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The Role of Sociocultural Background on the Characteristics and the Financing of Youth Entrepreneurship. An Exploratory Study of University Graduates in Italy

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Abstract

Entrepreneurship studies have tended to give primacy to specific human capital as being the primary determinant of the entrepreneurial choice. Several empirical studies show that in addition to prior parental experience of entrepreneurship, formal education plays a considerable role in developing entrepreneurial activity. However, providing the necessary start-up support infrastructure is also a key element to creating successful businesses. Finally, recognition of how specific components of young entrepreneurial vocation significantly influence funding relationship offers sizable diagnostic power for future entrepreneurship behavior. Taking its starting point from recent research, the proposed study aims at finding empirical validation of research propositions formulated through the construction and the development of an innovative model able to understand the complex process leading university graduates to become advance entrepreneur. The results of the study raise important questions about the identification of potentially influential factors to encourage entrepreneurship among young graduates and the appropriate mechanisms to provide entrepreneurial graduates the chance to achieve entrepreneurial development.

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Notes

  1. The response to the research questions was carried out through an analysis of dependence based on the model of linear regression analysis. As it is well-known, this approach consists in the analysis performed on samples of variables in order to investigate the relationship between one of them (the dependent variable) and the remaining (independent variables).

  2. Starting from an empirical analysis of a sample of companies in the UK, Pavitt (1984) classified the firms by adopting the following five standard criteria: potential sources of innovation, types of innovations, degree of appropriability of innovations, the existence of barriers to entry, and business size. By adopting this methodology, Pavitt identified four sectoral clusters with an increasing degree of innovation referred to as: (1) supplier-dominated, (2) scale-intensive, (3) specialized supplier, and (4) science-based. The latter classification was adopted in this research in order to classify the sample of firms investigated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Second University of Naples, Corso Granpriorato di Malta 1, I, 81043, Capua, Italy

    Francesco Campanella, Maria Rosaria Della Peruta & Manlio Del Giudice

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  1. Francesco Campanella
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  2. Maria Rosaria Della Peruta
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  3. Manlio Del Giudice
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Correspondence to Maria Rosaria Della Peruta.

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Campanella, F., Della Peruta, M.R. & Del Giudice, M. The Role of Sociocultural Background on the Characteristics and the Financing of Youth Entrepreneurship. An Exploratory Study of University Graduates in Italy. J Knowl Econ 4, 244–259 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-013-0157-4

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