I Regret as My Family Fallows My Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy! Evidence from the Male Sample of an Emerging Economy (Pakistan)

Entrepreneurial activities require thoughtful and cumbersome efforts, positive and forward-looking upward spiral, and strong entrepreneurial intentions. Drawing from the work-family interface model, this study aims at investigating the impact of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) on venturing intentions through moderated mediation mechanisms of family support and regret. The data were collected from 335 male graduate students of business schools through questionnaires from public sector universities of Pakistan in two lags, because the participation of the labor force in Pakistan is primarily influenced by the demographical composition (i.e., Males), which is linked with cultural traits of the nation. The study used Hayes Macros to test the hypotheses. The findings of the study reveal that ESE positively influences intentions, while low family support reduces the effects of ESE. Low family support also increases the regret of not starting a business for those individuals who had high self-efficacy. A Moderated-mediation mechanism also exists among the variables of the interest. This study reports the effects of low family support and regrets on intentions in the short-run (i.e., four months interval), future studies should conduct longitudinal studies to understand the long-term relationship. Increasing unemployment in developing countries requires unique and timely solutions and entrepreneurship is the most viable one. But this study highlights an important considerations of family support while making policy decisions. The findings highlight that mere entrepreneurial self-efficacy is not enough, and due to collectivist culture the family norms have great impact on the entrepreneurial choices and intentions. This study examines the mechanism between ESE and entrepreneurial intentions considering anticipated regret as a mediating variable and family support as a conditional variable. This study is first of its kind that has linked family support, ESE, regret, and entrepreneurial intentions using the work-family interface. It explains how family support can enhance regret and the relationship between self-efficacy and intentions.