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Do risk attitudes differ within the group of entrepreneurs?

Author

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  • Block, Joern
  • Sandner, Philipp
  • Spiegel, Frank

Abstract

The notion of risk and entrepreneurship has been widely discussed in the entrepreneurship literature. Starting a business involves risk and requires a risk-taking attitude. Most studies have com-pared entrepreneurs with non-entrepreneurs such as managers or bankers. So far, little research exists on the risk attitudes of different types of entrepreneurs. This study aims to fill this gap. Our particular focus is on the entrepreneurs’ motivations to start their business. The results show that opportunity entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks than necessity entrepreneurs. In addition, entrepreneurs who are motivated by creativity are more risk-tolerant than other entrepreneurs. The study contributes to the literature about risk attitudes of entrepreneurs and to the literature about necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Block, Joern & Sandner, Philipp & Spiegel, Frank, 2009. "Do risk attitudes differ within the group of entrepreneurs?," MPRA Paper 17587, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:17587
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Marco Cucculelli & Barbara Ermini, 2012. "Individual risk attitude, product innovation and firm performance. Evidence from survey data," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(4), pages 3197-3212.
    2. Paul Couteret, 2010. "Peut-on aider les entrepreneurs contraints ? Une étude exploratoire," Post-Print hal-03540524, HAL.
    3. Block, J.H. & Thurik, A.R. & van der Zwan, P.W. & Walter, S., 2010. "Business Takeover or New Venture? Individual and Environmental Determinants from a Cross-Country Study," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2010-042-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    4. Joern Block & Roy Thurik & Peter van der Zwan & Sascha Walter, 2013. "Business Takeover or New Venture? Individual and Environmental Determinants from a Cross–Country Study," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(5), pages 1099-1121, September.
    5. Päivi Karhunen & Svetlana Ledyaeva, 2010. "Determinants Of Entrepreneurial Interest And Risk Tolerance Among Russian University Students: Empirical Study," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(03), pages 229-263.
    6. Christophe Estay & François Durrieu & Manzoom Akhter, 2013. "Entrepreneurship: From motivation to start-up," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 243-267, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Self-employment; Risk attitude; Necessity entrepreneurship; Creativity entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

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