PERCEPTUAL ENABLERS OF GLOBAL NASCENT ENTREPRENEURS: A QUANTITATIVE INVESTIGATION BASED ON GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MONITOR DATA

Abstract

With the deepening of research on entrepreneurial activity motivation, academic discourse has been cognizant of the incompleteness of macro-contextual factors and micro-personality in explaining entrepreneurship momentum. The interaction mechanism between context and potential nascent entrepreneurs has gradually become a theoretical hot spot in the 21st century. This article aims to elaborate on the emerging debate about perceptual factors of entrepreneurship and identify salient perceptual enablers of entrepreneurial activities for global nascent entrepreneurs. In order to bring empirical breakthroughs to the table, this article employs nascent entrepreneurial activity data of more than 50 countries from 2011 to 2019 gathered by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). The author built a pooled cross-sectional dataset to unveil the perceptual determinants shared by new entrepreneurs worldwide and employed pooled OLS regression. The study confirms the significant positive influence of the 'perceived opportunity' (PO), 'perceived capability' (PC), and 'immersion in entrepreneurial culture/social norm' (CSN) and negative influence of 'fear of failure' (FF) on national entrepreneurial activity. This empirical article is a prompt exploration of entrepreneurial enablers. Among the existing empirical milestones, few attempts mentioned shared perceptual needs among entrepreneurs on various continents. This paper introduces an emerging cross-national variable structure grounded on existing conceptual elements. It contributes to corresponding knowledge by updating the time span/contextual background, expands the scope of theory applicability, and recommends an inclusive environment practically. When reflecting on the entrepreneurship context and policies, this research can serve as a priori insights for evaluating entrepreneurial support and proffer 'perceptual criteria' for comparison between cross-national policies.