Why is Germany less entrepreneurial? A behavioral reasoning perspective

Abstract

This study uses empirical data collected from the entrepreneurial working environments to examine and reason the effect of entrepreneurial behaviors on the stagnation of entrepreneurship in Germany and how these behaviors are influenced by the national cultural characteristics, practices and values. Using ethnographic research techniques and Grounded Theory method, we observe that the entrepreneurial behaviors—in the context of managing adversities for the first time—are impacted by the German cultural practices and characteristics: (1) “Do-it-Yourself” culture, (2) perfectionism and (3) social trust issues. Consequently, we suggest that these practices reflect the relevance of the behaviors’ reasoning to uncertainty avoidance and risk aversion as cultural values in Germany. This study describes and reasons the behaviors of entrepreneurs in their early venturing stage, and contributes to the new area of research that seeks more links between the entrepreneurial behaviors and the cultural values, and how both impact the entrepreneurial growth and success.