Psychological and Environmental Factors Which Distinguish the Successful from the Unsuccessful Entrepreneur: A Longitudinal Study.

In an effort to better understand the similarities and differences between successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs, data which were collected at the time the businesses were started were used in a discriminate analysis to determine what if any factors distinguished those entrepreneurs whose businesses existed three years later from those whose businesses did not exist. Successful entrepreneurs were found to have a more internal locus of control, were less satisfied with their previous Jobs, were more fearful of dismissal from their previous jobs, were younger, and more were married than were the unsuccessful entrepreneurs.