Attitudes of the Youth towards Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of India and China

Abstract

This study argues that social support is an important enabler in entrepreneurial activity in a country or a region. One untested assumption in policy making on entrepreneurship development has been that all regions are equally desirous of entrepreneurial activity and one policy could address issues in all regions. It was argued that societal attitudes towards entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship are important determinants for future entrepreneurial activity. These attitudes would be impacted by the family background of an individual and entrepreneurial development in the region an individual comes from. It was hypothesized that more positive attitude would be seen in (i) people form entrepreneurial backgrounds, and (ii) entrepreneurially more developed regions.

These hypotheses were tested on more than 5,000 respondents in India and China. The results for family background’s influence on attitudes found strong support in both India and China. Regional development showed stronger influence on attitude in India than in China. The findings and implications for studying attitudes and policy making are discussed.