HOW THE CULTURE OF A COUNTRY EXPLAINS THE SOCIAL STATUS OF ENTREPRENEURS

Abstract

Despite the benefits of entrepreneurial activity on economic development, entrepreneurs do not have a good social status in all societies. While in some countries they are highly respected (Anglo-Saxon context), in others, their image is not so positive (European context). In this paper, we highlight these differences using a sample from the GEM project and explain the social status of entrepreneurs using the cultural profile of countries, which is measured with the Schwartz database. Our results show that some cultural profiles favor entrepreneurs’ social status.