Curtin Eamon, Coelho Gabriel Lins de Holanda, Hanel Paul H P
University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2024 Dec 13;19(12):e0312944. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312944. eCollection 2024.
This study explores how entrepreneurs perceive success, the influence of their values on this perception, and the association between values and success. We surveyed 96 Irish entrepreneurs to capture their definitions of success, their own values, their perceptions of a successful entrepreneur's values, and various success metrics. We coded the qualitative responses regarding what success means to them using Schwartz's (1992) model of human values. We found different and partly conflicting interpretations of success, suggesting that entrepreneurial success is multidimensional. While many participants interpreted success as related to achievement and power, others interpreted it as related to universalism and benevolence, going beyond past research that defined entrepreneurial success as primarily based on self-enhancement motives. Further, entrepreneurs in our sample valued conformity, tradition, and security less than the average person in Ireland, but stimulation and self-direction more. Interestingly, entrepreneurs' values were unrelated to the understanding of success and the actual success of entrepreneurs, as measured by turnover and the number of staff. This is an encouraging finding because it suggests that people can become successful entrepreneurs independently of their values. Together, our findings provide new insights into how entrepreneurs conceptualize success, revealing both self-enhancing and self-transcending perspectives.
本研究探讨了企业家如何看待成功、他们的价值观对这种认知的影响以及价值观与成功之间的关联。我们对96位爱尔兰企业家进行了调查，以了解他们对成功的定义、自身价值观、对成功企业家价值观的认知以及各种成功指标。我们使用施瓦茨（1992）的人类价值观模型对关于成功对他们意味着什么的定性回答进行了编码。我们发现了对成功的不同且部分相互冲突的解释，这表明创业成功是多维度的。虽然许多参与者将成功解释为与成就和权力相关，但其他人则将其解释为与普遍主义和仁爱相关，这超越了过去将创业成功主要定义为基于自我提升动机的研究。此外，我们样本中的企业家对从众、传统和安全的重视程度低于爱尔兰的普通人，但对刺激和自我导向的重视程度更高。有趣的是，企业家的价值观与对成功的理解以及企业家的实际成功（以营业额和员工数量衡量）无关。这是一个令人鼓舞的发现，因为它表明人们可以独立于自己的价值观成为成功的企业家。总之，我们的研究结果为企业家如何概念化成功提供了新的见解，揭示了自我提升和自我超越的观点。
