Attachment, Anxiety and the Entrepreneurial Mind: The Relationship Between Adult Attachment Style and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Understanding why some people are entrepreneurial and some are not, and why some societies are entrepreneurial and some are not, has been the focus of much attention in management studies, economics, sociology and psychology. A better understanding of what influences individual and societal entrepreneurship is important, if sustainable human progress is to be fostered through the encouragement of new business development. An important means of increasing knowledge of entrepreneurial behaviour is the development of a better understanding of the psychological factors involved in this form of human achievement. This research sheds light on one of the psychological antecedents of entrepreneurial behaviour by exploring the relationship between adult attachment style and entrepreneurship. Attachment theory suggests that the relationship an infant and it's primary caregiver (usually the mother) develop during the first 18 months of infancy, has important lifelong repercussions. The result of this relationship-building process is either a secure or an anxious attachment pattern. This very first human relationship becomes the template used in the development of subsequent close relationships. Adult attachment styles echo attachment styles identified in infanthood. One influential view of adult attachment patterns is that they are based on an individual's working model of self and working model of other. The attachment styles based on the working model theory are secure, dismissing, preoccupied and fearful: The first two being positive model-of-self attachment styles, and the latter two, negative model-of-self attachment styles. Entrepreneurship is a continuum of behaviour that is related to, and similar to, creativity. Creative people, and entrepreneurial people, appear to have shared similar, anxiety inducing, experiences in early childhood, and have many similar psychological characteristics. Thus, attachment theory, with its overtones of anxiety, may be related to both creative achievement, and entrepreneurship. This study explores the posited relationship between entrepreneurship and adult attachment style. In order to do this, a quantitative research protocol was developed that included the evaluation and modification of existing research instruments designed to measure the constructs of interest. The research proceeded through three main phases; the development of a theoretical argument relating entrepreneurship with attachment theory, a preliminary study that confirmed that theoretical association, and a main survey of small business owners that further explored the relationship. The findings of the research supported the claim that attachment style is related to entrepreneurship. The first important, but not surprising finding was that business ownership was associated with positive model-of-self attachment style, but not with negative model-of-self attachment styles. Entrepreneurial orientation was also associated with attachment style in that business owners scoring high on entrepreneurial orientation also scored high on either secure or dismissing attachment. Of particular interest here was the apparent gender effect. Male business owners with high entrepreneurial orientation tended towards a secure attachment style, whereas female business owners with high entrepreneurial orientation tended towards a dismissing attachment style. A gender effect was also evident in other aspects of business ownership such as founding status, growth aspirations and perceptions of performance satisfaction. The final finding was that the research supported the notion that entrepreneurship is, indeed, a characteristic that varies in intensity amongst individuals, and as such should be considered to be a trait-like characteristic. Findings relating to the relationship between gender, entrepreneurship and attachment style have important implications for several groups of stakeholders interested in entrepreneurship. Governments that attempt to foster entrepreneurial behaviour can benefit from a greater understanding of the varying support needs of individuals with different psychological dispositions. Business owners themselves will also benefit from an understanding of how their business practices and outcomes might be affected by attachment style. Business educators and entrepreneurship scholars now have a deeper understanding of the individual psychological dispositions that affect entrepreneurial behaviour. This research provides a new platform from which the entrepreneurial psychology can be explored.