Purpose – Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence of the advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurship surrounding the entrepreneurial intention on a university context.
Design/methodology/approach – To test the hypothesis it is used a quantitative research. With a structural equations approach, it is explored the psychological mechanisms that could affect to the entrepreneurial intentions of university students.
Findings – The results obtained show that the advantages related to entrepreneurship, in particular personal rewards, influence positively on the entrepreneurial attitude. However, the disadvantages, in particular economic aspects, have a negative effect. Additionally, the authors test that the gender and the academic training have a moderate effect on the variables which influence on the entrepreneurial intention.
Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship in two important aspects. First, it goes into detail about the influence that perceived advantages and disadvantages of starting a new business has on entrepreneurial intentions. Second, the authors examine relevant and special collective, university students that try to decide their professional future and, hence, it is a critical period to decide the startup of a new business.