Entrepreneurs and firm growth under guilt vs shame cultures
Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy
ISSN: 2045-2101
Article publication date: 24 October 2023
Issue publication date: 2 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to try and understand under what cultural conditions entrepreneurship will thrive and prosper, whether under shame or guilt cultures.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use basic game theory to model the conditions under which entrepreneurship will thrive. The authors anticipate that guilt cultures allow for the development of a rules-based culture that allows for the development of impersonal exchange, whereas shame cultures, which are relationship-oriented, focus on strong ties and hence lack the means to expand firms from small and medium family/clan-based businesses.
Findings
Empirical results are completed to see whether guilt-dominating cultures are more conducive to having larger firms and whether guilt-dominating cultures have less informality. The authors find support for the latter but lack the right data to test the former.
Originality/value
The authors use a new measure of culture to see how it impacts entrepreneurship.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the participants of the Association of Private Enterprise Education meeting and the Academy of International Business meeting for their valuable comments. Further, the authors would like to thank the two anonymous referees for their useful comments.
Citation
Bose, F. and Mironko, A. (2023), "Entrepreneurs and firm growth under guilt vs shame cultures", Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Vol. 12 No. 3/4, pp. 234-252. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-11-2022-0123
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited