrepreneurial alertness mediates the effect of students’ knowledge and experience on their intention to start a new business. The mediation effect of entrepreneurial alertness has not been investigated widely. Accordingly, this study develops the following hypotheses:

There is a positive relationship between prior knowledge and experience and entrepreneurial intention (H₁).

There is a positive mediation effect of entrepreneurial alertness in the relationship between prior knowledge and experience and entrepreneurial intention (H₂).

Research Methodology

Sample Collection and Administration

In India, 80% of the adults perceive themselves to be capable but do not intend to choose entrepreneurial career, which caused the biggest fall in total early-stage entrepreneurship (TEA) of the country (GEM, 2020). The reason could be the poor image of entrepreneurship (Giacomin et al., 2011), which can be corrected through development of opportunity recognition capability, that is, entrepreneurial alertness among students. Therefore, Indian students seem ideal to investigate entrepreneurial alertness and intention to commence a new business.

According to TiE report of 2019, 21% of the total Indian start-ups are Delhi-NCR based (TiE Delhi NCR, 2019), the highest among all other Indian regions. In a recent report on the geography of start-up activity, Delhi is one of the members of “Elite Global Startup Hubs,” which also include cities from Asia, United States, Europe, and Israel. Therefore, the present study focuses on students of Delhi-NCR region.

The Institute of Chartered Accountancy of India has divided all the chapters (branches) into five broad regions (on geographical basis), namely, Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern. The present study focuses on students pursuing the accounting course in Delhi-NCR region. In Delhi-NCR, five broad ICAI Network chapters exist in Delhi, Faridabad, Noida, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad. This indicates that these five clusters are pre-defined, scattered geographically, independent of each other and every cluster varies in size. Delhi region has three chapters, whereas other four regions are having one chapter each. Thus, cluster sampling is most appropriate, as the sample falls under pre-defined five clusters and size of each cluster varies. The data of CA students studying final level of the Chartered Accountancy course conducted by ICAI situated in Delhi- NCR chapters of India were gathered from each cluster to represent the whole population of around 4500 students.

The questionnaire was structured to gather the quantitative data and the survey was conducted through offline mode. A total of 500 students were approached and 459 responses were received, out of which only 408 responses were useful for the statistical analysis. The statistical analysis was applied on the data gathered from February to July 2021.

Measures

The questionnaire comprises the statements related to the study constructs. The included items were adopted from previously validated scales. However, these scales were slightly modified to fit the accounting students’ context, where required. Prior knowledge and experience was operationalized through nine items in which knowledge aspect was evaluated through three items from Shane (2000) and four items from Becker (1975), and experience aspect was measured through two items from Venkatesh et al. (2008). Entrepreneurial alertness was operationalized by using scale by Tang et al. (2012) and assumed as second-order construct consisting of three zero-order constructs, namely, scanning and searching was measured with nine items, association and connection was measured with three items, and evaluation and judgment was measured with six items. Six items from Liñán and Chen (2009) were used to operationalize entrepreneurial intention. The items were assessed on 7-point likert scale ranging from 1 to 7.

The content validity of the initial questionnaire was analyzed by a panel of 15 experts consisting of CA entrepreneurs and teachers with expertise in the field of entrepreneurship and accounting. For content validity, Lawsche method was applied in which CVR (content validity ratio) of each statement was calculated by using the formula, CVR = ne-(N/2) ÷ N/2 (Lawshe, 1975). The items with CVR ratio less than 0.50 were deleted. On the basis of experts’ suggestions, some minor modifications related to language and format of the instrument were incorporated. A validated questionnaire of ¬¬40 items was finalized for the final analysis.

Data Analysis and Results

Measurement Model

Table 1 indicates that the constructs in the measurement scale were reliable, as calculated scores of Cronbach’s alpha for all the constructs were above 0.7, confirming items are appropriately and consistently measuring their underlying constructs (Hair et al., 2010). The present study has adopted the previously tested reliable scales and only applied to a new set of population. Hence, it is required to be confirmed whether the scale is actually measuring the traits appropriately and it also confirms whether individual items are cumulatively representing their underlying constructs or not (Henseler et al., 2009). Validity of the scale was assessed by performing Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The convergent and discriminant validity are the two indicators. For convergent validity of the variables, two conditions were fulfilled suggested by Hair et al. (2010). First, average variance extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR) values of the constructs were above threshold levels of 0.5 and 0.8, respectively. Second, factor loading of all the variables were found to be above 0.7 (minimum threshold level) and significant (p < .01).

Table 1.

Measurement Model Results.

Constructs	Composite Reliability	Average Variance Extracted	Maximum Shared Variance	Cronbach’s Alpha
Entrepreneurial intention	0.874	0.538	0.401	0.874
Prior knowledge and experience	0.900	0.502	0.401	0.900
Entrepreneurial alertness for association and connection	0.794	0.564	0.270	0.794
Entrepreneurial alertness for evaluation and judgement	0.867	0.521	0.352	0.867
Entrepreneurial alertness for scanning and searching	0.904	0.512	0.305	0.904

Note: α is Cronbach’s alpha.

As the study follows covariance-based structural equation modeling through AMOS, the discriminant validity is assessed through the criteria suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981). Table 2 indicates that value of AVE’s square root for each construct (on diagonal) is greater than its inter-construct correlation coefficient off the diagonal. This confirms that the measuring scale’s constructs are distinct from one another and ensuring the measures’ discriminant validity.

Table 2.

Fornell and Larcker Criteria for Discriminant Validity.

	EI	PKE	EASS	EAAC	EAEJ
EI	0.733
PKE	0.633	0.708
EASS	0.522	0.552	0.716
EAAC	0.491	0.520	0.478	0.751
EAEJ	0.593	0.574	0.451	0.493	0.722

Note: CREA: Creativity; EI: Entrepreneurial intention; EP: Entrepreneurial passion; PKE: Prior knowledge and experience; SE: Self-efficacy.

Table 1 also demonstrates the model fit indices indicating that measurement model perfectly fits the data (CMIN/df = 1.464, CFI = 0.965, GFI = 0.904, AGFI = 0.89, NFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.962, RMSEA = 0.034) (Hair et al., 2010). To ensure the absence of multicollinearity, the criteria provided by Tabachnick et al. (2007) are followed. Hence, Table 2 represents that inter-construct correlation coefficients of all the variables were significant and lie between 0.01 and 0.69 (less than 0.7), ensuring the non-existence of multicollinearity among the variables.

CR: Construct reliability; AVE: Average variance extracted; CFI: Comparative index fit; GFI: Goodness of fit index; AGFI: Adjusted goodness of fit index; NFI: Normed fit index; TLI: Tuckler Lewis index; RMSEA: Root mean square error of approximation.

Fit indices CMIN/df = 1.464, CFI = 0.965, GFI = 0.904, AGFI = 0.89, NFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.962, RMSEA = 0.034.

Hypothesis Testing

Based on opportunity identification theory provided by Ardichvili et al. (2003), the theoretical model analyzes the direct and indirect impact of prior knowledge and experience as an opportunity identification trait (trait which enables to recognize lucrative business prospect) in developing the entrepreneurial intention among students through their entrepreneurial alertness. In this respect, hypotheses to assess the direct (H₁) and indirect (H₂) relationship were framed. The causal and effect relationships were assessed by structural equation modeling with the help of AMOS version 22 and SPSS. The mediating effect was analyzed through Monte Carlo bootstrap method. The total effects of prior knowledge and experience were measured in two effects, namely, indirect and direct. On the recommendation of Schneider et al. (2005), two conditions to assess the mediation were fulfilled. First, the significant impact of predictor on mediator variable was found. Second, the significant relationship between mediator and outcome variable was also observed. Furthermore, the indirect impact was also examined through bootstrap method as suggested by Byrne (2009). The mediation effect is categorized into two, namely, partial mediation and full mediation. Partial mediation exists when direct as well as indirect effects are found to be significant, whereas full mediation is assumed when indirect effect is found to be significant, but direct effect is insignificant (Cheung & Lau, 2008). The structural model is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

The Structural Equation Model Shows the Intervening Influence of Entrepreneurial Alertness over the Causal Effect of Students’ Prior Knowledge and Experience on Entrepreneurial Intention.

Figure 1 displays the conceptual diagram where prior knowledge and experience is the exogenous variable, entrepreneurial alertness is the mediating variable, and entrepreneurial intention is the endogenous variable. Table 3 presents the results of mediation analysis.

Table 3.

Structural Model Results.

Hypothesis	Path Relationship	Path Coefficient	Estimate	Standard Error	Critical Ratio	p
H ₁	Prior knowledge and experience ↓ entrepreneurial intention	0.632	0.683	0.071	9.556	.000

The results in Table 3 indicate that the prior knowledge and experience has a significant direct impact on entrepreneurial intention (path coefficient = 0.632, p = .00). This suggests that expert knowledge of a field positively influences students to develop intention for entrepreneurial career. Thus, H₁ is accepted.

On the other hand, Table 4 represents the results of mediation analysis where total effect (standardized estimates) of prior knowledge and experience on entrepreneurial intention was found to be 0.633 and p value to be less than 5% significance level, indicating that total effect is statistically significant. In the case of the indirect effect of prior knowledge and experience on entrepreneurial intention with mediating effect of entrepreneurial alertness, the p value was found to be less than 5% significance level, showing the significant indirect impact. Furthermore, the direct effect was found to be insignificant, as p value was greater than 5% significance level (.924), suggesting that in the presence of entrepreneurial alertness, the direct impact of prior knowledge on entrepreneurial intention reduces. Thus, it can be said that full mediation exists, as the presence of entrepreneurial alertness substantially reduced the direct impact of prior knowledge and experience on entrepreneurial intention. Hence, H₂, is also accepted.

Table 4.

Mediation Results.

Type of Effect	Standardized Regression Coefficient	p	Results
Total effect	0.633*	.003	Significant impact
Indirect effect	0.624*	.006	Significant impact
Direct effect	0.009^ns	.924	Insignificant impact

Note: *p < .05.

Discussion

The study investigated two objectives, first, the association of prior knowledge and experience of students with entrepreneurial intention. The results concluded the positive and significant impact of students’ previous knowledge and experience on the intention to become entrepreneur, indicating that idiosyncratic information and practice about market, customers, and technical knowhow build a cognitive corridor to interpret business-related information and see business possibilities around the corner. The results are in accordance with the previous literature stating that the students with previous working experience are highly intended to start a new venture than those having no experience (Fatoki, 2014). Students feel more capable and develop a strong intention to become an entrepreneur when they have necessary knowledge and experience (Hisrich et al., 2008).

The second objective was to determine the reason of predictive link between prior knowledge and experience on entrepreneurial intention of CA students through alertness for entrepreneurial opportunity. The study analyzes the mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness in analyzing the causal effect of prior knowledge and experience on entrepreneurial intention of students. The empirical outcome of the study supported the previous literature and confirms a significant positive influence of prior knowledge and experience on entrepreneurial intention (Hu et al., 2018; Neneh, 2019; Shook et al., 2003). The results concluded full mediation effect of entrepreneurial alertness suggesting that when students gain experience and relevant business information, they become active in spotting business opportunities with profit potential; this motivates to take entrepreneurial decisions and may lead to the formation of intention to become an entrepreneur.

Prior experience and intelligence enable an individual to experiment, test, and revise the developed business plans to improve them (Baum & Bird, 2010; Baum et al., 2011). It also enhances entrepreneur’s ability to become aware, judge, and analyze perceived opportunity quickly and accurately (Roberts, 1991). This directly activates new venture creation, superior business performance, and higher business growth (Baron & Ensley, 2006; Baum & Bird, 2010; Unger et al., 2009). Moreover, information gained from life and work experiences frame a unique cognitive structure, which directs construction of commercializable opportunity from collected business evidences (Fiske & Taylor, 1984). Such interpretation promotes entrepreneurship behavior (Mitchell et al., 2007). Prior knowledge is the idiosyncratic set of information about a subject, which guides an entrepreneur to spot undiscovered business chances (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). All entrepreneurs do not possess same knowledge at the same time, which leads to the inability in recognizing a specific business prospect by every entrepreneur (Shane, 2000). Hence, possession of unique practical intelligence enables an entrepreneur to take quick and flexible actions, ahead of their competitors to grab a business opportunity by responding to market fluctuations and achieve higher business growth (Baum et al., 2011).

Conclusion and Implications of the Study

The results of the study concluded positive results for the students pursuing the professional course of CA in the Indian context, are similar from the outcomes of previous studies in other countries, in respect with prior knowledge and experience and entrepreneurial alertness. The earlier studies found a significant role of knowledge and experience in predicting entrepreneurial alertness. The study by Ma and Huang (2016) on Chinese employees revealed that technical knowledge substantially strengthens alertness for entrepreneurial opportunities. Moreover, the study of Karabey and Bingol (2015) about business owners in Turkey confirms that prior knowledge is the significant determinant of entrepreneurial alertness. Valliere (2013) in the context of Canadian business managers affirmed that prior knowledge frames cognitive framework, which enhances the alertness for entrepreneurship. The majority of past studies have focused either on existing entrepreneurs or working professionals and very less emphasis has been provided to the students as potential entrepreneurs. Hence, the present study contributes by focusing on the students of a special discipline as suggested by Liñán and Fayolle (2015).

The previous studies focused on determining entrepreneurial intention either through prior knowledge or from entrepreneurial alertness separately, but lack in considering all the three factors in one model. Ardichivili et al. (2003) and Tang et al. (2012) theoretically suggested that prior knowledge and experience are the potential antecedents of entrepreneurial alertness, which may further lead to entrepreneurship behavior. On this basis, the present study analyzed the indirect impact of prior knowledge and experience through entrepreneurial alertness in developing entrepreneurial intention to estimate likelihood of entrepreneurial behavior.

The study focuses on the preceding stage of business foundation and contributed toward understanding the perspectives of nascent entrepreneurs (Davidsson & Honig, 2003). The study on psychology of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) entrepreneurship is done in Hong Kong (Law & Hung, 2009), but no research has been conducted in Indian context. Therefore, this study contributes toward the literature of accounting and entrepreneurship domain. Educators and policymakers can emphasize strengthening knowledge and entrepreneurial practice to motivate their entrepreneurial intention through entrepreneurial alertness. The study clarifies the interaction of prior knowledge and experience and entrepreneurial alertness with entrepreneurial intention, which could be of interest for those doing research in this field.

The study suggests promising outcomes but holds certain boundaries, which can be considered for future study. The article focused specifically on students pursuing professional course, and future studies can consider comparing the intention of doctors and lawyers with CAs. The article did not deliberate on the implementation of intention to start a new business, that is, entrepreneurship behavior. Such subjects can be covered further. Scholars can include the social aspect of nascent entrepreneurs, to study a broader perspective, in determining entrepreneurial intention in the opportunity identification context.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Alisha Soni

References

Adeel

, Daniel

A. D.

, & Botelho

(2023). The effect of entrepreneurship education on the determinants of entrepreneurial behaviour among higher education students: A multi-group analysis. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge , 8(1), 1–12.

Adomako

, Danso

, Boso

, & Narteh

(2018). Entrepreneurial alertness and new venture performance: Facilitating roles of networking capability. International Small Business Journal , 36(5), 453–472.

Agrawal

R. K.

, & Majupuria

(2010). An examination of role stress in chartered accountants in India. International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management , 3(5), 577–591.

Aldrich

H. E.

, & Wiedenmayer

(2019). From traits to rates: An ecological perspective on organizational foundings. In Katz

J. A.

& Corbett

A. C.

( Eds ), Seminal ideas for the next twenty-five years of advances (pp. 61–97). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Almeda

, Balisi

L. M.

, Concepcion

R. A.

, Lofamia

J. C.

, Tapec

J. A.

, & Padayao

P. M. T.

(2020). ‘Ca l culated Risk-Taking’: The success factors of entrepreneurial accountants. New Trends in Qualitative Research , 1, 8–29.

Anwar

, Clauss

, & Issah

W. B.

(2021). Entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance in emerging markets: The mediating role of opportunity recognition. Review of Managerial Science , 16, 769–796.

Ardichvili

, Cardozo

, & Ray

(2003). A theory of entrepreneurial opportunity identification and development. Journal of Business Venturing , 18(1), 105–123.

Baron

R. A.

, & Ensley

M. D.

(2006). Opportunity recognition as the detection of meaningful patterns: Evidence from comparisons of novice and experienced entrepreneurs. Management Science , 52(9), 1331–1344.

Baum

J. R.

, & Bird

B. J.

(2010). The successful intelligence of high-growth entrepreneurs: Links to new venture growth. Organization Science , 21(2), 397–412.

10.

Baum

J. R.

, Bird

B. J.

, & Singh

(2011). The practical intelligence of entrepreneurs: Antecedents and a link with new venture growth. Personnel Psychology , 64(2), 397–425.

11.

Becker

(1975). Human capital . Columbia University Press.

12.

Bird

(1988). Implementing entrepreneurial ideas: The case for intention. Academy of Management Review , 13(3), 442–453.

13.

Birley

(1986). The role of new firms: Births, deaths and job generation. Strategic Management Journal , 7(4), 361–376.

14.

Boeker

(1988). Organizational origins: Entrepreneurial and environmental imprinting of the time of founding . University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership Historical Research Reference in Entrepreneurship.

15.

Bueckmann-Diegoli

, & Gutiérrez

H. S. M.

(2020). The development of entrepreneurial alertness in undergraduate students. Education+ Training , 63(7–8), 1015–1026.

16.

Byrne

B. M.

(2013). Structural equation modeling with Mplus: Basic concepts, applications, and programming . Routledge.

17.

Chavoushi

Z. H.

, Zali

M. R.

, Valliere

, Faghih

, Hejazi

, & Dehkordi

A. M.

(2021). Entrepreneurial alertness: A systematic literature review. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship , 33(2), 123–152.

18.

Cheung

G. W.

, & Lau

R. S.

(2008). Testing mediation and suppression effects of latent variables: Bootstrapping with structural equation models. Organizational Research Methods , 11(2), 296–325.

19.

Cohen

W. M.

, & Levinthal

D. A.

(1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly , 128–152.

20.

Corbett

A. C.

(2007). Learning asymmetries and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Journal of Business Venturing , 22(1), 97–118.

21.

Cui

, Chen

, Wei

, Wang

, Liu

, & Hu

(2016). Attention-over-attention neural networks for reading comprehension . https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1607.04423

22.

Daniel

A. D.

, Adeel

, & Botelho

(2021). Entrepreneurial alertness research: Past and future. Sage Open , 11(3), 1–12.

23.

Davidsson

, & Honig

(2003). The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing , 18(3), 301–331.

24.

Eckhardt

J. T.

, & Shane

S. A.

(2003). Opportunities and entrepreneurship. Journal of Management , 29(3), 333–349.

25.

Fatoki

(2014). The entrepreneurial intention of undergraduate students in South Africa: The influences of entrepreneurship education and previous work experience. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences , 5(7), 294.

26.

Fetsch

, Jackson

, & Wiens

(2015). Women entrepreneurs are key to accelerating growth . Kauffman Foundation.

27.

Fiet

J. O.

(1996). The informational basis of entrepreneurial discovery. Small Business Economics , 8(6), 419–430.

28.

Fiet

J. O.

(2002). The systematic search for entrepreneurial discoveries . ABC-CLIO.

29.

Fiet

J. O.

, Clouse

V. G.

, & Norton

W. I.

Jr (2004). Systematic search by repeat entrepreneurs. In Butler

J. E.

(Ed.), Opportunity Identification and Entrepreneurial Behavior (pp. 1–27). IAP.

30.

Fiske

S. T.

, & Taylor

S. E.

(1991). Social cognition . Mcgraw-Hill Book Company.

31.

Fornell

, & Larcker

D. F.

(1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research , 18(1), 39–50.

32.

Gaglio

C. M.

, & Katz

J. A.

(2001). The psychological basis of opportunity identification: Entrepreneurial alertness. Small Business Economics , 16(2), 95–111.

33.

Gelderen

M. van.

, Kautonen

, & Fink

(2015). From entrepreneurial intentions to actions: Self-control and action-related doubt, fear, and ave r sion. Journal of Business Venturing , 30(5), 655–673.

34.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). 2020. Entrepreneurial behaviour and attitudes . https://www.gemconsortium.org/data/keyaps

35.

Giacomin

, Janssen

, Pruett

, Shinnar

R. S.

, Llopis

, & Toney

(2011). Entrepreneurial intentions, motivations and barriers: Differences among American, Asian and European students. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 7(2), 219–238.

36.

Gupta

, & Bostrom

R. P.

(2005). Theoretical model for investigating the impact of knowledge portals on different levels of knowledge pr o cessing. International Journal of Knowledge and Learning , 1(4), 287–304.

37.

Hair

J. F.

Jr , Black

W. C.

, Babin

B. J.

, Anderson

R. E.

& Tatham

R. L.

(2010). SEM: An introduction. Multivariate Data Analysis: A Global Perspective , 5(6), 629–686.

38.

Hajizadeh

, & Zali

(2016). Prior knowledge, cognitive characteristics and opportunity recognition. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research , 22(1), 63–83.

39.

Henderson

, & Robertson

(1999). Who wants to be an entrepreneur? Young adult attitudes to entrepreneurship as a career. Education+ Training , 41(5), 236–245.

40.

Hisrich

, Peters

, & Shepherd

(2008). Entrepreneurship (7th ed.). McGraw Hill.

41.

, Wang

, Zhang

, & Bin

(2018). Creativity, proactive personality, and entrepreneurial intention: The role of entrepreneurial alertness. Frontiers in Psychology , 9, 1–10.

42.

Husna

, Sharif

, Bidin

, & Ahmad

(2010). Predicting entrepreneurship intention among Malay university accounting students in Malaysia. Unitar E-Journal , 6(1), 1–10.

43.

Ireland

R. D.

, Hitt

M. A.

, & Sirmon

D. G.

(2003). A model of strategic entrepreneurship: The construct and its dimensions. Journal of Management , 29(6), 963–989.

44.

Karabey

C. N.

, & Bingol

(2015). Entrepreneurial alertness in Turkey: Human and social capital perspectives. International Journal of Business and Social Research , 5(4), 34–51.

45.

Kier

A. S.

, & McMullen

J. S.

(2020). Entrepreneurial imaginativeness and new venture ideation in newly forming teams. Journal of Business Venturing , 35(6), 106048.

46.

Kirzner

(1973). Competition and entrepreneurship . Chicago University.

47.

Kirzner

I. M.

(1979). Producer, entrepreneur and the right to property. In Kirzner

I. M.

(Ed.), Perception, opportunity, and profit: Studies in the theory of entrepreneurship . The University of Chicago Press.

48.

Kirzner

I. M.

(1985). Discovery and the capitalist process . University of Chicago Press.

49.

Krueger

N. F.

Jr , Reilly

M. D.

& Carsrud

A. L.

(2000). Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing , 15(5–6), 411–432.

50.

Law

, & Hung

(2009). Factors influencing Hong Kong CPAs’ entrepreneurship in the accounting profession. Journal of Human Resource Costing & Accounting , 13(1), 29–45.

51.

Lawshe

C. H.

(1975). A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel Psychology , 28(4), 563–575.

52.

Lee Lim

, Lee

Y. L. E.

, & Ramasamy

(2014). Personality, prior knowledge, social capital and entrepreneurial intentions: Entrepreneurial alertness as mediator. Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Intentions: Entrepreneurial Alertness as Mediator. Global Journal of Business and Social Science Review , 2(1), 68–78.

53.

, Murad

, Shahzad

, Khan

M. A. S.

, Ashraf

S. F.

, & Dogbe

C. S. K.

(2020). Entrepreneurial passion to entrepreneurial behavior: Role of entrepreneurial alertness, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and proactive personality. Frontiers in Psychology , 11, 1–19.

54.

Liguori

, Corbin

, Lackeus

, & Solomon

S. J.

(2019). Under-researched domains in entrepreneurship and enterprise education: primary school, community colleges and vocational education and training programs. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development , 26(2), 182–189.

55.

Liñán

, & Chen

Y. W.

(2009). Development and cross–cultural application of a specific instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 33(3), 593–617.

56.

Liñán

, & Fayolle

(2015). A systematic literature review on entrepreneurial intentions: Citation, thematic analyses, and research agenda. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 11(4), 907–933.

57.

Lumpkin

G. T.

, & Lichtenstein

B. B.

(2005). The role of organizational learning in the opportunity–recognition process. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 29(4), 451–472.

58.

Lyons

, & Bandura

R. P.

(2016). Entrepreneurial intentions of accounting students. Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship , 28(1). https://repository.ulm.edu/jbe/vol28/iss1/4

59.

, & Huang

Y. C.

(2016). Opportunity-based strategic orientation, knowledge acquisition, and entrepr e neurial alertness: The perspective of the global sourcing suppliers in China. Journal of Small Business Management , 54(3), 953–972.

60.

MacMillan

I. C.

, & Katz

J. A.

(1992). Idiosyncratic milieus of entrepreneurial research: The need for comprehensive theories. Journal of Business Venturing , 7(1), 1–8.

61.

Matlay

(2018). Entrepreneurship education: New perspective on entrepreneurship education. Education+ Training , 60(7/8), 923–926.

62.

Miralles

, Giones

, & Riverola

(2016). Evaluating the impact of prior experience in entrepreneurial intention. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 12(3), 791–813.

63.

Mitchell

R. K.

, Busenitz

L. W.

, Bird

, Marie Gaglio

, McMullen

J. S.

, Morse

E. A.

, & Smith

J. B.

(2007). The central question in entrepr e neurial cognition research 2007. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 31(1), 1–27.

64.

Mtshali

T. W.

(2019). The entrepreneurial intention (EI) of the bachelor of commerce accounting students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) [Doctoral dissertation]. https://ukzn-dspace.ukzn.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10413/17052/Mtshali_Thabo_Wonder_2019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

65.

Neneh

B. N.

(2019). From entrepreneurial alertness to entrepreneurial behavior: The role of trait competitiveness and proactive personality. Personality and Individual Differences , 138, 273–279.

66.

Obschonka

, Hakkarainen

, Lonka

, & Salmela-Aro

(2017). Entrepreneurship as a twenty-first century skill: Entrepreneurial alertness and intention in the transition to adulthood. Small Business Economics , 48(3), 487–501.

67.

Pidduck

R. J.

, Busenitz

L. W.

, Zhang

, & Moulick

A. G.

(2020). Oh, the places you’ll go: A schema theory perspective on cross-cultural experience and entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing Insights , 14, 1–9.

68.

Quan

(2012). Prior experience, social network, and levels of entrepreneurial intentions. Management Research Review , 35(10). https://doi.org/10.1108/01409171211272679

69.

Roberts

E. B.

(1991). The technological base of the new enterprise. Research Policy , 20(4), 283–298.

70.

Roundy

P. T.

, Harrison

D. A.

, Khavul

, Pérez-Nordtvedt

, & McGee

J. E.

(2018). Entrepreneurial alertness as a pathway to strategic decisions and organizational performance. Strategic Organization , 16(2), 192–226.

71.

Sachitra

, & Rathnayake

(2022). Influence of entrepreneurial personality traits on entrepreneurial intention of management undergraduates in Sri Lanka. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Management and Economics (pp. 203–214) Stockholm, Sweden.

72.

Sang

, & Lin

(2019). How does entrepreneurial education influence the entrepreneurial intention of college students: The moderating and mediating effects of entrepreneurial alertness. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (Online) , 14(8), 139.

73.

Schneider

, Ehrhart

M. G.

, Mayer

D. M.

, Saltz

J. L.

, & Niles-Jolly

(2005). Understanding organization–customer links in service se t tings. Academy of Management Journal , 48(6), 1017–1032.

74.

Schoenfeld

, Segal

, & Borgia

(2017). Social cognitive career theory and the goal of becoming a certified public accountant. Accounting Education , 26(2), 109–126.

75.

Shane

(2000). Prior knowledge and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Organization Science , 11(4), 448–469.

76.

Shane

, & Venkataraman

(2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review , 25(1), 217–226.

77.

Shinnar

R. S.

, Hsu

D. K.

, Powell

B. C.

, & Zhou

(2018). Entrepreneurial intentions and start-ups: Are women or men more likely to enact their intentions? International Small Business Journal , 36(1), 60–80.

78.

Shirokova

, Osiyevskyy

, & Bogatyreva

(2016). Exploring the intention–behavior link in student entrepreneurship: Moderating effects of individual and environmental characteristics. European Management Journal , 34(4), 386–399.

79.

Shook

C. L.

, Priem

R. L.

, & McGee

J. E.

(2003). Venture creation and the enterprising individual: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management , 29(3), 379–399.

80.

Tabachnick

B. G.

, Fidell

L. S.

, & Ullman

J. B.

(2007). Using multivariate statistics. Pearson , 5, 481–498.

81.

Tang

(2008a). Entrepreneurial Alertness: A review, reconceptualization and extension: A three essay approach [PhD thesis]. University of Alabama.

82.

Tang

, Baron

R. A.

, & Yu

(2021). Entrepreneurial alertness: Exploring its psychological antecedents and effects on firm outcomes. Journal of Small Business Management , 1–30.

83.

Tang

, Kacmar

K. M. M.

, & Busenitz

(2012). Entrepreneurial alertness in the pursuit of new opportunities. Journal of Business Venturing , 27(1), 77–94.

84.

Thiranagama

(2016). An empirical study of success factors in transforming accounting and engineering professionals into entrepreneurs in the SME sector, Sri Lanka. NSBM Journal of Management , 1(1).

85.

Unger

J. M.

, Keith

, Hilling

, Gielnik

M. M.

, & Frese

(2009). Deliberate practice among South Afr i can small business owners: Relationships with education, cognitive ability, knowledge, and success. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology , 82(1), 21–44.

86.

M. A.

, Chan

K. Y.

, Sam

Y. L.

, Ho

M. H. R.

, & Chernyshenko

O. S.

(2015). Proactivity, adaptability and boundaryless career attitudes: The mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness. Journal of Vocational Behavior , 86, 115–123.

87.

Valliere

(2013). Towards a schematic theory of entrepreneurial alertness. Journal of Business Venturing , 28(3), 430–442.

88.

Venkatesh

, Brown

S. A.

, Maruping

L. M.

, & Bala

(2008). Predicting different conceptualizations of system use: The competing roles of behavioral intention, facilitating conditions, and behavioral expectation. MIS Quarterly , 32(3), 438–502.

89.

Warnick

B. J.

, Kier

A. S.

, LaFrance

E. M.

, & Cuttler

(2021). Head in the clouds? Cannabis users’ creativity in new venture ideation depends on their entrepreneurial passion and experience. Journal of Business Venturing , 36(2), 106088.

90.

Zahra

S. A.

(2007). Contextualizing theory building in entrepreneurship research. Journal of Business Venturing , 22(3), 443–452.