Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify human capital factors that pertain both to setting up and successfully running a business. To achieve this objective, the authors apply and extend the theory of career choice offered by Lazear (2005) that explains individual selection into entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachThe authors hypothesise that individuals with broader educational and professional backgrounds are more likely to start a business and are more likely to run a business in the long term. The authors tested the hypotheses using unique data from 800 current entrepreneurs, 800 employees who were previously entrepreneurs and 842 employees with no entrepreneurial experience, by means of a logit regression with robust standard errors and extensive robustness checks.FindingsThe authors empirically show that individuals with more diverse educational and professional backgrounds tend to have both greater chances of starting a company, as well as a higher probability of entrepreneurial success. Surprisingly, having managerial experience proved to exert a negative influence on the likelihood of starting a business while having an insignificant impact on the odds of entrepreneurial success.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are informative for those planning or pursuing an entrepreneurial career, but they are also relevant for the purpose of entrepreneurship education.Originality/valueThe author's extend the body of research supporting Lazear's (2005) theory by showing that broad education and professional experience not only contribute to a higher propensity to start a company but they are also success factors in business per se.
Highlights
Despite the large number of studies on the determinants of individual entrepreneurship, relatively little research addresses the issue of the personal characteristics that make it possible both to set up and sustain a successful business (Saridakis et al, 2008; Arribas and Vila, 2007; Astebro and Bernhardt, 2005; Boyer and Blazy, 2014)
As we are interested in what makes individuals successful in setting up and running a business, we look closer at one of the most recognised theories of career choice and entrepreneurship (Hsieh et al, 2017; Kurczewska et al, 2020) offered by Lazear (2005) and confirmed in many other empirical studies
It is followed by the results section, where we present and discuss our findings on successful entrepreneurship in the context of Lazear’s theory
Summary
Despite the large number of studies on the determinants of individual entrepreneurship, relatively little research addresses the issue of the personal characteristics that make it possible both to set up and sustain a successful business (Saridakis et al, 2008; Arribas and Vila, 2007; Astebro and Bernhardt, 2005; Boyer and Blazy, 2014). The entrepreneurship research focusses more on identifying the precursors of an entrepreneurial career It investigates entrepreneurial skills and the experiences and knowledge that are required in the process of starting a business (Davidsson and Honig, 2003). Even more often, they look at the antecedents of entrepreneurial behaviour, like entrepreneurial motives and intentions (Krueger et al, 2000; Douglas and Shepherd, 2002; Lin~an and Chen, 2009; Zhao et al, 2010),. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
