Entrepreneurial progress: climbing the entrepreneurial ladder in Europe and the US

Peter van der Zwan, Ingrid Verheul, Roy Thurik, I Grilo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigates which countries have the highest potential to achieve entrepreneurial progress. This progress is defined as an entrepreneurial ladder with five successive steps: `never thought about starting a business¿, `thinking about it¿, `taking steps¿, `running a young business¿ and `running a mature business¿. The influences of individual-level and country-level variables on the progression through these stages are analysed. Data from twenty-seven European countries and the United States are used (2007 Flash Eurobarometer Survey on Entrepreneurship). Findings show that in the United States many people think about setting up a business, whereas Europeans are better at achieving higher levels of engagement. Country differences can be explained mainly by levels of risk tolerance and economic development. A country's level of administrative complexity does not play a role, but individual perceptions of this complexity are a hindering factor.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)803-825
Number of pages23
JournalRegional Studies
Volume47
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Research programs

  • EUR ESE 30
  • RSM ORG

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