Factors Influencing Hong Kong Youths’ Migration Entrepreneurial Intention in China’s Greater Bay Area

In line with the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Hong Kong government has introduced policies aimed at encouraging young Hong Kong residents to pursue their careers and establish businesses in mainland cities located in the GBA. While recent studies have focused on the mobility of Hong Kong youths to GBA cities, the factors that influence their migration entrepreneurial intention (MEI) in GBA remain unclear. As such, the primary objective of this study is to establish a conceptual framework to identify the relationships between personal factors, perception of the environment of GBA cities, and MEI. This study adopted an online survey using Google Forms to collect data from Hong Kong youths aged 18 to 40 between May and July 2022. Based on responses from 230 validated participants, the chi-square test revealed that those with majors in management, business, and economics have a high MEI. Those with prior entrepreneurial experience have a high MEI and those with entrepreneurship family background have a high MEI. Regarding environmental factors, binary logistic regression analysis indicated that unfamiliarity with the business environment, such as business law and regulations, tax, legal protection of products and services, mainland lifestyles, business competitions, and social security, do not significantly influence MEI. However, concerns about credibility resulting from a business failure, worried about the local working relationships, and raising funds were found to negatively influence MEI. Finally, this study provides theoretical implications for extant entrepreneurship research and practical implications for policymakers and educators.