Entrepreneurial aspirations: economic development, inequalities and cultural values
European Journal of Innovation Management
ISSN: 1460-1060
Article publication date: 30 March 2020
Issue publication date: 18 May 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at shedding light on entrepreneurial aspirations on both developed and developing economies, in terms of contextual and individual values. Among the former, economic development and inequalities are sought after, while among the latter national culture is the variable under study.
Design/methodology/approach
The data used are extracted from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor for a panel of countries, where the entrepreneurial aspirations of individuals of each country are measured through the Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA). The influence of cultural values as defined by Hofstede (individualism-collectivism (IDV), masculinity–femininity (MAS) and uncertainty avoidance (UAI)), moderated by the development level of the country and the existing inequalities are analyzed through artificial neural network (ANN) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) techniques.
Findings
Results show that in the post-crisis era, entrepreneurial aspirations are negatively linked to individualism in developing countries. In developed countries, however, entrepreneurship is not linked to individualism but to inequalities.
Originality/value
Entrepreneurial aspirations have not been thoroughly studied in the post-crisis era. We prove that entrepreneurial orientations have changed, together with the world, in the last decade. Cultural differences between countries tend to moderate, especially among developed ones, which speak of homogenization of national cultures. In this regard, inequalities are the determining factor. Contrarily, in developing countries, the differences in individualism are noticeable when it comes to analyzing entrepreneurial aspirations.
Keywords
Citation
Morales-Alonso, G., Núñez Guerrero, Y., Aguilera, J.F. and Rodríguez-Monroy, C. (2021), "Entrepreneurial aspirations: economic development, inequalities and cultural values", European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 553-571. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-07-2019-0206
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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