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Entrepeneurs under Uncertainty: an Economic Experiment in China

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Abstract

This study reports findings from the first large scale experiment investigating whether entrepreneurs differ from other people in their willingness to expose themselves to various forms of uncertainty in decision on tasks. A stratified random sample of 700 CEOs from the Yangzi delta region in China is compared to 200 control group members. Our findings suggest that in economic decisions, entrepreneurs are more willing to accept strategic uncertainty related to multilateral competition and trust. However, entrepreneurs do not differ from ordinary people when it comes to non-strategic forms of uncertainty, such as risk and ambiguity

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  • Holm, Håkan J. & Opper, Sonja & Nee, Victor, 2013. "Entrepeneurs under Uncertainty: an Economic Experiment in China," Knut Wicksell Working Paper Series 2013/1, Lund University, Knut Wicksell Centre for Financial Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:luwick:2013_001
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Risk; Ambiguity; Willingness to Compete; Trust;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm

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