A Study on People’s Preferences for Pharmaceutical Company Creation after the Covid Epidemic in China: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Abstract

The global healthcare industry has surged in significance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and China has actively incentivized entrepreneurial endeavors, including tax benefits. This study seeks to explore the preferences of individuals venturing into the healthcare sector in the post-pandemic landscape. Through convenience sampling we obtained valid data from 500 participants. Subsequently, we constructed logit and latent class models and conducted a subgroup analysis based on gender. The results indicated that: (1) the participants valued “Prospects of enterprise” and “Entrepreneurial team capabilities” the most, which was followed by “Available funds”; (2) participants were divided into five classes, with the largest number of participants in class 2, whose preference distribution approximates the distribution of the total participant population; (3) Male and female preferences differed in a way that was statistically significant; and (4) Class 2 had the highest leadership scores, while Class 5 scored higher on the “Agreeableness” of the Big Five-Factor Inventory than the other four factors. we underscores the importance of entrepreneurs adapting to changing societal needs and policymakers facilitating healthcare startups with increased funding and comprehensive training support.