Perceptions of Self-Employment Among Mid-Career Executives in the People's Republic of China

Policy makers in transitional economies have recognized the importance of self-employment as a mechanism for economic growth. Institutional support, however, lags this recognition. Individuals, therefore, must draw on their personal characteristics to venture into self-employment. We used a variety of individual characteristics to capture an important antecedent of the transition to self-employment using data from 133 mid-career Chinese executives. At the most aggregate level, hierarchical regression showed that views on self-employment are positively related to having a self-employed relative and openness to experience. A more refined analysis indicated that a variety of individual characteristics are related to perceptions of self-employment. Using these findings, we conclude that public policy will create an environment of inter-generational entrepreneurial activity. We argued, moreover, that the continued transition from state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to privately owned enterprises will require the identification, training, and development of a new breed of self-employed individual.