High-Growth Aspirations of Entrepreneurs in Latin America: Do Alliances Matter?

• Main Authors: Raquel Puente Castro, Jose U. Mora Mora, Fernando Pereira Laverde
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: entrepreneurship; growth aspirations; Latin America; international alliances; gem; regional development
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/2867

This study considers how the formation and implementation strategies of a Latin America alliance between four of the best economic performance countries in the region have impacted the quality of entrepreneurship in these countries. To this end, we studied the Pacific Alliance (PA) and employed an ordered probit model with sample selection bias and statistical information from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database for the 2012–2017 period. As a dependent variable, we used the growth aspiration of entrepreneurs as a proxy to measure the future growth of the company, from which a possible economic impact could be inferred. The evidence shows that during the implementation period of the PA, there is a positive impact on entrepreneur growth aspirations in member countries; the likelihood that entrepreneurs have high-growth aspirations is found to be greater during and after the implementation period than before the signing of the PA. Likewise, it was found that motivation, gender, education, skills, innovation (as perceived by the entrepreneur), export level, two pillars of the global competitiveness index (GCI), and the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate explain the growth aspirations of entrepreneurs in the member countries during the period under study.