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JEL-CODES: L26, M13, J24--Work in progress --Please do not cite or quote without permission from the authors --1 Entrepreneurship and role models Paper presented at the Conference of the European Regional Science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...