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In the name of my parents: Entrepreneurship and the intergenerational transmission of values

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  • Michael Wyrwich

    () (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena)

Abstract

Mounting empirical evidence shows that kids of self-employed parents are very likely to become entrepreneurs themselves. These findings are often attributed to the intergenerational transmission of parental norms and values. However, many papers in the field are not that explicit about parental values. Furthermore, nearly all studies neglect potential heterogeneity of entrepreneurial parents and their values. I argue that values of entrepreneurial parents can be quite different due to context factors like their motivation for being self-employed (e.g., necessity- vs. opportunity driven). I also think that direct information on values should be exploited to understand their intergenerational transmission. To this end, I fill research gaps and contribute to the literature by making use of a natural experiment. This allows identify- ing a group of entrepreneurial parents with a distinct value orientation and detecting a trans- mission of these parental values.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Wyrwich, 2013. "In the name of my parents: Entrepreneurship and the intergenerational transmission of values," Jena Economic Research Papers 2013-031, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    • Handle: RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2013-031
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Wyrwich, 2015. "Entrepreneurship and the intergenerational transmission of values," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 191-213, June.
    2. Viviana Velez-Grajales & Roberto Velez-Grajales, 2014. "Is Entrepreneurship Inherited? A Study of Intergenerational Social Mobility in Mexico," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 51(2), pages 247-278, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Intergenerational transmission; Values;

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • P37 - Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Legal
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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