Culture and entrepreneurial intentions of Madagascan ethnic groups

Purpose – This paper aims to delve deeper into understanding to what extent does culture influence entrepreneurship by connecting the causal chain from cultural values to perceived desirability to entrepreneurial intention (EI). Cultural values form a central part of entrepreneurial discourse and have accordingly been the subject of several studies relating to EIs. Design/methodology/approach – The study takes place in an under-researched country, Madagascar, where instead of focussing on national culture a more nuanced approach is taken by studying several fine-grained groupings of culture at the ethnic level. Based on a survey, 2,220 responses are statistically analysed according to the three main ethnic groups in Madagascar. Findings – In terms of hypotheses testing, findings show that cultural dimensions influence the relationship between perceived desirability and EI only for the highlander ethnic group. Differences between the ethnic groups are also observed in terms of the indulgence-restraint cultural dimension. Practical implications – When encouraging entrepreneurship in Madagascar policymakers should take cognisance of the complexity of cultural factors among ethnic groups and the interrelationship between perceived desirability and intentions. Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to measure cultural values in Madagascar and include the indulgence-restraint cultural dimension. The study takes place in a multicultural, non-Western and predominantly necessity-based entrepreneurship context, where understanding the role that culture plays in shaping intentions can prove to be valuable.