Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Education and International Services

Program

Leadership PhD

First Advisor

Gustavo Gregorutti

Second Advisor

Jay Brand

Third Advisor

Sung K. Kwon

Abstract

The Problem

Entrepreneurship scholars have claimed that immigrants are more likely to become self-employed due to limited job opportunities, access to social networks, cultural background, necessity, and education and skills. However, the entrepreneurial experience of Hispanic immigrants in Toronto has yet to be examined. This quantitative study examined the attitudes, norms, and perceptions influencing entrepreneurial intention and the factors that encourage self-employment continuation among immigrants in Canada.

Method

This study used a survey questionnaire of ninety-four Hispanic entrepreneurs in Toronto to comprehend their entrepreneurial intention. It examined their proficiencies, studied their business characteristics, and predicted their behavior toward self employment continuation. The collected data responded to the descriptive variables, the control variables, and the intention variables. The latter variables were related to the TPB’s three dimensions: a) attitude toward entrepreneurship, b) social norm, and c) behavioral control. This dissertation studied the predictive power of the TPB in self employment continuation among Hispanic entrepreneurs.

Conclusions

Established on the theory of planned behavior, the investigation found that attitudes towards the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were significant predictors of Hispanic’s entrepreneurial intentions to continue in self employment. In addition, the study shows that perceived behavioral control offers the most substantial predictability for self-employment among Hispanics in contrast with attitudes toward the behaviors and social norms within this subculture reported by the research. The study outcomes have supported the theory of planned behavior and provided new insights for immigrant entrepreneurship research.

Subject Area

Entrepreneurship--Canada--Toronto; Businesspeople--Canada--Toronto; Hispanic American businesspeople

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