The Impact of Prior Entrepreneurial Exposure on Entrepreneurial Intention – Cross-Cultural Evidence

The present paper examines how the influence of prior entrepreneurial exposure on entrepreneurial intention is contingent on national culture. Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior, we test our hypotheses on a dataset of 253 students from Germany and Ethiopia. We find evidence that individuals from individualistic societies preferably draw on their own entrepreneurial experience in establishing their entrepreneurial intention. In contrast, individuals from collectivistic cultures mostly prefer in-group-referenced resources and knowledge provided by entrepreneurial role models. Our study contributes to resolving previously inconclusive findings regarding the relationship between prior entrepreneurial exposure and entrepreneurial intention by considering culture as boundary condition.