From Aspiration to Action: Understanding the Characteristics That Enable First-Generation Entrepreneurs to Start and Navigate Early Ventures in the Digital Age

Abstract

This dissertation examines the characteristics that enable first-generation entrepreneurs to transition from aspiration to action and persist through the early stages of their ventures in the digital age. First-generation entrepreneurs, defined as those who start businesses without prior family business experience, face unique challenges including the absence of inherited networks, mentorship, and socio-cultural legitimacy that second-generation entrepreneurs possess.
Through the quantitative analysis of 1,439 survey respondents, with emphasis on 749 first-generation entrepreneurs, this research investigates the intersection of psychological traits, digital competencies, and external support systems. The study addresses a gap in existing literature, which has examined these factors independently but has not developed an integrated framework explaining how they interact to enable entrepreneurial persistence.
Key findings reveal that psychological traits, particularly self-efficacy, grit, and entrepreneurial identity, are the strongest predictors of entrepreneurial satisfaction among first-generation entrepreneurs. The research documents a significant mentorship gap, with first-generation entrepreneurs 9.7 percentage points less likely to receive mentorship than their non-first-generation counterparts. Digital proficiency reveals a compensatory function, allowing first-generation entrepreneurs to achieve equivalent outcomes by using digital ecosystems to bridge inherited social capital gaps.
The integrated regression model explains 30.5% of variance in entrepreneurial satisfaction. Estimated separately by group, the model explained markedly more variance for first-generation entrepreneurs (R² = 0.39) than for non-first-generation entrepreneurs (R² = 0.20). Critically, first-generation status does not directly predict satisfaction when controlling for these factors, indicating that the challenges first-generation entrepreneurs face are structural — rooted in limited access to networks, mentorship, and cultural capital — rather than dispositional.
These findings contribute to entrepreneurship theory through the First-Generation Entrepreneurial Persistence Framework (FGEP Framework) and by extending the Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem framework with a psychological layer the original model does not address. Practical implications include recommendations for support programs, educational institutions, policymakers, and industry innovators seeking to help more aspiring entrepreneurs move from intention to action.