The International Association for Research in Economic Psychology
The Society for Advancement of Behavioral Economics
WORLD MEETING 2008
Roma-Italia, September 3-6
Entrepreneurial Choice:
Aptitudes, Motivations and
Behaviour.
Serena Cubico, Elisa Bortolani,
Alessia Cubico, Giuseppe Favretto
Department of Psychology and Cultural Anthropology
Centre for Youth Entrepreneurial
UNIVERSITY OF 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…).
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneur,
Self Employment.
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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).
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
… 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”
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
… introduction…
As in other studies
(Grilo and Thurik, 2002; GEM, 2005),
we equate self-employment to
entrepreneurship:
these workers provide income
for themselves
in an independent way.
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
… 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).
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
… 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).
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
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S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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.
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
The Context
Research was carried out in the
Chamber of Commerce’s NewEntrepreneurial-Service in Verona
(SNI – Servizio Nuova Impresa),
a free service that offers
informational and training services
to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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).
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
The Sample
The sample consists of 100 users
(representative of population) of the
Chamber of Commerce’s NewEntrepreneurial-Service in Verona (20052006), 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%
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
The Results
In general,
we did not find significant differences
between entrepreneurs
and non-entrepreneurs regarding:
origin (city/non-city), gender,
and previous job.
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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).
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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)
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
The Results: Motivations
We have calculated Chi Square (χ2) and
significant differences between
entrepreneurs (21) and nonentrepreneurs (79) on motivation.
It is possible to see that
some motivations
distinguish entrepreneurs
from non-entrepreneurs.
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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
Course of studies not coherent with
previous job
To conciliate work and family
To realize new ideas
To work without a boss
Dissatisfaction with previous job
Searching for better economic
circumstances
A desire to take risks
A desire to escape monotony
Previous entrepreneurial family
background
Curiosity because friends have done it
Personal achievement
To have a steady job
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ENTREPRENEUR
75%
“Not at all”
45%
“Little”
30%
“Very”
40%
“More or less”
NON-ENTREPRENEUR
44%
“Not at all”
27%
“Little”
9%
“Very”
61%
“More or less”
51.0%
“More or less”
42.9%
“More or less”
56.1%
“Important”
53.1%
“Important”
82.7%
“Not at all”
87.8%
“Not at all”
55.1%
“Important”
65.3%
“More or less”
pvalue
.047
.026
.003
.048
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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:
Taking out a bank loan
- Educational level (-.475*)
- Motivation: to have a steady job (.755**)
Receiving support from local - Difficulty in receiving permits (.449*)
trade associations
(pvalue: *= .05; **=.001)
This result reveals that involving banks and
seeking information from local trade associations
can be related to different motivations and
educational levels.
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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:
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
Correlations between personal variables, specific difficulties and motivations in
entrepreneurs (N= 21; Rho Spearman; pvalue: *= .05; **=.001)
1/2
Age
Educational level
Difficulty in receiving
permits
Difficulty of timing with
authorizations
Satisfaction with NewEntrepreneurial-Service
- Difficulty in receiving permits (-.483*)
- Course of studies not coherent with previous job (.462*)
- Realization of new ideas (-.458*)
- Taking out a bank loan ( -.475*)
- Dissatisfaction with previous job (-.492*)
- See “Age”
- Receiving support by the local trade associations (.499*)
- A desire to take risks (.688**)
- A desire to escape monotony (.602**)
- Working without a boss (.473*)
- A desire to escape monotony (-.585**)
- Personal achievement (-.594**)
Dissatisfaction with previous - See “Educational level”
job
- 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**)
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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
- See “Age”
coherent with previous job
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*)
- See “Difficulty of timing with authorizations”
- See “Dissatisfaction with previous job”
- See “To have a steady job”
To work without a boss
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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-EntrepreneurialService, it seems that this type of person is
less able to manage bureaucratic
relationships;
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
… 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.
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Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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.
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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.
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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.
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
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.
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
References
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S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto
“Thank
you
for
your
kind
attention…”
[email protected]
Centro Imprenditoria Giovanile
Università di Verona
S. Cubico, E. Bortolani, A. Cubico, G. Favretto