Ethnicity, Gender and Entrepreneurial Tendencies: The Singapore Perspective

Abstract Creativity and risk-taking, widely accepted prerequisites for successful entrepreneurial behavior, were absent for a long time from Singaporean culture, where people were accustomed to well paying and readily available jobs in the public sector. As a result of the economic slowdown of the late 1990s, promoting entrepreneurial activities became a priority of the Singapore government. This study analyzes the entrepreneurial characteristics of Singapore's multi-racial and multi-cultural society, and attempts to find if there are any reasons as to why some people are more readily willing to engage in entrepreneurial behavior, based on factors such as race, gender, and culture. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, culture, innovation, risk propensity, Singapor