Human capital and start-up company success: Which psychological variables “make the difference”?
Monica Molino, Claudio G. Cortese, Alberto Carpaneto, Alessandro Mercuri, Chiara Ghislieri
Despite socio-economic investments to support business creation, considered a measure to hinder the unemployment, it does not yet exist agreement about the psychological variables which influence the entrepreneurial performance. Moreover, tools to evaluate the potential and vocational guidance programs are missing. The aim of the study is to gather first evidences on psychological variables indicated in literature as predictors of entrepreneurial success. The research involved 350 participants (124 start-uppers, 108 employees, 118 students). Variance analysis results highlight, for start-uppers group, significantly higher levels of: internal locus of control, emotional stability, resilience, need for achievement, self-efficacy, risk propensity, and entrepreneurial passion. Implications for research and counseling are argued.
Keywords
start-up; entrepreneurial success; selection; resilience; entrepreneurial passion.
