Going it Alone or Working as Part of a Team: The Impact of Human Capital on Entrepreneurial Decision Making

• Main Authors: Esther Hormiga, Connie Hancock, Natalia Jaría
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universitat de Barcelona 2017-01-01
• Series: Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business
• Subjects: Human capital; Entrepreneurial Team; Entrepreneurial Decision; Lone Entrepreneurship
• Online Access: http://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/JESB/article/view/17358

This paper endeavours to measure the effect that human capital has on the decision taken by the entrepreneur to pursue new venture creation either in a lone capacity or collaboratively. Based on a survey of 130 entrepreneurs from 130 new ventures in Canary Island, Spain, this study applies a logit model to investigate the research relationships. The results show that three factors (experience, social perception and extrinsic motivation) are significant in the decision to initiate a new venture either in a lone capacity or as part of a collaborative undertaking. The results indicate that previous experience holds the greatest significance on the decision taken by entrepreneurs to ‘go it alone’, with factors relating to social perception and extrinsic motivation chiefly predicting a decision to work collaboratively. The findings of this study provide new insight and evidence with regard to the factors that influence a key decision in the start-up process: that of continuing in a lone capacity, or proceeding as part of an entrepreneurial team.