Professor Matthias Fink and Professor Teemu Kautonen, both of Anglia Ruskin Universitys Institute for International Management Practice, conducted the entreprenurial research alongside Dr Marco van Gelderen of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
The survey reached out to individuals with a desire to engage in entrepreneurial activities within a year, though 69 per cent took few or no steps to getting their venture up and running within the 12 months that followed.
Breaking down the data, the researchers discovered that self-control is a key attribute required within people if they truly want to see their ideas brought to fruition.
Kautonen, enterprise and innovation professor, said: A moderate level of self-control is essential for a startup intention to develop into concrete activity. The higher the level of self-control, the more likely it is for a person intending to become an entrepreneur to put their money where their mouth is.
The ability to maintain control means that emotions are less likely to cloud their judgement, according to the findings, which is particularly important as doubt, fear and aversion are common feelings that can come into play when building an enterprise.
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With doubt of skills in mind, the data claimed that it’s unlikely the entrepreneurial intentions and business startup ideas will actually materialise into realistic actions. By contrast, someone with high self-control who may experience doubt will have a better way to manage the emotion and keep it in check.
The results follow a report from 17 January that revealed SME growth is connected to effective time management, as organisation and punctuality can makes it 20 per cent more likely that businesses will experience higher growth margins than those with poor use of time.
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