Entrepreneurial Readiness and Firm Growth: An Integrated Etic and Emic Approach

The increased contribution of entrepreneurs around the world necessitates the understanding of universal as well as culture-specific antecedents of entrepreneurial firm growth. Drawing upon the resource-based view and social cognitive theory, we theorize that entrepreneurial firm growth is shaped by both etic and emic forms of entrepreneurial readiness, which is comprised of entrepreneurial capability and willingness. We collected self-assessed data from entrepreneurs in Shanghai (N = 200, Study 1) and Bulgaria (N = 117, Study 3) and multiple-source data from entrepreneurs in Hong Kong (N = 158, Study 2). Results reveal insights into entrepreneurial readiness and firm growth in general and in the Chinese context in particular.