The Role of the Entrepreneur in Technology Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This study examined the influence of genetic factors on the tendency to engage in entrepreneurship. We found that, in the particular sample we examined, between 37 and 42 percent of the variance in the tendency of people to engage in entrepreneurship is accounted for by genetic factors. A substantial part of this variance was mediated by the psychological trait of sensation seeking, suggesting that genes affect the tendency of people to engage in entrepreneurship by affecting the distribution of sensation seeking across people. Copyright (C) 2008 Strategic Management Society.