Roads Leading to Self–Employment: Comparing Transgenerational Entrepreneurs and Self–Made Start–Ups

This article studies the event history of business foundation. Three theoretical concepts—human, financial, and social capital—are linked to investigate how entry into self–employment varies over time. Data from a cohort of Dutch inhabitants born in 1939/1940 who have been interviewed three times during their lives (in 1952, 1983, and 1993) allows for testing hypotheses that state clear differences between two different roads toward business ownership. Empirical results show that the baseline hazard decreases with time for transgenerational entrepreneurs with self–employed parents, but increases for self–made start–ups. Social capital is a better predictor for starting an enterprise than human capital.