Journal 5 : Who becomes an entrepreneur? Early life experiences as predictors of entrepreneurship

Who becomes an entrepreneur? Early life experiences as predictors of entrepreneurship

Ingrid Schoon and Kathryn Duckworth

Institute of Education, University of London

The purpose of this study is to formulate and test a developmental–contextual model of entrepreneurship that stresses the interplay between early personal characteristics and contextual influences in shaping the step into entrepreneurial activity.

Based on the findings, there are certain characteristics that the entrepreneurs all share. Entrepreneurs are more likely to have father who was self-employed and during age 10, they showed a higher levels of self-esteem and has better social skills than most at that age. In the teen years, or specifically in age 16 they expressed higher commitment to work for themselves.

Family socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with the academic attainment and social skills of the offspring and showed a positive direct association with entrepreneurship among daughters. Parental role modelling does not have a significant association with the sons’ academic at age 10 but has a positive association with entrepreneurial intention of sons and daughters at 16. Which result in being an entrepreneur by the age 34.

Early social skills have positive association with becoming self-employed by 34 for both men and women, most entrepreneurs have a high social skills.

In the most basic way, The findings suggest that young people are influenced in their career choices and development by early socialization experiences in the family, and point toward the

crucial role of early social skills and entrepreneurial intentions (in addition to and above family background factors and other personal characteristics) as predictors of later entrepreneurial activities.

link: Journal 5