IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbvent/v36y2021i1s0883902619302691.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Age and entrepreneurial career success: A review and a meta-analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Hao
  • O'Connor, Gina
  • Wu, Jihong
  • Lumpkin, G.T.

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has become an attractive career option for both the young and the old, but age has not been thoroughly examined as a variable of interest among entrepreneurship scholars. In this review, we present 12 theoretical perspectives regarding the effect of age on entrepreneurs' success and our critiques. We then present results of an exploratory meta-analysis with effect sizes from 102 samples. The results show that age has a weak, positive linear relationship with overall entrepreneurial success, but it does exhibit signs of a U-shaped relationship, with the relationship being negative among younger samples but positive among older samples. The positive effect size becomes more pronounced when more females are included in the sample. The effect size of age does not differ by entrepreneurs' tenure running the firm. In terms of the type of success measures, age has a negative effect on growth but a positive effect on subjective success, firm size, and financial success, and no effect on survival. We compare our results with previous meta-analyses on employees' age to show the uniqueness of entrepreneurs' careers and we offer suggestions for future studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Hao & O'Connor, Gina & Wu, Jihong & Lumpkin, G.T., 2021. "Age and entrepreneurial career success: A review and a meta-analysis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:36:y:2021:i:1:s0883902619302691
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2020.106007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902619302691
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2020.106007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Du Rietz, Anita & Henrekson, Magnus, 2000. "Testing the Female Underperformance Hypothesis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, February.
    2. White, Roderick E. & Thornhill, Stewart & Hampson, Elizabeth, 2006. "Entrepreneurs and evolutionary biology: The relationship between testosterone and new venture creation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 21-34, May.
    3. David Galenson, 2009. "Old masters and young geniuses: The two life cycles of human creativity," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 12, pages 1-9, May.
    4. Pierre Azoulay & Benjamin F. Jones & J. Daniel Kim & Javier Miranda, 2020. "Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 65-82, March.
    5. Sue Duval & Richard Tweedie, 2000. "Trim and Fill: A Simple Funnel-Plot–Based Method of Testing and Adjusting for Publication Bias in Meta-Analysis," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 455-463, June.
    6. Wennberg, Karl & Wiklund, Johan & DeTienne, Dawn R. & Cardon, Melissa S., 2010. "Reconceptualizing entrepreneurial exit: Divergent exit routes and their drivers," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 361-375, July.
    7. Bruce, Donald, 2002. "Taxes and Entrepreneurial Endurance: Evidence From the Self-Employed," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 55(1), pages 5-24, March.
    8. Baron, Robert A. & Mueller, Brandon A. & Wolfe, Marcus T., 2016. "Self-efficacy and entrepreneurs' adoption of unattainable goals: The restraining effects of self-control," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 55-71.
    9. 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.
    10. Stam, Wouter & Arzlanian, Souren & Elfring, Tom, 2014. "Social capital of entrepreneurs and small firm performance: A meta-analysis of contextual and methodological moderators," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 152-173.
    11. D. Storey, 2004. "Racial and Gender Discrimination in the Micro Firms Credit Market?: Evidence from Trinidad and Tobago," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 401-422, December.
    12. Anika K. Josef & David Richter & Gregory R. Samanez-Larkin & Gert G. Wagner & Ralph Hertwig & Rui Mata, 2016. "Stability and Change in Risk-Taking Propensity across the Adult Lifespan," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 816, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    13. Dawn DeTienne & Melissa Cardon, 2012. "Impact of founder experience on exit intentions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 351-374, May.
    14. Kautonen, Teemu & Kibler, Ewald & Minniti, Maria, 2017. "Late-career entrepreneurship, income and quality of life," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 318-333.
    15. Hanas Cader & John Leatherman, 2011. "Small business survival and sample selection bias," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 155-165, September.
    16. Gary S. Becker, 1962. "Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: Investment in Human Beings, pages 9-49, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. 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.
    18. Vishal K. Gupta & Daniel B. Turban & S. Arzu Wasti & Arijit Sikdar, 2009. "The Role of Gender Stereotypes in Perceptions of Entrepreneurs and Intentions to Become an Entrepreneur," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(2), pages 397-417, March.
    19. Sexton, Donald L. & Bowman-Upton, Nancy, 1990. "Female and male entrepreneurs: Psychological characteristics and their role in gender-related discrimination," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 29-36, January.
    20. Forbes, Daniel P., 2005. "Are some entrepreneurs more overconfident than others?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 623-640, September.
    21. Levesque, Moren & Minniti, Maria, 2006. "The effect of aging on entrepreneurial behavior," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 177-194, March.
    22. Bruce, Donald, 2002. "Taxes and Entrepreneurial Endurance: Evidence from the Self-Employed," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 55(N. 1), pages 5-24, March.
    23. Cooper, Arnold C. & Gimeno-Gascon, F. Javier & Woo, Carolyn Y., 1994. "Initial human and financial capital as predictors of new venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 371-395, September.
    24. Shepherd, Dean A. & Wiklund, Johan & Haynie, J. Michael, 2009. "Moving forward: Balancing the financial and emotional costs of business failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 134-148, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cowden, Birton & Karami, Masoud & Tang, Jintong & Ye, Wenping & Adomako, Samuel, 2023. "The gendered effects of effectuation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PB).
    2. Glosenberg, Alexander & Phillips, Duygu & Schaefer, Joseph & Pollack, Jeffrey M. & Kirkman, Bradley L. & McChesney, Jenna & Noble, Sean M. & Ward, M.K. & Foster, Lori L., 2022. "The relationship of self-efficacy with entrepreneurial success: A meta-analytic replication and extension," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 18(C).
    3. Huatao Peng & Bingbing Li & Yang Liu, 2022. "How Social Network Influences the Growth of Entrepreneurial Enterprises: Perspective on Organizational and Personal Network," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, June.
    4. Yu, Wei & Zhu, Fei & Foo, Maw Der & Wiklund, Johan, 2022. "What does not kill you makes you stronger: Entrepreneurs’ childhood adversity, resilience, and career success," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 40-55.
    5. Shahid, Pirzada Syed Rizwan, 2023. "Founder's Human Capital and the Entrepreneurial Process Duration," OSF Preprints yf6mg, Center for Open Science.
    6. Bacq, Sophie & Drover, Will & Kim, Phillip H., 2021. "Writing bold, broad, and rigorous review articles in entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    7. Anita Gaile & Ilona Baumane-Vītoliņa & Kurmet Kivipõld & Agnis Stibe, 2022. "Examining subjective career success of knowledge workers," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(7), pages 2135-2160, October.
    8. Yuji Honjo & Kenta Ikeuchi & Hiroki Nakamura, 2022. "The Mediating Effect of Financial Motives in the Association between Entrepreneurial Experience and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Japan," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(2), pages 1043-1067, April.
    9. Murmann, Martin & Salmivaara, Virva & Kibler, Ewald, 2023. "How does late-career entrepreneurship relate to innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    10. Jansen Adela & Dima Alina Mihaela & Biclesanu Isabelle & Point Sebastien, 2022. "Career success through the past six decades: A bibliometric analysis," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 16(1), pages 750-761, August.
    11. Isaac Nyarko Adu & Evelyn Twumasi & Kwame Owusu Boakye & Michael Kyei-Frimpong, 2023. "Does Organizational Support Moderate the Influence of Family–Work Conflict on Career Progression?," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 12(2), pages 208-220, June.
    12. Andrea Fracasso & Kun Jiang, 2022. "The performance of private companies in China before and during the global financial crisis: firms’ characteristics and entrepreneurs’ attributes," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 803-836, May.
    13. Chadley R. Hollas & Lisa Chase & David Conner & Lori Dickes & R. David Lamie & Claudia Schmidt & Doolarie Singh-Knights & Lindsay Quella, 2021. "Factors Related to Profitability of Agritourism in the United States: Results from a National Survey of Operators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Justo, Rachida & DeTienne, Dawn R. & Sieger, Philipp, 2015. "Failure or voluntary exit? Reassessing the female underperformance hypothesis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 775-792.
    2. 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.
    3. Tristan Boyer & Régis Blazy, 2014. "Born to be alive? The survival of innovative and non-innovative French micro-start-ups," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 669-683, April.
    4. Lucio Fuentelsaz & Consuelo González & Juan P. Maícas, 2021. "High-growth aspiration entrepreneurship and exit: the contingent role of market-supporting institutions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 473-492, June.
    5. Avnimelech, Gil & Rechter, Eyal, 2023. "How and why accelerators enhance female entrepreneurship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    6. Abeer Alomani & Rui Baptista & Suma S. Athreye, 2022. "The interplay between human, social and cognitive resources of nascent entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1301-1326, December.
    7. DeTienne, Dawn R. & McKelvie, Alexander & Chandler, Gaylen N., 2015. "Making sense of entrepreneurial exit strategies: A typology and test," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 255-272.
    8. Isabella Hatak & Haibo Zhou, 2021. "Health as Human Capital in Entrepreneurship: Individual, Extension, and Substitution Effects on Entrepreneurial Success," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(1), pages 18-42, January.
    9. Erik Stam & Roy Thurik & Peter van der Zwan, 2010. "Entrepreneurial exit in real and imagined markets," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(4), pages 1109-1139, August.
    10. Erik Lundmark & Anna Krzeminska & Dean A. Shepherd, 2019. "Images of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Root Metaphors and Expanding Upon Them," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 138-170, January.
    11. Mayer-Haug, Katrin & Read, Stuart & Brinckmann, Jan & Dew, Nicholas & Grichnik, Dietmar, 2013. "Entrepreneurial talent and venture performance: A meta-analytic investigation of SMEs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 1251-1273.
    12. Elert, Niklas & Sjöö, Karolin & Wennberg, Karl, 2020. "When Less Is More: Why Limited Entrepreneurship Education May Result in Better Entrepreneurial Outcomes," Working Paper Series 1322, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    13. Khelil, Nabil, 2016. "The many faces of entrepreneurial failure: Insights from an empirical taxonomy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 72-94.
    14. Shirokova, Galina & Osiyevskyy, Oleksiy & Bogatyreva, Karina, 2016. "Exploring the intention–behavior link in student entrepreneurship: Moderating effects of individual and environmental characteristics," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 386-399.
    15. Masatoshi Kato & Koichiro Onishi & Yuji Honjo, 2022. "Does patenting always help new firm survival? Understanding heterogeneity among exit routes," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 449-475, August.
    16. Wyrwich, Michael, 2013. "Can socioeconomic heritage produce a lost generation with regard to entrepreneurship?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 667-682.
    17. Andreas Rauch & Serge A. Rijsdijk, 2013. "The Effects of General and Specific Human Capital on Long–Term Growth and Failure of Newly Founded Businesses," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(4), pages 923-941, July.
    18. Arnis Sauka & Friederike Welter, 2010. "Business Insolvencies in Latvia," TeliaSonera Institute Discussion papers 7, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS);Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga).
    19. Farzana Chowdhury & David B. Audretsch, 2021. "A dynamic relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial activity," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 339-356, September.
    20. Robert P. Garrett & Chao Miao & Shanshan Qian & Tae Jun Bae, 2017. "Entrepreneurial spawning and knowledge-based perspective: a meta-analysis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 355-378, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:36:y:2021:i:1:s0883902619302691. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusvent .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.