Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research

Investigating the role of age and working memory on the relationship between motivation and risk-taking of potential entrepreneurs

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Pedram Adibfar 1
Ehsan Chitsaz 2
Mohammad Etemadi 3
1 Department of Organizational Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Entrepreneurship Development, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
3 Master's student, Department of Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/eir.2024.183611
Abstract
Objective: One of the most important components of successful entrepreneurs is decision-making in a situation that can bring many dangers and risks to them. Entrepreneurs should always make tough decisions in the conditions of uncertainty and ambiguities in the startup environment and move toward their goals based on those decisions. These decisions accompanied by risk, whether financial, social or similar, can in turn determine the success or failure of the entrepreneur. In this research, we investigate the effect of the two components of working memory and motivation on the level of risk-taking of potential entrepreneurs, and we also observe the effect of age changes on each of these variables.
Methodology: The sample studied in this research is 142 potential entrepreneurs who intend to start a business in the future. We used a standard questionnaire to collect information related to people's motivation, and to measure their working memory performance and risk-taking, we used computerized cognitive tests of CANTAB software. The selected people are from the startup teams of the Convergent Technologies Research Institute of Tehran University. All these people have done their test individually in an isolated environment located in the Research Institute of Convergent Technologies of Tehran University in full compliance with the test protocol.
Findings: In the research findings section, the relationships between the main and secondary variables were investigated and compared with the research hypotheses. The two indices that are important for measuring the fit of the research model are Chi-square and NFI, which are suitable if they are above 5% and 0.9, respectively, which was also the case in the findings of the present study. Then the coefficients of determination and effect size were examined. In the conclusion part of the research, we examined why some hypotheses were rejected and some were confirmed, and with the help of previous literature, we examined why each one. This research showed that there is a significant relationship between motivation and risk-taking performance of potential entrepreneurs. Also, by changing the motivation level of potential entrepreneurs, their working memory performance can be affected. On the other hand, the age variable was related to all variables of working memory, motivation, and risk-taking, but its relationship with motivation was contrary to existing literature, and our findings could not be properly aligned with previous studies. The reason for this can be motivated by the breadth of literature and it is better to consider more factors in another research.
Conclusion: With the help of the findings of this research, entrepreneurs can be helped to make their risky decisions with higher quality and thus take a smoother path to reach their entrepreneurial goals. Finally, we know that entrepreneurs are one of the important elements of economic progress and helping them succeed can help the economy and welfare of the society
Keywords
Age
Motivation
Potential entrepreneur
Risk taking
working memory

Subjects

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