A comparative study on student intentions in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia to start family businesses

Family businesses are of great importance for the wider economy and competitiveness of individual economies. In developed countries, family business represents a backbone of economic development. In recent years, family businesses in transition countries have attracted increasing attention from researchers, because the process of transition has caused major changes in the political, economic and cultural life of these countries. The key problem of family businesses represents generational transfer, which is often difficult to overcome. Students' interest in starting family business after graduation is traditionally very low. So, the main objective of INTERGEN (The intergenerational family businesses as a stress management instrument for entrepreneurs) research group (members of this group are from nine countries) was to determine the factors which can significantly help to explain the students' willingness to engage in any entrepreneurial activity, including family business, and to overcome possible obstacles. This paper presents the comparative results of the survey conducted in three countries, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.