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Economic preferences and temperament traits among business leaders and paid employees

Mikko Vaaramo, Leena Ala-Mursula, Jouko Miettunen and Marko Korhonen
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Mikko Vaaramo: University of Oulu
Leena Ala-Mursula: University of Oulu
Jouko Miettunen: University of Oulu

Small Business Economics, 2023, vol. 60, issue 3, No 16, 1197-1217

Abstract: Abstract This paper explores individuals’ economic preferences and temperament traits among different categories of business leaders (i.e., managers, self-employed with employees, self-employed without employees) and paid employees. We assume that these quite stable preferences and traits play a role in predicting occupational choice toward leadership roles. We use a large individual-level survey dataset (n = 5890) from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 at age 46 with linkages to nationally registered data. We construct survey measures for three types of economic preferences: risk, time, and social preferences. We use Cloninger’s inventory to measure four main temperament traits: harm avoidance, reward dependence, novelty-seeking, and persistence. We show that business leaders, in general, have different economic preferences and temperament traits than paid employees. To become a manager, especially the temperament trait of novelty-seeking seems relevant; and to become self-employed, particularly the economic preference of risk-taking appears as important.

Keywords: Business leaders; Temperament traits; Cloninger; Economic preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D91 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11187-022-00653-2

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