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Technology Adoption and Product Innovation by Third-Age Entrepreneurs: Evidence from GEM Data

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Handbook of Research on Elderly Entrepreneurship

Abstract

While innovation remains a focus of policymakers, very little is known about how older entrepreneurs adopt new technology or introduce new products. Similarly, demographic studies of entrepreneurship are mostly interested in non-age-related demographic influences on entrepreneurial behavior. In this study we examine how age influences the choice of innovative entrepreneurship by considering both technology adoption and product innovation by those who enter entrepreneurship late in their career (over 50 years old). Our results suggest that as in other spheres of life, third-age entrepreneurs tend to lag behind their younger counterparts in technology adoption and innovation. This is extremely significant as, due to the aging population in many countries, it could have serious consequences for the overall development and growth of high impact entrepreneurship. We suggest some measures to address this issue.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Older people are more likely to be retired and hence less likely to be actively looking for work. Hence, their labor force participation rate will be low.

  2. 2.

    Entrepreneurial potential is defined as the number of people thinking about starting a business or in early-stage entrepreneurship (Kautonen 2013).

  3. 3.

    Other terms associated with older-age entrepreneurship are gray entrepreneurship, senior entrepreneurship, or late-career entrepreneurship.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France

    Ana Colovic

  2. PSB Paris School of Business, Paris, France

    Olivier Lamotte

  3. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas, Cali, Colombia

    Manoj Chandra Bayon

Authors
  1. Ana Colovic
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  2. Olivier Lamotte
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  3. Manoj Chandra Bayon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Colovic .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. IPAG Business School, Paris, France

    Adnane Maâlaoui

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Colovic, A., Lamotte, O., Bayon, M.C. (2019). Technology Adoption and Product Innovation by Third-Age Entrepreneurs: Evidence from GEM Data. In: Maâlaoui, A. (eds) Handbook of Research on Elderly Entrepreneurship. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13334-4_7

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