IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/intemj/v20y2024i2d10.1007_s11365-024-00964-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Age and entrepreneurship: Mapping the scientific coverage and future research directions

Author

Listed:
  • Raihan Taqui Syed

    (United Arab Emirates University)

  • Dharmendra Singh

    (Modern College of Business & Science)

  • Nisar Ahmad

    (Sultan Qaboos University)

  • Irfan Butt

    (Toronto Metropolitan University)

Abstract

Researchers’ interest in studying the relationship between age and entrepreneurship has mushroomed in the last decade. While over a hundred articles are published and indexed in the Scopus database alone with varying and fragmented results, there has been a lack of effort in reviewing, integrating, and classifying the literature. This article offers a framework-based systematic review of 174 articles to comprehend the relationship and influencing factors related to an individual's age and entrepreneurship. Bibliographic coupling is used to identify the prominent clusters in the literature on this topic and the most influential articles. Also, the TCCM review framework is adopted to provide a comprehensive insight into dominant theories applied, contexts (geographic regions and industries) incorporated, characteristics (antecedents, consequences, mediating and moderating variables, and their relationships) investigated, and research methods employed in age and entrepreneurship research over the last fifteen (2007–2022). Though the literature covers an array of industries, to better understand the age-entrepreneurship correlation, we need to investigate the new-age technologically driven business sectors further to expand our knowledge. Furthermore, we detect that the Theory of Planned Behavior mostly dominates the literature, with other theories trivially employed. Finally, we apply the TCCM framework to suggest fertile areas for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Raihan Taqui Syed & Dharmendra Singh & Nisar Ahmad & Irfan Butt, 2024. "Age and entrepreneurship: Mapping the scientific coverage and future research directions," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 1451-1486, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:20:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s11365-024-00964-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11365-024-00964-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11365-024-00964-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11365-024-00964-8?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. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
    2. Kautonen, Teemu & Hatak, Isabella & Kibler, Ewald & Wainwright, Thomas, 2015. "Emergence of entrepreneurial behaviour: The role of age-based self-image," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 41-51.
    3. Werner Bönte & Oliver Falck & Stephan Heblich, 2009. "The Impact of Regional Age Structure on Entrepreneurship," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 85(3), pages 269-287, July.
    4. Frank Bau & Michael Dowling, 2007. "An Empirical Study of Reward and Incentive Systems in German Entrepreneurial Firms," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 59(2), pages 160-175, April.
    5. 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.
    6. Teemu Kautonen & Simon Down & Maria Minniti, 2014. "Ageing and entrepreneurial preferences," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 579-594, March.
    7. Nisar Ahmad & Angeliki N. Menegaki & Saeed Al‐Muharrami, 2020. "Systematic Literature Review Of Tourism Growth Nexus: An Overview Of The Literature And A Content Analysis Of 100 Most Influential Papers," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 1068-1110, December.
    8. Rodney Runyan & Cornelia Droge & Jane Swinney, 2008. "Entrepreneurial Orientation versus Small Business Orientation: What Are Their Relationships to Firm Performance?," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 567-588, October.
    9. Tommaso Minola & Giuseppe Criaco & Martin Obschonka, 2016. "Age, culture, and self-employment motivation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 187-213, February.
    10. Keith Graham Debbage & Shaylee Bowen, 2018. "Non-farm proprietorship employment by US metropolitan area," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(2), pages 139-157, May.
    11. Aurora AC Teixeira & Carina Silva, 2012. "A new perspective on local political entrepreneurship: Evidence from Portugal," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 27(4), pages 332-354, June.
    12. Manoj Chandra Bayon & Olivier Lamotte, 2020. "Age, labour market situation and the choice of risky innovative entrepreneurship," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(8), pages 624-628, May.
    13. Steven A. Brieger & Anne Bäro & Giuseppe Criaco & Siri A. Terjesen, 2021. "Entrepreneurs’ age, institutions, and social value creation goals: A multi-country study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 425-453, June.
    14. Ahmad, Nisar & Aghdam, Reza FathollahZadeh & Butt, Irfan & Naveed, Amjad, 2020. "Citation-based systematic literature review of energy-growth nexus: An overview of the field and content analysis of the top 50 influential papers," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    15. Rosemary Athayde, 2009. "Measuring Enterprise Potential in Young People," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(2), pages 481-500, March.
    16. Lynn A. Karoly & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2004. "Self-Employment Trends and Patterns Among Older U.S. Workers," Working Papers 136, RAND Corporation.
    17. Marcin Staniewski & Katarzyna Awruk, 2015. "Motivating factors and barriers in the commencement of one’s own business for potential entrepreneurs," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 583-592, January.
    18. Erno T. Tornikoski & Teemu Kautonen, 2009. "Enterprise as sunset career? Entrepreneurial intentions in the ageing population," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(2), pages 278-291.
    19. Tiziana Priede-Bergamini & Cristina López-Cózar-Navarro & Sonia Benito-Hernández & Antonio Rodríguez-Duarte & Manuel Platero, 2019. "The dual effect of the age of the entrepreneur on the innovation performance of the micro-enterprises," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(1), pages 81-102.
    20. Marc Cowling, 2000. "Are entrepreneurs different across countries?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(12), pages 785-789.
    21. 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.
    22. Kolvereid, Lars & Isaksen, Espen, 2006. "New business start-up and subsequent entry into self-employment," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 866-885, November.
    23. Zissimopoulos, Julie M. & Karoly, Lynn A., 2007. "Transitions to self-employment at older ages: The role of wealth, health, health insurance and other factors," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 269-295, April.
    24. Nees Jan Eck & Ludo Waltman, 2010. "Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 523-538, August.
    25. Wolfe, Marcus T. & Patel, Pankaj C., 2022. "What's my age again? The association between self-employment and klotho protein," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    26. Chatterjee, Sheshadri & Chaudhuri, Ranjan & Vrontis, Demetris & Thrassou, Alkis, 2022. "SME entrepreneurship and digitalization – the potentialities and moderating role of demographic factors," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    27. Franceschini, Fiorenzo & Maisano, Domenico & Mastrogiacomo, Luca, 2016. "Empirical analysis and classification of database errors in Scopus and Web of Science," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 933-953.
    28. 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.
    29. Chen, Chao C. & Greene, Patricia Gene & Crick, Ann, 1998. "Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 295-316, July.
    30. Song Lin & Shihui Wang, 2019. "How does the age of serial entrepreneurs influence their re-venture speed after a business failure?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 651-666, March.
    31. Bradley Heim, 2015. "Understanding the decline in self-employment among individuals nearing retirement," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 561-580, October.
    32. Mikaela Backman & Esteban Lopez & Francisco Rowe, 2021. "The occupational trajectories and outcomes of forced migrants in Sweden. Entrepreneurship, employment or persistent inactivity?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 963-983, February.
    33. Levesque, Moren & Minniti, Maria, 2006. "The effect of aging on entrepreneurial behavior," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 177-194, March.
    34. 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).
    35. 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.
    36. James Curran & Robert A Blackburn, 2001. "Older People and the Enterprise Society: Age and Self-Employment Propensities," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 15(4), pages 889-902, December.
    37. Santos, Susana C. & Caetano, António & Brochado, Ana, 2023. "Why am I so successful? Self-presentation and deliberative attributions of success in entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    38. 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.
    39. Ziyoda Asatullaeva & Reza Fathollah Zadeh Aghdam & Nisar Ahmad & Laylo Tashpulatova, 2021. "The impact of foreign aid on economic development: A systematic literature review and content analysis of the top 50 most influential papers," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 717-751, May.
    40. T. Kautonen & M. Minniti, 2014. "'Fifty is the new thirty': ageing well and start-up activities," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(16), pages 1161-1164, November.
    41. Thorgren, Sara & Sirén, Charlotta & Nordström, Carin & Wincent, Joakim, 2016. "Hybrid entrepreneurs' second-step choice: The nonlinear relationship between age and intention to enter full-time entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 5(C), pages 14-18.
    42. Ting Zhang & Zoltan Acs, 2018. "Age and entrepreneurship: nuances from entrepreneur types and generation effects," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 773-809, December.
    43. Mesfin Mulu Ayalew & Shumet Amare Zeleke, 2018. "Modeling the impact of entrepreneurial attitude on self-employment intention among engineering students in Ethiopia," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-27, December.
    44. Raihan Taqui Syed & Dharmendra Singh & Reena Agrawal & David Philip Spicer, 2023. "Entrepreneurship development in universities across Gulf Cooperation Council countries: a systematic review of the research and way forward," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(5), pages 1045-1062, July.
    45. Isabelle Biclesanu & Sorin Anagnoste & Ovidiu Branga & Marco Savastano, 2021. "Digital Entrepreneurship: Public Perception of Barriers, Drivers, and Future," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-11, November.
    46. Rojas-Lamorena, Álvaro J. & Del Barrio-García, Salvador & Alcántara-Pilar, Juan Miguel, 2022. "A review of three decades of academic research on brand equity: A bibliometric approach using co-word analysis and bibliographic coupling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1067-1083.
    47. 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.
    48. Tommaso Minola & Giuseppe Criaco & Martin Obschonka, 2016. "Age, culture, and self-employment motivation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 187-213, February.
    49. Verheul, Ingrid & Thurik, Roy & Grilo, Isabel & van der Zwan, Peter, 2012. "Explaining preferences and actual involvement in self-employment: Gender and the entrepreneurial personality," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 325-341.
    50. Anne-Wil Harzing & Satu Alakangas, 2016. "Google Scholar, Scopus and the Web of Science: a longitudinal and cross-disciplinary comparison," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(2), pages 787-804, February.
    51. Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm & Kim Klyver & Maryam Cheraghi-Madsen, 2022. "Age effect on entry to entrepreneurship: embedded in life expectancy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 57-76, January.
    52. Ying-Kai Liao & Vu Huu Anh Nguyen & Andrea Caputo, 2022. "Unveiling the role of entrepreneurial knowledge and cognition as antecedents of entrepreneurial intention: a meta-analytic study," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1623-1652, December.
    53. Reham Abdelhafiz ElTamimi & Nadia J. Sweis, 2021. "The perceptions of individuals aged 50 years and older towards engaging in entrepreneurial activities," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 42(4), pages 422-450.
    54. Teemu Kautonen & Erno Tornikoski & Ewald Kibler, 2011. "Entrepreneurial intentions in the third age: the impact of perceived age norms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 219-234, September.
    55. Marcus T. Wolfe & Pankaj C. Patel, 2016. "Grit and self-employment: a multi-country study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 853-874, December.
    56. Shaw, Kathryn & Sørensen, Anders, 2022. "Coming of age: Watching young entrepreneurs become successful," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    57. Longinos Marín & Catalina Nicolás & Alicia Rubio, 2019. "How Gender, Age and Education Influence the Entrepreneur’s Social Orientation: The Moderating Effect of Economic Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-16, August.
    58. 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.
    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. Murmann, Martin & Salmivaara, Virva & Kibler, Ewald, 2023. "How does late-career entrepreneurship relate to innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    2. Steven A. Brieger & Anne Bäro & Giuseppe Criaco & Siri A. Terjesen, 2021. "Entrepreneurs’ age, institutions, and social value creation goals: A multi-country study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 425-453, June.
    3. Tommaso Minola & Giuseppe Criaco & Martin Obschonka, 2016. "Age, culture, and self-employment motivation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 187-213, February.
    4. Shahid, Pirzada Syed Rizwan, 2023. "Founder's Human Capital and the Entrepreneurial Process Duration," OSF Preprints yf6mg, Center for Open Science.
    5. Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm & Kim Klyver & Maryam Cheraghi-Madsen, 2022. "Age effect on entry to entrepreneurship: embedded in life expectancy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 57-76, January.
    6. 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.
    7. Miguel Ángel Montañés-Del-Río & José Aurelio Medina-Garrido, 2020. "Determinants of the Propensity for Innovation among Entrepreneurs in the Tourism Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Kibler, Ewald & Sirén, Charlotta & Maresch, Daniela & Salmivaara, Virva & Fink, Matthias, 2024. "Aging and entrepreneurs' emotional exhaustion: The role of entrepreneurial strategy, psychological capital, and felt age gap," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(5).
    9. Maldonado-Bautista, Ileana & Sanchez-Ruiz, Paul & Parhankangas, Annaleena & Watkins, Karen, 2025. "Echoes of the past: The long-lasting effects of entrepreneurs' generational imprints on value-creation models," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(1).
    10. Tomas Pečiulis & Nisar Ahmad & Angeliki N. Menegaki & Aqsa Bibi, 2024. "Forecasting of cryptocurrencies: Mapping trends, influential sources, and research themes," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1880-1901, September.
    11. Matthews, Michael J. & Anglin, Aaron H. & Drover, Will & Wolfe, Marcus T., 2024. "Just a number? Using artificial intelligence to explore perceived founder age in entrepreneurial fundraising," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).
    12. Valerie Dawn Caines & Monique F Crane & Jack Noone & Barbara Griffin & Shiksha Datta & Joanne Kaa Earl, 2020. "Older workers: Past, present and future," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 45(3), pages 425-448, August.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Ying Zhu & Ayse Collins & Zhixing Xu & Deepak Sardana & S. Tamer Cavusgil, 2022. "Achieving aging well through senior entrepreneurship: a three-country empirical study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 665-689, August.
    16. Amparo Nagore García & Mariacristina Rossi & Arthur Soest, 2021. "Retirement of the self-employed in the Netherlands," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 385-402, January.
    17. Aracely Soto-Simeone & Teemu Kautonen, 2021. "Senior entrepreneurship following unemployment: a social identity theory perspective," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1683-1706, August.
    18. Ting Zhang & Roger Stough & Dan Gerlowski, 2022. "Digital exposure, age, and entrepreneurship," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(3), pages 633-681, December.
    19. Bakker, Rene M. & McMullen, Jeffery S., 2023. "Inclusive entrepreneurship: A call for a shared theoretical conversation about unconventional entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(1).
    20. Wei Xiao & Mingqin Wu, 2021. "Life-cycle factors and entrepreneurship: evidence from rural China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 2017-2040, December.

    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:spr:intemj:v:20:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s11365-024-00964-8. 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.