In today’s economies, companies are seen as key drivers of regional development. However, due to the high number of business failures, it is not sufficient to merely encourage new ventures. Instead, it is essential to understand the factors contributing to business success. This study aims to explore the factors that influence entrepreneurs’ actions leading to company success. The sample for this study consisted of 9703 students who currently own businesses in European and Latin American countries. The data for this study was analysed using a Structural Equation Model (SEM). Our research proposes a model of successful business behaviour. It shows that the founder’s intentions to achieve success and the surrounding conditions significantly impact actions leading to company success. The model also identifies factors affecting entrepreneurs’ intentions to succeed, including motivation expectancy, work effort expectancy and social influence. Additionally, we examine how gender, region, and sustainability moderate business behaviour. We extend the application of the UTAUT model from information technology users to the field of entrepreneurship. This expansion allows us to test the model’s relevance in contexts where intention plays a crucial role, but successful implementation is even more critical.
• Utilising UTAUT model to create an entrepreneurship framework, focusing on university entrepreneurs in Latin America and Europe. • Motivation Expectancy
influences the Founder’s Success Intentions (FSI) significantly, followed by Work Effort Expectancy.
• Social Influence positively impacts FSI, while Facilitating Conditions (FC) and FSI contribute to Successful Business Behaviours (SBB).
• Sustainability moderates FSI – SBB relationship negatively, while region and gender do not significantly moderate this.
• FC’s influence on SBB remains consistent across regions, and a minimal positive moderating effect of gender on FC’s impact on SBB for females than
males.