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The purpose of this paper is to examine the roles of one’s original family and current family in influencing his or her entering entrepreneurial endeavors. Specifically, individuals’ original family is also crucial for entrepreneurship, which has been neglected by prior studies to a large extent. Moreover, the authors argue that a good marital relationship between two parents within the original family could facilitate an entrepreneurial spirit by providing better family support, whereas a good relationship with one’s life partner or spouse within their current family could also increase the likelihood of entrepreneurial activities through reducing work stress.

The authors use two archival data sets: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 and 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Adult Population Survey to test whether a harmonious relationship between two parents or with life partner/spouse could encourage individuals to become an entrepreneur and whether family support and work conflict mediate such a relationship.

This study found that parents’ relationship in one’s adolescence provides individuals with more support, which leads to more entrepreneurial endeavors, whereas the conflicts between two parents will reduce their likelihood of initiating entrepreneurial activities. Besides, a good relationship with one’s life partner/spouse can release his/her work stress, which is also important for entrepreneurship development.

Different from the extant related research that focuses more on on-site predictors of entrepreneurship, the current study proposes factors from other life domains, including those in one’s adolescence, that can also influence and change individuals’ choice of entrepreneurial activities throughout their entire life. Harmonious family relationships (i.e. fewer family conflicts) are important for one to start a business, and family conflicts can reduce the likelihood of choosing entrepreneurship as the main occupation.