Abstract
Ireland's economy, although undergoing a celebrated economic renaissance, is still dominated by foreign multinationals. This has spurred policymakers into launching various programs to encourage indigenous Irish entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial activity improves a community's economic health, and takes place only when individual actors decide to start businesses. Still, exactly what predisposes someone to become an entrepreneur is not well understood. The goal of this research was twofold: First, to test whether and how certain experiences and personality traits are related to the intention to start a business. Second, to test whether and how culture is related to these experiences and personality traits. In a sample of Irish and American professionals, the Americans showed a higher level of entrepreneurial intention, as hypothesized. Contrary to predictions, however, personality traits such as achievement motivation and personal efficacy did not explain the difference in entrepreneurial intention, and did not predict entrepreneurial intention in either sample. Having a self-concept consistent with being an entrepreneur was most strongly predictive of intention to start a business, and explained the difference between Irish and American intention levels. These results have implications for policy makers desirous of encouraging indigenous entrepreneurship. While this study focuses on the Republic of Ireland and the United States, the findings are intended to be advance the general level of knowledge concerning the creation of new businesses.