This paper investigates whether the presence of ambitious entrepreneurs is a more important determinant of national economic growth than entrepreneurial activity in general. We use data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor to test the extent to which high growth ambitions of entrepreneurs...

This paper investigates determinants of engagement in various stages of the entrepreneurial process while considering an individual's start-up motivation using 2007 survey data for 27 European countries and the US. Next to opportunity and necessity start-up motivations, we take into account...

The scholarly literature often distinguishes between so-called opportunity and necessity entrepreneurship and between ‘‘pull’’ and ‘‘push’’ motivations. Despite the pervasive use of this terminology, empirical analyses are mostly based on a single country. The present paper...

This discussion paper led to the publication in the <I>Journal of Economic Psychology</I> 2012, 33(2), 410-424.<P> In the media role models are increasingly being acknowledged as an influential factor in explaining the reasons for the choice of occupation and career. Various conceptual studies have...</p></i>