Fail But Try Again? The Effects of Age, Gender, and Multiple-Owner Experience on Failed Entrepreneurs’ Reentry

47 Pages Posted: 2 Aug 2016 Last revised: 17 Feb 2017

See all articles by Massimo Bau’

Massimo Bau’

Jonkoping University

Philipp Sieger

University of Bern

Kimberly A. Eddleston

Northeastern University - Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Francesco Chirico

Jonkoping University - Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS); Macquarie University, Macquarie Business School

Date Written: July 31, 2016

Abstract

We investigate what leads failed entrepreneurs to reenter entrepreneurship by taking a developmental career perspective. Specifically, we hypothesize that the age of failed entrepreneurs has a non-linear relationship with the likelihood of reentering entrepreneurship that follows different career stages (early, middle, and late). The gender of failed entrepreneurs and multiple-owner experience in the failed firm are hypothesized to be moderators of this relationship. We test our hypotheses using a database consisting of the Swedish population, including 4,761 entrepreneurs who failed between 2000 and 2004. Analyzing their career paths over the years following their failure offers support for our theoretical expectations.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, failure, age, reentry, gender, ownership

Suggested Citation

Bau’, Massimo and Sieger, Philipp and Eddleston, Kimberly and Chirico, Francesco and Chirico, Francesco, Fail But Try Again? The Effects of Age, Gender, and Multiple-Owner Experience on Failed Entrepreneurs’ Reentry (July 31, 2016). Entrepreneurship, Theory & Practice, Forthcoming, Northeastern U. D’Amore-McKim School of Business Research Paper No. 2816615, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2816615

Massimo Bau’

Jonkoping University

SE-551 11 Jonkoping
Sweden

Philipp Sieger

University of Bern ( email )

Gesellschaftsstrasse 49
Bern, BERN 3001
Switzerland

Kimberly Eddleston

Northeastern University - Entrepreneurship and Innovation ( email )

Boston, MA 02115
United States

Francesco Chirico (Contact Author)

Macquarie University, Macquarie Business School ( email )

New South Wales 2109
Australia

Jonkoping University - Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS) ( email )

Jönköping, 55111
Sweden

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
62
Abstract Views
612
Rank
714,536
PlumX Metrics