Entrepreneurship and self-employment for mature-aged people

Abstract

Not only do Australian mature-aged entrepreneurs contribute $11.9 billion per annum to the Australian economy in over 379,000 businesses, they launch approximately 14,000 new businesses each year and actively contribute to fiscal, social, health, and active ageing outcomes in their communities. Thirty-four per cent of all young businesses in Australia are now led by mature-aged entrepreneurs, identifying mature-aged entrepreneurship as the fastest growing sector of entrepreneurship. This study is the first of its kind to examine mature-aged entrepreneurship in Australia using five pragmatic and embedded case-study examples. Aligning to Cartensen's sociomotional selection theory, we adopted an interpretivist philosphical framework of emergent enquiry action research. The paper includes benefits and challenges associated with mature-aged entrepreneurship, including contextual and theoretical foundations. We provide policy and research recommendations to enhance the development of a dedicated entrepreneurial ecosystem for mature-aged people.