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Explaining Preferences and Actual Involvement in Self-Employment: New Insights into the Role of Gender
28 Jan 2008-ERIM report series research in management Erasmus Research Institute of Management (Erasmus Research Institute of Management)-
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated why women's self-employment rates are consistently lower than those of men and made a systematic distinction between different ways in which gender influences the preference for and actual involvement in self employment (mediation and moderation).
Abstract: textThis paper investigates why women’s self-employment rates are consistently lower than those of men. It has three focal points. It discriminates between the preference for self-employment and actual involvement in self-employment using a two (probit) equation model. It makes a systematic distinction between different ways in which gender influences the preference for and actual involvement in self-employment (mediation and moderation). It includes perceived ability as a potential driver of self-employment next to risk attitude, self-employed parents and other socio-demographic drivers. A representative data set of more than 8,000 individuals from 29 countries (25 EU member states, US, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) is used (the 2004 Flash Eurobarometer survey). The findings show that women’s lower preference for becoming self-employed plays an important role in explaining their lower involvement in self-employment and that a gender effect remains that may point at gender-based obstacles to entrepreneurship.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarize the extant literature on the relationship between gender and entrepreneurship, and note significant quantitative gender differences in business entry, with male-owned firms dominating the market.
Abstract: The authors summarize the extant literature on the relationship between gender and entrepreneurship. They note significant quantitative gender differences in business entry, with male-owned firms h...
307 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the results of a survey with business students indicate that the effect of gender on entrepreneurial intentions is mediated via personal attitudes and perceived behavioral control but not social norms, and that women are somewhat less driven toward entrepreneurship by beliefs of internal control that are more dominant in predicting perceived control.
218 citations
TL;DR: This article found that individuals who exhibit behavior associated with ADHD are more likely to have entrepreneurial intentions and that risk taking propensity is a mediator that partly explains the positive effect of behavioral tendencies associated with developmental disorders.
Abstract: Little is known about the relation between entrepreneurship and the extent of psychiatric symptoms. Validated psychiatric symptom scores are seldom used for non-clinical reasons. One prevalent symptom that deserves our interest is Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is a developmental disorder characterized by inattentiveness and hyperactivity that has been linked to occupational choice and performance. Building on the person–environment fit literature, we hypothesize that individuals who exhibit behavior associated with ADHD are more likely to have entrepreneurial intentions. Using a sample of 10,104 students enrolled in higher education, we can confirm our prediction that students with a higher level of ADHD-like behavior are more likely to have entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, we show that risk taking propensity is a mediator that partly explains this positive effect. Our study points to the importance of behavioral tendencies associated with developmental disorders, when making entrepreneurship decisions. Our study contributes to the literature on the determinants of entrepreneurship, which so far has largely neglected the effects of psychiatric symptoms on entrepreneurship.
121 citations
Book•
01 Aug 2010
TL;DR: A selection of the most significant published work on entrepreneurship and regional economic growth can be found in this paper, where the authors argue that technological change can be regarded as the most important factor in long-run macroeconomic growth.
Abstract: Entrepreneurship and regional development can be addressed from many different angles: clusters, creativity and human capital. Professor Acs, a distinguished researcher in this field, approaches this debate through technology. Technological change can be regarded as the most important factor in long-run macroeconomic growth. It has been argued in new growth theory that the technological element of the growth process results from the profit-motivated choices of economic agents. This important volume makes an essential contribution to this debate by presenting an authoritative selection of the most significant published work on entrepreneurship and regional economic growth.
111 citations
References
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TL;DR: This article seeks to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ, and delineates the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena.
Abstract: In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators.
80,095 citations
"Explaining Preferences and Actual I..." refers background or methods in this paper
...Alternative methods are proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) and Goodman (1960)....
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...3 For a discussion of moderation and mediation effects, see for example, James and Brett (1984) and Baron and Kenny (1986)....
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TL;DR: Ajzen, 1985, 1987, this article reviewed the theory of planned behavior and some unresolved issues and concluded that the theory is well supported by empirical evidence and that intention to perform behaviors of different kinds can be predicted with high accuracy from attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control; and these intentions, together with perceptions of behavioral control, account for considerable variance in actual behavior.
65,095 citations
"Explaining Preferences and Actual I..." refers background in this paper
...Before testing whether the relationships in Figure 1 apply equally across gender, we discuss and formulate hypotheses for the general effects portrayed in Figure 1....
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...Because the literature is not conclusive on this matter, we refrain from formulating a hypothesis on the possible existence of such gender-specific obstacles, but test for the existence of a moderating effect of gender in the relation between preferences and actual involvement in self-employment....
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...We investigate antecedents of both the preference for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity for women and men as well as the link between latent and actual entrepreneurial activity (i.e., how preferences influence actual behavior) and how gender influences the relationship between these two…...
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...To understand why women are less likely to engage in entrepreneurial activity, one should investigate how they perform at different stages of the entrepreneurial process, and determine at which stage women start to lag behind and why....
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...Several studies indicate that the preference for self-employment is an important indicator of actual involvement in self-employment, and that women have a lower preference for selfemployment vis-à-vis wage-employment than men (Grilo and Irigoyen, 2006; Blanchflower et al., 2001)....
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Book•
17 Mar 1980
TL;DR: In this paper, the author explains "theory and reasoned action" model and then applies the model to various cases in attitude courses, such as self-defense and self-care.
Abstract: Core text in attitude courses. Explains "theory and reasoned action" model and then applies the model to various cases.
26,683 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of reward or reinforcement on preceding behavior depend in part on whether the person perceives the reward as contingent on his own behavior or independent of it, and individuals may also differ in generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement.
Abstract: The effects of reward or reinforcement on preceding behavior depend in part on whether the person perceives the reward as contingent on his own behavior or independent of it. Acquisition and performance differ in situations perceived as determined by skill versus chance. Persons may also differ in generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. This report summarizes several experiments which define group differences in behavior when Ss perceive reinforcement as contingent on their behavior versus chance or experimenter control. The report also describes the development of tests of individual differences in a generalized belief in internal-external control and provides reliability, discriminant validity and normative data for 1 test, along with a description of the results of several studies of construct validity.
21,451 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors draw upon previous research conducted in the different social science disciplines and applied fields of business to create a conceptual framework for the field of entrepreneurship, and predict a set of outcomes not explained or predicted by conceptual frameworks already in existence in other fields.
Abstract: To date, the phenomenon of entrepreneurship has lacked a conceptual framework. In this note we draw upon previous research conducted in the different social science disciplines and applied fields of business to create a conceptual framework for the field. With this framework we explain a set of empirical phenomena and predict a set of outcomes not explained or predicted by conceptual frameworks already in existence in other fields.
11,161 citations
"Explaining Preferences and Actual I..." refers background in this paper
...Shane and Venkataraman (2000) note that risk tolerance may be more influential in the exploitation than in early (decision) phases of entrepreneurship....
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