Entrepreneurial re-entry intention in a crisis context: evidence from the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

This study examines how the intention to re-enter entrepreneurship is formed among business owners who experienced firm closure during the COVID-19 crisis. Although the Theory of Planned Behavior has demonstrated strong explanatory power in the analysis of entrepreneurial intention, limited evidence exists regarding its performance when individuals have recently undergone business closure due to a systemic shock. Using a sample of entrepreneurs from the department of Quindío, Colombia, who cancelled their commercial registration in 2020, a structural equation model was estimated to assess the role of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control in shaping the intention to re-enter entrepreneurship. The findings indicate that subjective norms and motivational attitudes remain significant determinants in this context, whereas sociodemographic and prior business characteristics exhibit lower explanatory power. These results extend the empirical application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to crisis settings and provide evidence on the cognitive and social factors influencing the reactivation of entrepreneurial trajectories after business closure.