The Journey from Novice to Serial Entrepreneurship in China and Germany: Are the Drivers the Same?

While in general entrepreneurs in emerging economies are significantly different from entrepreneurs in mature markets on most dimensions, serial entrepreneurs demonstrate certain similarities in their goals and motivations, skills and competencies, resources, strategies and other characteristics. The drivers governing the journey from novice to serial entrepreneurship – while consistent with the arguments advanced by Casson and Lazear – appear to differ somewhat between emerging and mature economies. Based on a cross-sectional survey of Chinese and German entrepreneurs, the study contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurship in emerging markets and extends the knowledge of serial entrepreneurship by analyzing whether the differences between serial and novice entrepreneurs can be attributed to the types of skills and competences possessed by the individuals, and whether particular motives for starting new ventures are more conducive to multiple business founding than others.