ENTREPRENEURIAL POTENTIAL AND SUCCESS IN BUSINESS: A STUDY ON ELEMENTS OF CONVERGENCE AND EXPLANATION

ABSTRACT Purpose: The study aimed to verify whether there is a difference of entrepreneurial potential between successful entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who have failed; and whether there are variables that may work as a means of prediction to the success or failure of an entrepreneur. Originality/gap/relevance/implications: It brings up an innovative approach to the entrepreneurship researches, which main content is in the empirical operationalization of success and failure on business for the testing of specific hypothesis and the identification of the antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurial potential. Key methodological aspects: The research was conducted on a descriptive and quantitative approach. We applied the scale of entrepreneurial potential in 246 entrepreneurs, which 100 correspond to the analysis criteria, operationally, as successful entrepreneurs (n = 50) and entrepreneurs who failed (n = 50). Data were analysed by statistics techniques of logistic regression and Student's t test. Summary of key results: Results show that the successful entrepreneur has higher scores in entrepreneur potential scale than the entrepreneur who failed, in which the main convergence between entrepreneurial potential and business success is the setting business goals. In the investigated sample, the gender showed being a strong predictor of business success, indicating that men have 2.8 times greater chance of success in business than women. Key considerations/conclusions: In our opinion, the results found shed light on crucial elements to the explanation of business success and corroborate recent results brought by research on entrepreneurship and gender.