Comparing Entrepreneurial Attitudes: Theory and Evidence from a Cross-Country Study in Asia

Abstract

In this paper, we attempt to compare entrepreneurial attributes of MBA students, the next generation of business people, from two important Asian countries, India from South Asia and Japan from East Asia (India, being an emerging country and Japan, a developed country). A survey was conducted among MBA students in India and Japan and they were measured on the entrepreneurial personality index. A comparison exercise was undertaken to understand whether entrepreneurial traits are innate personality factors. The findings indicate that although India has established itself in information technology and information enabled services primarily through entrepreneurship, the country still has a long way to go as compared to developed countries. A theoretical framework to denote the linkage between entrepreneurial attitude, proactive personality and culture was introduced.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Proactive personality, India and Japan, Culture