Purpose This paper aims to explore the effects of the positive psychological capital of young start-up entrepreneurs on start-up intention and entrepreneurial performance and examines variations in the relationship when measures based on ) cultural dimensions model are applied. This study aimed to analyze whether the sub-factors comprising positive psychological capital differ across distinct groups, thereby enhancing the effects on start-up intention and entrepreneurial performance. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a total of 600 young start-up entrepreneurs from China ( n = 300) and Korea ( n = 300) to examine the relationship between psychological capital and start-up intention on entrepreneurial performance. To test the hypotheses, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with covariance structure analysis was conducted using EQS6b. Findings The results of the CFA show that sub-factors that comprise positive psychological capital, namely, hope, resilience and self-efficacy, were found to have positive effects on start-up intention. However, another sub-factor, optimism, did not have a significant effect on start-up intention. In addition, the positive psychological capital of young start-up entrepreneurs was found to be closely related to start-up intention. Research limitations/implications A limitation of this study is that it fails to cover a wide range of concepts associated with psychological capital. There are likely many concepts that factor into understanding psychological capital beyond trust, the sharing of core values and the sharing of knowledge. In the future, systematic studies need to be conducted on models that review the roles of a wide range of explanatory variables for psychological capital. Practical implications The implications of this study apply in two areas. First, the academic implications involve the evaluation of psychological capital. Psychological capital is not being studied as widely as it should be in many areas of management and financial studies. Even though intrinsic factors such as psychological capital are core marketing concepts that cannot be neglected by today’s enterprises and CEOs, theories and empirical studies on these factors have made little progress. Under such circumstances, this study represents an opportunity to advance the theoretical discussion by presenting and examining new intrinsic factors associated with young start-up entrepreneurs from the perspectives of the managerial mindset, personnel management and marketing capabilities. Social implications In the early stages of the introduction of psychological capital, studies focused on the meaning of research, the development of valid measurement tools and strategies for developing psychological capital. This paper presents an empirical study on the relationship between several variables related to the positive psychological capital of entrepreneurs, start-up intention and entrepreneurial performance. On the individual level, this study focused on the relationship between psychological capital and start-up intention and entrepreneurial performance, respectively. Originality/value Existing studies on psychological capital have focused mainly on positive organizational behavior. In the early stages of the introduction of psychological capital, studies focused on the meaning of research, the development of valid measurement tools and strategies for developing psychological capital. This paper presents an empirical study on the relationship between several variables related to the positive psychological capital of entrepreneurs, start-up intention and entrepreneurial performance.
