How social are entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurs play an important role in current society. The ways in which they influence and have an effect on the economy are extensive. Social capital has been shown to be important for entrepreneurship. Therefore, in this study, the relation between entrepreneurship and social networks and social personality is investigated. The empirical analysis uses data from the LISS (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social sciences). The LISS panel comprises over 5000 households in the Netherlands. It includes data on a wide variety of topics such as employment and income but also on personality, social organizations and social activities. A wide array of proxies are used to determine if social network and personality have an influence on entrepreneurial income. The results show that no significant relation could be found between entrepreneurial income and either active memberships, passive memberships, trust, social loneliness, time spent going out, or social network usage. A significant negative relation between twitter usage and entrepreneurial income was found as well as a significant positive relation between satisfaction with social contacts and the income of entrepreneurs.