Principal Topic

Previous entrepreneurial research has suggested that specific life events called triggers may precede new venture creation. This research seeks to confirm the existence of triggers and begins exploring their components and properties. Building on the recently proposed construct of entrepreneurial propensity which describes the individual’s predisposition towards entrepreneurial acts such as new venture creation, we posit that triggering events are essential moderators between entrepreneurial propensity and new venture creation. Three major dimensions of triggering events are identified as magnitude, permanence, and orientation. As an exploratory study, this research seeks to know if individuals who have recently opened a new business can identify specific triggers that were instrumental in their decision to start a business.

Method

A survey was sent to all 450 new businesses listed as having sole proprietor ownership that opened in December, 2000 and January, 2001 in the state of Washington. Correlation analysis is used to detect the presence of triggers. Binomial probabilities used to investigate the connection of entrepreneurial propensity to triggers.

Results and Implications

Results show that significant numbers of individuals (90%) opening a new business for the first time, can identify a specific event which triggered their decision. This supports the proposition that triggering events provide a crucial link between previous entrepreneurial theories and new venture creation. The proposed moderation effect of triggers on entrepreneurial propensity was not supported. We suggest that measurement problems may be the cause for this lack of support. Even though the connect with entrepreneurial propensity was not established, the existence of triggers opens new research opportunities. Triggers have potential to explain why entrepreneurs open new ventures at specific points in time as well as providing some explanation for why individuals who do not fit the typical entrepreneur profile may create new ventures.

CONTACT: Mark Yockey, Department of Management and Decision Sciences, College of Business and Economics, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164; (T) 509-355-1185; (F) 509-335-7736; myockey@mail.wsu.edu