Behavior Indicators for Entrepreneurial Intentions in High-Tech Entrepreneurship within SMEs of the Indian Aerospace Industry: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

High-tech entrepreneurship in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), is crucial for the advancement of the aerospace industry, particularly in India, where notable progress has been witnessed in the last two decades, contributing significantly to technological advancements, defense capabilities, and space exploration efforts. Leveraging their specialization, high-tech entrepreneurs deliver high-quality, tailored products, and solutions. Despite the significant role played by high-tech entrepreneurs there remains limited exploration of behavioral indicators for entrepreneurial intentions in the Indian aerospace sector. Quantitative studies are valuable for generalization, but exploratory qualitative research offers more context-dependent insights. Qualitative research utilizing Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been adopted in this study to investigate the behavior indicators of high-tech entrepreneurship within SMEs in the Indian aerospace industry. Using semi-structured interviews of twenty-four successful high-tech entrepreneurs, this study identifies thirty behavior indicators for high-tech entrepreneurship including risk-taking, perseverance, commitment to quality, to be one's own boss, empowerment of subordinates, technical expertise, self-confidence, and ability to work with cutting-edge technologies. Some of these indicators were not common with the findings of previous research on high-tech entrepreneurship, such as commitment to quality, empowering employees, technical expertise, and working on cutting-edge technologies. This study also brings out unique motivational factors namely relative work experience and underutilized skills within corporate settings. These findings contribute significantly to the existing theory of high-tech entrepreneurship and offer valuable insights for academia, industry, and government for entrepreneurial education and policy development to nurture successful high-tech entrepreneurs, thereby promoting a self-sustainable and competitive Indian aerospace industry.