THE PRESENCE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAITS IN WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS: A FIRST REPORT

The presence of entrepreneurial proclivity in an individual is the result of many interacting factors. It is argued that culture is one of these factors. Culture is a defining code which distinguishes different groups of human beings from each other. Many are the levels of culture: nation, ethnic group, occupation, gender, and so on. We are carrying out a research aimed at comparing business owners in a few countries. Its aim is to ascertain the presence of selected entrepreneurial traits among these businesspeople and to verify whether there are differences i) between businesspeople from different countries, and ii) between businessmen and businesswomen from the same country. (for the sake of simplicity in exposition, we use the terms businesspeople,;men,-women as synonyms of entrepreneurs/small business owners). This paper is presenting the first summary results of the first fieldwork: a study of a number of businesswomen from the Pittsburgh area in the United States. The businesswomen in the sample show the presence of the selected entrepreneurial traits. However, not all of them are present with the same intensity. Only one, attitude towards risks is clearly and strongly widespread among them. The others are much less apparent. 1. Culture and entrepreneurship Many factors influence the existence, and the proportion, of individuals with entrepreneurial traits within