The effect of individual factors on entrepreneurial intention: the moderating role of gender

The present paper aims at analyzing differences in entrepreneurial intention between men and women in Algeria using individual factors as predictors of this intention. Based on Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB), a conceptual model was developed and tested through multi-group SEM analysis on a sample of 2,578 individuals from 14 Algerian cities. Results indicate that entrepreneurial intention is influenced by attitude driven from motivation, risk-taking and Perceived self-efficacy for both male and female. They show however that women take less risk than men and have different perception and motivation. While the empirical study was based on a large sample compared to most of the studies conducted in Algeria, the findings might not be transferable to other contexts. In our model we focus only upon three individual factors. This study does not take into consideration environmental factors that may explain other gender gaps such as (culture, institutions, etc.). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first scientifically founded study in Algeria. Our results are encouraging and should be validated by a cross cultural study.