AVE Study | III Business Leader Barometer

Business leaders continue to be viewed positively or very positively for the third consecutive year.

With the presentation of the III Business Leader Barometer, a study conducted by the Valencian Business Association (AVE) with technical support from GAD3. At the press conference, Narciso Michavila and Sara Morais, president and managing director of GAD3, presented the survey and the main results of the study. The presentation and closing remarks were given by Vicente Boluda, president of AVE. Joaquín Maudos, deputy director of the Ivie Research Centre, highlighted the value of entrepreneurs.

In the surveys, we asked about the perception of entrepreneurs, as we have been doing in the three barometers carried out since 2023: eight out of ten respondents maintain a positive or very positive perception of Spanish entrepreneurs. The main attributes highlighted were perseverance (11%), leadership (11%) and friendliness (10%).

What role did business owners play in the DANA?

We asked respondents what their perception was of the role played by business owners in the wake of the DANA tragedy in Valencia, especially in the affected areas and towns: more than 65% of the population believes that business owners played a significant or very significant role in the wake of this disaster. And how did they help? Respondents believe that the donation of products and resources, at 64%, was the main form of assistance provided by business leaders who collaborated with those affected by the DANA, followed by logistical support, at 48%, and direct financial aid, at 42%.

Women business leader in Galicia and Catalonia face the greatest difficulties in carrying out their business activities.

In a sector dominated by male profiles, we asked: ‘Do you think that women entrepreneurs have more difficulties in performing their duties?’ The autonomous communities with the greatest difficulties are Galicia and Aragon, both with 58% of respondents perceiving that women face difficulties in performing their duties as entrepreneurs. In Castilla-La Mancha, this opinion is less common, with 46%.

According to respondents, the main reasons why women face more difficulties in starting a business are the difficulty of balancing family life, chosen by 84%, less access to professional opportunities, by 83%, and the lack of female role models, by 80%.

Six out of ten respondents believe that young people also face these kinds of difficulties.

61% of respondents believe that young entrepreneurs face significant difficulties in carrying out their roles, a perception that is also shared to a significant extent by young people themselves between the ages of 18 and 29. This view is particularly pronounced in regions such as the Community of Madrid, Catalonia and Aragon, where respondents show greater sensitivity to the challenges faced by new generations of entrepreneurs.