Overoptimism among Founders: The Role of Information and Motivation
2008-03-03
Research Paper
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This study empirically investigates factors that influence overoptimism across nascent entrepreneurs. We distinguish between two main groups of determinants (information, motivation) and three types of overoptimism (income, psychological burden, leisure time). Findings indicate that entrepreneurs who have relevant business information are more realistic and that entrepreneurs with a high level of general knowledge, acquired through education or previous (unrelated) entrepreneurial experience, are more overoptimistic. External advice and business planning do not appear to limit subsequent overoptimism. Entrepreneurs are less overoptimistic about the pecuniary or non-pecuniary benefits of self-employment when these benefits are closely related to the initial motivation for starting up the business.
- O32 : Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
- M : Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting
- M13 : New Firms; Startups
- entrepreneur
- overoptimism
- business
- journal
- leisure time
- information
- venture
- motivation
- knowledge
- experience
- entrepreneurship
- income
- level
- leisure
- overoptimistic
- study
- management
- hypothesis
- effect
- expectation
