From one to many: education, diversity, and international experience in habitual vs. one-time founders

Francesca Sanguineti (), Antonio Majocchi () and Christian Lechner ()
Additional contact information
Francesca Sanguineti: University of Pavia
Antonio Majocchi: LUISS Guido Carli
Christian Lechner: LUISS Business School

Small Business Economics, 2025, vol. 64, issue 4, No 15, 1929-1951

Abstract: Abstract What sets apart entrepreneurs who continuously start new businesses from those who stick with their first venture? This paper delves into the characteristics that distinguish habitual founders from one-time founders. Analyzing a dataset of over 5000 individuals, we combine the concepts of cognitive entrenchment and human capital theory to uncover the general and specific traits that increase the likelihood of becoming a habitual founder. Our findings suggest that a higher level of education, diverse professional backgrounds, and international experience increase the chances of becoming a habitual founder. By exploring the backgrounds of habitual entrepreneurs, this study provides valuable insights for supporting and promoting an entrepreneurial career.

Keywords: Habitual entrepreneurs; Human capital theory; Cognitive entrenchment theory; One-time entrepreneurs; International experience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 L26 M13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-024-00970-8 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:64:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00970-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... 29/journal/11187/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s11187-024-00970-8

Access Statistics for this article

Small Business Economics is currently edited by Zoltan J. Acs and David B. Audretsch

More articles in Small Business Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().