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Entrepreneurial persistence beyond survival: Measurement and determinants

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  • Marco Caliendo
  • Maximilian Goethner
  • Martin Weißenberger

Abstract

Entrepreneurial persistence is demonstrated by an entrepreneur’s continued positive maintenance of entrepreneurial motivation and constantly renewed active engagement in a new business venture despite counterforces or enticing alternatives. It thus is a crucial factor for entrepreneurs when pursuing and exploiting their business opportunities and in realizing potential economic gains and benefits. Using rich data on a representative sample of German business founders, we investigated the determinants of entrepreneurial persistence. Next to observed survival, we also constructed a hybrid persistence measure capturing the motivational dimension of persistence. We analyzed the influence of individual-level (human capital and personality) and business-related characteristics on both measures as well as their relative importance. We found that the two indicators emphasize different aspects of persistence. For the survival indicator, the predictive power was concentrated in business characteristics and human capital, while for hybrid persistence the dominant factors were business characteristics and personality. Finally, we showed that results were heterogeneous across subgroups. In particular, formerly unemployed founders did not differ in survival chances, but they were more likely to lack a high psychological commitment to their business ventures.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Caliendo & Maximilian Goethner & Martin Weißenberger, 2020. "Entrepreneurial persistence beyond survival: Measurement and determinants," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(3), pages 617-647, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ujbmxx:v:58:y:2020:i:3:p:617-647
    DOI: 10.1080/00472778.2019.1666532
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ahmad Raza Bilal & Pierfelice Rosato & Raffaele Campo & Rossella Leopizzi, 2023. "Women empowerment and entrepreneurial intention: A pathway to achieve sustainable development goal (SDG‐5)," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1389-1405, May.
    3. Marco Caliendo & Alexander S. Kritikos & Daniel Rodríguez & Claudia Stier, 2023. "Self-efficacy and entrepreneurial performance of start-ups," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 1027-1051, October.
    4. Inés Berniell & Lucila Berniell & Dolores de la Mata & María Edo & Yarine Fawaz & Matilde P. Machado & Mariana Marchionni, 2020. "Motherhood and the Allocation of Talent," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0270, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    5. Lin, Nidthida & Wilden, Ralf & Chirico, Francesco & Ghasrodashti, Elahe & DeTienne, Dawn R., 2022. "Persist or let it go: Do rational entrepreneurs make decisions rationally?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    6. Elisabeth Lopez-Perez & Ana Rodriguez-Santiago & Emilio Congregado, 2020. "Persistence in Self-Employment Rates before the Great Lockdown: The Case of the UK," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-13, August.
    7. Nuno António & Hugo Pinto, 2022. "Youth Associations and Entrepreneurship: Insights from Case Studies in Portugal," Merits, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-19, April.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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