Determinants of business creation and its effects on entrepreneurial action: case of Tunisian senior entrepreneurs

Purpose Appreciating the need to promote senior entrepreneurship in the Tunisian context and recognizing the limited number of research studies related to them. This study aims to investigate the effect of individual and environmental determinants on the entrepreneurial action of seniors. Design/methodology/approach Based on survey data (n = 102) collected in 12 governorates of the Tunisian Republic, the hypotheses are tested statistically using logistic regression analysis. Findings This study reveals that financial capital has a positive effect on entrepreneurial action, unlike the level of education, perceived health, experience, social capital as well as the entrepreneurial environment, which do not exert effects on the entrepreneurial action of seniors. Otherwise, they are not determining factors in the entrepreneurship of seniors. Research limitations/implications Policy directives addressed to the Tunisian government and other private institutions include promoting support systems for senior entrepreneurs. On a practical level, Tunisian policymakers and heads of financial and administrative institutions must pay particular attention to senior entrepreneurship. Originality/value This research represents a clarification of qualified entrepreneurship form often referred to as a forgotten entrepreneurship suffering from an insufficiency of conceptual and empirical studies in the Tunisian context. It provides empirical evidence on the effect of individual and environmental determinants on the entrepreneurial action of seniors in an underresearched developing country context − Tunisia.