Environmental and Individual Determinants of Female Entrepreneurship in Algeria: Applying the Structural Equation Modeling

On the basis of the seminal work of Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), we try to clarify how individual and environment factors influence the students’ attitudes towards Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Intention. After a short review of literature, we present the results of an empirical study conducted among a sample of 290 final year students by using a structural equation modeling validated through the use of a two-stage analysis of Anderson and Gerbing (1988) and a factorial confirmatory analysis and a measurement adjustment (Hair et al.1998). Attitude driven from individual variables is negative while that derived from environmental variables is positive. Our results show furthermore, that the role of media and institutions is still Limited and needs redeployment. Woman is now recognized as one of the sources of economic growth (Arasti 2008). Although female entrepreneurship is attracting more and more researchers, it is still considered as an understudied field of research (De Bruin et al.2006, 2007; Brush, De Bruin, & Welter, 2009). Research on female entrepreneurship has intensified since the early 80s, but few have explored the influence of environmental and individual factors related to female entrepreneurship.