Why Rebels Build Startups
— and Rule-Followers Don’t

”People who care deeply about doing the right thing — the ones most likely to want to improve the world — may be the least likely to become entrepreneurs.”

In a nutshell

Some people break the rules to make things better — and those people are more likely to become entrepreneurs. But if they believe too strongly in always doing things by the book, they might never take the leap.

In a Bigger Nutshell

Entrepreneurs are often celebrated for thinking outside the box. But for those who see the box as a framework of values and responsibilities, stepping outside it can feel less like innovation and more like a series of ethical compromises. This tension lies at the heart of this recent study that explores one piece of the puzzle behind why some people lean into entrepreneurship while others don’t, even if they’re otherwise capable. It turns out that alongside skills and ambition, how people relate to rules — and whether they’re willing to bend them — can strongly shape their path into entrepreneurship.

Across two studies, the authors explore what they call “virtue-based rule-breaking”: the tendency to bend or break rules when it’s seen as the right thing to do. In a lab experiment, participants were rewarded for quietly breaking meaningless rules. In a second study with working adults, the focus shifted to “prosocial” rule-breaking: violating norms to help customers, colleagues, or communities. In both cases, those who broke more rules were more likely to want to start a business or already had. But this tendency only led to entrepreneurship when it came with a more flexible sense of right and wrong, or what the researchers refer to as “idealism.”

Publication Date: 13 June 2025

Authors: Leidy Cubillos-Pinilla, Sylvia Hubner-Benz, Pierre Balthazard, Franziska Emmerling, Claudia Peus

Institutions: Technical University of Munich, University of Paderborn, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Study Type: Mixed-method (behavioural experiment and survey)

Sample Size: 132 participants (Study 1), 292 participants (Study 2)

Research Focus: Ethical underpinnings of entrepreneurial intention and involvement

Research Methodology: Study 1 used a computerised lab task; Study 2 surveyed working adults on rule-breaking tendencies and entrepreneurial status

Main Findings: Rule-breaking tendencies predict entrepreneurial intentions. Low idealism amplifies the relationship between rule-breaking and entrepreneurship. High idealism dampens this effect due to cognitive dissonance.

Citation: Cubillos-Pinilla, L., Hubner-Benz, S., Balthazard, P., Emmerling, F., & Peus, C. (2025). I make my own rules: The role of rule-breaking and ethics in driving entrepreneurial intention and involvement. Journal of Small Business Management. Link

Idealism, in this context, means holding on to strict moral principles and believing that doing the right thing always means following the rules. People high in idealism were less likely to see rule-breaking as acceptable, even when it served a good cause. And that seemed to hold them back from entrepreneurship, where situations are often messy, the rules don’t always make sense, and bending them can sometimes be necessary to get something good off the ground.

This creates a real tension. People who care deeply about doing the right thing — the ones most likely to want to improve the world — may be the least likely to become entrepreneurs. Not because they lack ideas or drive, but because the path looks morally uncomfortable. And if they do try, the constant ethical grey areas may lead them to pull back or burn out.

This in turn raises important questions for educators and those working to support future entrepreneurs. If people with strong moral ideals are less likely to pursue entrepreneurship, not due to lack of capability, but because of ethical discomfort, how might we design environments that better support them? One possibility is to explore how entrepreneurship education addresses the tension between ethics and action. Rather than treating rule-breaking as inherently negative or glossing over the moral ambiguity of real-world ventures, programmes could offer space to reflect on when and why certain rules may need to be challenged. Moral flexibility doesn’t have to mean abandoning one’s values — it can also mean learning how to uphold them in complex, imperfect systems.

For purpose-driven individuals who want to change the world, the entrepreneurial path should feel both accessible and principled. This research suggests that finding ways to support those navigating ethical dilemmas could be key to broadening who sees themselves as an entrepreneur, and who stays the course. Because if entrepreneurship really is one of the most powerful ways to create change, then understanding who opts out and why might be just as important as understanding who jumps in.