Research On Influencing Factors And Configuration Paths Of Senior Entrepreneurship In China

With the intensification of population aging,how to reasonably develop and manage the human resources of the elderly and encourage more of them to continue to participate in social and economic activities has become an important issue related to the national economy and people’s livelihood.The simple implementation of delayed retirement may harm the original working-age population.As a social phenomenon of participating in social and economic activities,senior entrepreneurship has the opportunity to provide a new way for China to respond to population aging actively.In recent years,in developed countries with a relatively aging population,senior entrepreneurs have expanded rapidly,and so have the senior entrepreneurial policies and measures that have achieved remarkable results.The research on senior entrepreneurship is generally in the initial stage.Overall,it is far behind the rapid development of senior entrepreneurship in China and needs to be further sorted,explored,and discovered.This research is based on the theory of planned behavior,psychological capital,social capital,human capital,and financial capital.Through comprehensive qualitative research and quantitative analysis with the help of data analysis software such as Cite Space,Nvivo.12,Smart PLS3.0,fs/QCA 3.0,we try to answer the following questions: What are the characteristics of senior entrepreneurs in China? What factors influence the entrepreneurial willingness of senior entrepreneurs in China? What is the relationship between the influencing factors,and what configuration paths can be used to promote the generation of high-level entrepreneurial willingness? How to reasonably guide senior entrepreneurship? The primary processes and conclusions of the research are as follows:In the research stage of the influencing factors of senior entrepreneurship,through qualitative research with 25 senior entrepreneurs as the research object and based on the grounded theory research paradigm.The characteristics of senior entrepreneurs in China are supplemented from three aspects: the attributes of senior entrepreneurs,the elements of senior entrepreneurship under the theory of planned behavior,and the influence of venture capital on silver-aged entrepreneurship.More importantly,we constructed a model of influencing factors of senior entrepreneurship in China.The seven influencing factors include "psychological capital","social capital","human capital","financial capital","opportunity attitude","subjective norm",and "perceived control",which directly affect senior entrepreneurship.The seven influencing factors represent the 7main categories formed under the grounded theory research paradigm in qualitative research;each main category contains 3-4 sub-categories.There are noticeable differences between the existing theoretical framework of planned behavior,entrepreneurial capital theories,and the influencing factors of senior foreign entrepreneurs.In the research stage of the configuration path of senior entrepreneurship,the scope of the research object is expanded to people aged 50 and above.Through the design,testing,and distribution of the Senior Entrepreneurial Willingness Questionnaire,the758 valid sample data collected will be tested and analyzed by the QCA method.We transformed the model of influencing factors of senior entrepreneurship constructed in the previous research stage.The analysis results of necessary conditions show that senior entrepreneurial willingness can be regarded as a complex configuration.A single influencing factor cannot directly lead to the formation of senior entrepreneurial willingness.However,informing senior entrepreneurial willingness,individuals have accumulated considerations of psychological capital,social capital,human capital,and financial capital that outweigh the review of one’s own short-term and present opportunity attitudes,subjective norms,and perceived control.In addition,high levels of psychological,social,and human capital are conducive to promoting senior entrepreneurial willingness.Still,a high level of financial capital will inhibit senior entrepreneurial willingness.The analysis results of configuration conditions show that among the 2187 possible configuration paths of influencing factors,there are three types of 7 configuration paths that can explain the formation of the high-level entrepreneurial intention of the vast majority of senior entrepreneurs in China.There are three state paths,three diverse configuration paths,and one difficult configuration path.The main contributions of this study include:(1)The characteristics of senior entrepreneurs in China are presented.Through literature review and comparison of young and middle-aged entrepreneurs,qualitative research supplements the characteristics of China’s senior entrepreneurs in terms of advantages,disadvantages,opportunities,and challenges.The features of the concepts and dimensions of the three preconditions in the theory of planned behavior,the features that entrepreneurial capital drives senior entrepreneurship,and the positive influence of psychological capital,social capital,and human capital are more significant than that of financial means.The heterogeneity of senior entrepreneurs is helpful to call for more exploratory study with senior entrepreneurs in China as the research objects.(2)Preliminarily constructed,tested,and refined the model of influencing factors of senior entrepreneurship in China.On the one hand,this research attempts to systematically and theoretically summarize the phenomenon of senior entrepreneurship in China and presents the research cycle of theoretical construction and application.On the other hand,there are different findings among the specific object,which expands the research scope of the theory of planned behavior and capital theory in entrepreneurship.(3)It provides policy recommendations for senior entrepreneurship in line with China’s strategic goal of actively responding to population aging.Based on China’s policy planning,research results,and foreign entrepreneurship measures,six 13 policy recommendations are put forward to reasonably guide entrepreneurship in China,providing theoretical and practical references for policy researchers and policymakers.(4)Consolidate the previous achievements of senior entrepreneurship research.This research sorts out and supplements the characteristics and characteristics of senior entrepreneurs in China,designs and tests a questionnaire on senior entrepreneurship willingness,initially explores the influencing factors and configuration paths of senior entrepreneurship,and sorts out the mainstream senior entrepreneurship at home and abroad.The research results and policy measures provide basic materials,research ideas,and tool references for more extensive and in-depth research in senior entrepreneurship in China.