Who will be an entrepreneur? How cultural mechanisms and social network structure together influence entrepreneurial participation

Using data collected from 35 countries over five years, this study provides an investigation of the combined influence of cultural factors and social network structure on whether or not an individual, anywhere in the world, becomes an entrepreneur. Results show that knowing someone who has started a business recently, across the world, has a significant impact on entrepreneurship participation. Regarding the potential cultural influences, it seems that importance attached to personally knowing entrepreneurs differs significantly between individuals operating in different cultures. In cultures with high power distance, personally knowing a person who recently started a business is relatively less important as a driver of entrepreneurship participation compared to cultures with low power distance. On the other hand, in cultures where the Hofstede’s ‘masculinity’construct predominates, it is more important than in cultures characterised by ‘femininity’.