Research design

In this study, the researchers used the multilevel approach since it deals with the
relationship between the cultural dimension and entrepreneurship to simultaneously analyse the
data from combined individual-level entrepreneurship data from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
(GEM) and the regional level by Kaasa et al.

Moreover, the independent variable focus is on cultural dimensions while the dependent
variables are early-stage entrepreneurship and established business ownership.

Logistic regression method is used to appropriately describe data and explain whether
regional cultural context matters to entrepreneurship. This enables assessing the influence of the
independent variables to the dependent binary variables. Early-stage entrepreneurship and
established business ownership will be analyzed using the same variables except the income and
fear of failure will be excluded in the analysis for established business owners, to ensure comparison
between them.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Cultural dimensions-regional level cultural
dimensions simplified by Hofstedes are power
distance (PDI) , uncertainty avoidance (UAI),
individualism-collectivism (IND) and
masculinity-femininity (MAS).
 Established business ownership- those who are
currently owner-manager of an established
business.
 Early-stage entrepreneurship- those who are
either a nascent entrepreneur or owner or
manager of a new business.

Source of information/data

For conducting the study, the source of data was the combined GEM entrepreneurship data
(individual level) with interpretation of Hofstedes cultural dimensions (regional level) by Kaasa et al.
(2014) wherein the regions in the study are based on the NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for
Statistics).

The entrepreneurship data was derived for the GEM Adult Population Survey (APS) for
Germany for the year 2014. Specifically, the data respondents are aged 18-64 and are early-stage
entrepreneurs or owning an established business.

The data about the cultural dimensions are obtained from Kaasa et al. (2014), describing the
cultural dimensions of Hofstede’s (1980, 2001) original study.

Regarding individual level control variables, age, gender, education, household income and
fear of failure are obtained from GEM. While the society-level control variables, formal institutional
environment and the level of human capital were obtained from the German Federal Statistical
Office (Destatis, Statistisches Bundesamt, 2015)

Data Gathering Method

 With regards to the multi-level approach, clustering, fixed-effects, random-effects,
population averaged logit models and multilevel mixed-effects logistic models were analyzed, they
used the previous study of Kaasa et al. (2014) with relation to the study of Hofstedes (1980, 2001).
Data from the GEM and German Federal Statistical Office were taken into account.