Abstract
The contemporary world is continuously changing. These changes are dynamic and take place under the influence of some social, economic, political, and cultural processes, subject to a global economy. Its further active development will depend both on their ability to compete more and more based on non-cost factors as well as existing external constraints, including regulatory barriers. Based on anonymous surveys, the chapter aims to present an analysis of motives, fears, problems, support, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of creating and running startups by people aged 50+.
TopIntroduction To The Main Focus
Understood as a manifestation of resourcefulness and initiative, entrepreneurship is recognized as one of the pillars of economic development and what is connected with it - development of societies. It can be considered in different dimensions. The essence of entrepreneurship lies in initiating the creation of projects, as well as new forms of activity that would meet the needs and generate profits and enable reproduction and development of entrepreneurship (Kożuch, & Dyndalewicz, 2004). These are all activities that include the identification, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities for introducing new products and new services or ways of organizing, new markets, raw materials (Shane, 2003).
Entrepreneurship, usually defined as a set of traits, predispositions, attitudes, talent, economic initiative, innovative activity, has various faces. Using the division due to the organizational and legal form and the type of inspiration understood as a stimulating factor, three types of entrepreneurship are distinguished: individual, corporate (internal), and family (Koźmiński, 2004; Chodyński, 2008; Chyba, 2015). Among them, the role of an essential initiator of economic development in various scales of spatial systems is attributed to individual entrepreneurship, which by self-employment is considered an important strategy to make the labor market more flexible1 (Lemańska-Majdzik, 2008, 2013; Czerniachowicz, 2011; Szepelska, 2013). Individual entrepreneurship as an alternative way of employment prevents the escalation of unemployment. People who look for wage labor unsuccessfully allow them to return to the group of employees. Those entrepreneurs who created jobs (switchers) increase the demand for work (Kaczorowski, 2011; Tyrowicz, 2011).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Reward-Seeking Entrepreneurship: Most often encountered at the beginning of a career working path, it is the creation of startups searching for better working conditions and salaries.
GUS: Acronym of Glówny Urzad Statystyczny (in Polish), it is the Central Statistical Office in Poland.
Idiosyncratic Entrepreneurship: Sort of entrepreneurship defined by self-employment.
Outsourcing: A business strategy focused on the reduction of fixed costs.
Lifestyle Entrepreneurship: Type of entrepreneurship ruled by the search of a work-life balance.
Independence-Seeking Entrepreneurship: Sort of entrepreneurship defined by putting the need for independence first.
Offshoring: Business relocation defined by the transfer of production or distribution systems to another country or region.
Professional Entrepreneurship: It refers to self-employed people who gain working experience by joining professional teams.