Zoltán Grünhut

Abstract

This paper claims that entrepreneurial actorness, which is one of the main thematic scopes of entrepreneurship research, can be (re-)framed from a value-theoretical perspective. The various individual features addressed as entrepreneurial personality traits (one’s ideas, perceptions, understandings, mindsets, routines,etc.) can thus be linked to certain value contents and specific value sets. For the purposes of this novel theoretical perspective, this paper first applies Shalom H. Schwartz’s framework of Basic Human Values, before presenting a comparative analysis of European entrepreneurs’ value preferences. The results show that there are four separate entrepreneur groups with significantly different value hierarchies whose distribution varies across Europe.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial actorness, Basic Human Values, Shalom H. Schwartz, comparative analysis, European Social Survey

Zoltán Grünhut [grunhut@rkk.hu], Centre for Economic and Regional Studies Tóth Kálmán str. 4., 1097 Budapest: Hungary
Ákos Ákos Bodor [bodor@rkk.hu], Centre for Economic and Regional Studies Tóth Kálmán str. 4., 1097 Budapest: Hungary