Personal Values and Entrepreneurial Attitude as Intellectual Capital: Impact on Innovation in Small Enterprises
Sánchez-Báez, Edgar A.;, José Fernández-Serrano;Romero, Isidoro;
amfiteatru economic2018Vol. 20pp. 771-787
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sanchezbaez2018amfiteatru
Abstract
This paper analyzes the effects of entrepreneurs’ personal values and their entrepreneurial
attitudes, as forms of intellectual capital, on the innovative behavior of small businesses.
The influence of personal values is examined through Schwartz's value theory and
entrepreneurial attitudes via assessments associated with risk taking and personal
autonomy. A model of structural equations using the Partial Least Squares technique was
applied to a database composed of 191 small business owners in Paraguay. The results
show that personal values of conservation and self-enhancement in the entrepreneur have a
direct negative effect on innovation. It is also noted that entrepreneurial attitudes, such as
openness to change and self-transcendence, have a mediating role in the positive impact of
values on innovation. The article contributes to the literature by showing that some
elements of intellectual capital, such as entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurs’
personal values, interact to influence innovation in small businesses.