Attitudes toward entrepreneurship and small business

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitudes towards and knowledge about entrepreneurship and small business among the people of Nebraska, a mid‐western state in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses the importance of understanding attitudes and knowledge about entrepreneurship at the state‐level. It uses a parsimonious framework to present the findings based on data collected by a Gallup Organization survey of Nebraska residents and small business owners. Findings – Data reveals low interest in becoming entrepreneurs among Nebraskans. Interestingly, however, Nebraskans believe their educational experience is significantly more valuable and applicable to business start‐up than does the US general population. They are also less likely than the US population to believe that successful entrepreneurs and small businesses should give back to their communities. Practical implications – The paper highlights the need to examine attitudes and beliefs about entrepreneurship in individual states and comparing the findings from the state level data to those from the national data. The results have important implications for teachers interested in providing training to potential entrepreneurs, as well as policy‐makers in states such as Nebraska interested in encouraging entrepreneurial activity in their state. Originality/value – This paper is the first study to focus on attitudes and beliefs about entrepreneurship among the people of Nebraska, a rural state in USA, an otherwise highly industrialized country. It is also the first study to use the data collected at the state‐level to compare it to findings from a national sample.