Generational Transition and Entrepreneurial Profiles: Senior in Comparison with Junior. A Survey in a Group of Small Sized Businesses

Generational transition in small and micro-sized enterprises is at a crucial moment for the European economy. The survey proposes to understand some variables that involve the protagonists and see how marked they can be in the entrepreneurial profile between Senior and Junior (through the Entrepreneurial Aptitude Test) and varied visions concerning expertise, roles and relationships within the enterprise (through the Generational Transition Questionnaire). The subjects are 94 entrepreneurs (Senior: age average 57.9 – sd 7.4; Junior: 29.3 – 6.5). The results on the entrepreneurial aptitude indicate light differences between the two generations but some significant statistics emerged (p value: <.05) for the Seniors’ answers to specific items (if I give myself a goal at work, I want to realize it at all costs, I want my work to give me the opportunity to be fulfilled, I am willing to give up my days off if I have work that must be completed). Seniors are generally gifted with greater entrepreneurial aptitude compared to their Juniors and they show more commitment and involvement. The two generations find agreement on mutual attribution of expertise: Juniors on “technological and data processing personal updating” and Seniors on “cash management and investments”. Agreement is reached in describing generational transition as a little problem and in defining the relationships between them as being completely harmonious. However, in this last case, Juniors show significantly less satisfaction. The same is true for “mutual positive comments”: Juniors feel that they receive less appreciation from Seniors than vice versa. We can see that some differences emerge and that the resulting data reveal that this crucial moment can be influenced by these personal variables also.