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The aim of this article is to discuss how age and entrepreneurship interact in the specific case of older (50+) entrepreneurs. Building on theories on entrepreneurship and theories on age and aging, the authors’ focus is on how such entrepreneurs relate to the building and running of a business organization. The authors discuss how entrepreneurship among the elderly plays out and how older entrepreneurs relate to the narratives on both age and entrepreneurship.

This research comprises quantitative as well as qualitative studies. The authors show that qualitative methods that unfold the process over time are necessary and essential to fully understand how and why entrepreneurs start their own business and/or continue to run it at older ages.

The authors find that the choice to become an entrepreneur at the age of 50+ (or to stay as one) is not a goal in itself, becoming an entrepreneur is a means to stay active in the labor market.

The study findings add to entrepreneurship theory by insights on the link between entrepreneurship and the labor market where the authors argue that becoming an entrepreneur at ages 50+ might be more a question of choice of organizational form than a question on a way of living or occupation. The authors also contribute to theories on age by showing that entrepreneurs aged 50+ choose entrepreneurship as a means to be able to stay in the labor market.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2015), in the next 30 years, the world population will age rapidly, so that in the middle of the twenty-first century those people who are over 60 years of age will be double that at the beginning of the century. Between 2015 and 2050, the world population with more than 60 years of age will increase from 900 million to 2,000 million.

Faced with this demographic change experienced by the world population, formulas are increasingly being raised that make active aging possible, opening possibilities for self-realization and personal and professional growth until the end of life. This is one of the reasons why more and more scholars and practitioners are focusing on the value of entrepreneurship in older adults and the programs that encourage it.

This chapter aims to reflect on what leads the group of so-called senior entrepreneurs to start a new work–life based on entrepreneurship or self-employment, as well as discuss some myths of entrepreneurship. To what extent we must consider the firm performance as a variable on which the decision can be taken is pivoted. Entrepreneurship is a complex issue, and although it is true that it has been strongly analyzed both academically and professionally by different generations of young people, the behavior of senior entrepreneurs, a population group that is becoming increasingly important sociologically and economically, has barely been studied.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the self‐employment experiences of a group of “third age entrepreneurs” from a business assistance perspective. As well as examining what sources of business assistance are utilised, and what influences such decisions, methods of access and perceived impact are also considered – as are the reasons for non‐use.

The paper is based on data from in‐depth interviews with 14 individuals who entered self‐employment when they were 50 years of age or older.

The findings from the interviews suggest that there is limited engagement by these older entrepreneurs with the business support infrastructure. Interactions tend to be with a limited number of trusted professionals with whom relationships are already established. There is a lack of demand for initiatives, targeted or otherwise, and a desire to remain independent and self‐reliant.

The paper reports on a small‐scale qualitative study, and therefore the results are not generalisable.

The paper make a contribution to the small, but critical, knowledge base focused on better understanding third age entrepreneurship. Specifically, it is one of few studies to explore the phenomenon from a support infrastructure perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the entrepreneurial learning and support needs of older unemployed, highlighting the barriers that need to be addressed, and to explore the impact of a tailored entrepreneurship training programme.

An interpretivist philosophical standpoint is adopted with an action research approach to engage key informants to design, implement and evaluate the programme. Focus groups and interviews with 132 older unemployed individuals and 50 stakeholders across six countries were conducted as well as pre- and post-programme evaluations and surveys with 55 programme participants across three countries.

This research provides a deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial learning and support needs of older unemployed.

The small sample size of participants measured using a hybrid measure of ESE is a limitation.

For entrepreneurship educators, the components of designing and delivering an entrepreneurship programme for older unemployed are identified. For enterprise and unemployment support agencies, it provides evidence of the initial and ongoing support needs for starting and running a business in later life.

A framework specific to older unemployed individuals turning towards self-employment or entrepreneurship is proposed and tested in this paper. The framework proposes that individual and contextual antecedents influence the decision to become self-employed in later life and that the training, support and entrepreneurial experience helps to overcome barriers and shapes individual and societal outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight important aspects of adopting a lifelong learning mindset as a way to improve entrepreneurial employability and self-employment capabilities among older workers, and to examine their practicality in enterprise services.

This paper takes a two-method research approach that synthesizes an original conceptual framework based on current gerontological and work psychology literature with qualitative organizational case study in the Israeli labor market.

The process of lifelong learning and accumulation of employability underpins a fulfilling career in self-employment later in life, through continuous self-acquisition of necessary knowledge and complementary skills. Adopting a lifelong learning mindset may contribute to older workers developing lifelong employability by self-realizing their meaningful life wisdom alongside becoming lifelong learners, and consequently, by becoming protean career owners capable of acquiring entrepreneurial competencies and skills. Program analysis of social and business enterprises established in Israel to meet the demand for the acquisition of later life skills demonstrates the various ways in which they play a role in supporting this process.

The need for future research and practice on the conceptual framework presented in this paper is analyzed and discussed in the Israeli context.

This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on third-age entrepreneurship, by conceptually linking the core concept of lifelong learning to entrepreneurial employability, and demonstrating its application in the Israeli work culture.

The paper aims to investigate the motivations, goals, challenges, successes and needs of older women starting new ventures.

In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten successful female entrepreneurs who had created their businesses at age 50 or over. The key areas of focus included the women's motivation for starting a business, their previous work experience, potential barriers/enabling factors (including their human, social and financial capital), and the performance of their ventures. Responses were taped, transcribed, coded, grouped and analyzed.

The primary trigger for older women to start a new venture appears to be the need to find a creative outlet (self-actualization). Further, more than half the women stated that because they now had significantly reduced family responsibilities, this was the time for them to pursue their own goals. Interestingly, a majority of the women had started new ventures in an area completely unrelated to their previous work experience. Family support, particularly from their spouse/partner, was acknowledged by virtually all the women as an important factor contributing to the success of their ventures. All the ventures were profitable and growing.

The findings suggest that well-trained mentors could make a significant difference to this older cohort of female entrepreneurs, particularly in terms of helping them to grow their businesses.

This study fills a gap in the literature by providing an understanding of the motivations and needs of older female entrepreneurs.

The purpose of this paper is to provide greater and deeper insight into the entrepreneur‐enabling “big picture”, explore issues in matching suitable enablers with would‐be entrepreneurs, and consider policy implications in the light of government priorities.

The paper draws upon case research with business incubator clients. A number of relevant enabling roles are analysed.

There is a clear need to distinguish between when the enabler is focusing on the business or the business idea and when he or she is focusing on the development of the entrepreneur. At the same time it is important to assess whether a directive or non‐directive style is more appropriate.

This is fundamentally a conceptual viewpoint paper and it contains both anecdotal evidence and opinion.

The paper offers a commentary on, and a framework for, matching enablers and would‐be entrepreneurs more effectively and discusses the relevance of the arguments for current policy priorities.

Although some of the work has been published before (mainly in books) this paper contains substantial original and new work.

There is growing political interest in new forms of precarious self‐employment located in a “grey area” between employment and self‐employment. A wide range of concepts has been used to debate this issue, and this paper aims to clarify these debates through the concept of involuntary self‐employment.

The paper reviews the empirical, conceptual and legal‐policy approaches to involuntary self‐employment via three country case studies in Finland, Germany and the UK. A range of relevant domestic academic literature, articles in the media, selected key expert interviews, and policy and legal documents are employed.

Conceptual clarity regarding involuntary self‐employment is achieved through a discussion of two aspects of the phenomenon: the characteristics of involuntariness from a motives‐based perspective, and the legal/economic perspectives and policy issues. The motives‐based analysis argues that involuntariness as such does not seem to have severe implications on the individuals' well being, given that the individual earns a satisfactory livelihood from her or his business activities. The discussion of the characteristics of and regulation related to working arrangements in the “grey area” between employment and self‐employment, where the self‐employed individual is strongly dependent on the principal, shows that it is very difficult to regulate quasi self‐employment without harming “voluntary” forms of enterprise and inter‐firm cooperation at the same time.

The key contribution of the paper is to facilitate a foundation for subsequent empirical research and policy development.

The interest in older entrepreneurs increases due to population aging. Previous research showed clear gender-differences among older entrepreneurs. This study investigates whether such gender-differences also exist in the retirement transition from entrepreneurship. It explores the influence of pension regulations for entrepreneurs on these gender-differences.

Longitudinal micro-level data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe is analyzed in multichannel sequence analyses and cluster analyses. Developments from age 50 to 69 are compared in the dimensions of entrepreneurship, employment and old-age pensions.

Entrepreneurs retire in three different transition patterns: (1) entrepreneurs becoming pensioners at 60, (2) entrepreneurs becoming pensioners at 65 and (3) individuals combining entrepreneurship with employment until they become pensioners at 65. Female entrepreneurs follow the same transition patterns as their male counterparts but retire earlier. Pension regulations for entrepreneurs modify the extent of the gender-differences within a country. Mandatory pension schemes with identical state pension ages for men and women reduce gender-differences, whereas mandatory schemes with gender-differences in the state pension age increase them. Schemes without mandatory coverage range in between the other two.

This article expands our knowledge on gender-differences among older entrepreneurs. These gender-differences also extent to how entrepreneurs transition into retirement. Pension regulations for entrepreneurs influence the extent of the gender-differences. Therefore, pension regulations for entrepreneurs constitute tools for promoting or hindering gender equality.