FACTORS INFLUENCING VETERAN ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION

Veteran business owners are essential contributors to American society and the U. S. economy. Statistics showed a looming drawdown of military personnel and comparatively higher unemployment rates than the civilian population, which led to a growing interest in assisting veterans with entrepreneurship. Studies show that military service has a strong association with entrepreneurship. Few studies have identified key factors of veteran business ownership and action-oriented questions on how or why veteran entrepreneurs find their way to business ownership. There are calls in the literature to answer the question of whether entrepreneurial competencies can influence entrepreneurial intentions. Veterans are often faced with the challenge of building a second career following separation from the military. There is limited research about what factors may motivate and support their transition to self-employment or how they fare compared to nonveteran employees. Furthermore, there are no studies that examine the role of resilience in the entrepreneurial process related to American Veteran Entrepreneurs. The purpose of the study is to determine if resilience and entrepreneurial competencies influence veteran entrepreneurial intention to start a business. This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial intentions among Veterans.