Modeling Interest in Entrepreneurship: Implications for Business Development

Abstract

Interest in starting a business was assessed for a general Minnesota sample of 1,204 adults in 1987. A substantial number of individuals in the sample (13.2%) were seriously considering starting a business. A follow-up study indicated that 24 percent of those initially interested had started a business within a year. Available variables on personal characteristics, resources, and assessments of the economic situation were used to move toward an overall explanatory model of interest in going into business. We discuss a number of important main effects and interaction effects which impact interest in going into business.