موفقیت های کسب و کار، جنسیت و کارآفرینی خویشتن بینی

Drawing on Bem's psychological theory of self-perception, this paper presents and tests a model that examines the impact of business accomplishments and gender on entrepreneurial self-image and explores the definition of entrepreneurship according to Vesper's entrepreneurial typology. Regression techniques are used to identify those business accomplishments that university alumni associate with self-perceptions of entrepreneurship. Experience as a small business person (founding, running, and/or owning a small business) most clearly predicts entrepreneurial self-image. Results also support predictions of both direct and indirect effects of gender as well as direct effects of education and business degree. Results of a separate expert panel study are used to rank business accomplishments according to degree of entrepreneurship. Results of both studies reveal stark contrasts in the implied definition of entrepreneurship between entrepreneurship experts (academic and practitioner alike) and the general business community (as represented by the alumni). This raises questions about the meaning of the term “entrepreneurship”, what the word “entrepreneur”, in particular, conveys to the general public, and the implications for practice and future research.

The present paper is motivated in part by the following question: “What is an entrepreneur?” This seemingly simple question, which is likely to be asked numerous times to most of our readers in the course of their professional work, continues to spark debate and disagreement within the scholarly community. The present paper is neither intended nor is likely to end that debate. However, it does attempt to provide new insights about the way in which the term “entrepreneur” is perceived by members of the general business community (i.e., business people) and how this perception compares to that of entrepreneurship specialists (i.e., academics, policymakers, or other professionals active in the field of entrepreneurship). The outcomes of our research are not meant necessarily to be used to further define the scholarly domain of entrepreneurship, i.e., what entrepreneurship researchers should study to gain knowledge about this phenomenon (see Davidsson, 2003). However, our results may help clarify what the general business community and perhaps society-at-large, may be thinking about when we use the term entrepreneur, thus expediting communication between scholars and those groups. 2 To further our understanding of the popular view of the concept of entrepreneur, the primary research question of this paper is as follows: “Do certain characteristics of individuals influence their entrepreneurial self-image, i.e., the extent to which they perceive themselves to be entrepreneurs?” The primary set of characteristics, the respondent's business accomplishments, is derived from a typology of entrepreneurial activities proposed by Vesper (1999). Although grounded in social–psychological research, unique to this study is the focus of the direct influence of business behaviors on entrepreneurial self-perceptions, as well as the influence of gender on those self-perceptions. In order to validate the set of business accomplishments used in our study to represent activities with entrepreneurial potential, we include an expert panel study to supplement the review of the entrepreneurship behavior literature. Although one can argue that there is a two-way relationship between business accomplishments and entrepreneurial self-image, the focus in the present paper is on the influence of behavior on entrepreneurial self-image. From a theoretical perspective, our study is a new application of well-established psychological theories linking behavior and perception James, 1890, James, 1950, Bem, 1972, Bandura, 1977 and Bandura, 1986. Moreover, to our knowledge, this is the first time that Vesper's (1999) entrepreneurial typology is tested and used in empirical research. Gender is a second individual characteristic used to predict entrepreneurial self-image. At the macro level, female and male entrepreneurs appear to differ with respect to the type of entrepreneurial activity they engage in and the way in which they manage this activity Verheul and Thurik, 2001, U.S. Small Business Administration, 1995, OECD, 1998, Carter et al., 1997, Kalleberg and Leicht, 1991 and Fischer et al., 1993. In addition, the management literature indicates that, as compared to men, women tend to underrate their own performance Wohlers and London, 1989 and Lindeman et al., 1995. Accordingly, we expect to find an indirect effect of gender (through entrepreneurial activity) on entrepreneurial self-image, as well as a direct gender effect (controlling for entrepreneurial activity). Several control variables, including age, education level, and business education, are also examined for possible effects on entrepreneurial self-image. 2.1. Structure of the paper The paper is structured as follows. First, we introduce the concept of (entrepreneurial) self-perception and its relationship to business behaviors. Within this section, we elaborate on the theories linking behavior and self-perception. Second, we provide an overview of business accomplishments or behaviors that are classified as entrepreneurial in the literature, including a discussion of Vesper's (1999) entrepreneurial typology. Using Vesper's entrepreneurial typology as a basis, we propose a ranking of business accomplishments according to the degree of entrepreneurship based on the extant literature. Subsequently, we review the literature regarding the relationship between gender and entrepreneurship, including business behaviors as well as entrepreneurial self-image. On the basis of the theoretical discussion, we introduce a model and hypotheses for explaining entrepreneurial self-perception from activity and gender. In the subsequent section, we discuss the methodology and results for validating the proposed ranking of business accomplishments according to degree of entrepreneurship, based on the views of 162 respondents in an expert panel survey. Next, we present the methodology and results for testing the model and hypotheses with an exploratory study, based on a nonrandom data sample of 207 alumni of a large Midwestern U.S. university. Final sections present discussion of the results, directions for future research and conclusions.

The main goal of this study is to shed light on the various interrelationships between business accomplishments, gender, and entrepreneurial self-perception. The findings, taken together, support the explanatory power of certain Business Accomplishments to predict Entrepreneurial Self-Image, in line with Bem's self-perception theory. In particular, the greater part of the variation in Entrepreneurial Self-Image can be explained by the following business accomplishments: starting a business from scratch (Founder), owning the major part of a business (Owner) and/or managing a small to medium sized business beyond start-up (Runner). Gender, though weaker in its explanatory power, also appears to provide added explanation to the model, in particular through a direct effect on Entrepreneurial Self-Image, but with a likely indirect effect (through Business Accomplishments) as well. More specifically, we find that women tend to select different activities than men, choosing less frequently those activities both genders view as entrepreneurial. In addition, women are less likely to perceive themselves as entrepreneurs, independently of activities undertaken. It may be that women also value the same business accomplishments differently than men do, although the present study cannot determine the extent of this third gender effect. Certain control variables also affect Entrepreneurial Self-Image but in an opposite direction from what was predicted. For instance, respondents with a Bachelor's degree and without a business degree are more likely to view themselves as entrepreneurs than those with a Master's or a business degree. In summary, although some of the gender effects are small in absolute terms, the study does demonstrate the importance of including gender as an explanatory variable in general research questions of interest in the field of entrepreneurship. Finally, at a more practical level, if these gender differences hold up in follow-up research, different guidelines for attracting, supporting, and counseling female entrepreneurs and small business owners should be considered by directors of small business service centers and other service providers.