IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v64y2025i4d10.1007_s11187-024-00970-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From one to many: education, diversity, and international experience in habitual vs. one-time founders

Author

Listed:
  • Francesca Sanguineti

    (University of Pavia)

  • Antonio Majocchi

    (LUISS Guido Carli)

  • Christian Lechner

    (LUISS Business School)

Abstract

What sets apart entrepreneurs who continuously start new businesses from those who stick with their first venture? This paper delves into the characteristics that distinguish habitual founders from one-time founders. Analyzing a dataset of over 5000 individuals, we combine the concepts of cognitive entrenchment and human capital theory to uncover the general and specific traits that increase the likelihood of becoming a habitual founder. Our findings suggest that a higher level of education, diverse professional backgrounds, and international experience increase the chances of becoming a habitual founder. By exploring the backgrounds of habitual entrepreneurs, this study provides valuable insights for supporting and promoting an entrepreneurial career.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca Sanguineti & Antonio Majocchi & Christian Lechner, 2025. "From one to many: education, diversity, and international experience in habitual vs. one-time founders," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(4), pages 1929-1951, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:64:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00970-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-024-00970-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-024-00970-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-024-00970-8?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. Farhad Uddin Ahmed & Louis Brennan, 2019. "The impact of Founder’s human capital on firms’ extent of early internationalisation: Evidence from a least-developed country," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 615-659, September.
    2. Werner Bönte & Monika Piegeler, 2013. "Gender gap in latent and nascent entrepreneurship: driven by competitiveness," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 961-987, December.
    3. Ari Hyytinen & Pekka Ilmakunnas, 2007. "What distinguishes a serial entrepreneur?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 16(5), pages 793-821, October.
    4. Crawford, G. Christopher & Linder, Christian & Lechner, Christian & Villani, Elisa, 2024. "Outlier entrepreneurs: Nonlinear paths and novel ventures," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    5. Brian Headd, 2003. "Redefining Business Success: Distinguishing Between Closure and Failure," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 51-61, August.
    6. Selin Dilli & Niklas Elert & Andrea M. Herrmann, 2018. "Varieties of entrepreneurship: exploring the institutional foundations of different entrepreneurship types through ‘Varieties-of-Capitalism’ arguments," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 293-320, August.
    7. Christian Lechner & Florian Kirschenhofer & Michael Dowling, 2016. "The influence of social capital on opportunity emergence and exploitation: a comparison of portfolio and serial entrepreneurs," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-23, December.
    8. Masatoshi Kato & Hiroyuki Okamuro & Yuji Honjo, 2015. "Does Founders' Human Capital Matter for Innovation? Evidence from Japanese Start‐ups," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 114-128, January.
    9. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike & Flores, Manuel, 2010. "The nature of entrepreneurial experience, business failure and comparative optimism," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 541-555, November.
    10. Gompers, Paul & Kovner, Anna & Lerner, Josh & Scharfstein, David, 2010. "Performance persistence in entrepreneurship," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 18-32, April.
    11. Maria Elo & Susanne Sandberg & Per Servais & Rodrigo Basco & Allan Discua Cruz & Liesl Riddle & Florian Taübe, 2018. "Advancing the views on migrant and diaspora entrepreneurs in international entrepreneurship," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/286550, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    12. Sandra Gottschalk & Francis J. Greene & Bettina Müller, 2017. "The impact of habitual entrepreneurial experience on new firm closure outcomes," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 303-321, February.
    13. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 2009. "The extent and nature of opportunity identification by experienced entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 99-115, March.
    14. Brian S. Klaas & John Mcclendon & Thomas W. Gainey, 2000. "Managing HR in the Small and Medium Enterprise: The Impact of Professional Employer Organizations," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(1), pages 107-124, October.
    15. Steven N. Kaplan & Per Strömberg, 2003. "Financial Contracting Theory Meets the Real World: An Empirical Analysis of Venture Capital Contracts," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 281-315.
    16. Fan, Terence & Schwab, Andreas & Geng, Xuesong, 2021. "Habitual entrepreneurship in digital platform ecosystems: A time-contingent model of learning from prior software project experiences," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    17. Hsu, David H., 2007. "Experienced entrepreneurial founders, organizational capital, and venture capital funding," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 722-741, June.
    18. Paul Westhead & Deniz Ucbasaran & Mike Wright, 2005. "Decisions, Actions, and Performance: Do Novice, Serial, and Portfolio Entrepreneurs Differ?," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 393-417, October.
    19. Signori, Andrea & Vismara, Silvio, 2018. "Does success bring success? The post-offering lives of equity-crowdfunded firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 575-591.
    20. Douglas Cumming & Jochen Christian Werth & Yelin Zhang, 2019. "Governance in entrepreneurial ecosystems: venture capitalists vs. technology parks," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 455-484, February.
    21. Cooper, Arnold C. & Folta, Timothy B. & Woo, Carolyn, 1995. "Entrepreneurial information search," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 107-120, March.
    22. Robert A. Baron & Michael D. Ensley, 2006. "Opportunity Recognition as the Detection of Meaningful Patterns: Evidence from Comparisons of Novice and Experienced Entrepreneurs," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(9), pages 1331-1344, September.
    23. José Millán & Emilio Congregado & Concepción Román, 2012. "Determinants of self-employment survival in Europe," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 231-258, February.
    24. Bluedorn, Allen C. & Martin, Gwen, 2008. "The time frames of entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-20, January.
    25. Parker, Simon C., 2013. "Do serial entrepreneurs run successively better-performing businesses?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 652-666.
    26. Johan Wiklund & Dean A. Shepherd, 2008. "Portfolio Entrepreneurship: Habitual and Novice Founders, New Entry, and Mode of Organizing," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(4), pages 701-725, July.
    27. Wennberg, Karl & Larsson, Anne-Sophie & Fu, Kun, 2018. "Habitual Entrepreneurs in the Making: How Labour Market Rigidity and Employment Affects Entrepreneurial Re-entry," Ratio Working Papers 315, The Ratio Institute.
    28. Junfu Zhang, 2011. "The advantage of experienced start-up founders in venture capital acquisition: evidence from serial entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 187-208, February.
    29. Robert H. Hayes & Kim B. Clark, 1985. "Explaining Observed Productivity Differentials Between Plants: Implications for Operations Research," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 15(6), pages 3-14, December.
    30. Kuemmerle, Walter, 2002. "Home base and knowledge management in international ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 99-122, March.
    31. Simon Parker, 2014. "Who become serial and portfolio entrepreneurs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 887-898, December.
    32. Kun Fu & Anne-Sophie Larsson & Karl Wennberg, 2018. "Habitual entrepreneurs in the making: how labour market rigidity and employment affects entrepreneurial re-entry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 465-482, August.
    33. Matthew R. Marvel & Justin L. Davis & Curtis R. Sproul, 2016. "Human Capital and Entrepreneurship Research: A Critical Review and Future Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(3), pages 599-626, May.
    34. Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 1998. "Novice, portfolio, and serial founders: are they different?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 173-204, May.
    35. Newbert, Scott L. & Kher, Romi & Yang, Shu, 2022. "Now that's interesting and important! Moving beyond averages to increase the inferential value of empirical findings in entrepreneurship research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2).
    36. Yiannis E. Spanos & George Zaralis & Spyros Lioukas, 2004. "Strategy and industry effects on profitability: evidence from Greece," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 139-165, February.
    37. 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.
    38. Martin, Bruce C. & McNally, Jeffrey J. & Kay, Michael J., 2013. "Examining the formation of human capital in entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of entrepreneurship education outcomes," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 211-224.
    39. Paul Westhead & Mike Wright, 1998. "Novice, Portfolio, and Serial Founders in Rural and Urban Areas," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 22(4), pages 63-100, July.
    40. Dimo Dimov, 2010. "Nascent Entrepreneurs and Venture Emergence: Opportunity Confidence, Human Capital, and Early Planning," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1123-1153, September.
    41. Christian Linder & Abhisekh Ghosh Moulick & Christian Lechner, 2023. "Necessary Conditions and Theory-Method Compatibility in Quantitative Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(5), pages 1971-1994, September.
    42. Emanuela Carbonara & Hien Thu Tran & Enrico Santarelli, 2020. "Determinants of novice, portfolio, and serial entrepreneurship: an occupational choice approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 123-151, June.
    43. 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.
    44. Paul Westhead & Deniz Ucbasaran & Mike Wright, 2003. "Differences Between Private Firms Owned by Novice, Serial and Portfolio Entrepreneurs: Implications for Policy Makers and Practitioners," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-200.
    45. Marvel, Matthew R. & Wolfe, Marcus T. & Kuratko, Donald F., 2020. "Escaping the knowledge corridor: How founder human capital and founder coachability impacts product innovation in new ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    46. Maria Elo & Susanne Sandberg & Per Servais & Rodrigo Basco & Allan Discua Cruz & Liesl Riddle & Florian Täube, 2018. "Advancing the views on migrant and diaspora entrepreneurs in international entrepreneurship," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 119-133, June.
    47. Birley, Sue & Westhead, Paul, 1994. "A taxonomy of business start-up reasons and their impact on firm growth and size," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 7-31, January.
    48. Silvio Vismara, 2018. "Information Cascades among Investors in Equity Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(3), pages 467-497, May.
    49. Gary S. Becker, 1975. "Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education, Second Edition," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck75-1, June.
    50. Deniz Ucbasaran & Mike Wright & Paul Westhead, 2003. "A longitudinal study of habitual entrepreneurs: starters and acquirers," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 207-228, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Jaroslaw Ropega, 2020. "Novice and habitual entrepreneurs and external business support exploitation," Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, Croatian Interdisciplinary Society Provider Homepage: http://indecs.eu, vol. 18(2B), pages 271-285.
    2. Wu, Shuai, 2023. "Impact of serial entrepreneurs on IPO valuation: Evidence from U.S. IPOs," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Sebastián Uriarte & Jorge Espinoza-Benavides & Domingo Ribeiro-Soriano, 2023. "Engagement in entrepreneurship after business failure. Do formal institutions and culture matter?," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 941-973, June.
    4. Amrita Lahiri & Anu Wadhwa, 2021. "When do serial entrepreneurs found innovative ventures? Evidence from patent data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1973-1993, December.
    5. Rodgers, Waymond & Degbey, William Y. & Söderbom, Arne & Leijon, Svante, 2022. "Leveraging international R&D teams of portfolio entrepreneurs and management controllers to innovate: Implications of algorithmic decision-making," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 232-244.
    6. Parker, Simon C., 2013. "Do serial entrepreneurs run successively better-performing businesses?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 652-666.
    7. Jorge Espinoza-Benavides & Maribel Guerrero, 2025. "Re-entrepreneurial experience and learning during challenging times," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(1), pages 59-92, January.
    8. Massimo Baù & Philipp Sieger & Kimberly A. Eddleston & Francesco Chirico, 2017. "Fail but Try Again? The Effects of Age, Gender, and Multiple–Owner Experience on Failed Entrepreneurs’ Reentry," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 909-941, November.
    9. Vincenzo Butticè & Massimo G. Colombo & Mike Wright, 2017. "Serial Crowdfunding, Social Capital, and Project Success," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(2), pages 183-207, March.
    10. Simon Parker, 2014. "Who become serial and portfolio entrepreneurs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 887-898, December.
    11. Vincenzo Butticè & Carlotta Orsenigo & Mike Wright, 2018. "The effect of information asymmetries on serial crowdfunding and campaign success," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 45(2), pages 143-173, June.
    12. Rocha, Vera & Carneiro, Anabela & Amorim Varum, Celeste, 2015. "Serial entrepreneurship, learning by doing and self-selection," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 91-106.
    13. Emanuela Carbonara & Hien Thu Tran & Enrico Santarelli, 2020. "Determinants of novice, portfolio, and serial entrepreneurship: an occupational choice approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 123-151, June.
    14. Jaroslaw Ropega, 2024. "The Influence of Prior Experience on Innovativeness and Development Decisions of Serial Entrepreneurs," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 95-108.
    15. C. Troise & D. Matricano & E. Candelo & L. Schjoedt, 2022. "A ten-year cross-national examination of the dance between intuition and rationality in entrepreneurial processes," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 663-692, June.
    16. Junfu Zhang, 2011. "The advantage of experienced start-up founders in venture capital acquisition: evidence from serial entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 187-208, February.
    17. Gottschalk, Sandra & Greene, Francis J. & Höwer, Daniel & Müller, Bettina, 2014. "If you don't succeed, should you try again? The role of entrepreneurial experience in venture survival," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-009, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    18. Louise Lindbjerg & Theodor Vladasel, 2021. "Hiring entrepreneurs for innovation," Economics Working Papers 1811, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    19. Patel, Pankaj C. & Tsionas, Mike & Oghazi, Pejvak & Izquierdo, Vanessa, 2022. "No entrepreneur steps in the same river twice: Limited learning advantage for serial entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1038-1052.
    20. Loren Brandt & Ruochen Dai & Gueorgui Kambourov & Kjetil Storesletten & Xiaobo Zhang, 2022. "Serial Entrepreneurship in China," Working Papers tecipa-721, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Habitual entrepreneurs; Human capital theory; Cognitive entrenchment theory; One-time entrepreneurs; International experience;
    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
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:kap:sbusec:v:64:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00970-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.