The Association of Parental Interest in Entrepreneurship with the Entrepreneurial Interest of Spanish Youth

Abstract

As entrepreneurial interest is believed to represent a causal factor increasing entrepreneurship, research has begun to explore how family systems affect youth entrepreneurial interests. In the present study, we attempt to identify different types of family influence on the entrepreneurial interests of young people. A questionnaire was used to obtain data from 1633 Spanish adolescents (15 to 18 years old) and another questionnaire was used to obtain data from 839 parents. Principal component analysis identified unique family types and revealed that they have differential associations to entrepreneurial interest among youth. These findings reaffirm the influence of family on the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the promotion of an entrepreneurial family culture. This study further suggests that early attention should focus on the detection of entrepreneurial interest among youth so that actions can be implemented in the families to incentivize an entrepreneurial family culture.