2008
Working Paper
HBS Working Paper Series

Workplace Peers and Entrepreneurship

By: Ramana Nanda and Jesper B. Sorensen

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:47

Abstract

We examine whether the likelihood of entrepreneurial activity is related to the prior career experiences of an individual's co-workers, using a unique matched employer-employee panel dataset. We argue that coworkers can increase the likelihood that an individual will perceive entrepreneurial opportunities as well as increase his or her motivation to pursue those opportunities. We find that an individual is more likely to become an entrepreneur if his or her co-workers have been entrepreneurs before. Peer influences also appear to be substitutes for other sources of entrepreneurial influence: we find that peer influences are strongest for those who have less exposure to entrepreneurship in other aspects of their lives.

Keywords

Experience and Expertise; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence

Citation

Nanda, Ramana, and Jesper B. Sorensen. "Workplace Peers and Entrepreneurship." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-051, January 2008. (revised January 2009, March 2010.)