Entrepreneurial tendency across the adult lifespan

Abstract

This study examines whether age associates with entrepreneurship tendencies across the lifespan, after taking into account aspects of personality that affect entrepreneurship. Participants (N = 963) aged 18–81, including 200 actual entrepreneurs, completed questionnaires about entrepreneurship tendency, personality traits, and attachment orientations. Results show that age is associated with a reduced tendency to engage in entrepreneurial activity. However, this decline is quite limited, it weakens with age, and is absent after age 50. In addition, the negative association of age with entrepreneurial tendency is smaller in participants with above-median entrepreneurship tendency scores relative to those with below-median scores, and it disappears in actual entrepreneurs. Furthermore, most of the traits that have been previously associated with entrepreneurial tendencies, especially Openness to Experience and Extraversion, remain unchanged with age, accounting for the stability of entrepreneurial tendency over time. The results have implications for policy makers who wish to encourage older adults to engage in entrepreneurial activity.

Personality and Entrepreneurial Intentions of Final Year Business Students in Pakistan: The Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Education and Social Norms

“…Moreover, it may facilitate the development of networks and the ability to pitch and sell ideas (Bazkiaei et al, 2020). Furthermore, a recent study on a sample of wide age groups also reported a positive relationship between extraversion and entrepreneurial tendencies (Zelekha & Kavé, 2022). Therefore, we propose that:…”