Article In: orcid

The entrepreneurship fountain of youth: younger management ranks generate more entrepreneurs

Journal of Business Venturing

Rui Agostinho; Rui Baptista; Peter van der Zwan — 2025 — Elsevier

Key information

Authors:

Rui Agostinho; Rui Baptista; Jolanda Hessels; Hugo Castro-Silva (Hugo Miguel Fragoso de Castro Silva); Peter van der Zwan

Published in

July 2025

Abstract

The present paper argues and tests the proposition that firms with older top and middle managers produce fewer entrepreneurs, because these firms offer less chances to their employees to enter managerial positions that provide valuable experience for entrepreneurship (rank effect theory). Empirical work using linked employer-employee microdata for Portugal support this. The rank effect is stronger in firms with older top managers. Employees who progress slower into managerial ranks are not pushed into entrepreneurship but are more likely to take on jobs as employees in other firms. Overall, our results suggest that firms with younger management ranks offer more chances for workers to enter managerial positions and, therefore, spawn more entrepreneurs.

Publication details

Authors in the community:

Publisher

Elsevier

Link to the publisher's version

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902625000308?via%3Dihub

Title of the publication container

Journal of Business Venturing

Volume

40

Issue

4

ISSN

0883-9026

DOI

10.1016/j.jbusvent.2025.106502

Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)

economics-and-business - Economics and business

Publication language (ISO code)

eng - English

Rights type:

Open access