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Using a sample collected by the Centre for Entrepreneurship & Business Research (CEBR) for the year 2006 that includes 1,449 Romanian individuals, this document aims to present and identify the demographic and socio-cultural characteristics of those individuals who are involved in entrepreneurial activities.
Our results highlight the importance about the presence of entrepreneurs in the individual’s family circle to enhance entrepreneurial activities. We find that 38.60% of individuals involved in pre start-up entrepreneurial activities report the presence of an entrepreneur in their family, being the father the main entrepreneurial referent for these individuals (22.81%). For recent entrepreneurs 20.69% of respondents have an entrepreneur in their family and, as in the case of people involved in pre start-up entrepreneurial activities, the most referred entrepreneurial example within the individual’s family is the father (15.09%).
The findings of this document have important implications for policy-makers. Basically, the conclusions of the study reveal the importance of first identify those factors (either economic or socio-cultural) that incentive individuals towards entrepreneurship before attempting to apply formal measures for the promotion of entrepreneurial activity.
Finally, results from this study encourage us to increase our knowledge about entrepreneurial paths followed by Romanian individuals. More specifically, further research should attempt to evaluate the presence of potential differences in the entrepreneurial activity due to gender considerations (female entrepreneurial activity). We also propose to enrich our analysis by examining entrepreneurial activity considering the different geographical contexts present in Romania.
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