PERSONAL VALUES SCALE: BRAZILIAN ENTREPREUNERS’ STARTUPS SAMPLE VALIDATION Escala de valores pessoais: validação da amostra de startups de empreendedores brasileiros

This study aims to validate the personal values that push up entrepreneurs to idealize startups in Brazil. The research respondents are incubated at SEBRAE’s centers, a Brazilian support service for micro and small companies, in Alto do Tietê region, São Paulo, Brazil. The empirical quantitative research used the PQV values scale, the Portrait Questionnaire Value, which evaluates individual values based on Schwartz's model of human values. Continuing the studies of this author, this research is made considering ten types of personal values and four areas that present the following indicators: 1. Conservation (conformity, tradition and security); 2. Openness to change (self-direction, stimulation and hedonism); 3. Self-enhancement (achievement and power); 4. Selftranscendence (benevolence and universalism or philanthropy). The scale contains 40 statements and describes people with different aims, interests and aspirations. A multidimensional scale (MDS), with the aid of R software, analyzed the results in order to position the values dimensions. The hypothesis that the predominant latent values are from the openness to change area was confirmed. Thus, the conclusion is that personal values related to openness to change, such as: self-determination, stimulation and hedonism or pleasure, are latent values in the entrepreneurs interviewed. These values are related to freedom, creativity, audacity and pleasure in their projects.


INTRODUCTION
Startups are scalable and repeatable business models, in which the main focus is to generate value for their customers through innovation. For the business model, an economic standard that generates a higher number of customers and profits, which are achieved in a short period, without a significant cost increase is used. It is believed that these entrepreneurs have a high influence on the lives of all people involved in the business and have a differentiated profile.
The concept of "Value" is easily mistaken with other concepts. In order to enlighten it, Rokeach (1973) establishes the criteria of what is not value. Thus, Value does not mean attitudes, social norms, needs, characteristics and interests. For the same author, Value is a lasting personal belief in which a specific mode of conduct or final existence state is socially preferable and desired. The author states that this definition could be explored by all social sciences. This same concept was applied and developed by Schwartz (1992;2005;2019) and Gouveia (2013), and will be described in the next session.
The hypothesis is that the values of "openness to change" are the most prevalent in this target audience. Therefore, empirical research is necessary to prove so. In the perspective of Schwartz (1992), startups' entrepreneurs constitute a fundamental element that reveals these individual's behavior, since values function as desirable aims, vary in importance and serve as people's life conviction. As the author claims, values express people's motivational aims and these aims will support and corroborate to a standard.

Entrepreneurs and the Startups
The concept of entrepreneurship has been widespread at a global level. In Brazil, it gained strength in the late 90's. This fact is linked to several reasons, but the main one is the small companies economic and social representativeness in a country's development (Nassif;Ghobril;Amaral, 2009). "There is a conviction that the countries' economic powers depend on their future entrepreneurs and on the competitiveness of their ventures" (Dornelas, 2017, p. 12). In this manner, entrepreneurship, as a natural persons' practice activity, involves key actions, such as recognizing an opportunity with business potential for exploration, which generates profitability (Baron and Shane, 2016).
This activity can start with the help of a startup. SEBRAE 1 is a national Brazilian, non-profitable institution that supports micro and small companies and encourages the opening of businesses. It offers a venue, called Business Center, open to everyone who wants to begin a startup. "A startup is a group of people looking for a repeatable and scalable business model, working in conditions of extreme uncertainty". Therefore, a startup is usually created from a combination of people and ideas. The business model has to be something amazing, once the market is dynamic and fast and there is a need for differentiation, in addition to the intense and extremely accelerated competition. (Perin, 2015, p. 10).
Then, like traditional business models, startups also need effective management, even though they have a different way to measure their development. "Startups have a destiny in mind: to create a prosperous business capable of changing the world" (Ries, 2012, p. 22). This way, it is clear that a startup level entrepreneur is different, with different characteristics from workers who submit themselves to the employee position in a traditional company. Accordingly, for Schneider (2012), the entrepreneur is someone who stands out for his/her ethical and moral values; his/her time dedicated to the business, the technologies recognition and his/her professional and personal relationships. Therefore, it is believed that the entrepreneur has a different profile and this will be researched in this study.

Personal Values
According to Rokeach (1973) and Schwartz (2012), value can be defined by enduring beliefs, that is, what the individual believes. Schwartz (2005) asserts that values are what individuals have as something important in their lives. In the same perspective of human values, Barrett (2009apud Correa, 2012 identifies seven stages in the improvement of personal awareness. Each stage is inherent to the human condition. Individuals' consciousness expands to the necessary extent to meet those needs. Individuals who dominate this set of needs, that is, who go from one level to the other wisely, respond appropriately to all challenges of life. Levels 1 to 3 focus on the physical needs, emotional and self-esteem survival, that is, ego satisfaction. The fourth level, focus on transformation, that is, a transition from individualism to the common good. It is at this level that the ego learns to detach its fears in order to align itself with the soul. Levels 5 to 7 focus on the common good, that is, finding meaning in life, making a difference in the world and being in the service of society. In short, value is a motivational construction that exceeds specific situations and actions, and governs the selection and evaluation of actions, policies, people and events. Nevertheless, Rokeach (1981, p.132) considers that "once the value is internalized it becomes, consciously or unconsciously, a standard or criterion to guide the action". Thus, values are organized into systems and hierarchized (Rokeach, 1973;Schwartz, 2012;Gouveia, 2013).
These authors proved this validity through empirical research; in addition, they systematically prove that values are changeable variants, that is, changes occur according to the social context where the individual is inserted, which is called trans-situational, and vary in importance and serve as principles in life. Continuing the studies of Rokeach (1973), Schwartz (1992) develops the research and concludes the existence of ten universal types of values, shared into four areas, called Motivational Circle, shown in Figure 1 and explained in methodology.
Each of these values represents the aim or motivation that expresses interests, which are individualists, collectivists or mixed, represented in Table 1, the way Cammarosano et al (2014) summarized.

METHODOLOGY
The methodology used originally was the literature review, to better understand the concepts used. In the aftermath, applied the empirical descriptive research of a non-correlational quantitative nature, as there are no relationship variables, only an instrument that seeks to quantify the sample data and administer any statistical analysis, as explains (Malhotra, 2001). The methodology used at first was the literature review, to better understand the concepts used. After that, the empirical descriptive research of non-correlational quantitative nature was applied, once there are no relational variables, only an instrument that seeks to quantify the sample data and apply it to any statistical analysis, as Malhorta (2001) explains.
In this research, we used the scale developed by Rokeach (1973), enhanced by Schwartz (2001) and validated in Brazil by Tamayo's (2005) research group. Continuing the studies of these authors, this research is developed considering: a) ten types of personal values, as shown in Table 1; b) four centers that present the following indicators: 1. Conservation (conformity, tradition and security); 2. Openness to change (selfdetermination, stimulation and hedonism); 3. Self-promotion (achievement and power); 4. Self-transcendence (benevolence and universalism or philanthropy), as shown in Figure 1; c) a scale that contains 40 statements that describe people with different aims, interests and aspirations, as shown in Figure 1.
The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire developed by Schwatz (1992), called PQV (Portrait Questionnaire Value), validated in Brazil by Tamayo (2005).
Hence, the respondents -Startups owners or idealizers, were located in Sebrae's incubators in Alto do Tiete, in the cities of São Paulo and ABC Paulista. The sample reached 33 participants, although the initial goal was to reach around 80 respondents belonging to these incubators. Participants responded to 40 statements from the PQV in which they inform, among the 10 motivational types, which are adherent to their profile. The scale considered 6 points, in which "1 looks a lot like me" and "6 doesn't look like me". Find below Figure 1, which represents the motivational circle paradigm, a model used to elaborate this research.

DATA ANALYSIS
A multidimensional scale (MDS) analyzed the results, with the R software assistance, in order to determine the dimensions of values. An MDS graph was used to provide an analysis of the structure of similarities between respondents so that it was possible to meet the design of a profile of personal values shared by this group of participants. Figure 2 shows this application. This way, the values presented at the edges of the table are related to the openness to change motivations, which are self-determination, stimulation and hedonism. These values are related to freedom, creativity, audacity and pleasure in interpersonal projects, as shown in Figure 1.
In the sequence, values related to self-promotion are observed, once power and accomplishment are at the edge of the picture. Therefore, it can be observed that the participants seek the achievement of their personal projects. Furthermore, most of the participants have values of social power, authority and take wealthiness seriously. Ambition, influence and intelligence are equally important for these entrepreneurs, as shown in Figure  1. In the conservation area, it could be observed that the value of security diverges from its origin of conservation and is isolated in a neutral area. The security value, both personal and social, proves to be something important, but that is treated as an exception. At the edge, where this conservation area is located, traditionalism is observed. It is understood that the respondents know that it is important to follow rules and traditions, however it is possible to conclude that tradition is not essential in the conduction of their attitudes and behaviors, although they consider it. Finally, more at the center of the picture, we analyze the area of self-transcendence where it is possible to say that there is a certain concern with social causes, such as benevolence and universalism, but in a low scale in relation to other values. Cultural preponderances were not considered, which can significantly alter the analyzes results.

CONCLUSION
This research aimed to validate the personal values that drive entrepreneurs to idealize startups in Brazil. The result of this quantitative empirical research confirms the hypothesis that the latent values prevalent in the participants are from the 'openness to change' area. Therefore, the conclusion is that personal values related to the opening of change, such as, self-determination, stimulation and hedonism or pleasure, are latent values in the surveyed entrepreneurs. These values are related to freedom, creativity, audacity and pleasure in interpersonal projects. The research used the PQV scale of values, Portrait Questionnaire Value, which assesses individual values based on Schwartz's model of human value. Continuing the studies of this author, this research is developed considering ten types of personal values and four areas that present the following indicators: 1. Conservation (conformity, tradition and security); 2. Openness to change (self-determination, stimulation and hedonism); 3. Self-promotion (achievement and power); 4. Self-transcendence (benevolence and universalism or philanthropy). The scale contains 40 statements and describes people with different aims, interests and aspirations. Personal values are cyclical, that is, they change according to individual's life (Schwartz, 2012) setbacks. There are routine, moral and cultural circumstances that transform people and make them behave and act in a totally opposite way to what is predetermined. So, these results will never be permanent. With the application of this research it was possible to design a unique profile, however standardizing people's behavior and motivation is something circumstantial, as these values may modified according to various eventualities and situations. The environment influences the values and, as the research sample was based on Startups in the São Paulo region, it should be considered that this is a booming region when it comes to the creation of Startups, including the Alto Tiete Region, which was essential for this research and has increasingly invested in this new business model. The contribution of this research focus on a study regarding behavior of startups entrepreneurs. It is possible to extend this study to other incubators centers. In this sense, these results could be related to other constructs in other regions and countries, expanding the investigation of entrepreneurs' personal values.