Founders’ Social Class Origin, Risk-Taking, and Venture Performance: A Bourdieusian Lens
研究创始人童年社会阶层出身如何通过冒险行为影响创业绩效，并发现领域内社会资本会调节这一路径，对理解阶层如何塑造创业行为有启发。
This study adopts a Bourdieusian lens to examine how founders’ social class origin influences venture performance through a central aspect of entrepreneurial habitus—risk-taking. In Study 1, we find that risk-taking mediates the relationship between social class origin and venture performance, advantaging those from higher social class origins. In an archival dataset, we show that an alternative measure of childhood social class similarly predicts risk-taking among self-employed individuals. In Study 2, we investigate how field-specific social capital moderates this pathway through founders’ social networks. These findings advance understanding of how early-life social class conditions shape entrepreneurial behavior and performance and imply the need for more nuanced and class-inclusive support within entrepreneurial ecosystems.