Abstract

The main objective of this study is to identify the elements that show the influence of age and gender on entrepreneurial behavior characteristics observed in both enterprising professionals and students of Business Administration. It was based on a survey with 851 professionals registered by the Regional Board of Directors of Business Administration of Bahia and with 207 students from public and private universities in Salvador, Bahia. Our hypothesis was that the age and gender of the respondents influence their entrepreneurial profile. The results associated with a structural modeling equation indicated that gender did not show a significant relationship with entrepreneurship since the age variable explains the variability of this construct. This study, therefore, may contribute to students’ education and the updating of professional entrepreneurs since these findings indicate specific patterns of limitations and biases concerning entrepreneurship.

Key words: Age, gender, entrepreneurs, behavioral characteristics, Structural Equation Modeling.