Parents' Performance in Entrepreneurship as a 'Double-Edged Sword' for the Intergenerational Transmission of Entrepreneurship

24 Pages Posted: 5 May 2017

See all articles by Giuseppe Criaco

Giuseppe Criaco

Jonkoping University - Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS)

Philipp Sieger

University of Bern

Karl Wennberg

Linkoping University - Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS)

Francesco Chirico

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

Tommaso Minola

University of Bergamo

Date Written: May 4, 2017

Abstract

We investigate how perceived parents’ performance in entrepreneurship (PPE) affects the entrepreneurial career intentions of offspring. We argue that while perceived PPE enhances offspring’s perceived entrepreneurial desirability and feasibility because of exposure mechanisms, it inhibits the translation of both desirability and feasibility perceptions into entrepreneurial career intentions due to upward social comparison mechanisms. Thus, perceived PPE acts as a double-edged sword for the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship. Our predictions are tested and confirmed on a sample of 21,895 individuals from 33 countries. This study advances the literature on intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship by providing a foundation for understanding the social psychological conditions necessary for such transmission to occur.

Keywords: Intergenerational Transmission of Entrepreneurship, Parents' Performance in Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Career Intention, Social Comparison Theory, Perceived Desirability, Perceived Feasibility

JEL Classification: L26, M13, C12, D01, J13, J62

Suggested Citation

Criaco, Giuseppe and Sieger, Philipp and Wennberg, Karl and Chirico, Francesco and Chirico, Francesco and Minola, Tommaso, Parents' Performance in Entrepreneurship as a 'Double-Edged Sword' for the Intergenerational Transmission of Entrepreneurship (May 4, 2017). Small Business Economics, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2962860

Giuseppe Criaco

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

Jönköping, 55111
Sweden

Philipp Sieger

University of Bern ( email )

Gesellschaftsstrasse 49
Bern, BERN 3001
Switzerland

Karl Wennberg

Linkoping University - Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS) ( email )

Norrköping, 601 74
Sweden

Francesco Chirico (Contact Author)

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

Jönköping, 55111
Sweden

Macquarie University, Macquarie Business School ( email )

New South Wales 2109
Australia

Tommaso Minola

University of Bergamo ( email )

Via Salvecchio, 19
Bergamo, 24129
Italy

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