Student perception of entrepreneurs: a cultural perspective.

Martz, W. Benjamin, Jr. ; Neil, Thomas C. ; Biscaccianti, Alessandro 等

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to compare the perception of entrepreneurs held by students across three cultures: America, France and United Kingdom. The 2002 Global Entrepreneurship Monitoring (GEM) Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA) report suggests that the three countries have different cultures concerning entrepreneurship. The basic conjecture is that if the entrepreneur activity is different across these countries, then the perception of entrepreneurs across these cultures will differ also. A questionnaire was created and distributed to students in the three countries under study as part of their curriculum. The resulting analysis of 258 questionnaires found support for the basic conjecture that the perception of entrepreneurship differs between countries and in the direction predicted by the TEA report; the US students perceived the entrepreneurship lifestyle better and aspired more to that lifestyle than did students from the France or the UK.

BACKGROUND

Overview

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) program is a truly ambitious project undertaken to "describe and analyze entrepreneurial processes within a wide range of nations." (Reynolds et al. 2002). The 2002 GEM report gives some hints to the vastness of the sphere considered entrepreneurship. Data for the report was collected from 37 countries representing about 62% of the world's population. Interviews, surveys and compilation of standardized information contributed to the database. The objective of the GEM study is to provide a summary report on differences in global entrepreneurship activity at a national aggregate level.

The GEM researchers have created a composite index, Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA), to help with the comparison of entrepreneurship activity. The TEA is made up of nascent entrepreneurs (those workers involved with a start up) and of managers in companies that are less than 42 months old. This TEA index has been shown to correlate strongly with a whole battery of alternate measures for entrepreneurship including, but not limited to, actual number of start-up efforts, start up efforts creating new markets, opportunity-based entrepreneurship. In 2002, the US rated 11th, France rated 34th and United Kingdom rated 16th on the TEA.

The summary report includes a generic profile for an entrepreneur and a discussion of factors that seem to motivate entrepreneurs. In a ratio of 2:1, men are more likely to be involved with entrepreneurship than women. The most active age for entrepreneurs is 25-34 followed by the 18-24 when looking at those entrepreneurs that choose to enter entrepreneurship (opportunity entrepreneurs). The results of the expert focus groups used in the study show that three areas; government policies, cultural & social norms, and education & training dominated the discussions. The statistical results of the expert's data showed significant correlations (both negatively correlated) for only two areas; financial support and protection of intellectual property rights. Three socio-demographic characteristics that immerged, as indicators of likely entrepreneur activity were 1.) knowing someone that had started his or her own business in the past two years 2.) low fear of failure, and 3.) having the skills and ability to undertake a startup.

Defining Entrepreneur

Clearly, the GEM report defines entrepreneur activity with an extremely broad definition. However, there is no clear, consistent use of entrepreneur in the research. At least two scales, the Entrepreneurial Quotient (EQ) and the Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientation (EAO) (Huefner et al. 1996) have been developed to identify potential entrepreneurs. Some researchers simply equate new venture creation with entrepreneurship (Timmons et al. 1985). Others suggest that there exists a fundamental distinction between entrepreneurs and small business owners (Carland et al. 1984). While profitability is a key in both psyches, confounding personal goals also influence the business owners. Begley and Boyd (1987) draw a distinction between the small business owners that created the new business and those that did not create, but have been hired to run the new business.

Several researchers suggest that entrepreneurs and managers differ in areas of basic personality traits, business competence and risk taking. Reynaise (1997) reports that entrepreneurs were generally more flexible to change than their manager counterpart. For Chandler and Hanks (1994), entrepreneurs excelled in identifying and taking advantage of opportunities while a competent manager did better delegating and coordinating tasks than did the entrepreneur. With regard to risk taking, Hisrich (1990) found managers operating to minimize mistakes while entrepreneurs were more willing to accept the risks associated with aggressive business decisions. Envick and Langford (2000) used the Five-Factor Model personality model to compare entrepreneurs and managers. Ultimately, they found managers to be more cautious and more team-oriented than entrepreneurs.

In reality, it seems more likely that there are ways to categorize entrepreneurs into subsets. Vesper (1980) uses potential entry strategies as a categorization tool to develop eleven potential categories. These include categories for entrepreneurs such as independent innovators, economy of scale exploiters and value manipulators. Shuman et al. (1982) produced a ten-category classification scheme based around how the entrepreneur gained control of the business. Some of their categories included successor in family business; independent, started from scratch, and acquirer. Rogoff and Lee (1996) synthesized their topology down to three categories: creators, inheritors and operators. For the purposes of this study, the definition of entrepreneur was simplified to: "a person who starts and runs their own business."

Culture

While the GEM studied operates at the global level, there have been several studies that deal with entrepreneurship at more narrow level of analysis. Fleming (1996) looked at the impact of entrepreneurial education in Ireland over a four year span. Characteristics such as "attitudes toward entrepreneurship" and "personal and family background" were evaluated. The results found that the students surveyed moved slightly toward a more entrepreneurial attitude and the levels of self employment (and those in smaller firms of less than 50 employees) had increased.

Abbey's (2002) cross-cultural study on motivation for entrepreneurship found significant differences between two cultures, one defined as individualist and the other collectivist, on desire for independence and need for economic security.

Box et al. (1995) evaluated Thai entrepreneurs by the performance of the companies they ran. This performance was significantly correlated with previous experience in entrepreneurial management; number of previous attempts, successful or not; and industry experience. Koiranen et al. (1997) analyzed the risk taking propensity between Finnish and American entrepreneurs and business managers. The results showed that Americans in the study were more willing to take risks than the Finns. Comparisons between American and Egyptian entrepreneurs (Parnell, et al. 1995) showed that American students had greater levels of perceived entrepreneurial education, entrepreneurial opportunities and confidence in taking advantage of the opportunities.

Cultures evolve as a consequence of other changes. Two such changes that impact entrepreneurship are technological change and business organizational change. Shane (1996) suggests the first and supports his contention with research that shows changes in the rate of entrepreneurship can be explained by corresponding rates of change in technology. Schrage (1990) suggests that managers need characteristics of the entrepreneur and the entrepreneur needs characteristics of the manager. He cites Robert Reich's (1987) proposition that challenges the myths about entrepreneurs being the "heroes" in today's business world. Reich suggests that there is no one best attitude or characteristic make-up for entrepreneurs. Furthermore, he argues the dichotomy is even more inappropriate as the business world moves to more of a team-based environment.

So, in total, entrepreneurship has been defined in broad and ambiguous ways. There have been many instruments with many more characteristics used to help categorize and compare entrepreneurs. The comparisons have been conducted at global levels and at country levels. The comparisons have been made looking for unique characteristics of entrepreneurs. Throughout the comparisons, several areas of interest have emerged. These include demographic characteristics such as gender, education level and age and cultural characteristics such as the perceived ability to succeed as an entrepreneur, the overall impression of entrepreneurs, the positive impression of the entrepreneurial lifestyle, and family experience.

RESEARCH STUDY

The purpose of this study is to look for cultural differences in the perception of entrepreneurs between American, French and United Kingdom cultures. The subjects are students and so, the primary area of interest centers on their perceptions of entrepreneurs. The perceptions of entrepreneurs will be influenced by the way a culture rewards or encourages entrepreneurship. The basic speculation then is that the more positive a culture supports entrepreneurship the more likely students will gravitate toward it as a career choice. This can be translated into more specific conjectures for further study.

* Conjecture: If the GEM, TEA index is an accurate reflection of social
characteristics of culture, then students from countries with higher
TEA should score higher the perception concerning entrepreneurs and the
entrepreneurial lifestyle.

* Conjecture: Those students with higher ratings on entrepreneur
Lifestyle will aspire more to be an entrepreneur.

The research methodology used a questionnaire that was developed based upon several of the characteristics from the previous studies mentioned. Appendix A is a facsimile of the questionnaire with question numbers added for referencing purposes. The first section gathers information on gender, age and family experience with entrepreneurs. The second section contains twenty-nine statements requesting the subject to rate his or her level of agreement to the statement. These statements related to entrepreneurial lifestyle, education and ability, acceptance of risk, reputation of entrepreneurs and aspiration to become an entrepreneur. A 7-point Likert scale ranging from low, no agreement, to high, absolute agreement is used to record the rating. The statements were translated and checked for consistency.

The characteristics are more socially oriented than the GEM composite measure, TEA. The statements make claims about characteristics concerning the culture of entrepreneurship and were greatly influenced greatly by statements and questions used in the previous research cited. Culture includes norms based around beliefs and perceptions. Therefore, the questions were phrased in an attempt to extract the beliefs and perceptions students held about entrepreneurship.

All of the subjects responding to the questionnaire were in business school classes. These subjects were juniors, seniors and first year graduate students representing a wide variety of majors or areas of emphasis. The questionnaire was administered as part of general class discussions around the topic of entrepreneurship. However there are some differences.

The 66 US responses are from students at two different business schools in the United States. Both are four-year, AACSB accredited schools of business. One school is characterized, as a commuter-oriented while the other is more residential in nature. One is located in a major metropolitan center in the southeast United States and on its webpage claims to be, "a comprehensive, private, urban, coeducational institution of higher education with a predominantly African American heritage." The other is a member of a four-campus, statewide university system and has been ranked as one of the top Western-United States public universities.

There were 146 responses from French students. These students are all 1st year students; the US equivalent of junior year in an undergraduate program, enrolled in the course of entrepreneurship at ESC Dijon. The school is accredited by Conference des Grandes Ecoles, the French Council of the major Schools of Business and Management. The ESC Dijon curriculum is design to provide students with an international exposure to international business cultures, and two thirds of the courses are thought in one of the following three foreign languages: English, Spanish, or German.

The survey respondents from the United Kingdom were 2nd year undergraduate students studying at the University of Plymouth's small rural campus that accommodates the Faculty of Land, Food and Leisure. The University is rated as one of the top "new" universities in the U.K. and the faculty has received excellent ratings in its independent Teaching Quality Assessments. The students studying here, major in a diverse range of mostly rurally based subjects ranging from agriculture through environmental studies to international tourism management. Thus, their management modules are generally a minor component of their main programs of study.

The questionnaire was completed at the time of their final assignment for an autumn semester module entitled "Financial Management 2" which had combined a series of lectures, workshops and invited "expert" guest speakers related to developing a business plan for a new business venture. Thus, whilst the context was enterprise, the content related to business planning, budgeting, risk evaluation and raising finance.

RESULTS

After allowing for incomplete response sheets and removing those students from countries other that US, France, United Kingdom, the data set contains 258 usable questionnaires. There were 66 US, 146 French, and 46 UK responses. Overall, 58% of the responses were from males and 88% of the respondents were between the ages of 18 and 23. This age breakdown is slightly different that the GEM-TEA but given the purpose of the study, perception of students, it is appropriate.

The data was subjected to a one-way ANOVA and the results are displayed in Table 1. When categorized by nation, the responses for 19 of the questions proved significantly different (p. < .05) and their significances have been bolded in the table. This measure of significance means that there is enough difference between at least two of the categories to indicate that the answers from these three groups are different.

However, it is also important to know whether the higher (or the lower) value is significantly different from the other two. With SPSS, a Bonferroni Post Hoc test was run to compare all pairs of categories (US to France; Us to UK; and UK to France) and to determine if the values of one category were significantly different from the other two. Twelve of the 19 had one category that was significantly different from each of the other two. In the future these responses will be referred to as double-significant responses. These are identified in the table with a two-caret suffix (<< or >>). The two right-pointing carets (>>) are used to show that the value is significantly higher than both of the other two values when evaluated through the Bonferroni test. Conversely, the two left-pointing carets (<<) are used to designate a value that is significantly lower than the both of the other values for that question. For example, the responses creating the 5.03 value in Q8 was compared against the responses creating the 4.09 and the 3.87 values and was found to be significantly different from both and therefore has the 5.03>> designation.

Finally, where one category did not show statistical difference to both of the other categories, the two categories that did show a significant difference are marked with asterisks. These responses will be labeled single-significant. So, Q6 shows a significant difference (.000) between categories and the asterisks signify that the difference is mainly between the US and France categories.

In summary, the results show that the responses from 20 questions differ significantly between the three nation categories. In 13 of the 20, the difference between one category is significant from each of the other two, implying a dominant (or recessive) double-significant response. In the other 7 questions showing significant differences, the difference can be attributed to a difference between two of the three categories. The responses to these 20 questions provide the information for discussion that follows.

DISCUSSION

First, items on the questionnaire hold together well. The reliability index, Cronbach's Alpha, shows a rating of .7045 for all 29 items, just over the minimum acceptable level of .7000. Second, the results track pretty well with the TEA ratings. The United States, which has the highest TEA rating of the three, 11th, does in general, have the highest ratings for perceived lifestyle and aspiration. Although it is interesting to note that the UK ratings appear closer the French ratings than to the US ratings as the TEA scores would predict. It also seems that the French and the UK subjects each have cultural factors on which they are the dominant player; education and risk-payback respectively.

Second, the responses to seven of the questions (Q8, Q10, Q13, Q14, Q22, Q33, Q34) straddle the scale's midpoint with at least one group on each side. Those averages less than 4.00 signify non-agreement and those averages over 4.00 suggest agreement. This dichotomy points a general disagreement on these topics and should be a source for future research.

Third, there are quite a few areas in which no differences were found. In general, the responses show that all three groups of students: see entrepreneurship as a challenging choice (Q7) but not too difficult to accomplish (Q17); see entrepreneurship more than just luck (Q15) or just having enough money (Q16); do know where to seek educational help (Q27); and, believe that they can find a mentor (Q26) but will have a tougher time finding the start up money (Q28).

The questions qualifying the three cultural perspectives are discussed next.

From the US Perspective

US responses represent 7 of the 13 double-significant responses and are part of all 7 single-single significant responses. Clearly, the US students are not relying too heavily on their government for retirement. The US students also believe that they world be comfortable running their own business. This result coincides well with two other significant responses (Q17 and Q20). The single-significant response (Q17) shows US students responded with lower perception of "difficulty to succeed as an entrepreneur" and Q20 indicates that they are more "willing to put in the time to be an entrepreneur." The US students prefer to work in well-established companies more so than the French students but, not more than the UK students (Q34). Interestingly, when compared to UK students, the US students report that they do not know where to secure money to start a business (Q28).

Six questions; Q6, Q9, Q21, Q22, Q23, Q34, revolve around the perceptions of the entrepreneurial lifestyle. In general, these questions reflect that US students had a more positive impression of the entrepreneurship lifestyle than the other two sets of students. In three issues; having heard good things about entrepreneurs (Q9), being a entrepreneur increasing wealth (Q23), and being an entrepreneur would have a positive impact on lifestyle (Q24), the US responses dominate both of the other responses. Finally, US students "aspire" to become an entrepreneur (Q8) more so than the other students report. It seems that the lifestyle factors may help encourage the US students toward a career in entrepreneurship.

This impression is supported with additional analysis. Using SPSS, the questions Q6, Q9, Q21, Q22, Q23, Q34 were combined into a single construct LifeStyle. The reliability of this construct measured .8207 well above the .7000 suggested threshold (Kline, xxx). A correlation of LifeStyle to the responses on the aspire question (Q8) proved both strong (.650) and significant (p. < .000). In addition, the ANOVA analysis confirmed that LifeStyle was a double-significant response in favor of the US (Table 3).

From the French Perspective

The responses for the French students produce two dominate responses: Q13 and Q30. These two questions seem to measure more objective issues than some of the other questions. The French student believes, more so than both the US and the UK students, that entrepreneurs should be inventors (Q13) and that entrepreneurs need a specific education or curriculum to become entrepreneurs (Q30). Neither question Q13 or Q30 correlated significantly with the responses to the "aspire to be an entrepreneur" question (Q8) indicating that while significantly different they do not help a French student aspire to become an entrepreneur.

Other questions wherein the French responses were significant include Q14, Q17, and Q34. Interpreting these questions, French students believe that entrepreneurs are characterized by a high number of previous failures before they become successful (Q14); it would be difficult for them to succeed as entrepreneurs (Q17); and, they are less interested in working for well established companies (Q34). Finally, the lifestyle questions that showed the US students more positive (Q6, Q9, Q21, Q22, Q23, Q24), in turn, show the French students significantly less positive.

From the UK Perspective

The UK answers produced 4 double-significant responses; Q12, Q25, Q31, Q33 and 1 single-significant response. The double-significant responses imply that the UK students see less risk (Q12) and entrepreneurs producing less impact on region/country (Q25). The UK students seem less willing to accept failure for a successful entrepreneur (Q31) and from the results of Q33, UK students expect to change jobs during their careers less than the US and French students in this study. The single-significant response (Q28) implies that UK students are more aware of how to raise money for a new venture. Finally, none of the questions (Q12, Q25, Q28, Q31, Q33) proved significantly correlated to the "aspire to be an entrepreneur" question (Q8). Again, the analysis extracts responses that are unique to UK students, however, these items do not seem to influence a student's aspiration to become an entrepreneur.

The results support the two conjectures. US students report a more positive impression of entrepreneurship and aspire more to the life of an entrepreneur. While they acknowledge the risk of taking on starting a new business and do not seem sure of where to find venture capital, the US students still aspire to become entrepreneurs more and are more willing to put in the time than their UK and French counterparts. French students recorded less positive results on the lifestyle questions in both the double-significant and single-significant responses. French students also believe that entrepreneurs need specific education to be successful and that entrepreneurs will tend to be investors. This implies a more limiting view of entrepreneurs by the French students. The UK students saw less risk in running a business and see less potential impact on the region/country from successful entrepreneurs. Interestingly, they consider starting a business a key determinant of an entrepreneur more than the other two groups. Finally, UK students expect to change jobs less often during their career than do students from the US or France. In total, the results unique to the UK imply that the students see less risk in starting a business but do not consider someone failing in starting a business as an entrepreneur. Table 3 summarizes the previous discussion and the next section of the paper provides observations.

Observations on Summary Descriptions

US--More aspiration to be an entrepreneur and Better perception of entrepreneurial lifestyle: The media hypes the entrepreneur in the US culture. Magazines such as Forbes, Inc. and Fast Company promote the individualism found in entrepreneurs. The icons of successful business entrepreneurs are everywhere. Since the 1990's entrepreneurship has been incorporated into business school curricula throughout the country. Organizations such as Junior Achievement and Students in Free Enterprise help students organize and plan startup businesses. All of this activity certainly exposes the US student to more positive views of entrepreneurs. In turn, the aspiration level should increase.

US--Less reliance on government: US political parties have been discussing the Social Security program and its ongoing viability for decades. A 1998 national opinion poll (Bositis, 1998) found that 67% of the population thought the Social Security benefits would decrease by the time they retried and 72% believed that they would not see the money that they had paid into the system. This ongoing debate and perceptions of the availability of Social Security for retirement could help explain the responses found.

US--More willing to put in time: According to the US Bureau of Labor (2000), the average workweek in the US is now 42.1 hrs. Interestingly, over 30% of the "professionals and managers" worked more than 49 hours. It is easy to envision that US students would suspect an entrepreneur workweek to fall into this category. The fact that the responses show a willingness to put in this amount of time can only mean that the perceived value must outweigh any inconvenience this may cause.

France--Entrepreneurs should be inventors: This result could come from a way of thinking common to Latin people, that the condition to be successful (and to make money) is to do what has never been done before. In fact, when an individual fails in his/her business, the consequence is often social "marginalization." In addition, the legal system in Latin countries is designed to prohibit people from returning to business after bankruptcy. Another possible explanation is that starting a business based upon an invention may be seen as a sort of insurance.

France--Entrepreneurs need special education: This result may stem from the French elite educational system, organized around the Grandes Ecoles, which aim to train the top managers of the French private and public sector. Since Grandes Ecoles are usually specialized in a very specific field (civil engineering, business and management, agriculture, telecommunications etc ...), students may believe that one condition to be successful in business it is to earn a diploma from a famous school specialized in the sector of interest. Therefore, to be an entrepreneur it would be necessary to be specifically trained in entrepreneurship.

France--Less positive on entrepreneurial lifestyle: This lifestyle issue may show differences based on the fact that an entrepreneur has to work a lot, and must devote his/her best energies to the new venture. This works against the French value of free time, as demonstrated by the 35 hours week working time. So, entrepreneurship may be seen as more stressful for the individual and her/his family and therefore less appealing.

France--Many failures have to be experienced before being successful as an entrepreneur: In France, entrepreneurs face many difficulties in starting his/her business: red tape, regulations, lobbies, access to financial resources, social climate etc ... Moreover, the French educational system does not encourage individuals who take initiative and behave in deviant ways, which is a main feature of an entrepreneur! Combined, the French students may see the chance of failure more likely and therefore more failures would occur before an entrepreneur becomes successful.

UK--Less perceived risk: A large part of the module content that preceded the survey was about how to develop a successful venture with presentations by bank managers and business advisors about the reasons for business failure etc. Many of the discussions were about good planning and management skills, developing a comprehensive business plan to judge the proposed venture before making the decision to proceed, and risk appraisal techniques for managing and limiting risk. This may have made the UK subjects more sensitive to this question: They understood there is risk (5.20 out of 7.00), but also understood how to work with it thereby dampening their response. It would be interesting to compare this group both at the beginning and at the end of the module.

UK--Less potential impact on region/country: Perhaps this indicates a perception of a more selfish personal gain rationale for being enterprising born of the Thatcher generation wherein personal gain drove motivation more so than did the wider benefits to society. Just as likely, it may indicate a less developed understanding of economics and the circular flow of money. Regardless of the underlying root cause, any positive economic impact from entrepreneurship has not registered as well with the UK subjects as it has with US and French subjects.

UK--Less forgiving of failures: In general Q31 (a single failure) and Q14 (multiple failures) join together to produce this impression. One explanation may tie back to the low risk factor. It may well be that the UK students believe that rigorous planning and management of the new business venture is more likely to lead to success than having an innovative business idea. This would mean that they consider a "failed" business is, and certainly multiple failures are, more likely due to poor management than because of a flawed business idea. As such, the unsuccessful person would not necessarily be perceived as an entrepreneur. The cultural difference in this case being that the subjects see running their own businesses as a means of pursuing an interest in their subject area rather than running any business simply because it looked like a good business opportunity.

UK--Desire less job change: Q33 and Q34 combine to create this impression. This outcome may indicate a difference in beliefs about well-structured career pathways in the industries the subjects are likely to enter. The UK subjects see less job change and are more willing to work for large, well-established companies. This would reinforce the notion that they see their environment with more stable careers.

SUMMARY

In summary, a research project was undertaken to look for differences in student perceptions of entrepreneurship based upon culture. The Entrepreneurship Monitoring (GEM) Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA) report and other previous cultural research on entrepreneurship provided for the development of a questionnaire. The basic conjecture was that students in different cultures would show differences in their perception of and aspiration for entrepreneurs. The premise of the conjecture is that the TEA ratings show the level of activity within a country and the higher this activity the more likely the positive perception of entrepreneurs.

Students from three countries: United States, France and United Kingdom responded to the questionnaire producing a 258-response data set. Through statistical analysis, significant differences were found between the responses by the three groups on 20 questions. Thirteen of the 20 had one of the three groups significantly different from the other two thereby producing a clear difference. The other seven questions showed a significant difference due to only one pair of comparisons being significant. These questions were the basis for a discussion around cultural differences.

More detailed analysis found support for the conjecture that US students viewed the entrepreneurial lifestyle in a more positive way than either the French or UK students. US students also rated higher on their aspiration to become, and their willingness to put in time to become an entrepreneur, than the students from the UK or France. The lifestyle construct was found to be strongly and significantly correlated to the aspiration response.

Future research will need to tease out the relationships between the lifestyle and the other cultural differences suggested by the results. In addition, the finding is simply that higher TEA level of activity implies a higher perceived value of entrepreneurship. There is no claim that one culture or one level of activity is better than another. Finally, it is left to speculation as to whether the country's culture drives the activity or the country's entrepreneurial activity drives the culture.

APPENDIX A: Entrepreneur Questionnaire

This questionnaire is designed to help determine your impression
of being an entrepreneur. These are your perceptions and cannot be
judged right or wrong. All information is compiled at the aggregate
level with no way of determining the identity of respondent.

Demographics:

(Q1) Sex (Circle) M F

(Q2) Age (Circle) <18 18-23 24-29 30-35 36-41 42-47 47+

(Q3) I have relatives who run/ran their own business
(circle) [Yes] [No] If yes, how many (Q3a) --

Relationship 1. -- 2. -- 3.-- 4. --

Were/Are they successful (circle) Y N Y N Y N Y N

(Q4) Number of friends/acquaintances you know who run/ran
their own business

(Q5) Number of friends/acquaintances you know who would
like to run their own business

Questions: For our purposes, an entrepreneur is defined as a person
who starts and runs their own business. On the scale below, please
register your agreement with the statements about entrepreneurs. A
one (1) means no agreement; a seven (7) means absolute agreement

Statement Agreement (circle)

(Q6) I believe being an entrepreneur would 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
provide a good living

(Q7) I believe becoming an entrepreneur 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
would be easy

(Q8) I aspire to be an entrepreneur 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(Q9) In general, I have heard good things 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
about entrepreneurs

(Q10) I would be comfortable running my own 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
business

(Q11) I believe that someone who runs their 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
own business is successful

(Q12) I believe there is a lot of risk in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
starting and running your own business

(Q13) I believe an entrepreneur always has 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
to be an inventor

(Q14) I believe that entrepreneurs have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
to suffer a high number of failures before
they are successful

(Q15) I believe being a successful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
entrepreneur is just luck

(Q16) I believe becoming a successful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
entrepreneur is simply having enough money
to start.

(Q17) I believe it is too difficult for me 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
to succeed as an entrepreneur

(Q18) I believe there exists a standard 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
entrepreneurial profile into which I have
to fit

(Q19) I believe the characteristics of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
entrepreneurs are innate traits and
therefore cannot be taught or learned
(i.e. initiative, willingness to take
risks, creativity, innovative attitude)

(Q20) I am willing to put the time in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
that it takes to be an entrepreneur

(Q21) I would enjoy the lifestyle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
provided by being an entrepreneur

(Q22) Being an entrepreneur would better 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
my lifestyle when I retire

(Q23) Being a successful entrepreneur 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
would increase my wealth

(Q24) Being an entrepreneur would 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
positively impact my current lifestyle

(Q25) I believe that being an entrepreneur 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
would have a positive impact on the
welfare of the region/country

(Q26) I do not know anyone who could 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
mentor/help me be an entrepreneur

(Q27) I do not know any institutions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
within the university that could
educate/qualify me be an entrepreneur

(Q28) I do not know how I would get money 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
to start a business

(Q29) I believe that one needs a higher 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
level of education than I have to be an
entrepreneur.

(Q30) I believe that one needs a specific 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 education to be a successful entrepreneur

(Q31) Someone who fails in starting a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
business is not an entrepreneur

(Q32) I believe I should not rely too 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
heavily on the government for my
retirement

(Q33) I expect to change jobs and 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
occupation many times before I retire.

(Q34) I prefer to work for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
well-established organizations rather
than new firms

NOTE

This article was reprinted from the Journal of Entrepreneurship Education with permission from the publishers.

REFERENCES

Abbey, A. (2002). Cross cultural comparison of motivation for entrepreneurship, Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, 14(1), March.

Begley, T. H. & Boyd, D.P. (1987). A comparison of entrepreneurs and managers of small business firms, Journal of Management, 13(1), 99-108.

Begley, T.H. & Boyd, D.P. (1985). The jenkins activity survey as an indicator of type A behavior among business executives, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 27, 316-328.

Bositis, D.A. (1998). Joint center for political and economic studies 1998 national opinion poll social security, Retrieved January 8, 2003 from http://130.94.20.119/selpaper/ss_98.htm

Brockhaus, R. H. (1982). The psychology of the entrepreneur, in C.A. Kent, D.L. Sexton & K.H. Vesper (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 39-57.

Carland, J.W., Hoy, F., Boulton, W. R. & Carland, J.C. (1984). Differentiating entrepreneurs from small business owners: A conceptualization, Academy of Management Review, 9, 354-359.

Chandler, G. N. & Hanks, S. H. (1994). Founder competence, the environment, and venture performance, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Spring, 77-89.

Envick, B. R. & Langford, M. (2000). The five-factor model of personality: Assessing entrepreneurs and managers, Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 6(1).

Hisrich, R.D. (1990). Entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship, American Psychologist, February, 218.

Huefner, J. C., Hunt, H. K. & Robinson, P. B. (1996). A comparison of four scales predicting entrepreneurship, Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(2).

Parnell, J.A., Crandall, W. & Menefee, M. (1995). Examining the impact of culture on entrepreneurial propensity: An empirical study of prospective American and Egyptian entrepreneurs, Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1), Fall, 39-52.

Reynolds, P. D., Bygrave, W. D., Autio, E. & Hay, M. (2002). Global entrepreneurship monitor: 2002 Summary Report,

Reich, R. (1987). Entrepreneurship reconsidered; The team as hero, Harvard Business Review, May/June

Reynierse, J. H. (1997). An MBTI model of entrepreneurship and bureaucracy: The psychological types of business entrepreneurs compared to business managers and executive, Journal of Psychological Type, 40, 3-19.

Rogoff, E. G. & Lee, M. (1996). Does firm origin matter? An empirical examination of types of small business owners and entrepreneurs, Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(2).

Shane. S. (1996). Explaining variation in the rates of entrepreneurship in the United States: 1899-1988, Journal of Management, 22(5), 747-781.

Schrage, M. (1990). Shared Minds, New York: Random House.

Shuman, J. C., Seeger, J.A., Kamm, J.B. & Teebagy, N.C. (1982). An empirical test of ten entrepreneurial propositions. In Ronstadt, et. al., Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 1986.

Timmons, J. A. (1978). Characteristics and role demands of entrepreneurship, American Journal of Small Business, 3, 5-17.

Timmons, J. A., Smollen, L.E. & Dingee, A. (1985). New Venture Creation (2nd Ed). Homewood, IL: Irwin Publishing

US Department of Labor (2000). Retrieved January 8, 2003 from http://www.bls.gov/ opub/ils/pdf/opbils37.pdf

Vesper. K. H. (1980). New Venture Strategies. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Vesper, K.H. (1985). A new direction or just a new label?, in J.J. Kao & H.H. Stevenson (Eds.), Entrepreneurship: What it is and How to Teach it. Boston, MA.: Harvard Business School

W. Benjamin Martz, Jr.

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Thomas C. Neil, Clark Atlanta University

Alessandro Biscaccianti, Groupe ESC Dijon

Robert J. Williams, University of Plymouth

Table 1: Three-way comparison of perception of entrepreneurs

Variable Nation

 US France

(Q6) I believe being an entrepreneur 5.11 * 4.24 *
would provide a good living
(Q7) I believe becoming an entrepreneur 2.02 2.08
would be easy
(Q8) I aspire to be an entrepreneur 5.03>> 4.09
(Q9) In general, I have heard good 4.88>> 4.28
things about entrepreneurs
(Q10) I would be comfortable running 5.30>> 3.97
my own business
(Q11) I believe that someone who runs 4.30 4.03
his own business is successful
(Q12) I believe there is a lot of risk in 6.45 5.92
starting and running your own business
(Q13) I believe an entrepreneur always 3.42 4.20>>
has to be an inventor
(Q14) I believe that entrepreneurs have 3.67 * 4.32 *
to suffer a high number of failures
before they are successful
(Q15) I believe being a successful 2.24 2.20
entrepreneur is just luck
(Q16) I believe becoming a successful 2.88 2.48
entrepreneur is simply having enough
money to start
(Q17) I believe it is too difficult for me 2.24 * 2.86 *
to succeed as an entrepreneur
(Q18) I believe there exists a standard 2.83 2.90
entrepreneurial profile into which I have
to fit
(Q19) I believe the characteristics of 3.33 3.64
entrepreneurs are innate traits and
therefore cannot be taught or learned
(Q20) I am willing to put the time in that 5.03>> 4.84
it takes to be an entrepreneur
(Q21) I would enjoy the lifestyle 5.17 * 4.30 *
provided by being an entrepreneur
(Q22) Being an entrepreneur would 4.71 * 3.82 *
better my lifestyle when I retire
(Q23) Being a successful entrepreneur 5.44>> 4.36
would increase my wealth
(Q24) Being an entrepreneur would 5.24>> 4.63
positively impact my current lifestyle
(Q25) I believe that being an 4.85 4.64
entrepreneur would have a positive
impact on the welfare of the
region/country
(Q26) I do not know anyone who could 2.52 2.75
mentor/help me be an entrepreneur
(Q27) I do not know any institutions 2.85 2.57
within the university that could
educate/qualify me be an entrepreneur
(Q28) I do not know how I would get 3.41 * 2.89
money to start a business
(Q29) I believe that one needs a higher 2.17 2.64
level of education than I have to be an
entrepreneur.
(Q30) I believe that one needs a specific 2.29 3.23>>
education to be a successful entrepreneur
(Q31) Someone who fails in starting a 1.70 1.55
business is not an entrepreneur
(Q32) I believe I should not rely too 6.06>> 4.27
heavily on the government for my
retirement
(Q33) I expect to change jobs and 4.95 5.05
occupation many times before I retire.
(Q34) I prefer to work for 4.24 * 3.54 *
well-established organizations rather
than new firms

Variable Nation ANOVA
 (Signif.)
 UK

(Q6) I believe being an entrepreneur 4.53 .000
would provide a good living
(Q7) I believe becoming an entrepreneur 2.35 .392
would be easy
(Q8) I aspire to be an entrepreneur 3.87 .002
(Q9) In general, I have heard good 4.09 .002
things about entrepreneurs
(Q10) I would be comfortable running 4.48 .000
my own business
(Q11) I believe that someone who runs 4.09 .542
his own business is successful
(Q12) I believe there is a lot of risk in 5.20<< .000
starting and running your own business
(Q13) I believe an entrepreneur always 3.37 .004
has to be an inventor
(Q14) I believe that entrepreneurs have 3.65 .009
to suffer a high number of failures
before they are successful
(Q15) I believe being a successful 2.61 .234
entrepreneur is just luck
(Q16) I believe becoming a successful 2.83 .125
entrepreneur is simply having enough
money to start
(Q17) I believe it is too difficult for me 2.85 .022
to succeed as an entrepreneur
(Q18) I believe there exists a standard 2.72 .775
entrepreneurial profile into which I have
to fit
(Q19) I believe the characteristics of 3.52 .529
entrepreneurs are innate traits and
therefore cannot be taught or learned
(Q20) I am willing to put the time in that 4.11 .008
it takes to be an entrepreneur
(Q21) I would enjoy the lifestyle 4.54 .002
provided by being an entrepreneur
(Q22) Being an entrepreneur would 4.07 .003
better my lifestyle when I retire
(Q23) Being a successful entrepreneur 4.43 .000
would increase my wealth
(Q24) Being an entrepreneur would 4.13 .001
positively impact my current lifestyle
(Q25) I believe that being an 3.57<< .000
entrepreneur would have a positive
impact on the welfare of the
region/country
(Q26) I do not know anyone who could 2.74 .673
mentor/help me be an entrepreneur
(Q27) I do not know any institutions 2.87 .442
within the university that could
educate/qualify me be an entrepreneur
(Q28) I do not know how I would get 2.28 * .004
money to start a business
(Q29) I believe that one needs a higher 2.43 .145
level of education than I have to be an
entrepreneur.
(Q30) I believe that one needs a specific 2.57 .001
education to be a successful entrepreneur
(Q31) Someone who fails in starting a 2.54>> .000
business is not an entrepreneur
(Q32) I believe I should not rely too 4.80 .000
heavily on the government for my
retirement
(Q33) I expect to change jobs and 3.93<< .001
occupation many times before I retire.
(Q34) I prefer to work for 3.93 .018
well-established organizations rather
than new firms

>> (or <<)--This category is significantly higher (or lower) than BOTH
of the other two

*--These two categories are significantly different from each other
but not from the third category

Table 2: Three-way Comparison of LifeStyle--Composite Construct

Variable Nation

 US France

LifeStyle - Composite of Q6, Q9, 30.50>> 25.63
Q21, Q22, Q23, Q24

Variable Nation ANOVA
 (Signif.)

 UK

LifeStyle - Composite of Q6, Q9, 25.8 .000
Q21, Q22, Q23, Q24

>> (or <<)--This category is significantly higher (or lower) than
BOTH of the other two

Table 3: Summary Descriptors

US UK France

More aspiration Less perceived risk Less positive
to be entrepreneur on entrepreneurial
 lifestyle

Better perception of Less potential Entrepreneurs need
entrepreneurial positive impact on special education
lifestyle region

Less reliance on Desire less job Entrepreneurs should
government More change Less be inventors Many
willing to put in forgiving of failures have to be
time business failure experienced before
 being successful