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Crossing the Entrepreneurial Rubicon: A Longitudinal Investigation
Abstract
The dynamics leading from intention to start-up remain poorly understood. Drawing on the mindset theory of action phases, our empirical study identifies a motivational and a volitional phase in the pre-start-up stage. Only during the motivational phase does entrepreneurial intention help identify future starters. Once individuals have crossed the so-called entrepreneurial Rubicon, it no longer matters. We also show that, through this process, the support needs expressed by individuals evolve to become implementation-driven. To our knowledge, this is the first study to apply the mindset theory of action phases to nascent entrepreneurship. We discuss key implications for researchers and practitioners.
... The tasks of planning and acting on goal implementation prime an implemental mindset (Gollwitzer, 1990). In the example of entrepreneurship, scholars measure so called gestation actions, such as conducting market research to estimate if individuals already adapted an implemental mindset towards the goal of becoming an entrepreneur (Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018). While the general nature of Gollwitzer' s work makes it applicable to a wide variety of contexts, such as entrepreneurship (Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018) globalization (Clapp-Smith & Lester, 2014), and frugal innovation (Krohn & Herstatt, 2019), it does not include any specific contextual factors as such. ...
... This action focused cognitive orientation is characterized by a tuning towards deepening the understanding of customers' needs and contexts as well as creatively and efficiently using available resources to develop frugal solutions." (Krohn & Herstatt, 2019, p. 172) The first author was mainly influenced by mindset and intention research from the field of entrepreneurship (Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018;Krueger, 2007b;Van Gelderen, et al., 2008)) and attempts to facilitate more theory-driven mindset research in the field innovation management. Hence, this conceptualization of the frugal mindset is clearly linked to the mindset theory of action phases (see (Gollwitzer, 1990)). ...
... Hence, we suggest that future mindset-based research clearly explicates conceptualizations with regard to a set of continuums across our dimensions and stays within the boundaries of the current dimensions. First, mindsets are complex phenomena and scholars approach this challenge by drawing on various root constructs, such as cognitive processes (Gollwitzer, 1990), beliefs (Dweck, 2012;Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018), emotions (Noble, 2015), abilities or a combination of constructs (Engelsberger, et al., 2021). Most importantly, the scholarly choice of root constructs will determine how a mindset will be operationalized in respective empirical research. ...
Research suggests that understanding mindsets is as imperative to understand innovation as it is to understand what it means to be entrepreneurial. Yet, innovation and entrepreneurship scholars are not the first to integrate mindset-based perspectives into their research agendas and diverging conceptualizations across and within research fields has resulted in fuzziness of mindset research. In this taxonomy paper, we follow a respective call for more consistent conceptualizations and aim to provide a comprehensive theoretical analysis of differences and similarities across mindset conceptualizations in the fields of cognitive psychology, educational psychology, organizational leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. By mapping the field of mindset research, analysing the literature and deriving respective codes regarding differences and similarities, we provide six conceptual dimensions for a taxonomy of mindsets. We find that mindset scholars imply different assumptions with regards to (1) relevant root constructs to operationalize mindsets, (2) the nature of mindsets as being static or malleable, (3) the behavioral implications of mindsets, (4) their contextual embeddedness, (5) an appropriate level of analysis and (6) the causal relation of mindsets to wider phenomena of interests. Each of these six dimensions represents a continuum of underlying conceptual assumptions and provides a framework within which innovation and entrepreneurship scholars can explore innovative and entrepreneurial behavior based on mindsets. With respect to our analysis, we call for more careful conceptualizations and contextualization of future mindset research to facilitate theory building. The conceptualization challenge can be adressed by clearly explicating underlying assumptions regarding our taxonomy dimensions and staying within the frame of our identified dimensions. The contextualization challenge is of more specific nature and requires rigorous pilot work. However, while mindset research is challenging, it bears potential to facilitate a deeper understanding of innovative and entrepreneurial behavior as well as their synergy. In that regard, entrepreneurship scholars have established consensus around a commonly applied definition of the entrepreneurial mindset, which is absent in the field of innovation research. Hence, we propose a definition for the innovation mindset, which resembles the entrepreneurial mindset and propose several avenues for future research to better understand and realize the synergy of innovation and entrepreneurship.
... Given the importance of incorporating context and emphasizing models explaining the women entrepreneurial endeavor (Henry et al., 2016), the focus is on a sample of 346 women entrepreneurs in South Africa. By dividing the entrepreneurial action activities into a predecisional, preactional, and actional phase, a novel approach is used in taking the context of the entrepreneurial process into account (Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2018). ...
... In addition to the above, the mindset theory of action phases also proposes that, as individuals progress through the various phases toward their goal, their mindset evolves (Gollwitzer, 2012;Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2018). Therefore, it is important to breakdown entrepreneurial action into its constituent phases to more clearly understand the impact of prior entrepreneurial exposure on action. ...
... As the results indicate that statistically significant paths were observed for prior entrepreneurial exposure with the predecisional (EA1) and preactional (EA2) phases but not with the actional (EA3) phase for the women entrepreneur sample, H2 is accepted. This finding supports the notion of the Rubicon Crossing according to the Mindset Theory of Action Phases (Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2018), which proposes that prior entrepreneurial exposure is a significant and positive predictor of future entrepreneurial action in the predecisional and preactional phases. At the same time, as statistically significant paths were not observed for prior entrepreneurial exposure with the actional (EA3) phase, there is support that once women entrepreneurs cross the entrepreneurial Rubicon and enter into the actional phase (EA3), motivational factors will no longer matter as the action is driven by desire or volition (Heckhausen, 2000). ...
While the differences between men and women with regard to entrepreneurial activity is well-acknowledged, few scholars have explored models explaining the differences through an objectivist lens. This research addresses this gap by investigating the relationship between prior entrepreneurial exposure and entrepreneurial action, moderated by entrepreneurial competencies (ECs). This paper draws from two psychology theories to develop and test a three-factor model of entrepreneurial action. The structuration theory formulates a theoretical model that explains how entrepreneurs’ interaction with their environment, and their concomitantly learned behavioral scripts (i.e., entrepreneurial competencies), impacts a newly formulated typology of entrepreneurial gestation activities based on the mindset theory of action phases. Furthermore, the ECs in this paper are drawn from a systematic framework of entrepreneurship competency development, which categorizes ECs into (1) entrepreneurial attitudes and personal characteristics and (2) entrepreneurial motives. By dividing entrepreneurial action into a predecisional, preactional, and actional phase, a novel approach is used in taking the context of the entrepreneurial process into account. It is proposed that prior entrepreneurial exposure is a significant and positive predictor of future entrepreneurial action in the predecisional and preactional phases. However, once entering the actional phase, this factor is no longer important, as women entrepreneurs have crossed the entrepreneurial Rubicon. The sample consists of South African entrepreneurs of which 346 women entrepreneurs and a sample of 804 male entrepreneurs are used to compare the results of the first hypothesis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to model the relationship between prior entrepreneurial exposure and entrepreneurial action. Results confirm that prior entrepreneurial exposure in the form of role models, entrepreneurial parents, or any other form of exposure to entrepreneurship before starting a business is particularly important to encourage women to pursue business start-up (action). Furthermore, the development of certain ECs is crucial for improving the strength of the relationship between prior entrepreneurial exposure and entrepreneurial action for women entrepreneurs. These results have important implications for women entrepreneurs, educators, as well as entrepreneurship models, which have been traditionally male dominated.
... The cognitive psychology research suggests that mindsets of individuals are activated according to the task at hand (Clapp-Smith & Lester 2014) and Gollwitzer's theory investigates the process of action taking in detail and identifies distinct phases with individual mindsets. The framework of Gollwitzer is therefore well suited to develop an in-depth understanding of the individual decision-making in organizations and is widely used by researchers from several fields like behavioral psychology and organizational management (Sheeran 2002;Armor & Taylor 2003;Brandstätter et al. 2003;Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle 2018;Krohn & Herstatt in press). The actions phase model divides behavior into four distinct and subsequent phases that imply different underlying mindsets, namely a deliberative mindset in the predecisional and postactional phase and an implemental mindset in the preactional and actional phase. ...
... The TPB has been widely used and is seen as a very robust and sound framework for the intention building process (Gollwitzer 1993;Krueger 2007). Intentions can be used to predict a wide range of behaviors, for example, consumer decisions or performing a physical and academic activity (Sheeran 2002;Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle 2018). The most immediate predictor of a person's behavior is his/her intention to perform it (Sheeran 2002), and understanding the intention building process of individuals is a key step in understanding why some behaviors are performed and others are not. ...
... The most immediate predictor of a person's behavior is his/her intention to perform it (Sheeran 2002), and understanding the intention building process of individuals is a key step in understanding why some behaviors are performed and others are not. The framework has been successfully applied in similar fields like open innovation and virtual customer integration in product development projects and more (Krueger 2007;Jimmieson et al. 2008;Bartl et al. 2012;Greaves et al. 2013;7 Kautonen et al. 2013;Nedon et al. 2015;Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle 2018), and complements the mindset framework of Gollwitzer as shown in Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle (2018). ...
Addressing the growing global middle class and emerging markets with fitting products offer large business opportunities for companies worldwide. Frugal innovation is an innovation concept that has resulted in successful cases of products for these markets that are characterized by a substantial cost reduction, concentration on core functionalities and an optimized performance level. Previous research suggests that a frugal mindset is needed in the organization and its members to enable the successful development of frugal innovations in firms. Operationalizing the frugal mindset for organizations is, therefore, an important step in enabling companies to innovate frugally. A systematic literature review and focus group discussion were performed to identify key influencing factors on the decision-making of individuals towards frugal innovation projects in organizations. The literature review identified influencing factors, which were then discussed and extended with 16 experts, practitioners and stakeholders from the field of frugal innovations in a focus group. This study identified 32 key influencing factors that are relevant for the initiation and performance of frugal innovation projects in organizations. The results of this study offer implications for academic research on frugal innovations and the frugal mindset as well as managerial implications for organizations looking to engage in frugal innovations.
... Assessment reports of entrepreneurial phenomenon such as the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Bosma and Kelley 2019) reveal a persistent gap between the rate of potential entrepreneurs (individuals with entrepreneurial intention) and that of entrepreneurial activity (nascent and new entrepreneurs). Furthermore, there are few empirical studies focusing on the link between intention and action (Liñán and Fayolle 2015;Schlaegel and Koenig 2014;Van Gelderen et al. 2015), a relevant topic in current entrepreneurship research (Botha and Taljaard 2019;Delanöe and Fayolle 2019;Mwiya et al. 2019). There are arguments that state that the move to action in complex processes such as entrepreneurship unfolding in contexts of high uncertainty and risk are linked not only to the intention but to the perceived ability of individuals to carry out different entrepreneurial tasks (Baum and Locke 2004;Boyd and Vozikis 1994;Chen, Greene and Crick 1998;Rasmussen et al. 2011). ...
... Firstly it sheds light on the entrepreneurial intention-action gap by offering evidence of how perceived entrepreneurial competencies complement entrepreneurial intention as an antecedent to entrepreneurial gestation activities. This was achieved by applying the Rubicon model of action phases, a framework that offers a deeper understanding of pre-start-up processes, albeit still under-researched in the field of entrepreneurship (Delanöe-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2019). This approach falls in line with the calls of several authors for research on the implementation intention theory, the role of individual commitment and the changing effect of different variables throughout the entrepreneurial process (Carsrud et al. 2017;Liñán and Fayolle 2015). ...
Entrepreneurial intention has been observed to be a necessary, but insufficient, condition for new business creation. Another variable apart from intention that requires consideration is how potential entrepreneurs perceive their own capacity or ability to exercise control over entrepreneurial behaviour. Drawing on the Rubicon model of action phases, this paper analyses the role of the perceived entrepreneurial competencies in the preactional phase of the entrepreneurial process. This corresponds to the moment when individuals have formed their entrepreneurial intention and must embark on how to implement it. A structural equations modelling analysis on a sample of undergraduate business students in their final year who manifest an intention to start up a new business after graduation served both to analyse the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and gestation behaviour and determine the moderating role of competencies in the relationship between the intention and nascent activities. The findings reveal that entrepreneurial intention and competencies related to commitment, planning and organisation have a significant and direct influence on nascent entrepreneurial behaviour and that the whole set of entrepreneurial competency factors enhances the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial gestation activities. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the role of entrepreneurial competencies in the transition from intention to early nascent business gestation and addresses a valuable and relatively unexplored line of research concerning the interaction effects of intention and perceived competencies on the performance of entrepreneurial gestation activities. The paper also delves into the practical implications for designers of entrepreneurship support and education programmes.
... Regarding contextual variables, it has been observed that family business exposure is positively related to self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions (Pfeifer et al., 2016;Rushworth, Winkel, Vanevenhoven, & Liguori, 2016) and that having entrepreneurial friends positively influences the commitment to business start-up (Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018). It has also been shown that social norms, i.e. the perceived social pressure to perform or abstain from a particular behaviour (Ajzen, 1991), which in the present case is that of entrepreneurial activity, are positively and significantly associated with the core variables of cognitive social theory (Kassean et al., 2015;Schlaegel & Koenig, 2014), with business start-up activities and with coping behaviours (Pérez-López, González-López, & Rodríguez-Ariza, 2016). ...
... We also find that both exploratory and coping behaviours are reliable predictors of the level of decidedness and that they mediate the relationship between goals and decidedness. This is in line with recent research in entrepreneurship exploring the transition from intention to action, in which it has been observed that the performance of pre-start-up activities has an important impact on the final decision to create a new venture (Gielnik et al., 2014) and that, above a certain threshold of engagement in gestation actions, a greater commitment to the entrepreneurial process is produced, and so the effect of intention on behaviour no longer matters (Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018). ...
In this study, the social cognitive model of career self-management (Lent & Brown, 2013) was applied to study the degree of decidedness of university students for an entrepreneurial career, including adaptive behaviours of individuals in their career management. The participants were 376 final-year students of business-oriented degree courses at the University of Granada (Spain). Based on longitudinal survey data, the model was tested with structural equation models. Empirical analysis corroborated the hypothesised relationships between the core cognitive-person variables of social cognitive career theory (self-efficacy, outcome expectations and intention) and the mediating role of adaptive exploratory and coping behaviours in the relation between goals and the level of decidedness for an entrepreneurial career. These findings fill a perceived research gap by showing empirical evidence of the applicability of the career self-management model to the entrepreneurial field. Implications both for future research and for policies and practices of career counselling and entrepreneurship education are discussed.
... In fact, individuals' underlying career motivations are usually analyzed using cross-sectional data (Shirokova, Osiyevskyy, & Bogatyreva, 2016). A second problem is that despite a few exceptions (Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018;Delanoë, 2013;Liñán & Rodríguez-Cohard, 2015;Shinnar, Hsu, Powell, & Zhou, 2017;Van Gelderen, Kautonen, & Fink, 2015), most studies focus on the formation of intention, but hardly ever investigate actual entrepreneurial realization Schlaegel & Koenig, 2014). Thus, while it has long been proposed that varying motivations may be influencing each stage and the transition between the entrepreneurial process stages differently (Shane et al., 2003), their impact on actual involvement in entrepreneurial endeavors remains in need of being investigated in a consistent manner (Stephan et al., 2015). ...
... Intentionality has long been a characteristic attributed to entrepreneurial behavior (Carter et al., 2003;Krueger, 2009), as the choice of an entrepreneurial path goes through various phases of increasing engagement, from the formation of an entrepreneurial intention to actual entrepreneurial behavior (Carsrud & Brännback, 2011;Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018). In this context, scholars have been seeking to understand which career motivations lead some individuals rather than others to enter and progress through entrepreneurial journeys. ...
en The impact of career motivations on entrepreneurial intention and action remains in need of being investigated conjointly. Using a large sample and follow‐up data collected five years later, we investigate their influence on the entrepreneurial involvement of young adults, from the expression of an intention to entrepreneurial action. We show that only the search for job security seems to have a persistent effect throughout the process. In addition, autonomy is associated with the formation of intention, while wanting to manage full processes is related to actual start‐up participation. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications. © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Résumé
fr L'impact des motivations professionnelles sur l'intention et l'action entrepreneuriales reste à étudier conjointement. En nous basant sur un large échantillon interrogé à cinq ans d'intervalle, nous analysons l'influence de ces motivations sur l'implication entrepreneuriale de jeunes adultes, de l'expression d'une intention jusqu'à l'action entrepreneuriale. Nous montrons que seule la recherche de sécurité de l'emploi semble avoir un effet persistant tout au long du processus. De plus, l'autonomie est associée à la formation de l'intention, alors que la volonté de gérer l'intégralité des processus est liée à la participation entrepreneuriale. Nous discutons les implications théoriques et pratiques de ces résultats. © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... Entrepreneurial intentions are important and deserve attention because, as proven, they confirm entrepreneurial behaviour (Koe, 2016;Sahinidis, Stavroulakis, Kossieri, & Varelas, 2019). Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle (2018) point to the importance of the dynamics that connect entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial actions. According to (Delanoë-Gueguen, & Liñán, 2018), the greatest and lasting impact in this process (transition of entrepreneurial intentions in entrepreneurial actions) is the pursuit of providing the job security. ...
In this paper are given the findings of the research of the effects of five variables on the dimensions of the enterprise potential, individual entrepreneurial orientation, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and dimension entrepreneurial intention, by students. The effects of the following variables are observed: Gender, One of my parents has a private business, The year in which the student is studying, Student success in learning and studying and The financial opportunities to start a new business. The respondents are studying at seven faculties in Serbia. The sample included 488 respondents. The most influential variable on the dimension entrepreneurial intentions is the financial opportunities to start a new business. Also, men have more pronounced entrepreneurial intentions. Success in studies positively influences entrepreneurial potentials and proactivity, while the possession of finance positively influences entrepreneurial intentions and risk readiness. In cases of successful studies and the possession of finance, women are more motivated, more determined, and have more pronounced entrepreneurial intentions (especially in the case of having financial resources). Although men may show a more preference to become entrepreneurs, women approach entrepreneurship more realistically and decisively.
... This result highly contributes to the literature, given that only a few scholars analyse the relationship between EI and EA (Schlaegel and Koenig, 2012;Kautonen et al., 2013), and it follows the existing research on the topic (Adam and Fayolle, 2016). Although it focuses on a specific cultural value, it contributes to the debate about why intention do not always determine activity, and consequently to the understanding of the environmental factors which affect this relationship (Adam and Fayolle, 2015;Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2019;Dana and Dana, 2005). ...
... For example, there is a growing consensus that entrepreneurship is considered an important way to influence the competitiveness of any country or industry (Ratten & Jones, 2021a) and that it is an important skill set that can potentially make a positive difference in society (Ratten & Jones, 2021b). Further, prior research also indicates that entrepreneurship can be learned Byrne et al., 2014;Neck & Corbett, 2018) and that it is globally recognized across cultures (Adekiya & Ibrahim, 2016;Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2019;Fiore et al., 2019;Wu et al., 2019). ...
This chapter first briefly discusses the expected learning outcomes (i.e., skills and competencies) in entrepreneurship education, including creativity, innovation, industry-specific knowledge, decision-making, risk-taking, problem-solving, leadership qualities, ethics, and social responsibility. Next, the chapter examines whether the conventional entrepreneurial curriculum successfully contributes to the academic and social goals and meets the needs and expectations of students and society at large. It also presents a discussion on why the recent socio-cultural, technological, pandemic-related changes, including mass digitalization, working remotely or working from home, asynchronicity and global communities of practice, demand new approaches to enhance learners’ experience and maximize the achievement of learning outcomes in post-secondary entrepreneurship education. Then the chapter explores artificial intelligence (AI), such as the virtual classroom, AI Tutor, interactive smart boards, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), simulation, and big data systems, as a disruptive technology in education. While computer systems with ‘intelligence’ are already performing many tasks that were commonly associated with humans, there are growing interests, concerns and uncertainty regarding the wider application of AI in education. Accordingly, the chapter includes a discussion on the trends in AI adoption in education and how AI is likely to reshape curriculums, teaching and assessment, as well as its positive and negative impacts on teaching and learning. Further, this chapter explores the enormous potential of AI specifically in entrepreneurship education. A rich discussion is presented on the possibilities and conditions for an effective instructor-AI collaboration that can make an important contribution to all the key areas of teaching and learning in entrepreneurship education, such as the curriculum, instruction, assessment and feedback. An instructor-AI collaboration has the potential to improve curriculums, pedagogical practices, learner motivation and engagement, which are critical to achieving learning outcomes. The chapter concludes with the argument that while integrating AI in entrepreneurship education is capital intensive, it is worth investing in instructor-AI collaboration as it facilitates the progress of learners by providing them with customized learning support without unduly limiting individual choice.
... Rubicon four-phase action model in entrepreneurship. The Rubicon model outlined an individual's mentality in specific goal development, subsequent action and task accomplishment (Achtziger and Gollwitzer, 2018;Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2019;Gonz alez-L opez et al., 2020). The model was particularly constructed for entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship financial performance highlighted entrepreneurial decision-making before and after specific goal developments and task accomplishments. ...
Purpose
This study aims to examine the key entrepreneurial roles (financial literacy, risk tolerance and competency) in the financial performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan and the mediating effects of locus of control and spiritual and emotional quotients.
Design/methodology/approach
The study data was collected from 541 SMEs in Pakistan (the target population) through a survey and analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling.
Findings
The findings revealed that the key entrepreneurial characteristics were positively related to locus of control and spiritual quotient and elevated the financial performance in entrepreneurship. It was also reported that locus of control and spiritual quotient mediated between key entrepreneurial characteristics and financial performance. In this regard, emotional quotient strengthened the existing relationships between key characteristics, locus of control and spiritual quotient.
Practical implications
This study highlighted sustainable implications for SMEs to develop an effective mechanism and improve financial performance through guidelines that emphasized entrepreneurial characteristics and behaviours towards positive entrepreneurial ventures. This study also enabled policymakers to design policies that catalysed SME performance in Pakistan.
Originality/value
This study contributed a novel concept of key entrepreneurial characteristics by introducing a characteristics tool kit. Consequently, information on a unique framework (by integrating entrepreneurial characteristics and financial performance) and literature on spiritual quotient and locus of control in entrepreneurship were enriched. Contributions to the regulatory focus theory and four-phase Rubicon model in the study context were also made.
... Even though we conducted statistical tests to rule out problems resulting from our cross-sectional design, future research will benefit from research designs, such as longitudinal designs, that facilitate the establishment of causal linkages. Relatedly, we already pointed out that researchers have increasingly criticised the use of EI as a sole dependent variable because of the barriers that can cause individuals to refrain from engaging in entrepreneurial behaviour (Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2019;Van Gelderen et al., 2015, 2018. We agree that studying the intention-behaviour link is an important next step, as relatively few studies in entrepreneurship have done so (recent exceptions are Kautonen et al., 2015;Meoli et al., 2020;Van Gelderen et al., 2018). ...
An important challenge for franchisors is to find individuals with strong intentions to become franchisees that they can actively support in this ambition. We contribute to franchising research by developing and testing a model to explain individual intentions to become franchisees as a specific type of entrepreneurial intention (EI). We combine Achievement Motivation Theory (AMT) with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to propose inverted U-shaped associations between individual motivations (i.e. need for achievement and risk-taking propensity), their cognitive assessments of franchising (i.e. attitude towards franchising and perceived behavioural control), and their EI regarding franchising. Our survey of 666 individuals demonstrates that need for achievement impacts attitude towards franchising and perceived behavioural control regarding franchising following respectively inverted U-shaped and declining positive relationships, and they partly mediate the relationships between need for achievement and EI regarding franchising. We find a negative linear association with attitude towards franchising.
... Therefore, intentions are defined as 'indications of how hard people are willing to try, of how much of an effort they are planning to exert, in order to perform the behaviour'(Ajzen, 1987, p. 44). It is possible to distinguish between different forms of EI: goal intention, which portrays a motivational and pre-decisional phase in the action phase model with an intended, specific goal one wants to reach (in the context of EI, this goal contains entrepreneurial action); and implementation intention, which characterises the volitional and pre-actional phase in this model(Gelderen et al., 2017;Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018), which at the same time acts as a mediator in the positive relationship of goal intention; and the last phase, entrepreneurial action(Gelderen et al., 2017). This means that those with high goal intention tend to spend more time on entrepreneurial action than those with low goal intention(Gelderen et al., 2017). ...
... The entrepreneurial spirit is seen as intentional behaviour. As such, there has been a growing amount of research in recent years on the cognitive factors shaping the motivations and desires that compel certain people to start their own business [8,9]. Within this body of research, various studies focus on the early stage in which university students-potential opportunity entrepreneurs [5]-forge their possible future entrepreneurial intention (EI) [10]. ...
While the current global context of successive economic and health crises are punishing the economies of different countries in the world, it is particularly relevant to explore the business intentions of young university students, as potential entrepreneurs of opportunity. This matter is of the utmost importance, as it helps to facilitate the implementation of measures that can ensure the future recovery of the economy and the creation of new businesses. The objective of this paper is to study the institutional and psychological antecedents of entrepreneurial intention and the role of gender. The theory of planned behaviour is applied to assess how personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control can affect students′ intention of becoming an entrepreneur. In addition, organizational support and institutional barriers are tested as potentially significant antecedents of entrepreneurial intention, along with the influence of gender. The research carried out was based on survey responses from a sample of 740 students of economics, communications, and education at an Ecuadorian university. The research propositions were tested using a partial least squares approach. Results indicate that behaviour towards entrepreneurship does not change in relation to gender. In addition, personal attitudes and perceived behavioural control regarding entrepreneurship are positively related to students′ entrepreneurial intention. Organizational support is also found to be important for generating entrepreneurial intention. The paper adds to the current knowledge base on entrepreneurial intention by analysing the individual and joint influence of the principal elements of the theory of planned behaviour, as well as organizational support and institutional barriers on entrepreneurial intentions. Moreover, the research provides a useful perspective on the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention in an unexplored context such as Ecuador, by responding to the call focusing on entrepreneurial intention in different regions, cultures, and contexts.
... In other words, to some point, intrapreneurs process or play the roles, which are expected from them. However, they still did not mention how the intention or motivational phase started or causes of this deliberate mindset (Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2019). In this case, intrapreneurship has expected behaviors or roles, which are in the set of role theory. ...
Purpose
This study aims to develop conceptual arguments about intrapreneurship relative to role theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The challenge to the intrapreneurship concept is that no single or combination of personality traits, individual characteristics or attitudes can fulfill the causes of the phenomenon, as these factors are context-bound. One explanation for individual- and macro-level contrasting outcomes is the diverging effect of expectations. The structural and interactionist perspective of sociology is used to understand the intrapreneurship concept because intrapreneurs live within a society and shape their course per the expectations of others.
Findings
Intrapreneurs have been trying to infer about what is seen as crucial individually related to interactions within the existing context; more importantly, acting in an intrapreneurship role can be defined and learned by expectations.
Practical implications
With the convenient expectations from other members, families or environments, organization members will value the innovation and self-direction of intrapreneurship more highly that such a taste for an acting role may be an important factor in the decision to become an intrapreneur.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper emphasized for the first time that the consequences of exposure to social expectations for the development of intrapreneur roles, particularly the broad portfolios of skills and motivation, are relevant to intrapreneurship. Previous approaches depend on individuals, organizations or the environment to have different approaches to likely employees to be intrapreneurs. The paper first argues that context is important for understanding how and why context can be linked to individual intrapreneurs and how intrapreneurship can be defined as roles rather than a task or unique potential entrepreneurs.
... This can be complemented by applying the TPB. Indeed, first empirical work combines both theoretical lenses to develop a better understanding how entrepreneurial intentions translate into actions and it suggests that the later phases of goal attainment are more volitional than motivational in nature (Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018). Therefore, we expect our theoretical lense to be promising to operationalize the Deliberative Frugal Mindset and we can advance in our process. ...
Emerging economic powerhouses like India and China drive the global demand for cost effective products as well as services. But do decision makers, especially in West-ern companies recognize the business opportunities for promising innovation ap-proaches, like Frugal Innovation? The Deliberative Frugal Mindset is a theory driven model aiming to shed light on this issue. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, we developed items to investigate the perception of Frugal Innovations of managers embedded in an organizational context. Attitudes towards Frugal Innovation, perceived resistance or support from colleagues in different departments and perceived organiza-tional as well as personal ability to successfully drive Frugal Innovation projects are expected to determine respective behavioural intentions. We conduct a small scale pilot study including follow-up interviews with 8 managers from two German multi-national companies to test our research instrument for practicability, comprehensibility and to generate first qualitative insights. Most importantly, we find indications that the mind-set of German managers might be strongly influenced by experiences created in the context of innovation projects focused at premium market segments. Based on our find-ings we derive avenues for future research and managerial implications, especially for evidence-based initiatives focusing on guiding organizational change towards Frugal Innovation driven innovation strategies.
... As discussed in the previous section, this can be complemented by applying the TPB. Indeed, first empirical work combines both theoretical lenses to develop a better understanding how entrepreneurial intentions translate into actions and it suggests that the later phases of goal attainment are more volitional than motivational in nature (Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle, 2018). In this context, it is important to discuss the differences between attaining a goal in Gollwitzer's (1990) work and performing a behaviour. ...
The importance of growing economic powerhouses like India and China is increasing. Consequently, cost effective products and services and therefore, Frugal Innovations provide attractive business opportunities for globally operating companies. However, not all organizations seem to recognize these opportunities for what they are. The question arises if key decision makers have the right mindset to initiate and support respective innovation projects within their organizations. We take on our previous research on the Frugal Mindset and present the results of two recent studies to further develop our theory. In our first study we generate items based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour by conducting a systematic literature review of 95 publications and validate as well refine this approach in a focus group discussion with 16 experts on Frugal Innovation. Consequently, we test our research instrument for practicability, comprehensibility and further refine the items in a small scale pilot study including 8 follow-up interviews with managers from 2 multi-national companies. Based on this procedure we present a research model, a measurement instrument and first qualitative insights on the Deliberative Fugal Mindset.
... Thus, the notion that potential entrepreneurs set themselves a firm goal and try to implement their goal without considering general information concerning the desirability and feasibility of the goal is likely to be misleading. In a recent empirical study, Delanoë-Gueguen & Fayolle (2018) provide some evidence that entrepreneurs indeed move from a motivational to a volitional phase during the process of creating a new business. However, they estimate that, on average, nascent entrepreneurs conduct 3.3 gestation activities before truly committing to their venture. ...
We examine the role of regional formal and informal institutions in the intention-behavior link in entrepreneurship. Using multilevel regression analyses on a longitudinal sample of university students embedded in 40 European regions, we find evidence that regional formal and informal institutions have distinct and unique influences on the entrepreneurial intention-action relationship. In particular, our results show that the intention-behavior link is strengthened in regions characterized by a high quality of government and weakened in regions featuring a high quality of the social security system and a strong work ethic culture. Our findings provide important insights into the interdependence between individual and contextual factors regulating the entrepreneurial process by integrating the role of regional institutions as important contingencies. Our study provides valuable theoretical and policy implications.
... 2 For instance, Blanchflower and Oswald (1998) showed that 63% of Americans, 48% of Britons, and 49% of Germans would choose a selfemployed job rather than being an employee. However, only a small fraction of these populations actually becomes self-employed (Delanoë-Guegen and Fayolle, 2018;Van Gelderen et al., 2015). The difference between those who declare that they intend to become entrepreneurs and those who actually become entrepreneurs seems to be mainly in the degree of effort the latter put in the process, because weak effort cannot transfer into real action (Carsrud and Brännback, 2011). ...
Entrepreneurial effort triggers action towards business creation and constitutes the ultimate link between intention and action. Although occupations play a significant role in entrepreneurial entry, extant research has not thoroughly investigated primary occupational characteristics as specific antecedents of entrepreneurial effort. We contribute to this line of research by proposing and testing a model in which three occupational characteristics at the occupational level (managerial knowledge, self-accomplishment, and arduousness) are correlated with two cognitive factors at the individual level (effort-performance and instrumentality beliefs) that in turn affect behavior (entrepreneurial effort). We draw upon expectancy theory to motivate our model and combine data from the PSED and O*NET to test our hypotheses. We find compelling evidence that individuals facing arduous working conditions and lacking personal accomplishment in their salaried jobs will be more committed to their new business. In addition, we find that entrepreneurs coming from occupations involving high levels of managerial knowledge tend to put more effort into the new venture.
... GEM data also show an apparent disconnect between generalized perceptions about the business world in LDCs and the more complex reality experienced by those who cross the "entrepreneurial Rubicon" from considering establishing a business to doing so (Delanoë-Gueguen and Fayolle, 2018). In eight of the 11 LDCs for which data are available, a substantial majority of adults consider that there are good opportunities to start a business, and in 10 of the 11 LDCs, that they possess the necessary skills to do so (figure 2.6). ...
Nowhere else in the world is radical economic transformation more urgent than in the least developed countries, which have the challenge of accumulating productive capacities at an unprecedented speed, in the face of the rapid reorientation of global production and digital transformation, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
At the centre of radical economic change is transformational entrepreneurship. The Least Developed Countries Report 2018: Entrepreneurship for Structural Transformation – Beyond Business as Usual demonstrates how transformational entrepreneurship generates many of the social and economic innovations that underpin sustainable development. Transformational entrepreneurs create new products and business models; they offer dignified employment; their success leads to broader improvements in the quality of life and even bolsters fiscal sustainability. Dynamic entrepreneurs also make a greater contribution to wealth accumulation and distribution.
In the least developed countries, however, underdevelopment and unfavourable forms of participation in global trade constrain the emergence of the dynamic, opportunity-seeking entrepreneurs needed for structural transformation. The dearth of dynamic local entrepreneurship endangers structural transformation and ultimately weakens national ownership and the potential impact of attaining the Sustainable Development Goals in the least developed countries.
The weakness of dynamic entrepreneurship has important implications in the least developed countries, where entrepreneurship policy is often mobilized as an alternative to unemployment and a remedy for structural inequalities. This type of policy is often an imperfect way of fostering high-impact and dynamic entrepreneurship, which requires a distinct and strategic approach and deliberate long-term nurturing that entail coordinated and coherent action and smart policies across a range of relevant policy areas.
The Least Developed Countries Report 2018 presents a compelling case for a structural transformation-centred approach to entrepreneurship policy in the least developed countries. The report underscores entrepreneurship policy based on a fundamental recognition of disparities in the contribution of different types of entrepreneurship to structural transformation and wealth creation. It establishes a more active and proactive stance for the State in steering the emergence of dynamic and transformational local entrepreneurship. Importantly, it calls upon the least developed countries not to overlook the pivotal and complementary role played by large enterprises, alongside medium-sized and smaller enterprises, with a view to the least developed countries formulating deliberate strategies to nurture entrepreneurship that has impact. By encouraging least developed country policymakers to avoid policies that might undervalue the benefits of entrepreneurship, this report makes an invaluable contribution to least developed country efforts to add value to their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Self-employment has now become one of the most important access routes to the labor market in emerging economies. In these countries, the role of women entrepreneurs is fundamental not only for their economic development but also to fight against the gender gap. The university, as an institution, is a hub of potential entrepreneurs, which could help reduce these differences. This work explores if there is a gender gap in the inclination towards entrepreneurship among university students from a developing country (Ecuador) and the determining factors of entrepreneurial intention by gender. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the study analyzes the moderating role of gender in university entrepreneurship. Multivariate logit regression was used to examine motivational factors (personal attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) that favor entrepreneurial intention. The data reveals that entrepreneurial intention is lower among female students. The determinants of entrepreneurial intention are different by gender. The study contributes to a better understanding of the role of gender in entrepreneurial behavior.
Because current conceptualizations are insufficient with respect to explaining the termination subprocess of nascent entrepreneurship, little is known regarding the liminal space in which the decision between termination and persistence is made. To solve this problem, we apply the Theory of Action Phases, extend it using the notion of an action crisis, and propose that (i) the extent to which nascent entrepreneurs experience action crises informs the decision between persistence and termination and (ii) the odds of experiencing an action crisis and the temporal length of an action crisis phase depend largely on the goal-directed actions that have previously been taken. We test and find empirical support for our main hypotheses by reference to a harmonized dataset drawn from the panel study of entrepreneurial dynamics (PSED). These findings contribute to both theoretical and practical advancements in the field of nascent entrepreneurship and research on entrepreneurial action. With respect to research, the inclusion of the notion of action crisis allows us to conceptualize termination as a subprocess of nascent entrepreneurship and to explain decisions between termination and persistence in the context of new venture creation. By taking the time-saving and time-delaying effects of actions into consideration, our study also offers a more nuanced view of entrepreneurial action given that the length of an action crisis is informed by the actions of planning and implementation that have previously been taken. In practical terms, we address some lasting problems that arise in the context of entrepreneurship-focused public policies and provide practical advice for nascent entrepreneurs.
El artículo busca establecer la actitud emprendedora y empoderamiento femenino de las mujeres indígenas y mestizas de la provincia de Loja; el mismo tiene enfoque cuantitativo de alcance descriptivo, dado que la intención fue entender el fenómeno “actitud emprendedora y empoderamiento femenino”. Para la selección de la muestra se aplicó un muestreo estratificado, cada estrato dado por la etnia indígena y mestiza, y dentro de cada estrato se aplicó un muestreo aleatorio simple, con lo que se obtuvo una muestra total de 384 individuos, alcanzando un 81% de respuestas. El levantamiento de información se realizó a través de un cuestionario, el mismo que fue validado a través del análisis de confiabilidad y análisis factorial. Entre los principales resultados se puede mencionar que las mujeres indígenas presentan mayor grado de autonomía económica y social, así como mayores intenciones al emprendimiento, teniendo grandes aspiraciones por la generación de sus propios negocios.
Technology entrepreneurship may contribute significantly to economic development and innovation. Little research has investigated the role of the university in technology entrepreneurship among STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) students. More research into the entrepreneurial intentions–behaviour link is needed. This paper aims to identify university-related factors that may contribute to the translation of technopreneurial implementation intentions into actions in a sample of 200 STEM students. The variables university research excellence and perceptions of business development support significantly influence the likelihood of nascent technopreneurial behaviour. This study contributes to a greater understanding of the technopreneurial process and the drivers of technopreneurial behaviour among STEM students. The results of this study may help to enhance nascent entrepreneurship among Bulgarian STEM students.
Background
Previous intention-based research has not considered whether participants are in the motivational or in the actional phase. In turn, this creates a gap of knowledge concerning the cognitive and motivational processes involved in the formation of Entrepreneurial Intention (EI). By applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the present study addresses the formation of EI to commercialize research knowledge, focusing on the transition from motivation to implementation in the context of academia.
Methods
Drawing on cross-sectional data of 490 researchers, segmented regression analysis was conducted to analyze the influence of entrepreneurial engagement on EI-growth. Multi-group Structural Equalization Modeling (SEM) was then used to test the moderation effects of engagement on the relationship between motivational factors and entrepreneurial intention.
Results and Discussion
The analysis revealed a direct influence of engagement on EI, as well as a threshold of EI-growth per the context of a Rubicon crossing after the initiation of the first gestation action. Our data also show a growing influence of endogenous factors ( e.g ., attitudes and perceived behavior control) on EI during the venture creation process. The second part of the study contributes by testing the effects of entrepreneurial rewards on TPB-antecedents moderated by engagement.
Conclusion
Until today, research mostly relied on cross-sectional data to predict and measure the strength of EI in the phase preceding the launch of a new business without considering whether participants are in the motivational or in the actional phase. Our finding highlights the need to shift from focusing entrepreneurship research solely on intentions to now on the process and implementation perspective.
While research has begun to identify Team Entrepreneurial Passion (TEP) and Team Entrepreneurial Competencies (TEC) as drivers of new venture team (NVT) dynamics, current literature fails to account for how these cognitive elements interact to influence team behavior, particularly throughout the nascent stages of the entrepreneurial process. Previous research has almost exclusively investigated NVT dynamics at later stages, once the NVT is established, has successfully created the venture and begun capturing value from an opportunity they have capitalized on. The purpose of this paper is to fill this void by investigating NVT behavioral dynamics throughout the nascent stages of the entrepreneurial process-from initial venture idea generation, to venture opportunity development, and ultimately action to exploit that opportunity. We conduct multiple longitudinal case studies and observations of NVTs in the food service and fintech industries as the teams progress through the nascent stages of the entrepreneurial process. Bridging three formerly disparate constructs of shared cognition, TEP, and TEC, through the lens of construal-level theory, a conceptual model-of the coherence process of NVTs is developed. Construal levels accounts for the coherence of a NVT towards shared cognition, TEP and TEC and explain how and why differences in these constructs drive varying perceptions and ultimately team behavior and performance. Case study observations illustrate our theory that differences in construal level create conflict in entrepreneurial behavior which hinders NVT performance while congruency in construal level enables NVT coherence and performance. Through construal levels, this research offers novel insights into drivers of abstract, thinking and planning-type behaviors versus concrete, doing-type behaviors. This could inform the management of distinct behavioral approaches in an NVT context. Business incubators, NVTs and International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal various entrepreneurial support programs can empirically test and use this model to understand when and how Shared Cognition, TEP and TEC develop and interact between a NVT's members to impact team-level behaviors and outcomes.
In recent decades, the ‘Home-Based Business’ (HBB) has become an increasingly important form of entrepreneurial activity, driven by the fact that this type of business is the largest and fastest growing subset in the overall business sector around the world. Hitherto, HBBs were comparatively under-researched and literature on them was limited. Despite the global nature of HBB activities, few academics have researched this type of business activity.
The process of HBB formalisation is an action that follows an intention. Therefore, it is important to understand the reasons behind formation of intention and how these might lead to HBB formalisation. This thesis contributes to a body of literature on HBBs, entrepreneurial intention, the intention–action gap, and formalisation of informal entrepreneurship, by exploring the HBB formalisation process in Kuwait. The research uses the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as an orienting theoretical framework to better understand how the intention of an HBB owner to formalise their HBB is formed, and when and why this intention is translated into actual HBB formalisation.
Drawing on a qualitative longitudinal approach, a sample of 50 informal Kuwaiti HBB owners were interviewed and followed throughout the three-phases spanning a 2-year period, resulting in 112 interview sessions. Using constructivist grounded theory methods, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted over this time. This research yielded several important results: push and pull factors, other motivations, key circumstances, and personal characteristics all played important roles in the formalisation process of HBBs in Kuwait. The unique contribution of this research resides in understanding the situations under which the intentions of informal Kuwaiti HBB owners to formalise their HBB are translated into actual formalisation, in addition to exploring the barriers and facilitators to the HBB formalisation process. Implications for theory, policy, practice, and methodology are provided. Finally, recommendations for future research, and research limitations, are presented.
Scholars often cite an entrepreneur’s actions and their skills, know-how and entrepreneurial competencies (ECs) as the most influential factors related to the accomplishment of important venturing outcomes. Yet the joint impact of these factors on venturing accomplishments is yet to be explored. This paper aims to fill this void by empirically developing and testing a mediation model exploring three EC mechanisms by which entrepreneurial actions—specifically discovery and exploitation activities—led to the achievement of specific venturing accomplishments—namely the time to breakeven and turnover achieved. Data were collected from 1150 South African entrepreneurs using an online survey. Covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results show that entrepreneurial action (EA) significantly impacts on the efficiency and effectiveness of a venture through the development of three key ECs. Furthermore, the type of action taken by entrepreneurs during the entrepreneurial process differentially influences competency development and venturing accomplishments. More specifically, opportunity discovery and exploitation activities have a varying impact on EC development, as the engagement in these distinct venture-related activities provides unique feedback for the development of appropriate behavioral scripts for specific contexts which lead to distinct venturing accomplishments. This research offers novel insights into the newly emerging scholarly conviction that engagement in the entrepreneurial process itself may affect key entrepreneurial abilities and accomplishments. In so doing, this paper builds on, and has implications for, theories of competency development and venturing performance, as well as pedagogical interventions aimed at enhancing entrepreneurship.
This article investigates students’ evaluations of perceived entrepreneurial benefits and barriers and their desired university support within a sample of the ICSB academies in 2016 and 2017. The authors highlight differences within these evaluations depending on gender and the students’ disciplinary background, drawing on social role theory. In general, the participants of the ICSB academies show high entrepreneurial ambitions; this also holds for the generated subgroups (business/non-business and female/male). The support for our derived hypotheses is in line with our theoretical reasoning, showing differences caused by gender and disciplinary background. As a practical implication, our findings facilitate effective student support of higher education institutions.
In this chapter, we introduce Mindset theory of Action Phases (MAP) and the self-regulation strategy of implementation intentions. MAP proposes four successive distinct phases through which one traverses during goal pursuit. During each phase, the goal-striving individual faces different challenges, and the activation of specific cognitive procedures (i.e., mindsets) helps to overcome these challenges. These mindsets can further carry over to unrelated tasks and affect behavior. Implementation intentions are specific if-then plans (i.e., “If critical situation S occurs, then I will perform goal-directed response R!”). Across close to 100 independent studies with more than 8000 participants, implementation intentions were shown to promote goal attainment beyond the mere formation of goals (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, Adv Exp Soc Psychol 38:69–119, 2006). We present applied contexts and recent developments of MAP and implementation intentions and close the chapter by discussing a study on the effects of implementation intentions in the domain of consumer psychology.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of impending layoff on employees’ entrepreneurial intention and gestation actions in Kenya. Results from a sample of 394 employees drawn from three Kenyan firms facing possibility of retrenchment show that an impending layoff adversely affected individual’s entrepreneurial intention both directly and indirectly, with the indirect negative effect being mediated by entrepreneurial self‐efficacy and gestation actions. The results highlight the importance of cultivating employees’ positive perceptions about themselves and helping them view the layoff exercise as an opportunity to turn a new page.
Short of studying actual new venture launches, what could possibly be more potent than understanding the preconditions that enable entrepreneurial activity? Early research focused unsurprisingly on behavior (the “what?” and the “how?” even somewhat the “where?” and the “when?”) and since entrepreneurs were obviously special people, on the entrepreneurial person (the “who?”). Intentions are classically defined as the cognitive state temporally and causally prior to action (e.g., The intentional stance, Cambridge, 1989; Entrep Theory Pract 24:5–23, 2000). Here that translates to the working definition of the cognitive state temporally and causally prior to the decision to start a business. The field has adopted and adapted formal models of entrepreneurial intentions that are based on strong, widely accepted theory and whose results appear not only empirically robust but of great practical value. But do we have what we think we have? Or have we also opened the door to a much broader range of questions that will advance our theoretical understanding of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs? We offer here a glimpse of the remarkably wide array of fascinating questions for entrepreneurship scholars.
This study examined nascent entrepreneurship by comparing individuals engaged in nascent activities (n = 452), after screening a sample from the general population (n=30,427). Due to the large sample size and the utilization of a control group of non-entrepreneurs (n=608), the findings of this study present a new approach to the relationship between human capital, social capital and entrepreneurship. Our primary objective was to help close the significant research gap regarding the sociological characteristics of nascent entrepreneurs, as well as to examine the comparative importance of various contributions and factors, such as personal networks and business classes. Having friends in business and being encouraged by them was a strong predictor regarding who among the general population eventually engaged in nascent activity. The study fails to support the role of formal education in predicting either nascent entrepreneurship or comparative success, when success is measured in terms of the three defined activities — creating a business plan, registering the business, or obtaining the first sale. Of particular note was that attending business classes specifically designed to promote entrepreneurship failed to be associated with successful business paths. This research suggests that national governments considering intervention activities might be wiser to focus on structural relationships than on programs specifically targeted to promote certain entrepreneurial activities. The facilitation of entrepreneurial social capital should be more successful if agencies filter their assistance through previous existing social networks. In addition, our findings suggest that countries that lack a very highly educated population may not be at a particular disadvantage regarding entrepreneurial activities.
Since 1980s, many authors have studied the entrepreneurial process based on the intention models developed in the sociopsychological literature. Determinants of intention were defined, but as shown by Ajzen (1987), no direct link was established between intention and action: intentions were found to explain only about 30% of the variance in behaviour. Some authors tried to bridge this gap, by focusing more specifically on environmental factors. Our paper is in line with works by Shane et al. (2003), in studying factors at the micro level. Drawing on the sociopsychological literature, it focuses on two psychological factors that can explain why some people with entrepreneurial intentions act when others do not. As it addresses the missing link between entrepreneurial intention and behaviour from a sociopsychological approach, the main contribution of this theoretical paper is to enhance our knowledge of the entrepreneurial process, in order to improve the training and support of nascent entrepreneurs.
Research dealing with various aspects of* the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985,
1987) is reviewed, and some unresolved issues are discussed. In broad terms, the theory is
found to be well supported by empirical evidence. Intentions to perform behaviors of different
kinds can be predicted with high accuracy from attitudes toward the behavior, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control; and these intentions, together with perceptions of
behavioral control, account for considerable variance in actual behavior. Attitudes, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control are shown to be related to appropriate sets of salient
behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about the behavior, but the exact nature of these
relations is still uncertain. Expectancy value formulations are found to be only partly
successful in dealing with these relations. Optimal rescaling of expectancy and value
measures is offered as a means of dealing with measurement limitations. Finally, inclusion of
past behavior in the prediction equation is shown to provide a means of testing the theory*s
sufficiency, another issue that remains unresolved. The limited available evidence concerning
this question shows that the theory is predicting behavior quite well in comparison to the
ceiling imposed by behavioral reliability.
This study draws on the Rubicon model of action phases to study the actions or lack of actions that follow the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Concurrently, it examines the roles of self-control and action-related emotions in explaining the intention–action gap using longitudinal survey data (N = 161). The results show that self-control positively moderates the relationship between intention and action, and that it counters the rise of action-related fear, doubt, and aversion. We also find evidence for interaction effects between action aversion, action doubt, and intention strength. Our results signal the importance of studying moderators of the intention–action relationship.
This analysis focuses on the three different phases of the business startup process - i.e., aspiring (an intention to pursue, or commitment to continue, an entrepreneurial career), preparing or nascent (an attempt to establish a business), and entering (the actual startup of a fledgling new business). While previous studies have focused on one of the following three areas of this process, this study combines all three areas in the analysis.The areas included are: (1) individual, (2) environment, and (3) activities undertaken by entrepreneurs during the business startup. From a potential pool of 9,533 Norwegians interviewed, 197 individuals identified as nascent entrepreneurs agreed to participate. Data were collected from these individuals from 1996 through 1999.The results indicate that higher education is positively associated with becoming a nascent entrepreneur but does not have a significant effect on aspiring entrepreneurs or business founders.Having entrepreneurial experience is positively associated with all three phases of the process. Further, the study determines that different types of resources impact whether an entrepreneur reaches the different phases.Human resources are shown to be better predictors of the success of the business startup process than are environmental resources. (SRD)
The road from intentions to actions and new venture creation is long. So far, the literature has provided insights into action-regulatory factors that contribute to new venture creation. However, the literature has neglected to take into account the temporal dynamics underlying these relationships. We contribute to action-regulation theories in entrepreneurship by theorizing about and investigating how the effects of action-regulatory factors hold over time. We hypothesize that the action-regulatory factors of entrepreneurial goal intentions, positive fantasies, and action planning have combined effects on new venture creation. Furthermore, we hypothesize that these effects become weaker over time. To test our hypotheses, we studied 96 Ugandan entrepreneurs over 30 months. Our results supported our hypotheses. Action planning moderated the effects of entrepreneurial goal intentions and positive fantasies on new venture creation. Furthermore, the effects were significant in the beginning and wore off over time. Our study shows that including a time frame in theoretical models is important to derive valid conclusions from empirical results and to develop more precise theories.
Action plays a central role in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education. Based
on action regulation theory, we developed an action-based entrepreneurship training. The
training put a particular focus on action insofar as the participants learned action principles
and engaged in the start-up of a business during the training. We hypothesized that a set of
action-regulatory factors mediates the effect of the training on entrepreneurial action. We
evaluated the training’s impact over a 12-month period using a randomized control group
design. As hypothesized, the training had positive effects on action-regulatory factors
(entrepreneurial goal intentions, action planning, action knowledge, and entrepreneurial selfefficacy)
and the action-regulatory factors mediated the effect of the training on
entrepreneurial action. Furthermore, entrepreneurial action and business opportunity
identification mediated the effect of the training on business start-up. Our study shows that
action-regulatory mechanisms play an important role for action-based entrepreneurship
trainings and business start-up.
ABSTRACT This paper reports on a,series of entrepreneurial intentionality studies using,the research design developed by Krueger et al (2000) and further elaborated by Kickul and Krueger, (2004). Three illustrative examples show differences in context, social norms, and cognitive styles. The paper discusses the implications of differences ,between ,these diverse groups with respect to efforts to improve,entrepreneurial activity. The paper also addresses the issue of cultural differences between,majority and minority cultures within alarger national context and addresses the issue of age as a mediator of entrepreneurial intentions. Discussion ,also addresses the reality of trying ,to publish ,replication (or failure to replicate) studies in academic literature in management and the social sciences. Key Words:Entrepreneurial intentionali ty, replication, contextuality
This analysis demonstrates the relevance and robustness of the theory of planned behavior in the prediction of business start-up intentions and subsequent behavior based on longitudinal survey data (2011 and 2012; n = 969) from the adult population in Austria and Finland. By doing so, the study addresses two weaknesses in current research: the limited scope of samples used in the majority of prior studies and the scarcity of investigations studying the translation of entrepreneurial intentions into behavior. The paper discusses conceptual and methodological issues related to studying the intention–behavior relationship and outlines avenues for future research.
The role of personality traits in the decision to start a business and to maintain it successfully is discussed controversially in entrepreneurship research. Our meta-analysis builds upon and extends earlier meta-analyses by doing a full analysis of personality traits that includes a comparison of different traits from a theoretical perspective and by analysing a full set of personality predictors for both start-up activities as well as success. Theoretically, our article adds to the literature by matching traits to the tasks of entrepreneurs. The results indicate that traits matched to the task of running a business produced higher effect sizes with business creation than traits that were not matched to the task of running an enterprise, corrected r = .247, K = 47, N = 13,280, and corrected r = .124, K = 20, N = 3975, respectively. Moreover, traits matched to the task produced higher correlations with success, corrected r = .250, K = 42, N = 5607, than traits not matched to the task of running a business, corrected r = .028, K = 13, N = 2777. The traits matched to entrepreneurship significantly correlated with entrepreneurial behaviour (business creation, business success) were need for achievement, generalized self-efficacy, innovativeness, stress tolerance, need for autonomy, and proactive personality. These relationships were of moderate size in general and, moreover, heterogeneity suggested that future research should analyse moderator variables.
Entrepreneurship is the creation of organizations. What dlfterentiates entrepreneurs trom non-entrepreneurs ls that entrepreneuns create organizations, whil-e.non-entre- preneurs dc not. In behavioral approaches to the study of entrepreneurship an entre preneur is seen as a set of activlties involved in organization creation, while in tralt approaches an entrepreneur ls a set of personality traits and characteristics. This gager argues that tralt approaches have been unfrultful and that behavioral ap proaches will be a more productive perspective for future'research in entrepreneur- ship. r
This paper examines how culture and gender shape entrepreneurial perceptions and intentions within Hofstede's cultural dimensions framework and gender role theory. We test whether gender differences exist in the way university students in three nations perceive barriers to entrepreneurship and whether gender has a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived barriers and entrepreneurial intentions across nations. Findings indicate significant gender differences in barrier perceptions. However, this gap is not consistent across cultures. Also, a moderating effect of gender on the relationship between barriers and entrepreneurial intentions is identified. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Implementation intentions are said to transfer control over goal-directed behavior to situational cues, thereby automating initiation of the behavior (Gollwitzer, 1999). Alternatively, implementation intentions may be effective because they create commitment to the intended behavior. In an empirical study, implementation intentions regarding a simple task (rating TV newscasts) varied in their specificity. In addition, explicit commitment to the task was manipulated, and chronic conscientiousness was assessed. Consistent with the commitment hypothesis, general and specific implementation intentions were equally effective in raising level of task performance, and they were no more effective than asking for an explicit commitment to carry out the task. Also, individuals high in conscientiousness were more likely than individuals low on this trait to enact their intentions.
In the present study, the model of action phases (Heckhausen & Gollwitzer, 1987) was applied to the area of continuing education. A subsample of 136 East German participants in the larger study "Active Actions in a Radical Change Situation" rated the expected value of further education, indicated whether they had taken a decision to continue their education (goal intention) and whether they were planning goal-directed actions (implementation intention). Two years later, it was ascertained whether participants had initiated vocational retraining. Findings support the core assumptions of the model. Postdecisional participants endorsed the positive aspects of further education more strongly (implemental mindset) than predecisional participants, who looked at its pros and cons impartially (deliberative mindset). Second, participants were more successful in initiating vocational retraining when they had a goal intention that was additionally furnished with an implementation intention. Findings are discussed with respect to theoretical and practical implications of the distinction between goal setting and goal implementation.
This contribution discusses a theory of entrepreneurship, its empirical base and its implications. First, it argues that a psychological approach is necessary to understand entrepreneurship. Second, it argues that any theory of entrepreneurship should use active actions as a starting point – entrepreneurship is the epitome of an active agent in the market (rather than a reactive agent). Third, it discusses an action regulation theory to better understand the psychology of entrepreneurship. Fourth, it provides examples how this theory can help to understand entrepreneurial success. Finally, I suggest intervention programs to help entrepreneurs to be successful at growing their organizations.
Although entrepreneurial ideas begin with inspiration, intention and attention are needed to realize the ideas. This analysis focuses on the conscious and intended act of creating a firm, but less on the action than the psychological precursors to that act. Entrepreneurial intentions are directed at creating a new venture or new values in existing ones. Studying intention directs theory toward the complex relationships among entrepreneurial ideas and their consequences. Intention is structured by rational, analytic, and causal processes, and is framed and structured by intuitive, holistic, and contextual thinking. A behavioral, not an institutional, model is presented that guides attention to how entrepreneurs create, sustain, and transform organizations. The model thus distinguishes entrepreneurship from strategic management. The model is based on interviews with 20 entrepreneurs using a discovery-oriented inquiry Five antecedent and three intrapsychic processes are identified. Intention sustains temporal tension and strategic focus; developing an intentional posture requires alignment to a single purpose and direction, and attunement to the entrepreneurial environment. Entrepreneurial intentions impact organizational direction, survival, growth, and form. The model allows deeper insight into the creative process of venture development; and it allows entrepreneurship to be studied consistent with theories of leadership, organizational development, and organizational theory. The model moves research beyond description and statistical analysis. An entrepreneur's actions create organizational theories that may be discovered and analyzed. (TNM)
Purpose
Since the 1950s, organizational psychology research investigating work‐related motivation has progressed from static content models to dynamic process models. Entrepreneurship research has evolved along a similar trajectory, adapting organizational psychology findings to better understand the motivation to become an entrepreneur. This paper reviews motivation research from both fields, explores some of the commonalities among current theories, and presents a new model of entrepreneurial motivation.
Design/methodology/approach
In an exploratory study, the ability of tolerance for risk, perceived feasibility, and perceived net desirability to predict intentions for self‐employment is examined in a sample of 114 undergraduate business students at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Findings
Results indicated that tolerance for risk, perceived feasibility and net desirability significantly predicted self‐employment intentions, with an adjusted R ² of 0.528.
Research limitations/implications
Because the sample consisted entirely of undergraduate business students, findings may not be generalizable to non‐student populations. This research did not examine the role of negative motivations, or “push” factors. The cross‐sectional rather than longitudinal design of the study raises the usual caveats regarding lack of causal evidence. Finally, a limitation of any survey research is the inability to ask follow‐up questions and explore in more depth the reasoning behind any finding. Future research including qualitative interviews and/or focus group sessions could therefore provide rich explanatory information that could add value to the survey data.
Practical implications
As a result of this research, educators, government officials, and others interested in stimulating entrepreneurial motivation should consider how their words and actions affect potential entrepreneurs’ perceptions of entrepreneurial feasibility and net desirability.
Originality/value
Although the model is original and unique, it is based on established theories and models. It provides a well‐supported explanation of the motivation to become an entrepreneur that will be useful to potential entrepreneurs and those who encourage and guide them.
This article contributes to the occupational choice literature pertaining to entrepreneurship by applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to predict entrepreneurial behaviour. Originating from social psychology, the TPB posits that intention, a function of behavioural beliefs, is a significant predictor of subsequent behaviour. In spite of an established stream of scholarship explaining the formation of entrepreneurial intentions, empirical research has not yet employed longitudinal data to examine whether the intention to start a business measured at one point of time translates into subsequent entrepreneurial behaviour. This article provides a full test of the TPB in the prediction of business start-up intentions and subsequent behaviour based on two-wave survey data (2006 and 2009) from the working-age population in Finland. The econometric results support the predictions outlined in the TPB: attitude, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms are significant predictors of entrepreneurial intention; and intention and perceived behavioural control are significant predictors of subsequent behaviour. This research thus provides support to the application of the TPB and the concept of behavioural intention to understand the emergence of complex economic behaviour such as entrepreneurship prior to the onset of any observable action.
Purpose
Facing the multiplication of entrepreneurship education programmes (EEP) and the increasing resources allocated, there is a need to develop a common framework to evaluate the design of those programmes. The purpose of this article is to propose such a framework, based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).
Design/methodology/approach
TPB is a relevant tool to model the development of entrepreneurial intention through pedagogical processes. The independent variables are the characteristics of the EEP and the dependent variables are the antecedents of entrepreneurial behaviour. To illustrate and test the relevance of the evaluation methodology, a pilot study is conducted.
Findings
Data are consistent and reliable, considering the small scale of this experiment. The EEP assessed had a strong measurable impact on the entrepreneurial intention of the students, while it had a positive, but not very significant, impact on their perceived behavioural control.
Research implications/limitations
This is a first step of an ambitious research programme aiming at producing theory‐grounded knowledge. Reproduction of the experiment will allow researchers to test how specific characteristics of an EEP influence its impact and how the impact differs across several cohorts of students. Those comparisons will serve to improve a priori the design of EEP.
Originality/value
The new methodology is built on a robust theoretical framework and based on validated measurement tools. Its originality is about a relative – longitudinal – measure of impact over time and a particular use of the theory of planned behaviour which is seen as an assessment framework.
The Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology is an essential resource for researchers and students of social psychology and related disciplines.
Entrepreneurial intentions, entrepreneurs' states of mind that direct attention, experience, and action toward a business concept, set the form and direction of organizations at their inception. Subsequent organizational outcomes such as survival, development (including written plans), growth, and change are based on these intentions. The study of entrepreneurial intentions provides a way of advancing entrepreneurship research beyond descriptive studies and helps to distinguish entrepreneurial activity from strategic management.
This research paper analyzes the differences in sensibility regarding the creation of enterprises among French and American students. The research measures not only students’ intentions to start up an enterprise but also their attitudes toward the creation of an enterprise, their perceptions of social norms and their feelings of being able to manage the entrepreneurial process. The research compares their beliefs in order to identify differences and similarities. The paper analyzes the professional values of students (i.e. the professional characteristics which they value), their vision of entrepreneurship (the needs they think will be satisfied by entrepreneurship), and their degree of confidence in their capabilities to properly manage tasks deemed critical to starting a new business via the entrepreneurial process. Descriptive and data analyses are run on the results of a questionnaire administrated to 272 American students enrolled in marketing and management classes at the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University (GA) and 340 French students, studying economics and management at the Université Pierre Mendès France (Grenoble 2). The results show that the intention to start up a company is stronger in the US than in France, and show important differences in beliefs. Taking into consideration the whole sample, first we have control beliefs, and then, behavioral beliefs, which explain students’ entrepreneurship intentions. We thus characterize three clusters of students with homogeneous entrepreneurship behaviors. Because nationality clearly comes to light, we pursue the analyses separately for each country and we describe, in this way, three typical behaviors for each.
Using resource-based theory to explain why outside assistance might influence new venture performance, we track the longer-term performance of two samples of entrepreneurs who received SBDC counseling and subsequently started businesses. Results indicate that the ventures had higher than expected rates of survival, growth, and innovation, suggesting that outsider assistance during the early stages of a venture's development can influence its subsequent development. Public policy implications of the SBDC's counseling strategy are discussed.
In the past, there have been Marketing Research books and there have been SPSS guide books. This book combines the two, providing a step-by-step treatment of the major choices facing marketing researchers when using SPSS. The authors offer a concise approach to analysing quantitative marketing research data in practice. Whether at undergraduate or graduate level, students are often required to analyse data, in methodology and marketing research courses, in a thesis, or in project work. Although they may have a basic understanding of how SPSS works, they may not understand the statistics behind the method. This book bridges the gap by offering a introduction to marketing research techniques, whilst simultaneously explaining how to use SPSS to apply them.
There are many instances in which individuals can become locked into a costly course of action. Because it is often possible for persons who have suffered a setback to recoup their losses through an even greater commitment of resources to the same course of action, a cycle of escalating commitment can be produced. In this paper, I review recent research on the escalation of commitment and try to integrate its complex and often conflicting determinants.
Venture creation is at the heart of entrepreneurship. Enterprising individuals or groups start new ventures and, thus, we must understand the role of individuals if we are to understand venture creation. In this article, we review and critique the venture creation literature that has examined the role of the individual, with an eye toward identifying under-researched topics and improving research designs. We then highlight individual judgment as a particularly important future direction for research on the role of enterprising individuals in venture creation. We also discuss techniques for accessing entrepreneurs and for evaluating entrepreneurial judgments.
Do entrepreneurship education programs (EEPs) really influence participants’ attitudes and intention toward entrepreneurship? How is this influence related to past experience and how does it persist? Researchers and entrepreneurship education stakeholders alike have been looking into this question for quite a while, with a view to validating the efficacy of such programs. The authors of this paper propose to operationalize the concept of entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents in an attempt to address those issues. In particular, we propose an original research design where (1) we measure the initial state and persistence of the impact and not only short-term effects; (2) we deal with a compulsory program, allowing to avoid self-selection biases; and (3) we deal with an homogeneous “compact” program rather than programs combining multiple teaching components whose effects cannot be disentangled. Our main research results show that the positive effects of an EEP are all the more marked when previous entrepreneurial exposure has been weak or inexistent. Conversely, for those students who had previously significantly been exposed to entrepreneurship, the results highlight significant countereffects of the EEP on those participants.
Increasing interest in the development of entrepreneurial intentions has elevated the importance of theories that predict and explain individuals' propensity to start a firm. The purpose of this study is to meta-analytically test and integrate the theory of planned behavior and the entrepreneurial event model. We summarize the findings of 98 studies (123 samples, n = 114,007) and utilize meta-analytic structural equation modeling to examine the empirical fit of the competing theories and the integrated model. Our results demonstrate support for the competing theories and indicate the moderating role of contextual boundary conditions in the development of entrepreneurial intent. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the integrated model provides additional explanatory power and a fuller understanding of the process through which entrepreneurial intent develops.
Entrepreneurial intention is a rapidly evolving field of research, with a growing number of studies using entrepreneurial intention as a powerful theoretical framework. Some authors, however, are now calling for scholars to rethink the future of research on entrepreneurial intentions. This paper addresses this issue and, on the basis of a number of knowledge gaps in the literature, proposes future directions for research.
Disengagement from the startup up process, i.e. seizure of all activities geared toward firm creation, warrants concern because nascent entrepreneurs invest significant (and often limited) time and resources in startup activities. In line with calls for a cumulative combination of related theories within the self-regulation perspective (e.g., Wood, 2005), we attempt to expand existing understanding of the role of cognition in entrepreneurship by employing an integrated goalsetting and social cognition approach under the self-regulation perspective in examining nascent entrepreneurs’ disengagement from the startup process. We present a model which proposes that nascent entrepreneurs’ goal commitment (H1a) and self-efficacy (H1b) negatively influence their disengagement from startup efforts while perceived competition intensity (H1c) increases disengagement. Further, both of the former relationships are moderated by perceived competition intensity – being weaker when perceived competition intensity is high (H2a & H2b).
During the last two decades, researchers have sought to develop categories of entrepreneurs and their businesses along a variety of dimensions to better comprehend and analyze the entrepreneurial growth process. Some of this research has focused on differences related to industrial sectors, firm size, the geographical region in which a business is located, the use of high-technology or low-technology, and the life-cycle stage of the firm (i.e., start-up vs. more mature, formalized companies). Researchers have also considered ways in which entrepreneurs can be differentiated from small business managers. One of these classifications is based on the entrepreneur's desire to grow the business rapidly. This is the focus of our study.
This article examines the factors which are crucial in the decision to start business activities or not. For this purpose, we tracked nascent entrepreneurs who began the start-up process (by communicating their intentions to start a business) in order to find out whether or not they finally went into active business ( = founding success). In order to explain founding success, we defined four influencing dimensions: (1) the entrepreneur (person), (2) resources, (3) the environment and (4) the (start-up) process. Our analysis is based on a longitudinal study in which 290 nascent entrepreneurs in Austria were surveyed over a period of three years (1998—2001). After that period, 159 (54.9%) of them had already started business activities, while 131 (45.2%) had not. A binary logistic regression revealed that variables in all four influencing dimensions constitute significant predictors. Among those predictors, the most influential are intrapreneurial experience (human capital), organizational efforts (process), cohabitation (person) and the aim of a full-time start-up (process). Our results support the assumption that using as comprehensive a conception as possible (reflecting all four influencing dimensions) is useful for the purpose of explaining founding success.
We studied 623 nascent entrepreneurs during a six‐year period, examining how their planning decisions impact venture‐level performance. Our study is unique in that we tracked nascent ventures, examining their planning behavior, including changes to plans. Relying on the theory of legitimacy, this paper adds to the scholarly debate over the merits of business planning by examining, longitudinally, the impact of planning during a six‐year period, accounting for both pre‐emergent nascent activity and post‐emergent success factors. We found that neither formal planning nor changes in the business plan increased venture‐level performance over the six‐year study period.
This chapter addresses two questions; how big is the “gap” between intentions and behavior, and what psychological variables might be able to “bridge” the intention–behavior gap? A meta-analysis of meta-analyses is used to quantify the gap and a conceptual analysis of intention–behavior discrepancies is presented. Research is described on the extent to which four groups of variables—behavior type, intention type, properties of intention, and cognitive and personality variables—moderate intention–behavior relations. Finally, the scope of the intention construct is discussed in the light of recent evidence concerning the role of habits and automaticity in human behavior.
The goal of this review of venture-creation literature is to answer why, when, and how different modes of action are used to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities.Extant research about the role of individuals in entrepreneurship is summarized and critiqued, and directions for future research are suggested. New ventures are the direct outcome of individuals' intentions and consequent actions.New venture-creation comprises: (1) entrepreneurial intention, (2) opportunity search and discovery, (3) decision to exploit the opportunity by new venture creation, and (4) exploitation activities leading to the first sale. Past research into the entrepreneurial profile has been largely unsuccessful. This literature review is limited to individual differences (or characteristics) that influence development of entrepreneurial intentions, opportunity search and discovery, decision process, and subsequent action. Future research should examine the generalizability of findings to other countries.Examining judgments made during venture creation should help understand starting and succeeding in new ventures. Information about venture creation and activities should be based on primary data gathered directly from entrepreneurs (instead of using students as proxies); suggestions are offered on how to gather such data. (TNM)