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Age, culture, and self-employment motivation

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Abstract

To study the interplay between age and culture as driver of self-employment motivation, we examine cross-sectional age differences (young to late adulthood) in self-employment desirability and feasibility beliefs across different cultures. We utilize individual-level data from the 2012 Flash Eurobarometer survey collected in 21 countries (total N = 13,963 individuals) and culture-level data from the GLOBE project. Our results from multi-level regression analyses show similar curvilinear lifespan patterns in both desirability and feasibility beliefs, with a peak in young adulthood and a strong decline toward late adulthood. This general pattern of age differences in these motivational factors, however, differs significantly across cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, institutional collectivism and performance orientation. Notwithstanding the limitations of cross-sectional data, the present results indicate that individual factors motivating self-employment are systematically intertwined with, and embedded in, both age and culture. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

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Notes

  1. While the pool of potential ‘third-age’ entrepreneurs is increasing, this, however, does not necessarily mean that the share of older individuals engaging in self-employment is increasing everywhere. A recent study of US near-retirees (55–64 years old) shows a declining trend in self-employment between 1994 and 2012 (Heim 2015). The decline is found to be driven by an increase in the exit rate to wage and salary employment, a decline in the rate of self-employment among new entrants into this age cohort, and an increase in the share of these new entrants. The author also finds that health insurance coverage and after-tax prices of health insurance are significantly associated with these three rates.

  2. A report showing main findings of the survey is available at http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_354_en.pdf.

  3. This choice has also been driven by the design of the survey; indeed, measures of both desirability beliefs and feasibility were assessed in individuals who were not entrepreneurs or were taking steps to become such.

  4. Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Turkey, Switzerland, Brazil, Japan, United States, South Korea.

  5. In the case some year was missing, the average was calculated for the remaining years.

  6. These analyses are available from authors upon request, together with other analyses such as: the repetition of the estimations through OLS regression, not taking into consideration the nested data structure; robustness checks on outlying nation; and effect size representation of the estimations.

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Acknowledgments

We thank seminar participants at Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship (SSES) and Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering and Center for Young and Family Enterprise (CYFE), University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy

    Tommaso Minola

  2. Centre for Family Enterprise and Ownership - CeFEO, Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, Sweden

    Giuseppe Criaco

  3. Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Campus Haus A13, 66123, Saarbrücken, Germany

    Martin Obschonka

  4. Center for Applied Developmental Science, University of Jena, Semmelweisstrasse 12, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Martin Obschonka

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  1. Tommaso Minola
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Correspondence to Martin Obschonka.

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Minola, T., Criaco, G. & Obschonka, M. Age, culture, and self-employment motivation. Small Bus Econ 46, 187–213 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-015-9685-6

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