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An analysis by Karim Messeghem, university professor, Frank Lasch, professor of entrepreneurship, and Justine Valette, professor of management sciences. And published by The conversation.
Entrepreneurship is a key factor in the health and wealth of society. It is also a formidable engine of economic growth. It fosters the innovation needed not only to exploit new opportunities, boost productivity and create jobs, but also to address some of society’s biggest challenges, such as Goals sustainable development (SDGs) United Nations.
Promoting entrepreneurship is therefore at the heart of many governments’ concerns around the world. In France, the business start-up figures have been achieved new recordswith closure one million new businesses in 2021, although this figure may be debunked due to the share of micro-entrepreneurship and platform-related entrepreneurship. Is it the reflection of an entrepreneurial culture that has developed and established itself in recent years? And how does France compare to other countries in its relationship to entrepreneurship?
To answer these questions, we conducted two studies in 2021 for the Global Entrepreneurship Observatory (GEM) within the LabEx Entreprendre of the University of Montpellier. The first focuses on entrepreneurial activity and is conducted among the French population aged between 18 and 64 (Study APS); the second concerns the national entrepreneurial ecosystem and is carried out with a panel of experts (NES study). These two studies are replicated in other countries by national teams belonging to the GEM, which makes an international comparison possible.
Average France
The study conducted among the experts shows in particular that, among the G7 countries, there is a certain similarity in the perception of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is generally perceived as favorable. Only the United States (5.3/10) stands out slightly. A strong similarity can be noted between countries such as Germany, Canada and France (5.1/10) for which overall conditions are perceived as quite favourable. Conversely, these conditions are perceived as less favorable for Italy and Japan (4.7/10).
Among the 19 richest countries participating in the GEM, France stands out in terms of government policies (4And/19). The efforts made at national and regional levels over the last twenty years to promote entrepreneurship are therefore recognized and have contributed to the emergence of a particularly dynamic ecosystem of support for entrepreneurship.
However, France falls behind on cultural and social norms (18And/19) and on entrepreneurship education at primary and secondary level (17And/19). Therefore, the entrepreneurial revolution does not yet seem to show all its effects on society and efforts are still needed to spread an entrepreneurial culture. Similarly, the issue of market access appears to be a weakness (17And/19) of the French entrepreneurial ecosystem, which weakens the development of emerging companies.
Positive representation
The assessment of entrepreneurial activity in a country, and therefore the weight of entrepreneurial culture, can be evaluated using four indicators. It is a matter of evaluating: if entrepreneurship is perceived as a desirable career choice, if it confers a high social status, if it is appreciated by the media and finally if it is easy to undertake in France. This is what we did in the general population survey.
If we compare France to the G7 economies, it is again in the middle. For just over two-thirds of French respondents, entrepreneurship is a desirable career choice. However, only a small majority (55.4%) believe that today it is a matter of high social status.
This positive representation is an indicator of the evolution of entrepreneurial culture. The latter is influenced by the media which contribute to spreading a more or less favorable image of entrepreneurship. The vast majority of French people believe, both in the media and on the Internet, that stories of successful start-ups are highlighted (figure 8).
We can mention, for example, the program “Who wants to be my partner” on M6 which sees entrepreneurs looking for funds as protagonists. This reality show, which has been present in other countries for twenty years, was broadcast for the first time in France in 2021 and helps to democratize entrepreneurship and the question of fundraising.
Beyond perceived desirability, the question of perceived feasibility is important. Depending on the country and time, perceived barriers related to ease of registration and burden of bureaucracy can slow entrepreneurial intention and behavior. A small majority believe that starting a business in France is easy (Figure 9).
For twenty years, in fact, public authorities have been adopting measures to simplify business creation. This perception varies widely from one country to another: the US, Canada and the UK stand out in their sense that it is easier to undertake than Japan, Italy or Germany.
” Earn a living “
However, according to our study, the strongest motivation of entrepreneurs is “to earn a living because jobs are scarce” (51.2%). This result suggests that most of them undertake the entrepreneurial adventure out of necessity. This score is highest in Canada (70.7%), Italy (61.3%) or the United Kingdom (63.8%). On the other hand, it is lower in the United States (45.8%), Germany (40.9%) and Japan (40.1%).
To a lesser extent, entrepreneurs aim for an entrepreneurial career to “build great wealth or obtain a very high income” (39.4%). The other two reasons concern only a quarter to a fifth of entrepreneurs. Starting a business motivated by the desire to make a difference in the world is expressed by only 25.8% of the entrepreneurs interviewed, while in the United States (71.2%) and Canada (70.4%) the percentages are much higher. The same goes for the motivation to “perpetuate a family tradition” which concerns only 22.9% of entrepreneurs in France against 41.5% in the United States and 50% in Canada.
The study therefore confirms the idea that France is becoming an entrepreneurial society. However, the entrepreneurial culture does not seem to permeate the entire society. Actions are still needed to remove some obstacles. As the panelists point out, France lags behind other richer countries in entrepreneurship education at primary and secondary level.
Fundamentals of entrepreneurship education at primary and secondary level could, for example, allow on the one hand to better understand good practices in France and abroad and, on the other hand, to design a strategy adapted to the diversity of contexts.
This article is republished by The conversation licensed under creative commons. Read theoriginal article.