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Where do entrepreneurial skills come from?

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  • Stuetzer, Michael
  • Obschonka, Martin
  • Davidsson, Per
  • Schmitt-Rodermund, Eva

Abstract

Applying Lazear’s jack-of-all-trades theory we investigate the formation of entrepreneurial skills in two datasets on innovative new firms. Our results suggest that traditional human capital indicators individually have little or no influence on entrepreneurial skills. However, consistent with Lazaer’s theory those entrepreneurs who exhibit a varied set of work experience have higher entrepreneurial skills relevant for starting and growing a firm. This supports the notion that a varied set of work experiences rather than depth of any particular type of experience or education is important for the development of entrepreneurial skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Stuetzer, Michael & Obschonka, Martin & Davidsson, Per & Schmitt-Rodermund, Eva, 2013. "Where do entrepreneurial skills come from?," MPRA Paper 48274, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:48274
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gaylen N. Chandler & Steven H. Hanks, 1994. "Founder Competence, the Environment, and Venture Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 18(3), pages 77-89, April.
    2. Michael Stuetzer & Martin Obschonka & Eva Schmitt-Rodermund, 2013. "Balanced skills among nascent entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 93-114, June.
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    4. J. Wagner, 2003. "Testing Lazear's jack-of-all-trades view of entrepreneurship with German micro data," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(11), pages 687-689.
    5. Unger, Jens M. & Rauch, Andreas & Frese, Michael & Rosenbusch, Nina, 2011. "Human capital and entrepreneurial success: A meta-analytical review," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 341-358, May.
    6. Michael Fritsch & Pamela Mueller, 2004. "Effects of New Business Formation on Regional Development over Time," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(8), pages 961-975.
    7. DeTienne, Dawn R. & Shepherd, Dean A. & De Castro, Julio O., 2008. "The fallacy of "only the strong survive": The effects of extrinsic motivation on the persistence decisions for under-performing firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 528-546, September.
    8. Michael Fritsch & Pamela Mueller & Antje Weyh, 2005. "Direct and indirect effects of new business formation on regional employment," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(9), pages 545-548.
    9. Davidsson, Per & Honig, Benson, 2003. "The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 301-331, May.
    10. Dirk Oberschachtsiek, 2012. "The experience of the founder and self-employment duration: a comparative advantage approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 1-17, July.
    11. Thomas Astebro, 2003. "The Return to Independent Invention: Evidence of Unrealistic Optimism, Risk Seeking or Skewness Loving?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(484), pages 226-239, January.
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Entrtepreneurship cannot be taught
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2013-09-13 20:05:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Silke Tegtmeier & Agnieszka Kurczewska & Jantje Halberstadt, 2016. "Are women graduates jacquelines-of-all-trades? Challenging Lazear’s view on entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 77-94, June.
    2. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    3. Hessels, Jolanda & Brixy, Udo & Naudé, Wim & Gries, Thomas, 2014. "Skill Variety, Innovation and New Business Formation," IZA Discussion Papers 7889, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Carolin Palmer & Ulrike Fasbender & Sascha Kraus & Stephanie Birkner & Norbert Kailer, 2021. "A chip off the old block? The role of dominance and parental entrepreneurship for entrepreneurial intention," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 287-307, February.
    5. Pau Sendra-Pons & Sara Belarbi-Muñoz & Dolores Garzón & Alicia Mas-Tur, 2022. "Cross-country differences in drivers of female necessity entrepreneurship," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 16(4), pages 971-989, December.
    6. Stuetzer, Michael & Obschonka, Martin & Audretsch, David B. & Wyrwich, Michael & Rentfrow, Peter J. & Coombes, Mike & Shaw-Taylor, Leigh & Satchell, Max, 2016. "Industry structure, entrepreneurship, and culture: An empirical analysis using historical coalfields," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 52-72.
    7. Krieger, Alexander & Block, Joern & Stuetzer, Michael, 2018. "Skill variety in entrepreneurship: A literature review and research directions," MPRA Paper 88389, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Nobuo Kobayashi, 2020. "A factor analysis of business start-up rates in Japan: contemporary and historical context," Discussion Paper Series 202, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University.
    9. Li-Wei Chen & Peter Thompson, 2016. "Skill Balance and Entrepreneurship Evidence from Online Career Histories," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(2), pages 289-305, March.
    10. Silvia Carnini Pulino & Riccardo Maiolini & Paolo Venturi, 2019. "Social Entrepreneurship Policy: Evidences from the Italian Reform," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 13(3), pages 77-88.
    11. Changjae Lee & Byunghyun Lee & Ilyoung Choi & Jaekyeong Kim, 2023. "Exploring Determinants of Job Satisfaction: A Comparison Between Survey and Review Data," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    12. Alexander Krieger & Michael Stuetzer & Martin Obschonka & Katariina Salmela-Aro, 2022. "The growth of entrepreneurial human capital: origins and development of skill variety," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 645-664, August.
    13. Mueller, Christoph E., 2023. "Explaining the stage of product in pre-seed academic startup ventures: An empirical analysis using monitoring data from a German startup support program," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurial skills; jack-of-all trades; new venture creation; human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • 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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