Title: Culture and entrepreneurship: the case of Guatemala

Authors: Andrés Marroquín; Marco Villatoro

Addresses: Stetson School of Business and Economics, Mercer University, 1501 Mercer University Dr, Macon, GA, 31207, USA ' Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Francisco Marroquin, 6a. Calle Final, Calle Manuel F. Ayau, Zona 10, Guatemala

Abstract: In this paper, we explain some of the main traits associated with becoming an entrepreneur and examine others traits that, to our knowledge, have received little attention. Common traits are related to: network effects, perceived skills, ability to spot opportunities, and self-confidence. We add cultural traits: ethnicity, beliefs about inequality and entrepreneurial status in society, and religion. We conduct our analysis in the context of the Central American country of Guatemala, which is ethnically diverse. We use Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey-data to verify our claims. Within some limitations, we find that among cultural traits, ethnicity remains significant after using several checks.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; Guatemala; GEM data; beliefs and the economy; culture and economics; economic inequality; entrepreneurial status; religion and entrepreneurship; culture and entrepreneurship; ethnicity and entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2020.111576

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2020 Vol.41 No.4, pp.503 - 523

Received: 02 Jun 2018
Accepted: 30 Sep 2018
Published online: 02 Dec 2020 *

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