In the media, role models are increasingly acknowledged as important influential factors for occupational choice and career outcomes. Apart from conceptual studies establishing a link between role models and entrepreneurial intentions, empirical research on the importance of role models for (nascent) entrepreneurs has been scarce and there is still little knowledge of what determines the use of specific entrepreneurial role models, as well as the precise function of such role models. Our explorative empirical study based on extensive face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of about 300 entrepreneurs who have recently started up a company in the Netherlands is a first step to fill this gap. We provide initial indications of the size and significance of the effect of role models on occupational choice, the function of role models and the relationship and similarity of characteristics between the (nascent) entrepreneur and the role model. KEYWORDS: role models, (nascent) entrepreneurs, human capital, occupational choice, start-up phase JEL-CODES: L26, M13, J24--Work in progress --Please do not cite or quote without permission from the authors --1 Entrepreneurship and role models Paper presented at the Conference of the European Regional Science Association, Jönköping, Sweden, August 19-23, 2010 INTRODUCTIONIndividual decisions to engage in a certain behavior are often influenced by the behavior and opinions of, or examples set by, others (Ajzen, 1991). This also holds for the occupational choice of individuals (Krumboltz et al., 1976) and, more specifically, the decision to engage in entrepreneurship. Many entrepreneurs claim that their business start-ups and business activities have been influenced by other people. These 'other people' are often entrepreneurs, for example famous ones such as Steve Jobs or family members. They serve as role models. A role model is a common reference to individuals who set examples for others to be emulated, and who may stimulate or inspire others to make (career) decisions and achieve certain goals (Shapiro et al., 1978;Basow and Howe, 1980;Wright et al., 1997). The relevance of role models becomes evident in the popular business press that is littered with references to the alleged influence, names (elicited by numerous polls) and speeches of entrepreneurial role models.Although entrepreneurial role models have become an important phenomenon in practice, as yet, their occurrence, function and characteristics have been studied to a limited extent by academics. In this paper we attempt to fill this gap by discussing the results from an empirical study that is explorative in nature and addresses the use of specific role models by entrepreneurs, both in the pre-and post-start-up phase of their company. For this purpose we collected data by means of in-depth face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of about 300 entrepreneurs who recently started a business in the Netherlands.Our study is inspired by the scarce and scattered literature on role models...

M13, O18, R12,

The differences between new firms, even the differences present right at the start, may affect their life course and success over time. This article addresses the determinants of success of Dutch start-ups from a longitudinal perspective. After an overview of the literature on both the definition of success and the success factors of new firms we test how new firm characteristics relate to firm growth in number of employees using a panel of nearly 2,000 firms. In addition to a large firm size right from the start, good preparation, having a business partner, and some years in salaried employment also enhance firm growth. Based on these success determinants we construct a typology of starters that may be used to predict future growth chances. JEL classification: D21, M13, R30

Firm entry, Firm exit, Regional competitiveness, Total factor productivity, Turbulence, L10, L26, M13, O18, R11,

In the current sociological and geographical literature, contrasting views exist on the role of the neighbourhood and neighbourhood relationships in the life of its residents in current societies. Some scholars believe that in our globalising world, local communities and the neighbourhood in general lost their significance, while others argue that the role of community and neighbourhood contacts is still important. These divergent opinions are mainly due to the absence of comparative empirical studies, which require longitudinal data on neighbourhood contacts. Based on unique and rich panel data on the role of neighbours in the personal networks of inhabitants of 161 Dutch neighbourhoods, we analyse whether neighbourhood contacts and their implications have changed over a 10 year period. We find that neighbourhood relationships have become more important in informal personal networks. This implies paying a visit and helping each other out with odd jobs, but at the same time contact frequency and trust declined in neighbour relationships. For elderly, highly educated residents, home-owners, non-movers and people with initially small local networks, the size of neighbour networks increased substantially, suggesting that at least for these groups, the 'community saved' perspective holds. Copyright (c) 2009 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.