When may age not be a barrier to entrepreneurial entry of senior people? The role of individual geographical mobility experience and village democratic governance in rural areas in emerging economies

Xiaoying Li, Honglan Yu, Qihai Huang, Guowei Cai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper contributes to the senior entrepreneurship and rural entrepreneurship literature by developing a contingency view on the likelihood of entrepreneurial entry by senior individuals in rural areas in emerging economies. Drawing on utility maximization theory, we propose that multi-level factors and their joint effects help older individuals overcome barriers to entrepreneurial entry. Using data from the Chinese Labour-force Dynamics Surveys (CLDS), comprising 8,692 individual-year observations in 209 villages in 2012, 2014 and 2016, our results reveal that individual geographical mobility experience attenuates the negative effect of older age on entrepreneurial entry in rural areas. Although village democratic governance does not independently mitigate this negative effect, its interaction with individual geographical mobility experience does. Our research has theoretical and policy implications for understanding senior entrepreneurial entry in rural areas of emerging markets and addressing the challenges posed by an ageing society.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages26
JournalEntrepreneurship and Regional Development
Early online date13 Jan 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 13 Jan 2025

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