What You value or what you know? Which mechanism explains the intergenerational transmission of business ownership expectations?
Adolescent Experiences and Adult Work Outcomes: Connections and Causes
ISBN: 978-1-78350-571-5, eISBN: 978-1-78350-572-2
Publication date: 12 April 2014
Abstract
Purpose
Research has consistently shown that the children of business owners are more likely to become business owners themselves. However, what mechanism(s) underlies this intergenerational correlation is still not clear. In this research I assess the importance of several mechanisms proposed to drive the children of business owners to expect to become business owners.
Methodology/approach
Quantitative analyses of representative data from the 1988 to 1992 National Education Longitudinal Study are employed.
Findings
Results are inconsistent with arguments asserting that the children of business owners expect to become business owners because of: the transmission of human capital or financial capital; the expectation of inheriting a business; a heightened awareness of the viability of business ownership; or preferences for having lots of money, leisure time, being successful in work, or steady employment. Findings are consistent with the notion that the intergenerational correlation in business ownership is a result of shared preferences and/or traits, and this effect is particularly strong when accompanied by awareness of paternal business ownership.
Originality/value
Identifying which mechanism underlies the intergenerational transmission may inform how to increase rates of business ownership, particularly among underrepresented groups, which is a matter of increasing policy interest. However, our understanding is limited because: the intergenerational transfer is consistent with numerous mechanisms; and employment outcomes are often used to make inferences about preceding processes. This chapter focuses on expectations that precede outcomes to clarify which mechanism operates in one stage of the transmission process.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgment
I would like to thank Roberto Fernandez, Stanley Lieberson, Peter Marsden, Annemette Sørensen, Jesper Sørensen, Toby Stuart, Ezra Zuckerman, and some of my former fellow graduate students at MIT for providing useful feedback on various drafts of this chapter. I would also like to thank John Carroll and Roberto Fernandez for helping me secure access to the restricted components of the data used. Of course, all the standard disclaimers apply.
Citation
Greenberg, J. (2014), "What You value or what you know? Which mechanism explains the intergenerational transmission of business ownership expectations?", Adolescent Experiences and Adult Work Outcomes: Connections and Causes (Research in the Sociology of Work, Vol. 25), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 85-126. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-283320140000025004
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited