Agricultural entrepreneurship fostering from behavioral decision theory perspective. Celebrity branding impact on financial and non-financial motivation

Abstract

Agricultural entrepreneurship fostering is an important part of the EU and US rural policies. Despite the fact that literature points attention to the issue of limited number of new entrants in agriculture, existing policies are mostly focused on support of existing entrepreneurs. Recent research describes such behavioral reasons of limited number of new entrants as low attractiveness and not appealing image of the agricultural sector. This paper considers the issue of attracting new entrepreneurs to agriculture from behavioral decision theory perspective and suggests celebrity branding as a tool of agricultural entrepreneurship fostering. Through the application of multi-criteria decision analysis, the paper proves that celebrity branding has a significant positive effect on attractiveness of entrepreneurship in agriculture and on expected financial and non-financial benefits from entrepreneurial career in the sector. Also, the paper reveals that financial motivation plays the most important role for individuals attracted to urban spheres of entrepreneurship and is the second most important factor (after self-realization) for individuals attracted to the agricultural sphere of entrepreneurship. The paper also demonstrates a debiasing effect of celebrity branding on the perception of entrepreneurial career in agriculture.