Framing entrepreneurial actorness from a value-theoretical perspective: A comparative analysis of European specificities

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.