Title: Does entrepreneur dispositional optimism bias affect small firms' technical efficiency

Authors: Ben Fatma Elhem; Ben Mohamed Ezzeddine; Sami Boudabbous

Addresses: FSEG Sfax Tunisia, Laboratory Governance, Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Sfax, R Aeoport Km4 P14, Sfax, Tunisia ' FSEG Sfax Tunisia, Laboratory Governance, Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Sfax, R Aeoport Km4 P14, Sfax, Tunisia ' ESC Sfax, Laboratory Governance, Finance and Accounting, University of Sfax, R Aeoport Km4 P14, Sfax, Tunisia

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of entrepreneurs' dispositional optimism on small business firm efficiency in the Tunisian context. Using a stochastic frontier analysis technique adjusted to an entrepreneur dispositional optimism bias, we estimate the efficiency score and then we demonstrate that the inefficiency term is explained by entrepreneur dispositional optimism. Our data consists of 67 small firms between 2008 and 2012. Our results highlight that other entrepreneurial characteristics and social network can explain technical efficiency.

Keywords: entrepreneurs; dispositional optimism; technical efficiency; small firms; entrepreneurship; small business; technical efficiency; entrepreneurial characteristics; social networks; Tunisia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2015.067467

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2015 Vol.24 No.3, pp.302 - 321

Received: 17 Jun 2014
Accepted: 27 Sep 2014
Published online: 13 Feb 2015 *

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