Title: The impact of communist imprint prevalence on the risk-taking propensity of successful Russian entrepreneurs

Authors: Elitsa R. Banalieva; Sheila M. Puffer; Daniel J. McCarthy; Vlad Vaiman

Addresses: D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA ' D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA ' D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA ' California Lutheran University, 60 West Olsen Road #3550, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360, USA

Abstract: Scholars debate whether entrepreneurs socialised under communism exhibit an increased or subdued risk-taking propensity after that experience. Some note that communism discouraged standing out and thus risk-taking, while others counter that communism necessitated risk-taking to survive. We reconcile this debate by differentiating between reformist and hard-line communist imprints. In so doing, we extend communist imprinting theory by introducing the concept of imprint prevalence and studying how the degree to which one type of communist imprint prevailed over the other affects the subsequent risk-taking propensity of successful Russian entrepreneurs. Our findings also have implications for entrepreneurship in other transition and emerging economies.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; Russian entrepreneurs; reformist communism; hard-line communism; risk-taking propensity; communist imprinting theory; imprint prevalence; transition economies.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2018.089032

European Journal of International Management, 2018 Vol.12 No.1/2, pp.158 - 190

Received: 22 Oct 2016
Accepted: 28 Oct 2016
Published online: 04 Jan 2018 *

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