The Young Entrepreneurship Study:
1
Characteristics of Young Entrepreneurs
Michelle B. Weiner, Sara M. Honickman, G. John Geldhof,
Jennifer P. Agans, Heidi Johnson, and Richard M. Lerner
Tufts University
Abstract
We present initial results from Wave 1 of the Young Entrepreneurs Study,
using cluster analysis to highlight characteristics that may mark the
development of entrepreneurial proclivities in young people. We explore
whether entrepreneurial attributes are linked to characteristics of positive
youth development (i.e., the Five Cs of Competence, Confidence,
Character, Caring, and Connection). Cluster analysis involved
characteristics associated with entrepreneurship (e.g. entrepreneurial
intentional self regulation [EISR], entrepreneurial intent, and
Machiavellianism), producing five clusters. The High EISR cluster scored
higher than other clusters on each of the Five Cs. Limitations and
recommendations for future research are discussed.
Introduction
The scientific study of the development of entrepreneurship is in its
infancy. As noted by Damon and Lerner (2008) most reviews of the
literature of entrepreneurship do not even mention young people. Despite
the limited scientific research on the development of entrepreneurship,
Damon and Lerner (2008) developed a definition of young entrepreneurs
that points to “the practical application of entrepreneurship qualities, such
as initiative, innovation, creativity, and risk-taking in the work environment
(either in self-employment or in small start-up firms), using the
appropriate skills necessary for success in the culture” (p. 3).
Entrepreneurs are therefore individuals who creatively interact with their
contexts to produce tangible results from their self-employment. To fill
this empirical gap in understanding the development of entrepreneurship,
we have launched the first longitudinal study of this topic among late
adolescents and young adults. We present here initial results from Wave 1
of the Young Entrepreneurs Study (YES), highlighting factors that may
characterize the entrepreneurial proclivities of youth. We explore also
whether entrepreneurial attributes covary with features of positive
development.
Table 1
Sample Items of the Measures included in the Cluster Analysis
Scales
Questions
Entrepreneurship Intentional Self Regulation
Selection
Novel
I like to pursue projects that others have not thought about pursuing.
I am interested in projects that involve new ideas.
Challenge
I select challenging goals.
I prefer to take on challenging projects.
Optimization
Novel
I use available resources in new ways.
I take calculated risks when pursuing goals.
Self Starter
I am a self-starter.
I take initiative when something needs to get done.
Persistence
I find ways to use my resources most efficiently.
I devote as much time and energy as needed to complete a task.
Compensation
When one strategy doesn't work, I try a new approach.
I overcome obstacles by creating new solutions.
Loss-Based Selection
I keep projects on the back burner in case another project fails.
When I realize I cannot reach my goal, I quickly move on to new endeavors.
Future Orientation
Plan things out one step at a time.
See in advance how one thing can lead to another.
Machiavellian Personality
Morality
I am willing to be unethical if I believe it will help me succeed.
I would cheat if there was a low chance of getting caught.
Control
I like to give the orders in interpersonal situations.
I enjoy being able to control the situation.
Status
Status is a good sign of success in life.
I want to be rich and powerful someday.
Assertiveness
I say what I think.
When I have an opinion, I usually say it.
Questioning Authority
When I think a rule is pointless I will find a way around it.
I am willing to question people in authority.
Life Business
Start my own business
Start a new organization
Entrepreneurial Money Items
I believe that you might need to spend money in order to make money.
I see money as a way for me to make important contributions to society.
Career Values: Social
A career that gives you an opportunity to be directly helpful to others.
A career that is worthwhile to society.
Methods
Table 4
Participants
We examined data from a sample of 3,449 participants recruited from
universities in New England, the West Coast, and the Midwest (MAge =
21.10 years, SD = 1.58, 60% female). Self-reported race for participants
included: Asian, 16.39%; African American, 4.64%; Hispanic, 6.37%;
European American, 61%; Multiethnic, 6.2%; and Other, 5.40%. We
recruited participants by contacting professors, administrators, and
student organization leaders at universities in these regions, and asking
them to forward to their students a recruitment email that contained a
link to the YES survey. Incentives were provided for participation.
Measures
All measures used a 5-point Likert scale for response options. Example
items and psychometric properties for the measures used in this study can
be found in Table 1 and Table 2.
Entrepreneurship Intentional Self Regulation (EISR). We designed the
EISR to assess intentional self regulation (ISR), by focusing on aspects of
ISR that the literature (Damon & Lerner, 2008) suggests should promote
an entrepreneurial orientation among young adults. The EISR is a
collection of context general attributes that we hypothesized to be salient
in the domain of entrepreneurship either in entrepreneurial activities or
among individuals high in entrepreneurship orientations.
Future Orientation Scale. A modified version of Steinberg and
colleagues’ (2009) Future Orientation Scale was used to assess the extent
to which participants think purposefully about their future.
Machiavellian Personality. Machiavellian tendencies are conceptualized
as “one’s propensity to distrust others, engage in amoral manipulation,
seek control over others, and seek status for oneself” (Dahling, Witaker, &
Levy, 2009). Three subscales were used, amorality, desire for control, and
desire for status.
Assertiveness Scale. We used three items adapted from Little’s (1997)
scale for assertiveness.
Questioning Authority. For exploratory purposes, we developed three
items to assess the extent to which participants question authority.
Life Business. Again for exploratory purposes, we devised four life goals
pertinent to entrepreneurship. These goals were rated by participants
“according to how important they are in your life.”
Entrepreneurial Money Items. Once again for exploratory purposes, we
developed items to assess participants’ entrepreneurial perspectives on
money.
Social Career Values. We adapted items from the Job Values Scale
(Johnson, 2001; 2002; 2005) to measure participants’ work-related values
and included items that focus on social career values.
Table 2
Psychometric Sample Items of the Measures included in the Cluster Analysis
Scales
M
SD
Alpha
Entrepreneurship Intentional Self Regulation
Selection
Novel
3.75
0.75
0.79
Challenge
3.88
0.74
0.89
Optimization
Novel
3.68
0.68
0.70
Self Starter
3.91
0.73
0.80
Persistence
4.06
0.64
0.71
Compensation
4.08
0.61
0.91
Future Orientation
4.00
0.59
0.86
Machiavellian Personality
Morality
2.97
1.11
0.85
Control
3.18
0.93
0.76
Status
1.73
0.82
0.82
Assertiveness
3.83
0.75
0.82
Questioning Authority
3.86
0.67
0.65
Entrepreneurial Money Items
3.70
0.62
0.69
Career Values: Social
4.09
0.88
0.74
Life Business
2.94
1.12
0.88
Table 3
Z-scores for each Construct for the Five Clusters
Scales
Selection
Novelty
Challenge
Optimization
Novelty
Self Starter
Persistence
Compensation
Future Orientation
Life Goals: Business
Entrepreneurial Money
Career Values: Social
Innovation Orientation
Machiavellian
Moral
Control
Status
Assertiveness
Questioning Authority
Confidence
Character
Caring
Connection
Machiavellian
3.84a
3.82a
3.71*
4.04a
3.90a
Low EISR
3.50*
3.49*
3.62*
3.97a
3.62*
High EISR
4.18*
4.19*
4.28*
4.60b
4.27*
Average
3.81a
3.85a
3.94*
4.29*
3.92a
3.91a
4.08*
4.53b
4.08*
Nice Folks
3.97*
Note. All clusters are significantly different from at least one other cluster for each of the Five Cs at p<.001.
Clusters different from all other clusters are indicated with *; clusters that are not different from each other
share a superscript (a or b).
Results
We used cluster analysis to explore characteristics and skills potentially
related to entrepreneurship. Participants were clustered according to their
self-reported entrepreneurial intentional self-regulation (EISR; two
subscales of Selection, three subscales of Optimization, and
Compensation), future orientation, life goal of starting a business,
entrepreneurial view of money, social-orientated career values, innovation
orientation, Machiavellian tendencies (i.e., morality, control, and status),
assertiveness, and nonconformity. Five distinct clusters emerged: Average
(the reference group for the cluster analysis), Machiavellians (distinct from
the Average cluster in that they had higher Machiavellian proclivities), Low
EISR (significantly lower than all other clusters on EISR and entrepreneurial
intent variables), High EISR (significantly higher than all other clusters on
EISR and entrepreneurial intent variables), and Nice Folks (individuals
whose only difference from the Average cluster was lower entrepreneurial
intent and lower Machiavellian proclivities). Table 3 presents the cluster
sizes and means for each group on each construct used for the clustering.
Using the Five Cs model of positive youth development (e.g., Lerner et al.,
2005), we examined differences among these clusters in regard to
attributes of positive youth development (PYD). The Five Cs model of PYD
includes the constructs of Competence, Confidence, Character, Caring, and
Connection.
As shown in Table 4, pair-wise comparisons using a Tukey correction
were used to assess mean differences among clusters for each of the Five
Cs (i.e., Competence, Confidence, Character, Caring, and Connection). For
each of the Five Cs, the High EISR cluster had higher scores than was the
case for the other clusters and the Low EISR cluster consistently had the
lowest scores. There were also some cases of clusters with no significant
differences. For Competence, there was no significant difference between
the mean scores of the Machiavellian and the Average clusters. For
Confidence, there was no significant difference between the mean scores
of the Machiavellian, Average, and Nice Folks clusters. For Character, there
were significant differences between the mean scores of each cluster. For
Caring, there was no significant difference between the Machiavellian and
Low EISR clusters or between the Nice Folks and the High EISR clusters. For
Connection, there was no significant difference between the
Machiavellian and Average groups.
Consistent with prior research (e.g., Geldhof, et al., 2010; Gestsdóttir et
al, 2011), intentional self regulation (ISR; indicated by EISR scores in this
study) was shown to be a key characteristic of thriving young people, as it
was a defining feature of the High EISR cluster, which had the highest
scores on the Five Cs of PYD. Since individuals high on the Five Cs of PYD
are more likely to be contributing and thriving members of their society
(Lerner et al., 2005; 2010), the findings of the present study provide
further support for the importance of ISR as an individual asset that helps
young people access resources in their environments.
Machiavellian
Low EISR
Clusters
High EISR
0.24
0.20
-0.97*
-1.07*
0.99*
0.94*
0.06
-0.03
-0.27
0.00
0.47
0.25
0.12
0.08
-0.01
0.54*
0.22
-0.48
0.57*
-1.01*
-1.08*
-1.01*
-1.04*
-0.67*
-0.57*
-0.56*
-0.59*
-0.95*
1.02*
0.96*
0.87*
0.92*
0.66*
0.60*
0.62*
0.48
0.92*
-0.12
-0.20
-0.30
-0.07
-0.28
0.34
0.24
0.04
0.05
-0.19
0.15
0.38
0.11
0.32
-0.78*
-0.50*
0.34
-0.42
1.57*
0.90*
1.00*
0.20
0.48
0.28
-0.20
0.07
-0.54*
-0.42
-0.38
0.18
-0.01
0.55*
0.30
-0.23
0.06
0.14
0.05
0.13
-0.61*
-0.63*
-0.85*
-0.22
-0.35
research was supported in part by a grant to Richard M. Lerner and William Damon from the John Templeton Foundation.
Competence
Discussion
Average
'Nice Folks’
n
462
684
710
856
737
Note. * denotes values where the cluster means were at least .5 SD more or less than the sample average.
1This
Means for Each Cluster on the Five Cs of Positive Youth Development
Since the EISR emphasizes aspects of self-regulation that should be
salient in the domain of entrepreneurship either in entrepreneurial
activities or among entrepreneurial orientation among young adults, the
High EISR cluster may contain individuals who are likely to display
proclivities towards being entrepreneurial. Furthermore, if individuals in
this cluster choose to become entrepreneurs, they may be more successful
because of their self-regulatory behavior. Further longitudinal analyses will
be needed to examine these possibilities.
Despite these significant results, several limitations of the research
exist. First, these findings are exploratory and should be interpreted with
caution. Second, since this is only the first wave of a larger longitudinal
study, results do not provide insight into the change developmental
processes associated with the development of entrepreneurship.
Therefore, our results do not permit speculation regarding whether those
who are in the High EISR cluster are more likely to become entrepreneurs
in the future. Accordingly, future studies should focus on the development
of self regulation and its role in both entrepreneurship and positive
development among young people.