Article
Regional Cultural
Context as a
Determinant of
Entrepreneurial
Behaviour: The
Case of Germany
Kadri Arrak
1
Anneli Kaasa
2
Urmas Varblane
3
Abstract
This exploratory article aims to take first steps towards understand-
ing whether a regional cultural background has, among other determi-
nants, an influence on a person’s entrepreneurial behaviour, relying on
the example of Germany. A multilevel approach is applied combining
the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor individual-level data about entre-
preneurship with up-to-date cultural dimensions indicators based on
Hofstede’s original approach at the regional (NUTS 1) level. The results
indicate that regional cultural context is an important determinant of
entrepreneurial behaviour. At that, different cultural dimensions have
different impacts, and the impact also differs across different stages of
entrepreneurship. A lower level of uncertainty avoidance in a region
could have a positive impact on early-stage entrepreneurship, whereas
The Journal of Entrepreneurship
1–31
© 2020 Entrepreneurship
Development Institute of India
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DOI: 10.1177/0971355719893501
journals.sagepub.com/home/joe
1
Economic Modelling, University of Tartu, Estonia.
2
Social and Cultural Studies in Economics, University of Tartu, Estonia.
3
International Business and Innovation, University of Tartu, Estonia.
Corresponding author:
Kadri Arrak, Economic Modelling, School of Economics and Business
Administration, University of Tartu, J. Liivi 4, 50409 Tartu, Estonia.
E-mail: kadri.arrak@ut.ee