Getting Down to Business _ The Scientist Magazine®
-
Upload
juanlin-yip -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Getting Down to Business _ The Scientist Magazine®
-
10/6/2015 Getting Down to Business | The Scientist Magazine
http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/39483/title/Getting-Down-to-Business/ 1/4
TheScientist Magazine Notebook
S
ANDRZEJKRAUZE
Getting Down to BusinessIsthereageneticcomponenttoentrepreneurialsuccess?
ByKerryGrens|April1,2014
cottShane,aneconomistatCaseWesternReserveUniversitywhohasbeenteaching
entrepreneurshipfor20years,hashearditallwhenitcomestohisundergraduatespitchingideasfornewbusinesses.Somestudentsputinextensivetimeandresearchtocomeupwithabusinessproposalthatflopswhentheytrytoexpressitasaconvincingpitch.Othersputinnoeffortandwingitafterglancingoversomeinformation,butcomeupwithamarvelousproposal.Itslikeanintuitivesense,Shanesays,liketheycouldseewhatthemarketplacewouldwant.
InShanesfield,businessphenomswhosoeffortlesslyproduceinnovativeideasandsucceedatstartingbusinessesareoftenreferredtoasbornentrepreneurs.Foryears,Shanesbeeninterestedinwhethersciencecouldcorroboratesuchageneticendowment.Soin2008,heturnedtoaUKregistryofseveralthousandtwinstofindout.Lookingateightmeasuresrelatedtoentrepreneurship,suchasthenumberofyearsselfemployedandthenumberofbusinessesowned,Shanecalculatedthatentrepreneurshipwasbetween30and55percentheritable(ManagementScience,54:16779,2008).Thatsnottrivial,hesays.
Ayearlater,ZhenZhang,nowamanagementprofessoratArizonaStateUniversity,followedupwithanothertwinstudy,butaddedatwist.Zhang
lookedatthesexoftheparticipantsfromadifferenttwinregistryandfoundthat,formen,geneticshadnothingtodowiththeirbecominganentrepreneur.Forwomen,ontheotherhand,startingabusinesswas65percentheritable(OrganizationalBehaviorandHumanDecisionProcesses,110:93107,2009).Zhanginterpretsthefindingsashavingtodowiththeextrahurdleswomenfaceinbusiness.Amongwomen,hespeculates,onlythosepeoplewhoarereallydetermined,whohavethatgeneticmakeup[totheiradvantage],emergeasentrepreneursbecauseofthehardshipintheenvironment.Formen,thesocialsupportsinthebusinesscommunitymighthelpovercomeanygeneticdisadvantage,Zhang
News Magazine Multimedia Subjects Surveys Careers
Juanlin Yip
Juanlin Yip
-
10/6/2015 Getting Down to Business | The Scientist Magazine
http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/39483/title/Getting-Down-to-Business/ 2/4
ScottShane,CaseWesternReserveUniversity
Its like an intuitive senselike they could see what themarketplace would want.
You
reasons.
Sowhatgenesmightbeatplayininfluencingbusinessacumen?Shaneandothershaveturnedtogenomewideassociationstudies(GWAS)tohuntforsinglenucleotidepolymorphisms(SNPs)thatmightbeinvolved.HisgroupandanotherheadedbyRoyThurik,anentrepreneurshipresearcherattheErasmusSchoolofEconomicsinRotterdam,Netherlands,showedthatthegenes,notsurprisingly,aredifficulttopinpoint.IntwoseparateGWASstudies,thegroupsidentifiedanumberofpromisingSNPs,noneofwhich,consideredinisolation,amountedtomorethan1percentofthevariance(InternationalJournalofDevelopmentalScience,6:12735,2012PLOSONE,8:e60542,2013).
Shanehasalsotakenadifferenttack,diggingintothepsychologyofentrepreneurs.Studieshaveshownthatentrepreneursareknowntohaveahigherlikelihoodforcertaintraits,suchasthrillseekingorextroversion.Someresearchershavesuggestedthatthrillseekershavedopaminetransportersandreceptorsthatmakethefeelgoodneurotransmitterlessavailable,Shaneexplains,therebydrivingthemtoseekoutextremestimulitogetarush.Perhapsdopaminecouldexplaintheattractiontothehighstakesworldofstartups.
In2011,inastudyofmorethan1,300twins,Shaneandhiscolleaguesfoundevidenceforapolymorphisminadopaminereceptorgeneasocalledcandidategenethatwasassociatedwithentrepreneurshipandcouldexplain0.5percentofthelikelihoodofbecominganentrepreneur(SmallBusinessEconomics,36:15155,2011).Thisisatinyamountofevidence...butitsthefirstevidenceofaspecificgene,Shanesays.
Theresultssuggestthatourbiologymightcontributetoadecisionasimportantandcomplexascareerchoice.Butthecandidategeneapproach,whichanalyzesgenesalreadythoughttobeinvolvedinaparticulartrait,asopposedtotheunbiasedapproachofGWAS,isoutdatedandunreliable,saysThurik.HebelievesthatGWAScouldofferanswers,iftherightphenotypeismeasuredandtherightdataareused.
Toestablishsomethingofanysignificanceyouneedanimmensedataset,saysThurik,addingthatnodatasetscurrentlycontaintherightscaleandmeasurementstoproperlylookforgenesinvolvedinstartingbusinesses.ThurikconcedesthathisownGWASstudyalsomeasuredthewrongoutcome,entrepreneurship,andinsteadshouldmeasuretheunderlyingpsychologythatdrivespeopletostartabusiness.Thatbeingsaid,withthewrongmeasureandthewrongphenotype,wecamesoclosetoidentifyingcandidategenes.
ThurikhasshownthatitispossiblethroughGWAStogetdowntothegeneticsofcomplexbehaviorsortraits.Lastyear,heandhiscolleaguesidentifiedSNPsassociatedwitheducationalattainment(Science,340:146771,2013).Whiletheresultsdontpointtoaneducationgene,theydemonstratetheutilityofGWASinsuchapplications.Thisisjustopeningadoorwithnopracticalimplication,andthisnowshouldconvincescientistsorpeoplewhofinance[suchresearch]todoitbetter.
Tagssinglenucleotidepolymorphism,genomewideassociationstudy,genetics&genomicsandentrepreneurs
Add a Comment
SignInwithyourLabXMediaGroupPassporttoleaveacomment
Notamember?RegisterNow!
Comments
Juanlin Yip
Juanlin Yip
Juanlin Yip
Juanlin Yip
Juanlin Yip
Juanlin Yip
Juanlin Yip