Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Psicothema, 2011. Vol. Vol. 23 (nº 3). 446-452
Christian Korunka1, Alexander Kessler2, Hermann Frank3 and Manfred Lueger3
In the European Union, one-person businesses (OPBs) are increasingly regarded as an important alternative to dependent employment. From an economic policy standpoint, the growth potential of such businesses is especially attractive. This paper analyzes the growth potential of OPBs by postulating five key groups of enterprise growth predictors: personal traits, resources, strategy, industry, and organizational structures and systems. The framework model was adapted to suit the specific circumstances of OPBs. The model was tested using a longitudinal data set comprising 188 OPBs which were observed over a period of eight years. At the end of the observation period, the OPBs included in the study had an average of 1.33 employees. The gender of the founder, capital requirements at the time of establishment, and growth strategy proved to be the most important predictors of growth. In addition, human capital resources also tended to have a positive impact. The traits of the person founding the business were not found to affect growth. In summary, it is possible to draw empirically reliable conclusions about growth potential on the basis of the «seriousness» of an OPB startup project.
Condiciones de crecimiento de las empresas nacientes unipersonales: un estudio longitudinal durante ocho años. Este trabajo analiza el potencial de crecimiento de las empresas unipersonales (OPBs) postulando cinco grupos de predictores clave para el crecimiento de la empresa: rasgos de personalidad, recursos, estrategias, industria y estructuras de organización y sistemas. El modelo se adaptó a las circunstancias específicas de las OPBs. Los datos longitudinales se tomaron de 188 OPBs que fueron observadas durante un período de ocho años. Al final del período de observación, las OPBs incluidas en el estudio tenían un promedio de 1,33 empleados. El género del fundador, los requisitos de capital en el momento de establecimiento y la estrategia de crecimiento demostraron ser los predictores más importantes del crecimiento. Además, los recursos de capital humano también tendían a tener un impacto positivo. No se encontró efecto de los rasgos de personalidad sobre el crecimiento. En resumen, es posible extraer conclusiones empíricamente fiables sobre el potencial de crecimiento basado en la seriedad de un proyecto inicial de OPB.
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