PublicationWorking paper

Ratio Working Paper No. 207: Consequences of Cultural Practices for Entrepreneurial Behaviors

Abstract

Although national culture is an important regulator of entrepreneurship, there is a dearth of studies that (i) explore the effects of national cultural practices on entrepreneurial behaviors by individuals; (ii) use appropriate multi-level research designs; (iii) consider the effects of culture on different entrepreneurial behaviors such as entry and post-entry growth aspirations. We combined Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effec-tiveness (GLOBE) data from 42 countries for 2005 – 2008 to address these gaps using a multi-level design. We found societal institutional collectivism practices negatively associated with entrepreneur-ial entry but positively associated with entrepreneurial growth aspirations. Uncertainty avoidance practices were negatively associated with entry but not with growth aspirations, while performance orientation practices were positively associated with entry. This highlights the differential effects of cultural practices on entrepreneurial entry and growth aspirations, and demonstratesthe value of multi-level techniques in analyzing the effect of culture on entrepreneurship.

Related content: Consequences of Cultural Practices for Entrepreneurial Behaviors

Autio, E., Pathak, S & Wennberg, K. (2013). ”Consequences of Cultural Practices for Entrepreneurial Behaviors”. Ratio Working Paper No. 207.

Details

Author: Autio, E., Pathak, S & Wennberg, K.
Publication year: 2013
Published in: Consequences of Cultural Practices for Entrepreneurial Behaviors

Related

Professor
Karl Wennberg
+46705105366karl.wennberg@ratio.se

Similar content

Article (with peer review)

Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research

Rönkkö, M., Maula, M., Wennberg, K.

Publication year

2025

Published in

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (ETP)

Abstract

Configurational research has great promise in entrepreneurship. There are few universal laws or relationships that hold under all circumstances. More often, optimal entrepreneurial outcomes are contingent on many factors. Consequently, configurational analysis using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) has become increasingly popular. However, methodological research in sociology and political science has raised concerns about possible false positive findings produced by this method. In this editorial, we explore the potential and the common pitfalls of QCA in entrepreneurship research, as well as guidelines for its use.

Article (with peer review)

Seeking opportunity or socio-economic status? Housing and school choice in Sweden

Andersson, F. W., Mutgan, S., Norgren, A., & Wennberg, K.

Publication year

2025

Published in

Urban Studies, 62(2), 367-386.

Abstract

Residential choices and school choices are intimately connected in school systems where school admission relies on proximity rules. In countries with universal school choice systems, however, it remains an open question whether families’ residential mobility is tied to the choice of their children’s school, and with what consequences. Using administrative data on all children approaching primary-school age in Sweden, we study to what extent families’ financial and socio-economic background affects mobility between neighbourhoods and the characteristics of schools chosen by moving families. Our findings show that families do utilise the housing market as an instrument for school choice over the year preceding their firstborn child starting school. However, while families who move do ‘climb the social ladder’ by moving to neighbourhoods with more households of higher socio-economic status, their chosen schools do not appear to be of higher academic quality compared to those their children would otherwise have attended.

Read the article here.

Article (with peer review)

Does local government corruption inhibit entrepreneurship?

Wittberg, E., Erlingsson, G. Ó., Wennberg, K.

Publication year

2024

Published in

Small Business Economics, 62(2), 775-806

Abstract

The dominant ‘sand in the wheels’ view holds that entrepreneurship is strongly inhibited by corruption. Challenging this, the ‘grease the wheels’ view maintains that corruption might increase entrepreneurship in highly regulated economies. We extend the basic predictions of these theories by examining entrepreneurs’ start-up decisions, as well as their location choices, in a seemingly low-corruption environment: Swedish municipalities. Combining a validated index of corruption perceptions in local government with population data on new entrepreneurs, nested logit models reveal that even in a low-corruption setting such as Sweden, perceptions of corruption can deter latent entrepreneurs. We also find that a minority of entrepreneurs relocate from their home municipalities to establish their start-ups elsewhere. Surprisingly and contrary to expectations, these relocating entrepreneurs often relocate from relatively low-corruption municipalities to others that are more corrupt. Implications for future research and public policy are discussed.