The dual effect of the age of the entrepreneur on the innovation performance of the micro-enterprises

Abstract

This paper aims to determine whether the traditional consideration by the scientific literature of the negative influence of the age of the micro-entrepreneur on the innovation performances of the business, can become positive when using information and communication technology (ICT) and developing strategies of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and diversification. The study was conducted using a sample of 148 micro Spanish companies. The results have been contrasted by two models, one without interactions to test the main effects of each of the variables under study; and a second model that includes interactions of the variable age with these moderator variables. The results show that the use of ICTs and the development of CSR activities by micro-entrepreneurs moderate the negative effect of the variable age over the innovation performance of the micro-enterprise. In contrast, the diversification decision enhances this negative effect.