Latent Entrepreneurship Research Articles

To be or not to be: Latent entrepreneurship, the networked agent, and the fear factor

• Latent entrepreneurship is underpinned by micro and macro level factors. • A would-be entrepreneur is connected to a heterogeneous network of relations. • Contextual risks and uncertainties impact the would-be entrepreneur's appraisals of fear. • Fear can be negative or positive in the shift from latent to emergent entrepreneurship. • There is a dynamic interplay between the would-be entrepreneur and their context. This conceptual paper explores a potential entrepreneur's journey of possessing the intention to start a new venture, but not necessarily realising it. We use the perspectives of actor-network theory and affective events theory to argue that latent entrepreneurship is underpinned by micro- and macro-level factors. First, the would-be entrepreneur is inescapably connected to a heterogeneous entrepreneurial network of relations that may enable or constrain entrepreneurship. Second, contextual risks and uncertainties impact the would-be entrepreneur's cognitive appraisals of and behavioural responses to fear, either leading to latent entrepreneurship or emergent entrepreneurship. We propose a framework to depict the interplay between the individual and the context within the dynamics of latent and emergent entrepreneurship. Our contribution is twofold: First, we contribute to the actor-network theory by suggesting that fear is one of the tokens in a would-be entrepreneur's heterogeneous network of relations, and that it must be negotiated either for latent or emergent entrepreneurship. Second, we advance the understanding of the role of fear in the entrepreneurial process by conceptualising it as a context-specific phenomenon and highlighting its dualistic nature, showing how it could play both negative and positive roles in the shift from latent to emergent entrepreneurship.

Impact of tourism development on latent entrepreneurship in BRICS

Impact of tourism development on latent entrepreneurship in BRICS

The role of institutions in latent and emergent entrepreneurship

• Both the heterogeneity of institutional conditions and the heterogeneity of entrepreneurship stage matter. • The same institutional setting can have different implications for latent and emergent entrepreneurship. • The interplay between informal embedded institutions and formal and governance institutions augments what is known about direct effects of institutions on entrepreneurship. • Corruption impedes both latent and emergent entrepreneurship, with the effect lasting almost three times as long for latent entrepreneurship. Drawing from perspectives on institutional hierarchy (Williamson) and social embeddedness (Granovetter), we examine the role of embeddedness, formal institutions and governance in shaping latent and emergent entrepreneurship. We examine the role of heterogeneous institutional conditions - corruption, social relationships, property rights and government size – matter across 66 countries between 2005 and 2015. Our findings demonstrate that heterogeneity of institutional conditions and heterogeneity of entrepreneurship outcome are important and not monolithic. Notably, we find that while corruption impedes both latent and emergent entrepreneurship, this effect lasts almost three times as long for latent entrepreneurship. We also find that entrepreneurs in countries with more corrupt contexts have lower aspirations to start and own a business.

Corruption Shock in Mexico: fsQCA Analysis of Entrepreneurial Intention in University Students

Entrepreneurship is the basis of the production network, and thus a key to territorial development. In this line, entrepreneurial intention has been pointed out as an indicator of latent entrepreneurship. In this article, the entrepreneurial intention of university students is studied from a configurational approach, allowing the study of the combined effect of corruption perception, corruption normalization, gender, university career area, and family entrepreneurial background to explain high levels of entrepreneurial intention. The model was tested with the fsQCA methodology according to two samples of students grouped according to their household income (medium and high level: N = 180; low level: N = 200). Stress tests were run to confirm the robustness of the results. This study highlights the negative impact produced by corruption among university students’ entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, the importance of family entrepreneurial background for specific archetypes like female, STEM, and low household income students is pointed out, as well as the importance of implementing education programs for entrepreneurship in higher education, and more specifically in STEM areas. Policies focused on facilitating the access to financial resources for female students and low household income students, and specific programs to foster female entrepreneurship, are also recommended.

From latent to emergent entrepreneurship in innovation ecosystems: The role of entrepreneurial learning

Utilizing insights from relational sociology and adopting a situated, process view of entrepreneurial learning, this research examines how latent entrepreneurship transforms into emergent entrepreneurship in the U.S. drone industry. Our phenomenological inquiry incorporating a longitudinal, qualitative study reveals that the emerging drone industry took on the contours of an innovation ecosystem. The entrepreneur and other ecosystem stakeholders interact, playing reciprocal roles, while learning from each other. In effect, entrepreneurial learning operates as a multilevel process – at individual, organizational, inter-organizational, and systemic levels, guiding the entrepreneur's engagement with a nascent opportunity.

Framework for School Stage Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria

This article investigates the influence of entrepreneurship education at the school stage, over and above personal, social, and institutional factors, on entrepreneurship with a view to providing a framework for school stage entrepreneurship education in Nigeria. Findings based on cross tabulations as well as hierarchical regression analyses using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor indicate that entrepreneurship education at school stage makes significant contribution to the variation in entrepreneurship over and above personal, social, and institutional factors in Nigeria, as opposed to formal education and entrepreneurial education at postschool stage. Furthermore, personal and institutional factors are found to contribute incrementally to entrepreneurial intention, while personal and social factors contribute incrementally to entrepreneurial activity in Nigeria. The study recommends and provides a framework for the formal integration of entrepreneurship education into teaching curricula at the school stage to promote latent entrepreneurship and thereby serve as a pedestal for entrepreneurship education at postschool stage in Nigeria.

Why latent entrepreneurs delay their launch to the market in Mexico

Entrepreneurship fosters job creation and GDP growth, a must for emerging countries. Due to its strategic geographical position, the region of Jalisco, Mexico, is an attraction pole with more than 650 high-tech corporations, exporting a total value of USD 21 billion (around GBP 16.4 billion) annually in tech products and services, being micro and small and medium enterprises a significant part of their companies. In this paper, we introduce a new entrepreneurial perspective about latent entrepreneurship, and we propose a multigroup structural equation modelling (MSEM) model using global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) data. The model explains why latent entrepreneurs delay launching to the market, based on their fear of failure, perceived opportunities, and the emulation effect formed when nascent entrepreneurs interact with other successful colleagues. The main finding of this study suggests that in Mexico latent entrepreneurs' fear of failure does not moderate the relationship between perceived behavioural control, entrepreneurial intentions, perceived opportunities, and the knowledge of other successful entrepreneurs.

Why latent entrepreneurs delay their launch to the market in Mexico

Entrepreneurship fosters job creation and GDP growth, a must for emerging countries. Due to its strategic geographical position, the region of Jalisco, Mexico, is an attraction pole with more than 650 high-tech corporations, exporting a total value of USD 21 billion (around GBP 16.4 billion) annually in tech products and services, being micro and small and medium enterprises a significant part of their companies. In this paper, we introduce a new entrepreneurial perspective about latent entrepreneurship, and we propose a multigroup structural equation modelling (MSEM) model using global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) data. The model explains why latent entrepreneurs delay launching to the market, based on their fear of failure, perceived opportunities, and the emulation effect formed when nascent entrepreneurs interact with other successful colleagues. The main finding of this study suggests that in Mexico latent entrepreneurs' fear of failure does not moderate the relationship between perceived behavioural control, entrepreneurial intentions, perceived opportunities, and the knowledge of other successful entrepreneurs.

“Confucian” traits, entrepreneurial personality, and entrepreneurship in China: a regional analysis

Regional personality differences have been linked to regional entrepreneurship in Western countries. Here, we offer a first analysis of the relationship between regional personality and manifest and latent entrepreneurship in China. Because Western research has highlighted the role of an entrepreneurial constellation of the Big Five traits, we compare region-level correlates of Big Five scores with corresponding correlates of indigenous “Confucian” traits, interpersonal relatedness, and its sub-facets traditionalism, Renqing, face, discipline, and harmony. We utilize personality data collected from a representative sample (N = 26,405) of 44 major Chinese cities. We find substantial, meaningful, and robust negative correlations of interpersonal relatedness and its sub-facet traditionalism, face, and discipline with indicators of both manifest entrepreneurship (e.g., rate of newly registered individually owned businesses) and latent entrepreneurship (e.g., number of entrepreneurship-related search queries in the leading Chinese internet search engine: Baidu.com). Robustness checks using the geographical distance to the Forbidden City in Beijing as an exogenous instrument for regional “Confucian” traits supported our findings. In contrast, regional levels in the Big Five traits and in an entrepreneurial Big Five profile were rather irrelevant (e.g., openness was negatively associated with indicators of manifest entrepreneurship). Our study indicates the usefulness of an indigenous personality approach in the study of entrepreneurship in China. The present results give rise to the idea that in populations in China with less emphasis on traditional Confucian values and norms, the development of an active entrepreneurial culture is more accelerated.

Regulation and entrepreneurial intention: cross-country evidence

PurposeEntrepreneurship, along with its effect on economic growth, has been a major topic of research for quite some time now. However, none of these studies employs the use of entrepreneurial intention, a key indicator of latent entrepreneurs, as a measure of entrepreneurship. Till now, some small-scale studies have been done using survey data, with results indicating that external entrepreneurial environment affects entrepreneurial intention. A handful of studies have also looked at the linkages between economic freedom and entrepreneurial activities. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachUsing a panel data setting, this paper investigates the effects of economic freedom, especially regulation, on entrepreneurial intention. The empirical analysis uses data for 79 countries from 2001 to 2012.FindingsThe findings suggest that stricter credit market regulation reduces entrepreneurial intention whereas more stringent labor regulations restricts job availability and thereby encourage more people to take up entrepreneurship as a career choice.Research limitations/implicationsThe entrepreneurial intention data available from GEM is a highly unbalanced data and the data also does not differentiate between latent entrepreneurship in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.Practical implicationsFuture research should focus more on latent entrepreneurship which is a rough estimate of future entrepreneurs.Social implicationsEntrepreneurship acts as a channel to improve economic growth by creating more jobs and the institutional qualities might act as a barrier for aspiring entrepreneurs to take up entrepreneurship as their career choices in developing countries.Originality/valueThis study has a twofold contribution in the literature. First, it is the foremost large scale study that deals with entrepreneurial intention using secondary data from Global Economic Monitor (GEM) report. Second, this study explores the linkages between economic freedom index and entrepreneurial intention.

Promoting entrepreneurial potential in adolescents: A pilot study based on intergenerational contact

Recently there has been an increasing interest in promoting entrepreneurship among undergraduates, however, there have been few studies focusing on adolescents. The two aims of this research were to demonstrate the reliability and validity of the Attitudes to Entrepreneurship (ATE) test with a sample of Spanish adolescents, and to study the effect of using an intervention based on intergenerational contact on the entrepreneurial potential of young people. Two studies were carried out with these objectives. The results from Study 1 confirmed the reliability of the ATE test; entrepreneurial potential was related to achievement motivation and affected by gender. In Study 2, we used an experimental and control groups design and pre and post-test measures. In the classroom context, older adults were interviewed by students about their life and work experiences. Entrepreneurship was increased by the intergenerational contact in the experimental group, specifically, in the Leadership, Creativity and Achievement factors, in boys. Achievement motivation in the academic context also was increased. The intergenerational contact based on emotional implications and active participation promotes latent entrepreneurship and academic interest.

Latent Entrepreneurship and Psychological Geography: Empirical Evidence from a Cross-Country Study

This paper investigates the relationship between the geographic variation in personality traits and latent entrepreneurship using a representative large scale dataset of individuals from 36 countri...

Triggers and Barriers to Latent Entrepreneurship in High Schools in South Africa

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the perceived triggers and barriers to latent entrepreneurship amongst high school students in South Africa . The respondents were selected using simple random sampling method. Self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Five-point Likert scale was used to measure the responses. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, Pearson's correlation, ANOVA and T-test were used for data analysis. The results indicated that youth latent entrepreneurship is low in South Africa. The results also indicated that high school students perceived a combination of push and pul l factors such as extrinsic rewards, market opportunities and independence/autonomy as triggers of latent entrepreneurship. The barriers to youth entrepreneurship included lack of capital, skill and support as well as lack of market opportunities and risk.

Institutions, Latent Entrepreneurship, and Self–Employment: An International Comparison

This paper examines how the institutional environment in 18 countries affects the self–employment decision, as well as the preferences of latent entrepreneurs—individuals who prefer to be self–employed. Latent entrepreneurs fall into two groups, those who are currently self–employed and those who are not—the “truly latent entrepreneurs.” These two groups differ in their responses to changes in the institutional environment. An occupational choice model where institutions affect switching costs informs the empirical model. As institutions such as economic freedom improve, preferences for self–employment increase for both groups, but the effect is greater for those who are currently self–employed.

The self-employment experience of immigrants: evidence from the US General Social Survey, 1977-2004

This paper uses biennial data from the General Social Survey (GSS) to reexamine the self-employment experience of immigrants over the 1977–2004, yielding a database of 25 individual years with over 36,000 observations. The regression results suggest that the conditional probability of self-employment is higher among immigrants, though there is evidence that it has fallen, and then rebounded, over time. Self-employment is also significantly related to age, educational attainment, race, marital status, occupation, industry of employment and family background. However, these are generally less important in explaining self-employment among immigrants. Some variables such as marital status or homeownership (a proxy for access to capital) are associated with native self-employment, but not migrant self-employment. We look at ‘latent entrepreneurship’ and find no evidence that preferences for self-employment vary by immigrant status. Taking everything together, we speculate that immigrants may be self-selected into self-employment, independent of their individual characteristics and stated preferences.

Entrepreneurship in the EU: To Wish and not to be

The entrepreneurial capacity in an economy is a key determinant of economic growth and productivity improvements. This paper uses survey data from the 15 EU Member States and the US to investigate two aspects of entrepreneurial capacity: latent and actual entrepreneurship. Latent entrepreneurship is measured by the probability of a declared preference for self-employment over employment. Other than demographic variables such as gender, age and education level, the set of explanatory variables used includes country specific effects, the perception by respondents of administrative complexities and of availability of financial support and a rough measure of risk tolerance. The most striking result is the lack of explanatory power of the perception of lack of available financial support in the latent entrepreneurship equation.

The Determinants of Latent Entrepreneurship in Japan

This paper examines regional characteristics affecting the latent entrepreneurship in Japan, focusing on regional macroeconomic indicators, existing density of establishments and human capital, and business start-up assistance programs by local governments. We define two types of people having the latent entrepreneurship as follows (1) persons merely wishing to be a self-employed worker, and (2) persons preparing to be a self-employed worker out of the former definition. Total cash earnings and the unemployment rate, which are the macro economic indicators, had positive effects on latent entrepreneurship in Japan. Judging from the significance of their estimations, the latent entrepreneurship is explained by the “Push hypothesis”. If we examine the problem more closely, it is necessary for us to identify government assistance programs which make the latent entrepreneurs more self-employment.

Latent and Actual Entrepreneurship in Europe and the US: Some Recent Developments

This paper uses 2004 survey data from the 15 old EU member states and the US to explain country differences in latent and actual entrepreneurship. Other than demographic variables such as gender, age and education, the set of covariates includes the perception by respondents of administrative complexities, of availability of financial support and of risk tolerance as well as country-specific effects. A comparison is made with results using a similar survey in 2000. While a majority of the surveyed population identifies lack of financial support as an obstacle to starting a new business, the role of this variable in both latent and actual entrepreneurship appears to be even more counterintuitive in 2004 than in 2000: it has no impact on actual entrepreneurship and is positively related to latent entrepreneurship. Administrative complexities, also perceived as an obstacle by a large majority of the population, have the expected negative impact both for latent and actual entrepreneurship in both years. Country-specific effects are important both for latent and actual entrepreneurship and the comparison of 2000 and 2004 results suggests that, once all other factors are controlled for, an improvement in actual entrepreneurship in the EU relative to the US has taken place in the last four years. However, in terms of unweighted averages actual entrepreneurship remained about the same. Latent entrepreneurship dropped while this drop seems to have occurred evenly in the US and the EU member states.

Latent entrepreneurship across nations

The paper studies latent entrepreneurship across nations. There are three main findings. First, large numbers of people in the industrial countries say they would prefer to be self-employed. Top of the international ranking of entrepreneurial spirit come Poland (with 80% saying so), Portugal and the USA; bottom of the table come Norway (with 27% saying so), Denmark and Russia. Second, for individuals the probability of preferring to be self-employed is strongly decreasing with age, while the probability of being self-employed is strongly increasing with age. Third, we show that self-employed individuals have noticeably higher job satisfaction than the employed, so people's expressed wish to run their business cannot easily be written off as mistaken. We speculate on why so much entrepreneurial spirit lies dormant.

A Time-Series Analysis of Self-Employment in the United States

In the early 1970s the proportion of the nonagricultural labor force self-employed in the United States ceased its downward trend and has been rising ever since. This study provides an analysis of the causes of this change. A general-equilibrium model of self- employment and wage employment is analyzed, and aggregate U.S. time- series data are used to test predictions derived from the model. The empirical analysis indicates that changes in technology, industrial structure, tax rates, and social-security retirement benefits have contributed to the reversal of the previous downward trend, which had persisted for over a century. Copyright 1987 by University of Chicago Press.