No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Becoming an Entrepreneurial Individual: The Emergence of Subjective Control Beliefs among BoP Youngsters
Abstract
Supporting economic and community development through entrepreneurship starts with understanding better individuals’ cognitive processes (Krueger et al., 2000). To this end, the current literature presents an impressive amount of studies attempting to discover the cognitive factors that explain the formation of entrepreneurial intentions among potential entrepreneurs. One of the usual suspects of such cognitive factor is perceived behavioral control (PBC), which refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing a given behavior (Ajzen, 1991). PBC is based on subjective control beliefs regarding the presence or absence of requisite resources and opportunities for performing the behavior in question. In entrepreneurship research this construct is applied in the sense that the greater the subjective control beliefs, the stronger the individual’s intention to become an entrepreneur.
While previous research has found ample empirical proof for the causal logic between subjective control beliefs and entrepreneurial intentions, and then intention and actual entrepreneurial behavior (Kautonen et al. 2011; Kautonen et al. 2015), it is much less concerned about the process that lead to the emergence of subjective control beliefs in the first place. Indeed, vast majority of the past studies are based on what Van de Ven (1992) would call variance-based models where the focus is on discovering causal relationship between independent (e.g. control beliefs) and dependent factors (e.g. intention). On the contrary, the processes of how individuals develop subjective control beliefs and engage in entrepreneurial activities over time remains largely unexplored. Taking up this challenge, our main objective in this study to enhance our collective understanding of the cognitive processes underlying the emergence of subjective control beliefs related becoming an entrepreneur.
Our theoretical contribution is related to shifting the attention of scholars from variance-based explanations about how subjective control fosters entrepreneurial behavior towards more process-based view on how subjective control is born and develops in the first place. Indeed, we believe discovering the sequence through which subjective control is developed as a cognitive process among potential entrepreneurs is worthy contribution. Leaning on the notion of control (Skinner, 1996), and through qualitative process study, we bring forth empirical evidence about how individuals’ perception of subjective control develops over time.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Recent scholars have dismissed the utility of self-esteem as
well as programs designed to improve it. The authors
challenge these contentions on conceptual, methodological, and empirical grounds. They begin by proposing that
the scope of recent analyses has been overly narrow and
should be broadened to include specific as well as global
self-views. Using this conceptualization, the authors place
recent critiques in historical context, recalling that similarly skeptical commentaries on global attitudes and traits
inspired theorizing and empirical research that subsequently restored faith in the value of both constructs.
Specifically, they point to 3 strategies for attaining more
optimistic assessments of the predictive validity of selfviews: recognizing the utility of incorporating additional
variables in predictive schemes, matching the specificity of
predictors and criteria, and using theoretically informed
standards for evaluating predictor– criterion relationships.
The authors conclude that self-views do matter and that it
is worthwhile and important to develop and implement
theoretically informed programs to improve them.
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.
Understanding and predicting new venture initiation requires research using theory-driven models that adequately reflect the complex perception-based processes underlying intentional, planned behaviours such as new venture initiation. We discuss exactly such a model, widely used in social psychology, and demonstrate its applicability to the entrepreneurship domain. Ajzen's intentions-centred ‘theory of planned behaviour’ is parsimonious, well grounded in theory, and robustly predicts a wide variety of planned behaviours. Intentions are the single best predictor of such behaviour, both conceptually and empirically. Intentions formation depends; on attitudes toward the target behaviour which, in turn, reflect beliefs and perceptions. Intentions-based models of entrepreneurial activity are compatible with existing research results and open new approaches to studying venture initiation. Intentions models allow us to better understand the impact of various antecedents of organizational emergence; identifying not only what influences emergence, but also how.
Addresses the centrality of the self-efficacy mechanism (SEM) in human agency. SEM precepts influence thought patterns, actions, and emotional arousal. In causal tests, the higher the level of induced self-efficacy, the higher the performance accomplishments and the lower the emotional arousal. The different lines of research reviewed show that the SEM may have wide explanatory power. Perceived self-efficacy helps to account for such diverse phenomena as changes in coping behavior produced by different modes of influence, level of physiological stress reactions, self-regulation of refractory behavior, resignation and despondency to failure experiences, self-debilitating effects of proxy control and illusory inefficaciousness, achievement strivings, growth of intrinsic interest, and career pursuits. The influential role of perceived collective efficacy in social change and the social conditions conducive to development of collective inefficacy are analyzed. (21/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1982 American Psychological Association.
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.
This paper aims to identify some factors that may be explaining differences among secondary students in start-up intentions.
For that, the study develops an entrepreneurial intention model sustained by the use of Azjen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour
(TBP). Using a sample of students aged between 14 and 15 years old, a questionnaire based on the Liñán and Chen’s Entrepreneurial
Intention Questionnaire was administrated. The purpose is to test a model of entrepreneurial intention using structural equations.
The findings point that TPB is an appropriate tool to model the development of entrepreneurial intention through pedagogical
processes and learning contexts. The education and training should centre itself much more in changing personal attitudes
than in knowledge. Moreover, it is desirable that an entrepreneurship educational programme could contribute to the development
of competences related to entrepreneurship, social and civic skills, and cultural awareness.
KeywordsEntrepreneurial intention–Entrepreneurship education–Secondary students
This article investigates the impact of perceived age norms on the formation of entrepreneurial intentions in the third age. Age norms refer to those social norms that determine whether establishing and running a business is considered appropriate behavior for a mature individual. A representative empirical analysis of 496 Finnish individuals aged 45-64 years shows that norms perceived as permissive of enterprising activity in the third age exert a significant positive influence on entrepreneurial intentions in this segment, even when controlling for the general level of entrepreneurship in the 55 Western Finnish municipalities included in the analysis. This influence is partially mediated by whether the individual has a positive attitude toward entrepreneurship, by how the individual perceives their own ability to start and run a business, by the extent of support from their family and friends they perceive, and also by the importance of that support to them. Thus, if there were a policy aim to increase enterprising activity in the third-age segment, the portfolio of instruments should include measures that address people’s general awareness of third-age entrepreneurship as a viable, positive and attractive late-career option.
As the influential factors affecting intention to become an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial attitude orientation and self-efficacy of students have been one of the main focuses of entrepreneurship research. However, there is not enough information on secondary school students’ attitude toward and efficacy of entrepreneurship particularly, in Malaysia. Through a descriptive approach, this study aimed to determine entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in order to evaluate the entrepreneurship inclination and potential among Malaysian secondary school students. A sample of 2,574 students was randomly selected from three states around Malaysia as the participants of this study. A set of questionnaire was developed based on previous researches to measure students’ entrepreneurial attitude and self-efficacy. The findings indicate that Malay students have a moderately high attitude toward entrepreneurship. More specifically, the students scored high in self-esteem cognition and achievement cognition but low in self-esteem behavior and self-esteem affect. Moreover, the students perceived themselves as moderately capable of establishing new ventures. The implication of the findings and areas for future researches are discussed.
An integrative framework, designed to organize the heterogeneous constructs related to "control", is based on 2 fundamental distinctions: (a) objective, subjective, and experiences of control; and (b) agents, means, and ends of control. The framework is used to analyze more than 100 terms, such as sense of control, proxy control, and primary control. It is argued that although many terms reflect aspects of perceived control (both distinct and overlapping), some are more usefully considered aspects of objective control conditions (e.g., contingency), potential antecedents of perceived control (e.g., choice), potential consequences (e.g., secondary control), sources of motivation for control (e.g., mastery), or other sources of motivation (e.g., autonomy). Implications for theory, measurement, research, and intervention are explored.
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.
The contextual factors of entrepreneurship consist of social, political, and economic variables such as displacement, changes in markets, and government deregulation (Bird, 1988). Entrepreneurial intentions are further structured by both rational/analytic thinking (goal-directed behavior) and intuitive/holistic thinking (vision). These thought processes underlie the creation of formal business plans, opportunity analysis, and other goal-directed behavior. This paper further develops Bird's model of entrepreneurial intentionality by suggesting that individual self-efficacy, which has been defined as a person's belief in his or her capability to perform a task, influences the development of both entrepreneurial intentions and actions or behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The present research applied the theory of planned behavior to predict employment status choice, defined as the intention to enter an occupation as a wage or salaried individual or as a self-employed one. The role of family background, sex, and prior self-employment experience was also investigated. Using a sample of 128 Norwegian undergraduate business students, the findings strongly support the theory of planned behavior as applied to employment status choice intentions. Moreover, demographic characteristics were found to influence employment status choice intentions only indirectly through their effect on attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control.
In this article I describe and compare ct number of alternative generic strategies for the analysis of process data, looking at the consequences of these strategies for emerging theories. I evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies in terms of their capacity to generate theory that is accurate, parsimonious, general, and useful and suggest that method and theory are inextricably intertwined, that multiple strategies are often advisable, and that no analysis strategy will produce theory without an uncodifiable creative leap, however small. Finally, I argue that there is room in the organizational research literature for more openness within the academic community toward a variety of forms of coupling between theory and data.
This article suggests that the key to entrepreneurial success is to be found in the ability to develop and maintain a personal network. In elaborating this proposition I regard the environment of the business venture as "enacted". The inexperienced new entrepreneur needs support to create a personal network and to manage the enacted environment. The concept of the "organizing context", defined as a clustered sociocentric network, is introduced to provide a tool with which the entrepreneur can deal more efficiently with the different subprocesses that create his or her reality. The approach supplies a framework within which various forms of entrepreneurship -- indigenous, corporate, etc. -- can be compared and analysed beyond their institutional differences. The interaction between various forms of entrepreneurship and organizing contexts is empirically illustrated from case studies.
The present set of studies tested the explanatory and predictive generality of self-efficacy theory across additional treatment modalities and behavioral domains. Microanalysis of changes accompanying symbolic modeling indicates that this mode of treatment enhances coping behavior partly through its effects on perceived efficacy. Cognizing modeled mastery of threats increased phobics' self-percepts of efficacy, which, in turn, predicted their specific performance attainments on tasks of varying threat value. Examination of efficacy probes revealed that making efficacy judgments has no effect on subsequent avoidance behavior or on fear arousal. The close congruence found between changes in self-efficacy and different forms of coping behavior in the treatment of agoraphobia provides some evidence for the generality of efficacy theory across different areas of functioning. Microanalysis of anticipatory and performance fear arousal accompanying varying strengths of self-efficacy also lends support for the social learning conception of fear arousal in terms of perceived coping inefficacy.
An individual's intent to pursue an entrepreneurial career can result from the work environment and from personal factors. Drawing on the entrepreneurial intentions and the person–environment (P–E) fit literatures, and applying a multilevel perspective, we examine why individuals intend to leave their jobs to start business ventures. Findings, using a sample of 4192 IT professionals in Singapore, suggest that work environments with an unfavorable innovation climate and/or lack of technical excellence incentives influence entrepreneurial intentions, through low job satisfaction. Moderating effects suggest that an individual's innovation orientation strengthens the work-environment to job-satisfaction relationship; self-efficacy strengthens the job-satisfaction to entrepreneurial intentions relationship.
Why are intentions interesting to those who care about new venture formation? Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, a way of thinking that emphasizes opportunities over threats. The opportunity identification process is clearly an intentional process, and, therefore, entrepreneurial intentions clearly merit our attention. Equally important, they offer a means to better explain—and predict—entrepreneurship.We don't start a business as a reflex, do we? We may respond to the conditions around us, such as an intriguing market niche, by starting a new venture. Yet, we think about it first; we process the cues from the environment around us and set about constructing the perceived opportunity into a viable business proposition.In the psychological literature, intentions have proven the best predictor of planned behavior, particularly when that behavior is rare, hard to observe, or involves unpredictable time lags. New businesses emerge over time and involve considerable planning. Thus, entrepreneurship is exactly the type of planned behavior and for which intention models are ideally suited. If intention models prove useful in understanding business venture formation intentions, they offer a coherent, parsimonious, highly-generalizable, and robust theoretical framework for understanding and prediction.Empirically, we have learned that situational (for example, employment status or informational cues) or individual (for example, demographic characteristics or personality traits) variables are poor predictors. That is, predicting entrepreneurial activities by modeling only situational or personal factors usually resulted in disappointingly small explanatory power and even smaller predictive validity. Intentions models offer us a significant opportunity to increase our ability to understand and predict entrepreneurial activity.The current study compares two intention-based models in terms of their ability to predict entrepreneurial intentions: Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB) and Shapero's model of the entrepreneurial event (SEE). Ajzen argues that intentions in general depend on perceptions of personal attractiveness, social norms, and feasibility. Shapero argues that entrepreneurial intentions depend on perceptions of personal desirability, feasibility, and propensity to act. We employed a competing models approach, comparing regression analyses results for the two models. We tested for overall statistical fit and how well the results supported each component of the models. The sample consisted of student subjects facing imminent career decisions. Results offered strong statistical support for both models.(1) Intentions are the single best predictor of any planned behavior, including entrepreneurship. Understanding the antecedents of intentions increases our understanding of the intended behavior. Attitudes influence behavior by their impact on intentions. Intentions and attitudes depend on the situation and person. Accordingly, intentions models will predict behavior better than either individual (for example, personality) or situational (for example, employment status) variables. Predictive power is critical to better post hoc explanations of entrepreneurial behavior; intentions models provide superior predictive validity. (2) Personal and situational variables typically have an indirect influence on entrepreneurship through influencing key attitudes and general motivation to act. For instance, role models will affect entrepreneurial intentions only if they change attitudes and beliefs such as perceived self-efficacy. Intention-based models describe how exogenous influences (for eample, perceptions of resource availability) change intentions and, ultimately, venture creation. (3) The versatility and robustness of intention models support the broader use of comprehensive, theory-driven, testable process models in entrepreneurship research (MacMillan and Katz 1992). Intentional behavior helps explain and model why many entrepreneurs decide to start a business long before they scan for opportunities.Understanding intentions helps researchers and theoreticians to understand related phenomena. These include: what triggers opportunity scanning, the sources of ideas for a business venture, and how the venture ultimately becomes a reality. Intention models can describe how entrepreneurial training molds intentions in subsequent venture creation (for example, how does training in business plan writing change attitudes and intentions?). Past research has extensively explored aspects of new venture plans once written. Intentionality argues instead that we study the planning process itself for determinants of venturing behavior. We can apply intentions models to other strategic decisions such as the decision to grow or exit a business. Researchers can model the intentions of critical stakeholders in the venture, such as venture capitalists' intentions toward investing in a given company. Finally, management researchers can explore the overlaps between venture formation intentions and venture opportunity identification.Entrepreneurs themselves (and those who teach and train them) should benefit from a better understanding of their own motives. The lens provided by intentions affords them the opportunity to understand why they made certain choices in their vision of the new venture.Intentions-based models provide practical insight to any planned behavior. This allows us to better encourage the identification of personally-viable, personally-credible opportunities. Teachers, consultants, advisors, and entrepreneurs should benefit from a better general understanding of how intentions are formed, as well as a specific understanding of how founders' beliefs, perceptions, and motives coalesce into the intent to start a business. This understanding offers sizable diagnostic power, thus entrepreneurship educators can use this model to better understand the motivations and intentions of students and trainees and to help students and trainees understand their own motivations and intentions.Carefully targeted training becomes possible. For example, ethnic and gender differences in career choice are largely explained by self-efficacy differences. Applied work in psychology and sociology tells us that we already know how to remediate self-efficacy differences. Raising entrepreneurial efficacies will raise perceptions of venture feasibility, thus increasing the perception of opportunity.Economic and community development hinges not on chasing smokestacks, but on growing new businesses. To encourage economic development in the form of new enterprises we must first increase perceptions of feasibility and desirability. Policy initiatives will increase business formations if those initiatives positively influence attitudes and thus influence intentions. The growing trends of downsizing and outsourcing make this more than a sterile academic exercise. Even if we successfully increase the quantity and quality of potential entrepreneurs, we must also promote such perceptions among critical stakeholders including suppliers, financiers, neighbors, government officials, and the larger community.The findings of this study argue that promoting entrepreneurial intentions by promoting public perceptions of feasibility and desirability is not just desirable; promoting entrepreneurial intentions is also thoroughly feasible.
Intention-based models of entrepreneurship education
- F Linan
Linan, F. (2004), "Intention-based models of entrepreneurship education", Proceedings of International
Conference, 4-7 July 2004, Naples, Italy.