The other side of the same coin – How communal beliefs about entrepreneurship influence attitudes toward entrepreneurship

Publication date: Available online 17 December 2018Source: Journal of Vocational BehaviorAuthor(s): Eva Alexandra Schmitz, Rodrigo Isidor, Holger Steinmetz, Marius Claus Wehner, Rüdiger KabstAbstractDrawing on the information processing perspective, this paper investigates how young adults' attitudes toward entrepreneurship are shaped by their beliefs about the role and activities of entrepreneurs. Our first study (N = 129) reveals that young adults hold a biased set of beliefs. They believe that entrepreneurship affords agentic aspects (e.g., achievement, power, excitement), but significantly less believe in communal aspects which are, however, equally integral to entrepreneurship (e.g., interaction, pro-social behavior). In a subsequent experimental vignette study (N = 389), we show, that communicating the communal nature of entrepreneurship, specifically the pro-social aspects, improves both men's and women's attitudes toward entrepreneurship. Overall, our research suggests that portrayals of occupations shape young adults' beliefs about career options and thereby influence their attitude toward respective careers.

Source: Journal of Vocational Behavior - December 18, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research