• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.15-25
• /
• 2018

As jobless growth became the new norm and the average life expectancy continues to increase, it is difficult to find quality jobs regardless of gender. In this situation, entrepreneurs who can take charge of creating quality jobs have begun to gain attention from governments. As a result, many startup support programs have been introduced and operated. In Korea, various government-sponsored startup support programs have been in operation since the late 2000s, and the number of startups has increased since. However, there are many cases where they are not able to maintain their business for a long time because such programs often lack expertise and experience. Mentoring programs for startup founders is becoming an attractive solution to these problems. However, when we look at the responses of entrepreneurs, they found the mentoring program beneficial only when it was well planned and operated. Otherwise, they found the program unhelpful. Although there are many startup mentoring programs in various fields, there is little research on whether customized mentoring that matches the characteristics of startups and entrepreneurs are effective. In this study, we study the effects of startup mentoring on mentoring satisfaction. Our model also intends to identify the moderating effects of entrepreneurs' characteristics and provide guidance to future startup mentoring.