The goal of this interdisciplinary study is to analyze the entrepreneurial personality in the context of resources, environment, and the startup process based on a configurational approach. The study focuses on the startup process. A questionnaire was developed to measure the configuration areas of personality, personal resources, environment, and organizing activities. A representative sample of 1,169 nascent entrepreneurs and new business owner-managers was examined. Three startup configurations were found which reveal different patterns of personality characteristics. These patterns are interpreted in the context of aspects of the environment, the resources, and the startup process.

No abstract

Although new venture success is frequently investigated in entrepreneurship, economics, and psychology, the studies published to date vary widely in their theoretical basis, study design, and research methodology. Based on organizational lifecycle theory and interactional personality theory, this longitudinal study analyses predictors of venture survival. Of 354 small business owners observed over 8 years, 283 (79.9%) still had active businesses at the end of the observation period. A survey instrument was developed to measure the relevant characteristics of the entrepreneurs, their resources, and the environment. Logistic regression models predicting medium-and long-term business survival included these characteristics and the interactions between them entered stepwise as blocks. Startup decisions (line of business, type, and size of planned business) were used as control variables. Much of the variance is explained by our research model (Nagelkerkes R 2 ¼ :36 for survival at 4 years, and .33 for survival at 8 years). Although long-term business survival is predicted by the individual variables of startup size and social capital (networks), a larger part of the variance is explained by environment/resource interactions.

PurposeEntrepreneurship is defined as a “life skill”, and the European Union (EU) has recently called on member states to promote the development of entrepreneurial attitudes from primary school right through to university level. The paper aims to investigate which factors influence entrepreneurial thinking and attitudes towards entrepreneurship in vocational and general secondary education in Austria.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on the configuration approach. This approach was adapted as a conceptual model for the origins of entrepreneurial orientation and start‐up inclinations among school pupils. The model consists of four dimensions: person, education context, education process, and environment. A total of 900 Austrian pupils at secondary‐level schools were surveyed with a standardized questionnaire.FindingsThe results show that entrepreneurial orientation as well as inclinations to start up a new business can indeed be influenced considerably, with potential targeted influences at the personality level, in the education process, and in the pupil's immediate and general environment. It is easier to influence entrepreneurial orientation than start‐up inclinations.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to the heterogeneous school systems in Europe it may be difficult to transfer findings from one country to another. Much more research is needed for identifying country‐specific factors of influence.Practical implicationsThe results provide evidence that the potential for developing entrepreneurial orientation and promoting the abilities needed for a free and self‐determined career has not been exhausted by any means.Originality/valueThe study shows that the education process can have a considerable influence on entrepreneurial orientation, and that the EU's call for the promotion of entrepreneurial spirit can be fulfilled in the sphere of education.

Influence activity is a central aspect of organizations and has attracted a wide range of theoretical and empirical research. Most studies in this field rely on categorization schemes to classify either actors or acts. This article draws on the notion of organizations and actors as socially constructed phenomena and understands influence activities as social practices whose shape and meaning is derived from the social contexts they are embedded in. In this paper, we argue that it is necessary to gain an understanding of the activities’ diverging meanings in their organizational contexts before generalized typologies of tactics and strategies can be fruitfully applied. By drawing on ‘objective hermeneutics’ as methodology, our analyses focus on influence activities within three organizational contexts.