How do Policy Instruments Shape Intentions to Become Solo or Employer...

We investigate entrepreneurial intentions of non-self-employed individuals using a large-scale survey among the adult population. We make three contributions to extant literature. First, rather than using a binary measure, we create a four-point scale varying from no intentions to weak, moderate and strong entrepreneurial intentions. Second, we distinguish between entrepreneurial intentions to become a solo entrepreneur or an employer entrepreneur. Third, we focus specifically on policy-related determinants of entrepreneurial intentions, while distinguishing between institutional conditions and direct support variables. Our empirical analysis reveals that respondents who indicate that the receipt of (different types of) policy support would help them start a business, are significantly more likely to have (strong) intentions to become a solo entrepreneur (i.e. without employees), whereas such policy support is unrelated to intentions to become an employer entrepreneur (i.e. with employees). This suggests that policy support programs to start businesses may indeed lead to more entrepreneurs but not to more employer entrepreneurs creating additional wage jobs.