IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/use/tkiwps/1704.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Entrepreneurship, risk perception and firm performance

Author

Listed:
  • M.A. Boermans
  • Daan Willebrands

Abstract

Risk attitudes of entrepreneurs are well-established drivers of business performance. Most empirical studies in this field only take into account risk propensity, leaving out the complementary concept of risk perception. Using data on 611 entrepreneurs from Tanzania, we show that risk perception is positively associated with business performance. In addition, we classify the entrepreneurs in four different groups based on their risk profile. The results show that the worst performing entrepreneurs are those with low risk perception and high risk propensity.

Suggested Citation

  • M.A. Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2017. "Entrepreneurship, risk perception and firm performance," Working Papers 17-04, Utrecht School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:use:tkiwps:1704
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/348630/17_04.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Astebro & Holger Herz & Ramana Nanda & Roberto A. Weber, 2014. "Seeking the Roots of Entrepreneurship: Insights from Behavioral Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(3), pages 49-70, Summer.
    2. de Mel, Suresh & McKenzie, David J. & Woodruff, Christopher, 2009. "Measuring microenterprise profits: Must we ask how the sausage is made?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 19-31, January.
    3. Robert Cressy, 2006. "Why do Most Firms Die Young?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 103-116, March.
    4. Andreas Rauch & Johan Wiklund & G.T. Lumpkin & Michael Frese, 2009. "Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance: An Assessment of past Research and Suggestions for the Future," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(3), pages 761-787, May.
    5. Ajay Thapa, 2015. "Determinants of microenterprise performance in Nepal," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 581-594, October.
    6. Katherine Gundolf & Annabelle Jaouen, 2005. "Patterns and coordination of collective action in small and very small business: the case of a tourist village in the Pyrenees," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(4), pages 392-403.
    7. Forlani, David & Mullins, John W., 2000. "Perceived risks and choices in entrepreneurs' new venture decisions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 305-322, July.
    8. Johann Peter Murmann & Deepak Sardana, 2013. "Successful entrepreneurs minimize risk," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 38(1), pages 191-215, April.
    9. Sleuwaegen, Leo & Goedhuys, Micheline, 2002. "Growth of firms in developing countries, evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 117-135, June.
    10. William Norton & William Moore, 2006. "The Influence of Entrepreneurial Risk Assessment on Venture Launch or Growth Decisions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 215-226, April.
    11. Nichter, Simeon & Goldmark, Lara, 2009. "Small Firm Growth in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1453-1464, September.
    12. Leo Paul Dana & Teresa E. Dana, 2005. "Expanding the scope of methodologies used in entrepreneurship research," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(1), pages 79-88.
    13. Lisa Daniels, 2001. "Testing alternative measures of microenterprise profits and net worth," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(5), pages 599-614.
    14. Michael Grimm & Jens Krüger & Jann Lay, 2011. "Barriers To Entry And Returns To Capital In Informal Activities: Evidence From Sub‐Saharan Africa," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57, pages 27-53, May.
    15. Paul Slovic & Melissa L. Finucane & Ellen Peters & Donald G. MacGregor, 2004. "Risk as Analysis and Risk as Feelings: Some Thoughts about Affect, Reason, Risk, and Rationality," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(2), pages 311-322, April.
    16. Palich, Leslie E. & Ray Bagby, D., 1995. "Using cognitive theory to explain entrepreneurial risk-taking: Challenging conventional wisdom," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(6), pages 425-438, November.
    17. Petra Gibcus & Patrick A.M. Vermeulen & Jeroen P.J. De Jong, 2009. "Strategic decision making in small firms: a taxonomy of small business owners," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 74-91.
    18. Ann-Renée Blais & Elke U. Weber, 2006. "A Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT)Scale for Adult Populations," CIRANO Working Papers 2006s-24, CIRANO.
    19. Kathleen Randerson & Jean-Michel Degeorge & Alain Fayolle, 2016. "Entrepreneurial opportunities: how do cognitive styles and logics of action fit in?," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 27(1), pages 19-39.
    20. Willebrands, Daan & Lammers, Judith & Hartog, Joop, 2012. "A successful businessman is not a gambler. Risk attitude and business performance among small enterprises in Nigeria," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 342-354.
    21. Leo-Paul Dana, 2002. "Sustainable development in the Maldives: the Dhivehi context of entrepreneurship," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(6), pages 557-565.
    22. Martijn Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2012. "Financial constraints, risk taking and firm performance: Recent evidence from microfinance clients in Tanzania," DNB Working Papers 358, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    23. repec:cup:judgdm:v:1:y:2006:i::p:33-47 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Jintong Tang & Zhi Tang, 2007. "The relationship of achievement motivation and risk-taking propensity to new venture performance: a test of the moderating effect of entrepreneurial munificence," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(4), pages 450-472.
    25. Pia Arenius & Maria Minniti, 2005. "Perceptual Variables and Nascent Entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 233-247, February.
    26. Maria Minniti & Wim Naudé, 2010. "Introduction: What Do We Know About The Patterns and Determinants of Female Entrepreneurship Across Countries?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 22(3), pages 277-293, July.
    27. Masakure, Oliver & Cranfield, John & Henson, Spencer, 2008. "The Financial Performance of Non-farm Microenterprises in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 2733-2762, December.
    28. Simon, Mark & Houghton, Susan M. & Aquino, Karl, 2000. "Cognitive biases, risk perception, and venture formation: How individuals decide to start companies," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 113-134, March.
    29. Arne Bigsten & Mulu Gebreeyesus, 2007. "The Small, the Young, and the Productive: Determinants of Manufacturing Firm Growth in Ethiopia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(4), pages 813-840, July.
    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. Lennard Hohl & Peter M. Bican & Carsten C. Guderian & Frederik J. Riar, 2021. "Gender Diversity Effects in Investment Decisions," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 30(1), pages 134-152, March.
    2. Boban Melović & Slavica Mitrović Veljković & Dragana Ćirović & Tamara Backović Vulić & Marina Dabić, 2022. "Entrepreneurial decision-making perspectives in transition economies – tendencies towards risky/rational decision-making," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1739-1773, December.
    3. Martijn A. Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2018. "Financial Constraints Matter: Empirical Evidence On Borrowing Behavior, Microfinance And Firm Productivity," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(02), pages 1-24, June.
    4. Tazeen Imran & Rizwan Raheem Ahmed & Dalia Streimikiene & Riaz Hussain Soomro & Vishnu Parmar & Jolita Vveinhardt, 2019. "Assessment of Entrepreneurial Traits and Small-Firm Performance with Entrepreneurial Orientation as a Mediating Factor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, September.
    5. Eijaz Ahmed Khan & Lynne Harris & Mohammed Quaddus, 2021. "The mediating role of personality traits on the entrepreneurial orientation–firm performance relationship: informal entrepreneurship context," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 11(1), pages 41-52, December.
    6. Mariano Puglisi & Vincenzo Fasone & Giulio Pedrini & Deborah Gervasi & Guglielmo Faldetta, 2022. "Using a dual system of reasoning in small businesses: Entrepreneurial decisions and subjective risk intelligence," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 529-553, June.
    7. Hanna Berkel & Finn Tarp, 2022. "Informality and Firm Performance in Myanmar," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(7), pages 1363-1382, July.

    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. Martijn Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2012. "Financial constraints, risk taking and firm performance: Recent evidence from microfinance clients in Tanzania," DNB Working Papers 358, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    2. Willebrands, Daan & Lammers, Judith & Hartog, Joop, 2012. "A successful businessman is not a gambler. Risk attitude and business performance among small enterprises in Nigeria," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 342-354.
    3. Kraft, Priscilla S. & Günther, Christina & Kammerlander, Nadine H. & Lampe, Jan, 2022. "Overconfidence and entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of different types of overconfidence in the entrepreneurial process," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    4. Jianmu Ye & KMMCB Kulathunga, 2019. "How Does Financial Literacy Promote Sustainability in SMEs? A Developing Country Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Martijn A. Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2018. "Financial Constraints Matter: Empirical Evidence On Borrowing Behavior, Microfinance And Firm Productivity," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(02), pages 1-24, June.
    6. Iman Aghaei & Amin Sokhanvar, 2020. "Factors influencing SME owners’ continuance intention in Bangladesh: a logistic regression model," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(3), pages 391-415, September.
    7. Heinrichs, Simon & Walter, Sascha, 2013. "Who Becomes an Entrepreneur? A 30-Years-Review of Individual-Level Research and an Agenda for Future Research," EconStor Preprints 68590, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    8. Rodriguez Torres, Omar, 2021. "How different are necessity and opportunity firms? Evidence from a quantile analysis of the Colombian microenterprise sector," MERIT Working Papers 2021-019, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    9. Hundera, Mulu, 2019. "Role conflict, coping strategies and female entrepreneurial success in sub-Saharan Africa," Other publications TiSEM 3e263b0c-3bf3-474a-8a20-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    10. Idrees Khawaja & Nasir Iqbal, 2019. "Determinants of Expansion of Micro and Small Firms and State of Entrepreneurship in Pakistan," PIDE-Working Papers 2019:160, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    11. Block, Joern & Sandner, Philipp & Spiegel, Frank, 2009. "Do risk attitudes differ within the group of entrepreneurs?," MPRA Paper 17587, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Nabiha Nefzi, 2018. "Fear Of Failure And Entrepreneurial Risk Perception," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, Center for International Scientific Research of VSO and VSPP, vol. 6(2), pages 45-58, December.
    13. Grichnik, Dietmar & Smeja, Alexander & Welpe, Isabell, 2010. "The importance of being emotional: How do emotions affect entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation and exploitation?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 15-29, October.
    14. Francesco Quatraro & Marco Vivarelli, 2015. "Drivers of Entrepreneurship and Post-entry Performance of Newborn Firms in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 277-305.
    15. Andranik Tumasjan & Isabell Welpe & Matthias Spörrle, 2013. "Easy Now, Desirable Later: The Moderating Role of Temporal Distance in Opportunity Evaluation and Exploitation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(4), pages 859-888, July.
    16. Arouri, Hassan & Youssef, Adel Ben & Quatraro, Francesco & Vivarelli, Marco, 2018. "The Determinants of Young Firms Growth in Tunisia," IZA Discussion Papers 11400, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Murat Yalcintas & Oyk㜠Iyigãœn & Gokhan Karabulut, 2023. "Personal Characteristics And Intention For Entrepreneurship," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 68(02), pages 539-561.
    18. Maria Claudia Angel Ferrero & Véronique Bessière, 2016. "From Lab to Venture: Cognitive Factors Influencing Researchers' Decision to Start a Venture," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(02), pages 101-131, June.
    19. Reeg, Caroline, 2015. "Micro and small enterprises as drivers for job creation and decent work," IDOS Discussion Papers 10/2015, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    20. Sascha G. Walter & Achim Walter, 2009. "Personenbezogene Determinanten von Unternehmensgründungen: Stand der Forschung und Perspektiven des Fortschritts," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 57-89, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    risk attitude; risk perception; risk propensity; entrepreneurship; business performance; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:use:tkiwps:1704. 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: Marina Muilwijk (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eiruunl.html .

    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.