Ageing and entrepreneurial preferences
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© 2014 Springer Science + Business Media. This is the post print version of the following article: Kautonen, Teemu & Down, Simon & Minniti, Maria. 2014. Ageing and entrepreneurial preferences. Small Business Economics. Volume 42, Issue 3. 579-594. DOI: 10.1007/s11187-013-9489-5, which has been published in final form at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-013-9489-5.
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School of Business |
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
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Date
2014
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Language
en
Pages
579-594
Series
Small Business Economics, Volume 42, Issue 3
Abstract
Previous research on age and entrepreneurship assumed homogeneity and downplayed age-related differences in the motives and aims underlying enterprising behaviour. We argue that the heterogeneity of entrepreneurship influences how the level of entrepreneurial activity varies with age. Using a sample of 2566 respondents from 27 European countries we show that entrepreneurial activity increases almost linearly with age for individuals who prefer to only employ themselves (self-employers), whereas it increases up to a critical threshold age (late 40s) and decreases thereafter for those who aspire to hire workers (owner-managers). Age has a considerably smaller effect on entrepreneurial behaviour for those who do not prefer self-employment but are pushed into it by lack of alternative employment opportunities (reluctant entrepreneurs). Our results question the conventional wisdom that entrepreneurial activity declines with age and suggest that effective responses to demographic changes require policy makers to pay close attention to the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial preferences.Description
Keywords
age, entrepreneurship, self-employment, preference, demographic change
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Citation
Kautonen, Teemu & Down, Simon & Minniti, Maria. 2014. Ageing and entrepreneurial preferences. Small Business Economics. Volume 42, Issue 3. 579-594. DOI: 10.1007/s11187-013-9489-5.