entrepreneurial choice: aptitudes, motivations and behaviour. serena cubico, elisa bortolani,...

Entrepreneurial Choice:Aptitudes, Motivations and

Behaviour.

Serena Cubico, Elisa Bortolani,Alessia Cubico, Giuseppe Favretto

Department of Psychology and Cultural AnthropologyCentre for Youth Entrepreneurial

UNIVERSITY OF VERONA

The International Association for Research in Economic Psychology

The Society for Advancement of Behavioral Economics

WORLD MEETING 2008Roma-Italia, September 3-6

S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto

Centro Imprenditoria GiovanileUniversità di Verona

Abstract

Entrepreneurship represents an interesting way of developing professionally and personally: people have

different levels of aptitudes; they are led to be entrepreneurs for various motivations, and put specific

behaviours to use.The sample consists of 100 users of the Chamber of Commerce’s New-Entrepreneurial-Service in Verona

who were interviewed by telephone.The first results reveal that successful entrepreneurs are

(significantly): less willing to conciliate work and family, more intent upon realizing new ideas, and more

oriented to a working without a boss (effects of age and educational qualifications are reported) and present different entrepreneurial aptitude levels related to behaviour (i.e. difficulty in information

research, management of bureaucracy…).



Entrepreneurship Entrepreneur,

Self Employment.



Introduction…

Entrepreneurship is an important path towards personal and economic

development(Dowling and Schmude, 2007; Fritsch and Mueller, 2004).

Study and support of entrepreneurship is important:

this phenomenon contributes to job creation and growth; it is crucial to

competitiveness; it triggers personal potential and is a motivating force in the

market economy(European Commission 2003).



… introduction…

The same Commission (2003, p.6) defines entrepreneurship as:

“the mindset and process to create and develop economic activity by blending

risk-taking, creativity and/or innovation with sound management,

within a new or an existing organization”



… introduction…

As in other studies(Grilo and Thurik, 2002; GEM, 2005),

we equate self-employment to entrepreneurship:

these workers provide incomefor themselves

in an independent way.



… introduction…

In the beginning, psychological studies investigated motivations and personal traits that underlie start

up and entrepreneurial success.Over time, the focus turned increasingly towards models that integrate individual and environmental

factors. In fact, recent research highlights ties between personal (motivations, aptitude, risk-taking

tendencies, innovativeness…) and contextual elements (expectations and family characteristics,

social and institutional support …)(Baum et al., 2007; Brockhaus and Nord, 1989; Favretto and Cubico,

2001).



… introduction…

Sociological studies have been oriented towards understanding social and family backgrounds of entrepreneurs and effects that entrepreneurial choices have on family, roles and social life in

general(Blanchflower, 2000; Steel, 2004).

Economic factors (paucity, opportunity, costs and income), technological developments and their

effects on work, and the demographical factors of entrepreneurs have dominated economic sciences

(Audretsch and Thurik, 2001; Cuervo, 2005).



The Research

The present research considers different approaches used in entrepreneurial

studies and focuses on selected personal variables that play a role with aspiring

entrepreneurs before and after the start up process.



The Context

Research was carried out in the Chamber of Commerce’s New-

Entrepreneurial-Service in Verona(SNI – Servizio Nuova Impresa),

a free service that offers informational and training services

to aspiring entrepreneurs.



The Objectives

• to estimate entrepreneurial aptitudes of people who show entrepreneurial interest and to distinguish specific ways of being, or of not being, an entrepreneur;

• to see whether successful entrepreneurs, when compared to unsuccessful ones, show different motivations in their entrepreneurial choices;

• to describe different choices and behaviour of people who have different motivations and aptitudes



The Instruments

The telephone interviews were supported by these two instruments:

• “Entrepreneurship Questionnaire – EQ” EQ is an ad hoc questionnaire made up of 32 items regarding different aspects of entrepreneurial life;

• “Entrepreneurial Aptitude Test – TAI (Test di Attitudine Imprenditoriale)”.TAI (Favretto and Sartori, 2007) describes the subject in relation to the potential toward entrepreneurship and it is defined by selected factors (Goal Orientation, Leadership, Adaptability, Need for Achievement, Need for Empowerment, Innovation, Flexibility, Autonomy). In this research we used a shortened version (23 items instead of 75), created through the Partial Credit Model – PCM (Master, 1982).



The Sample

The sample consists of 100 users (representative of population) of the Chamber of Commerce’s New-Entrepreneurial-Service in Verona (2005-2006), who were contacted by telephone interview in August and September 2007.

The sample breakdown is as follows:• Sex: female 61%; male 39%

• Average age: 32.72 (s.d. 8.29)• Origin: non-city 51%; city 49%



The Results

In general,we did not find significant differences

between entrepreneursand non-entrepreneurs regarding:

origin (city/non-city), gender,and previous job.



The Results: Entrepreneurial Aptitude

In this specific group of aspiring entrepreneurs,

significant differences in the entrepreneurial aptitude did not emerge.

Entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs alike show high levels of aptitude;

it is important to remember that the users of New-Entrepreneurial-Service of the

Chamber of Commerce of Verona are aspiring entrepreneurs (not people who

only need information).



The Results: Entrepreneurial Aptitude

It is possible however to discern that the different levels in the TAI score

for the subgroup of 21 entrepreneurs present interesting

relationships with:• less difficulty in receiving permits

• less use of private financing(Chi square analysis, pvalue < .05)



The Results: Motivations

We have calculated Chi Square (χ2) and significant differences between

entrepreneurs (21) and non-entrepreneurs (79) on motivation.

It is possible to see thatsome motivations

distinguish entrepreneursfrom non-entrepreneurs.



Motivations for entrepreneurial job among entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs

(N= 100; Likert Scale: “1-not at all important”, “2-little importance”, “3-more or less important”, “4-important”, “5-very important”; Chi square analysis)

MOTIVATION ENTREPRENEUR NON-ENTREPRENEUR pvalue Course of studies not coherent with previous job

75% “Not at all”

44% “Not at all”

.047

To conciliate work and family 45%

“Little” 27%

“Little” .026

To realize new ideas 30%

“Very” 9%

“Very” .003

To work without a boss 40%

“More or less” 61%

“More or less” .048

Dissatisfaction with previous job 51.0%

“More or less” n.s.

Searching for better economic circumstances

42.9% “More or less”

n.s.

A desire to take risks 56.1%

“Important” n.s.

A desire to escape monotony 53.1%


Previous entrepreneurial family background

82.7% “Not at all”

n.s.

Curiosity because friends have done it 87.8%

“Not at all” n.s.

Personal achievement 55.1%


To have a steady job 65.3%

“More or less” n.s.



The Results: Behaviour

In the entrepreneurs under study we found that some behaviours enacted during the process of enterprise creation are related to specific personal data variables:

This result reveals that involving banks and seeking information from local trade associations can be related to different motivations and educational

levels.

Taking out a bank loan - Educational level (-.475*) - Motivation: to have a steady job (.755**)

Receiving support from local trade associations

- Difficulty in receiving permits (.449*)

(pvalue: *= .05; **=.001)



The Results: Other Variables

In the final part of this work,we have chosen to highlight some other

interesting links that emerge from the research:



Correlations between personal variables, specific difficulties and motivations in entrepreneurs (N= 21; Rho Spearman; pvalue: *= .05; **=.001)

1/2

Age - Difficulty in receiving permits (-.483*) - Course of studies not coherent with previous job (.462*) - Realization of new ideas (-.458*)

Educational level - Taking out a bank loan ( -.475*) - Dissatisfaction with previous job (-.492*)

Difficulty in receiving permits

- See “Age” - Receiving support by the local trade associations (.499*)

Difficulty of timing with authorizations

- A desire to take risks (.688**) - A desire to escape monotony (.602**) - Working without a boss (.473*)

Satisfaction with New-Entrepreneurial-Service

- A desire to escape monotony (-.585**) - Personal achievement (-.594**)

Dissatisfaction with previous job

- See “Educational level” - Working without a boss (.614**)

Searching for better economic circumstances

- Previous entrepreneurial family background (-.491*)

A desire to take risks - See “Difficulty in receiving permits” - A desire to escape monotony (.712**) - Personal achievement (.585**)



Correlations between personal variables, specific difficulties and motivations in entrepreneurs (N= 21; Rho Spearman ; pvalue: *= .05; **=.001)

2/2

A desire to escape monotony - See “Difficulty of timing with authorizations” - See “Satisfaction with New-Entrepreneurial-Service” - See “A desire to take risks” - Personal achievement (.638**)

Personal achievement - See “Satisfaction with New-Entrepreneurial-Service” - See “A desire to take risks” - See “A desire to escape monotony

Course of studies not coherent with previous job

- See “Age”

To conciliate work and family

- To have a steady job (.630**)

Realization of new ideas - See “Age”

To have a steady job - Taking out a bank loan (.755**) - See “To conciliate work and family” - To work without a boss (.557*)

To work without a boss - See “Difficulty of timing with authorizations” - See “Dissatisfaction with previous job” - See “To have a steady job”



Considerations about these last results… • AGE: a higher age helps in the relationship

with bureaucracy and reduces new ideas;• EDUCATIONAL LEVEL: higher levels raise the

use of the financing and seems to trigger minor levels of dissatisfaction accompanied by less desire to change from previous job;

• aspiring entrepreneurs that declare a strong MOTIVATION TO ESCAPE MONOTONY present particularly in receiving permits and less satisfaction with the New-Entrepreneurial-Service, it seems that this type of person is less able to manage bureaucratic relationships;



… considerations about these last results • the DESIRE FOR A STEADY JOB and to

CONCILIATE WORK AND FAMILY appear strongly related, as if a tranquil life is part of this way of working;

• to WORK WITHOUT A BOSS appears to be correlated in an interesting way to DIFFICULTY WITH TIMING OF AUTHORIZATIONS and with DISSATISFACTION IN PREVIOUS JOB, indicating that “authority” might be a specific problem with some aspiring entrepreneurs.



Discussion

We have found that successful entrepreneurs (users that create

enterprises after their contact with the New-Entrepreneurial-Service) present

specific characteristics.• People who have high entrepreneurial

aptitudes manage bureaucratic phases and their personal financial resources

better.



Discussion

Different motivations characterized the successful entrepreneur, in fact he/she

is:• not at all motivated by past education;

• less driven by personal time management issues;

• more or less motivated by the desire to work without a boss

• very much motivated by the possibility of realizing new ideas.



Discussion

In our research, even with its limited sample number, it is possible to suggest that educational level

influences financial autonomy and that local trade associations are an

effective type of support for aspiring entrepreneurs that perceive difficulty in some

bureaucratic phases.



Discussion

These results show that successful entrepreneurs are different from

unsuccessful entrepreneurs (above all in certain motivations), which has practical

consequences on career guidance of aspiring entrepreneurs, on

entrepreneurial training and on decision-making support for

entrepreneurial choices.



References

• Audretsch, D.B. and Thurik, R. (2001). What’s New about the New Economy? Sources of Growth in the Managed and Entrepreneurial Economies. Industrial and Corporate Change, 10(1), 267-315.

• Baum, J.R., Frese, M. and Baron, R. (Eds.)(2007). The Psychology of Entrepreneurship. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahawah, NJ.

• Blanchflower, D.G. (2000). Self-employment in OECD Countries. Labour Economics, 7, 471-505.• Brockhaus, R.H. and Nord, W.R (1989). An exploration of factor affecting the entrepreneurial decision: Personal

characteristics vs. environmental conditions. Proceeding of the Academy of Management, 364-368.• Cuervo, A. (2005). Individual and Environmental Determinants of Entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship

and Management Journal, 1, 293-311.• Dowling, M. and Schmude, J. (Eds) (2007). Empirical Entrepreneurship in Europe. New Perspective. Edward Elgar

Publishing: Northampton, Massachussets.• European Commission (2003). Green Paper. Entrepreneurship in Europe. COM(2003) 27 final, Brussels 21.1.2003.• Favretto G. and Sartori R. (a cura di) (2007). Le età dell’impresa. Giovani imprenditori e lavoratori esperti.

FrancoAngeli: Milano, Italia.• Favretto, G. e Cubico, S. (2001). L’esperienza del Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile di Verona. Valutazione e sviluppo

del potenziale imprenditoriale, Magellano, 7, 23-32.• Fritsch, M. and Mueller, P. (2004). Effects of New Business Formation on Regional Development over Time. Regional

Studies, 38(8), 961-975.• GEM – Global Enterpreneurship Monitor (2005), Rapporto Nazionale Italia, [on line: www.gemconsortium.org].• Grilo, I. and Thurik, R. (2002). Determinats of entrepreneurship in Europe, in Audretsch, D.B., Thurik, R., Verheul, I

and Wennekers, S. Entrepreneurship: Determinants and Policy in a European-US Comparison. Kluwer Academic Publisher: Dordrecht.

• Masters G. N. (1982). A Rasch Model for Partial Credit Scoring. Psychometrika, 47, 149-174.• Steele, G.R., (2004). Understanding Economic Man. Psychology, Rationality, and Values. The American Journal of

Economics and Sociology, 63(5), 1021-1055.

http://www.gemconsortium.org/



“Thank you

for your

kind attention…”

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entrepreneurial choice: aptitudes, motivations and behaviour. serena cubico, elisa bortolani,...

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