Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture?

Poujol 1

A highly debated topic among entrepreneurs is if entrepreneurship comes from nature or

from nurture. Sociological studies state that entrepreneurship comes from learned experiences, as

well as from a persons surroundings, (Roderick, Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p.1) while

biological studies states that entrepreneurship is highly impacted by the amount of testosterone in

a person's body. (White, Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p 453) Other studies agree that a person

will become an entrepreneur if he possesses certain characteristics that cannot be learned

throughout life, but is born with them, such as passion. (Decker, 2004, p.10)

Sociological theories suggests that entrepreneurship is a matter of nurture. Social studies

assumes that human minds are a blank slate, where the surroundings of a person makes a

great impact on what is written on that blank slate. Surroundings that can cause great impact

on a persons tendency to become an entrepreneur can include people, places or things, for

example: parents, siblings, school, culture, or even the city where the person lives. (Roderick,

Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p.451)

Entrepreneurship is believed to be a learned skill. A person can learn to become an

entrepreneur depending on what he sees in his family, culture and surroundings. Roderick,

Thornhill and Hampson state that nurture has a great influence on determining whether a person

will turn out to be an entrepreneur or not. They relate nurture with what the person is exposed to

in his family. If a person grew up in a family where entrepreneurship exists, they will most likely

be entrepreneurs as well. (Roderick, Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p.452)

McClelland, agrees that entrepreneurship is a matter of nurture, and that family has an

important relationship with a person becoming an entrepreneur. He especially attributes this

impact on the parents, defining them as key role models for their children. This statement is
Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 2

based on social relationship and the learning process; parents pass their behavior to their children

through role modeling, imitation or basic values. A person learns from his parents based on what

they see. (McClelland, 1961)

Not only parents are an important impact on a persons entrepreneurial experiences, the

whole family plays an important role. McClelland states that family plays an important role in a

persons entrepreneurial experiences because family gives both moral and economic support

when starting a business venture, especially when it is a family that has had entrepreneurial

experiences. (McClelland, 1961)

When a family has entrepreneurial experiences, they give more credibility and

willingness to the rest of the members of the family in order to become entrepreneurs. A person

will more likely become an entrepreneur not only for learned patterns and imitation of the

behaviors he has seen as he grew up. A person with entrepreneurial experiences in his family

will receive more support and motivation to become an entrepreneur. Since humans are social

creatures, this support plays an important role. (McClelland, 1961)

Society also has an impact on an individuals entrepreneurial experiences. McClelland

explains that in addition to the influence of the familys business background of a person, there

are other aspects that impacts on a persons entrepreneurial experiences. He describes that

society has a great impact on entrepreneurs. Someone that is exposed to role models and mentors

is more likely to become an entrepreneur. A person can be influenced not only for entrepreneurs

among his family members, he can also be influenced by people in his community, people for

whom he has worked, or even people he doesnt personally know but has seen and has set him as

a role model. (McClelland, 1961).

Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 3

Other impact from society is the necessity of a person to be recognized with

achievement. Individuals tend to have entrepreneurial aspirations because of peer expectations,

and a perceived status level. People have a necessity to be recognized as a successful person and

that motivates them to be entrepreneurs. (McClelland, 1961).

Not only people create an impact on a person to become an entrepreneur, other things

such as a density of the city where the person lives can also be an influence. Ivanchev explains

that for a person that grows in a very dense city such as Silicon Valley, which is the home for

several high-tech corporations should be easier to learn how to set up and run a firm than for a

person growing in any other place. (Ivanchev, 2016, p2)

Even if the individual doesnt have entrepreneurial experiences in his immediate

surroundings, such as his parents, family or community, if he lives in an area where there is a lot

of entrepreneurial activity, he can also be influenced by this surroundings. A person can be more

propense to be an entrepreneur if he grows in an area where he can see and learn how to run his

own business, rather than a person that lives in a small city, where he is not exposed to much

business owners. (Ivanchev, 2016, p2)

Activities during teenage stages can also influence entrepreneurial activities later in an

individuals life. Teenagers that are active in certain activities are more likely to become

entrepreneurs when they grow up. Wyld states three of these activities: Inventiveness, leadership

experiences or sports, and selling or trading items. Inventiveness refers to teenagers that were

involved in arts, music or constructing things. Leadership experiences relates to positions being

held in school such as being the class president, or leading a sport team. Selling and trading

things such as collections on internet. (Wyld, 2011, p5)

Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 4

Even though surroundings such as parents, family, society and the place in which an

individual grew up, plays an important role on a persons entrepreneurial aspirations, recently

studies have challenged the assumption that nurture dominates over nature. They state that nature

matters when human behavior needs to be understood. There are always biological factors that

influence human behavior. Some researchers are considering that evolutionary forces may affect

business related behavior. (White, Thornhill, & Hampson, 2006) White, Thornhill and Hampson

explain that especifically regarding to entrepreneurship, the behavior can be explained by an

heritable biological trait, which is testosterone. Testosterone affects behavior, especially risk

taking matters. (White, Thornhill, & Hampson, 2006)

In a study with different persons, White, Thornhill and Hampson demonstrated that the

testosterone level has a relationship with entrepreneurial experiences. Testosterone affects the

psychological variable of risk taking propensity, meaning that if a person has higher levels of

testosterone, this will make them more risk takers than a person with lower testosterone levels;

risk taking behavior affected the willing of a person to endeavor an entrepreneurial experience.

(White, Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p 453)

Other perspectives have been added on nature as a strong impact on entrepreneurial

experiences. During an interview with Baiada he stated that entrepreneurship cannot be learned,

entrepreneurship is a matter of an individuals personality and characteristics, which are traits

with which a person is born. He especifically focused on that entrepreneurship cannot be learned

in college programs. Baiada explains that even if there were no formal education, entrepreneurs

would still exist, because entrepreneurs existed before curriculums existed. Baiada opposes to the
Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 5

idea that entrepreneurship programs will help anyone become an entrepreneur. (Decker, 2004,

p.10)

Baiada declared that an important characteristic of an entrepreneur is passion, and

passion is something that cannot be taught, passion is a trait with which an entrepreneur is born.

If someone doesnt have the passion to start his own business, he might start a business, but he

will not succeed. Even when college programs have been created on entrepreneurship, he states

that this curriculums can only help increase the probability of some individuals to succeed, but

they will never increase passion on a person, which is an important factor for success. (Decker,

2004, p.10)

Baiada, again referring to college programs writes that curriculums can only teach the

structure of a business, how to settle it and how to run it. They can show studies that can be

applied to a business of what works and what doesnt work. They can teach how to manage

money related things in a business, how to invest, how to make a marketing strategy of a

business, and pros and cons of being an entrepreneur. But, Baiada explains, that all of this

teachings are useless if the individual doesnt have a burning desire to create a business and be

successful. This teachings will only show an individual the how to, but the desire of making it

happen and the desire to succeed are necessary to be an entrepreneur. (Decker, 2004, p.10)

Skills to run a business can be learned, but skills to be an entrepreneur are biological.

Curriculums only helps to accelerate the persons success. If someone is already an entrepreneur

and they are meant to be successful, they will be, curriculums will only guide them to be more

successful or can make them be successful earlier. (Decker, 2004, p.10)

Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 6

Mount opposes to Deckers statement. He writes that the rate of entrepreneur minors,

majors, and certificates are increasing and the studies of entrepreneurship as a result of nature

only hinder the democratization of entrepreneurship. (Mount, 2009, p1).

Mount says that entrepreneurship is the path of economic development and it cant be

stated that that economic development is in hands of nature traits. He explained that entrepreneur

programs can help guide those traits. For example, entrepreneurship programs made students that

had not consider if they should launch a company change their mind, and it also reinforced the

students that had planned to launch a company. Entrepreneurship programs gave confidence to

students. (Mount, 2009, p9).

Although there are different perspectives and researches done that seem to never

converge; biological explanations are given to believe that entrepreneurship is due to a nature

effect and social explanations are given to believe that entrepreneurship is due to a social

learning of a nurture effect; a third perspective exists: biosocial research. This researches state

that both nature and nurture create an impact on a person's entrepreneurial experience. They are

both needed in an individuals life in order to become an entrepreneur. (Roderick, Thornhill &

Hampson, 2007, p.1)

Roderick, Thornhill and Hampson wrote that entrepreneurship can not be fully attributed

to either nature or nurture. A person will not become an entrepreneur only because of biological

traits, neither a person will become an entrepreneur only because of learned behavior. There are

both sociological and biological explanations for this behavior and they both act together to

create entrepreneurs. (Roderick, Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p.1)

Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 7

Decker explains that even though there are genetics that makes a person more propense to

be an entrepreneur, this person will increase the possibilities of being an entrepreneur if he is

exposed to some experiences, such as opportunities to create a business. He endorses his

statement with his own experience. (Decker, 2004, p.10)

Decker wrote that he was not thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, but he was exposed

to it by attending to seminars, conferences, trade shows and customers that showed him that

technology was growing nation wide. Then he had the idea to be an entrepreneur in that type of

business. He did had the genetics, but if he hadnt had that exposure, he would have never

become an entrepreneur. (Decker, 2004, p.10)

Another relationship between nature and nurture is that biology is associated with career

choices and new ventures, but there are no proven studies that relate sociology with a career

choice, so it is believed that biology has a greater impact on determining an individuals career

choice but they do not fully determine this decision. Biological characteristics does have an

impact, but as it gets combined with external factors, meaning sociological impact, such as

family, then choices are then fully taken. (White, Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p453)

Both biology and sociology are needed. White, Thornhill and Hampson explain that an

individual that has high testosterone levels will be influenced to be a more risk taking person. In

the same way an individual with a family business background will be influenced with the

willing to have that same role model applied to his life. But someone that has both, high

testosterone and has a family business background is more likely to be an entrepreneur. A

biological trait can create an impact or not by itself, a social learning pattern can also create or
Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 8

not an impact, but the combination of both characteristics in the same individual will create an

entrepreneur. (White, Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p455)

White, Thornhill and Hampson explain how the combination of both characteristics

work. They wrote that nature predisposes and nurture disposes. An individual is born with

biological traits, which will make him more propense to be an entrepreneur, but as socialization

occurs and the person is exposed to different learning processes, they create a channel for the

biological predispositions. Meaning that for an individual to become an entrepreneur, he is born

with certain traits that predisposes him to become an entrepreneur, but he will only become an

entrepreneur if there are socially learned traits that guides him to follow that path. (White,

Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p454)

Wyld attributes entrepreneurship propensity to five specific personality traits which are

extroversion, conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The more a person

has of these characteristics, the more propense he is to become an entrepreneur. Though, this

characteristics will remain just as parts of an individuals personality, unless social learning

guides them to be used as part of a entrepreneurial experience. (Wyld, 2011, p100).

Mount suggests that entrepreneurial traits should be used to identify persons that could be

entrepreneurs in the future, then expose them to opportunity while they are young to help them

develop their entrepreneurial activities. Mount wrote that this could help guide young adults to

correctly use their inner characteristics, as an example he wrote that this could help an

entrepreneurial gang leader into a business founder. (Mount, 2009, p8).

Herper explains that entrepreneurship needs both nature and nurture. He quotes Georfe

Church, a Harvar professor that said Take your favorite entrepreneur and put him in a bad
Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 9

environment, and he won't do much.. (Herper, 2011, p.5).Even if an entrepreneur was born

with natural characteristics that made him had the tendency to be an entrepreneur, if he is not

exposed to social environments that made him take that path, that person will never be an

entrepreneur.

Biological traits do not really impact a persons desire to become an entrepreneur. In fact

that biological traits such as passion can be developed during a person's life, through

experiences. Biology states that a person is born with some characteristics, but if the person is

not born with enough testosterone level he will never become an entrepreneur. Testosterone

levels not necessarily determines entrepreneurship desire, this would mean that if a person is

born with low levels of testosterone he has no chances of becoming an entrepreneur, regarding

what happens in his life.

People change during life. A person will more likely become an entrepreneur because of

his surroundings. Some people would like to become an entrepreneur and some other would

rather have a job and then retire. It is a matter of what the person has seen in his life, that person

will follow a pattern. An individual might be impacted by his parents, by his society, by the roles

he had in his teenage years, or by any other thing, but he will learn to be an entrepreneur because

of his surroundings.

What might change is the moment in the life of an individual in which he decides he

wants to be an entrepreneur. If a person parents had their own business, they most likely will

have the desire of being an entrepreneur early in his life. Some other persons might be impacted

later as a teenager when he exposed to arts, construction or leadership. Other persons might

decide this later in life if he is influenced by society.

Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 10

A person that never got exposed to entrepreneurial activity will never develop the passion

to become an entrepreneur, because he hadnt seen it before, he cant imitate.

Biological studies disagree with early sociological studies. Sociological studies attributes

entrepreneurial disposition to learned patterns to which an individual is exposed in his life, that

could be his family, parents, society, culture or even the place where he lives. (Roderick,

Thornhill & Hampson, 2007, p.451) While biological studies attributes entrepreneurial

disposition to traits with which persons are born, such as testosterone levels (White, Thornhill &

Hampson, 2007, p 453), or passion (Decker, 2004, p.10).

A third theory converges the two other theories, declaring that neither biology nor

sociology can by itself predispose a person to be an entrepreneur. (White, Thornhill & Hampson,

2007, p454) An individual needs the combination of both biology and sociology in order to

become an entrepreneur. Because biology predisposes a person to be an entrepreneur but he

needs sociological learning in order to guide those characteristics to become an entrepreneur.

(Mount, 2009, p8).

Biology traits dont really affect entrepreneurial tendencies. A person will become an

entrepreneur if he is exposed to entrepreneurial activities during his life. What might change is

the time during his life in which he decides to become an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship comes from nature or nurture? Poujol 11

References

Decker, T. (2004). The making of an entrepreneur: Nature vs. nurture, an interview with mel
baiada. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 9(2), 97-109. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.ldsbc.edu/docview/203916759?accountid=27877

Ivanchev, Y. (2016). Does the place you grew up in shape your future as an entrepreneur?
Evidence from Italy. Monthly Labor Review, 1-2.

White, R., Thornhill, S., & Hampson, E. (2007). A Biosocial Model of Entrepreneurship: The
Combined Effects of Nurture and Nature. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(4), 451-466.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30162568

Wyld, D. C. (2011). Nature Plus Nurture: Do Teenage Activities Predict Entrepreneurial

Success?. Academy Of Management Perspectives, 25(1), 100-101.
doi:10.5465/AMP.2011.59198456

Mount, I. (2009). Nature vs. Nurture. FSB: Fortune Small Business, 19(10), 25.

Herper, M. (2011). Born or Made? (cover story). Forbes, 187(9), 77.