Influence of Socio--Demographic Factors on Entrepreneurial Attributes and Success

Abstract

Entrepreneurial success is one of the areas in entrepreneurship that have not been adequately explored by researchers. The present study attempts to find the influence of demographic factors on entrepreneurial attributes and success. For the purpose of the study, 200 start-ups in the Small and Medium Enterprises categories (SME) have been selected across five states in India. Personal interviews were carried out with the founders/entrepreneurs of these enterprises. The entrepreneurial attributes like Industry Knowledge (IK), Street Smarts (SS), Tolerance for Ambiguity (TFA), Impact of Personal Selling on Start-up Success (IPSS) and Entrepreneurial Success (ES) have been compared with respect to socio-demographic factors. The interesting highlights of the study are high level of education does not guarantee entrepreneurial success and senior citizens do not achieve a higher level of entrepreneurial success. It is worthwhile to mention that those who were unemployed in their previous occupation turned out to be the most successful entrepreneurs.