The impact of strong ties on entrepreneurial intention

Purpose – This study attempts to contribute to the knowledge of how strong ties influence entrepreneurial intention based on evidence from China which is one of the largest transitional and fastest growing economies. It introduces important mediators – various types of entrepreneurial self‐efficacy (ESE) to examine the relationship between strong ties and entrepreneurial intention. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is proposed to suggest links among strong ties, self‐efficacy, and entrepreneurial intention. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from undergraduates in China. During January and February of 2009, 410 questionnaires were received and a total of 327 were used in the final analysis. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – Empirical results indicate that strong ties have indirect effects on entrepreneurial intention. All of the four specific types of self‐efficacy, except for tolerance self‐efficacy, have a mediating effect. Opportunity‐identification self‐efficacy (OISE) has the largest mediating effect. Originality/value – This study makes a contribution by analyzing how strong ties influence entrepreneurial intention through the mediating role of ESE. The results indicate that strong ties have indirect effects on entrepreneurial intention, and ESE significantly mediates the relationship between strong ties and entrepreneurial intention. The mediating roles played across the specific types of self‐efficacy are different. OISE has the largest mediating effect. This study contributes to the theory of entrepreneurial intention.