Growth intentions among research scientists: A cognitive style perspective

Although academic entrepreneurship has taken place in some U.S. universities for many decades, it is only over the past few decades that there has been an increased interest by universities worldwide to engage in their third mission related to entrepreneurship and economic development. Recently, researchers studying academic entrepreneurship have increasingly focused on understanding research scientists׳ entrepreneurial intentions. It has however also been acknowledged that, next to understanding entrepreneurial intentions, it is important to generate insights into growth intentions. This is because growth is unlikely to be achieved if no growth intention exists. Taking a cognition and self-efficacy perspective, our study explores how cognitive styles are associated with growth intentions within a group of research scientists having entrepreneurial intentions. Our study indicates that a planning cognitive style promotes while a knowing cognitive style curbs growth intentions. Further, working experience mitigates the negative impact of a knowing style on growth intentions. Our research has practical implications and implications for technology management, academic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intentions literatures.     

Logics,Leaders, Lab Coats: A Multi‐Level Study on How Institutional Logics are Linked to Entrepreneurial Intentions in Academia

Situated in the context of academia, this study integrates ideas from institutional theory, person‐environment fit theory and leadership research to conceptualize and examine the cross‐level link between the organizational‐level institutional logic of research commercialization and the entrepreneurial intentions of researchers. Multi‐level analyses based on a sample of 254 researchers working for 85 research group leaders in 49 German research institutes reveal that two distinct attributes of research group leaders – that is, their track records of entrepreneurial behaviour and their entrepreneurial intentions – play a significant role in transmitting the organizational‐level logic to the individual level. We also observe a complementary interaction between organizational‐level commercialization logic and the entrepreneurial track records of leaders. We discuss how these findings advance our understanding of science commercialization through academic entrepreneurship and how they inform institutional theory and theory development in other domains of entrepreneurship research.     

Extending the link between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention: a moderated mediation model

This study extended the research on the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention by developing a moderated mediation model. This model posits that the link between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention is mediated by attitudes toward entrepreneurship and planned entrepreneurial control, and that these mediation processes are further moderated by subjective norms. Based on a sample of 308 valid responses, regression analysis yielded two noteworthy results. First, entrepreneurial self-efficacy positively affects intention through attitudes toward entrepreneurship and planned entrepreneurial control. Second, the direct effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on intention decreases as subjective norms increase. By contrast, the indirect intention effects of entrepreneurial self-efficacy through attitudes toward entrepreneurship and planned entrepreneurial control increase as subjective norms increase. In addition, the results indicated that subjective norms positively affect entrepreneurial intention. These findings indicated that the model advances the use of the theory of planned behavior and can be used to define a person as an entrepreneur.     

Disassembling the influences of perceived family relational conflict on business family offspring’s intrapreneurial intentions

Entrepreneurial business family offspring are key figures in helping family businesses achieve transgenerational entrepreneurship. However, a global survey reveals that entrepreneurial offspring avoid the family business when conducting entrepreneurial activities. Our study makes the first effort to explore what reduces business family offspring’s intrapreneurial intentions in the family business context. Applying a mixed-method approach, we conduct 18 explorative interviews, a pretest of 124 Chinese business family offspring, and a formal survey of 131 Chinese business family offspring approaching their career decision point. We realize that growing up in family businesses often exposes offspring to two types of perceived family relational conflicts that their parents’ entrepreneurial endeavors incur, which we define as “big-family” and “parent-offspring” relational conflicts. Our empirical results suggest that the relationship between perceived family (i.e., parent-offspring and big-family) relational conflict and family business intrapreneurial intentions were serially mediated by family relational outcome expectation and family relational self-efficacy. Contributions to family business research and social cognitive career theory are discussed.

     

Telling their own stories: Māori entrepreneurship in the mainstream screen industry

We examined how factors from Indigenous entrepreneurship research (social capital, cultural capital, self-efficacy) help explain the high level of Māori entrepreneurial performance in the mainstream screen industry. Results, based on ten case studies and a one-year series of structured interviews, extend prior research by showing that these Indigenous entrepreneurs benefit jointly from two forms of capital: cultural and social. We found high levels of both forms to increase the desire for emancipation of cultural and community identity – not just individual identity – through entrepreneurship. Self-efficacy and storytelling helped ameliorate discontinuities across Indigenous and mainstream contexts. Our research sheds new light on how Indigenous ventures can pursue mainstream entrepreneurship while maintaining cultural identity. It also makes several distinct contributions to the Indigenous entrepreneurship literature. First, it provides an integrative theoretic review. Second, it illustrates a culturally appropriate methodology for researching Māori entrepreneurs with implications for other Indigenous communities. Third, it proposes cultural capital and social capital as a two-part framework for explaining Indigenous entrepreneurial action. Fourth, it shows how entrepreneurship can be empowering for Indigenous communities. Finally, our paper demonstrates that entrepreneurship is a promising mechanism for preserving and promoting the cultures of Māori and other Indigenous peoples.     

Unlocking the influence of family business exposure on entrepreneurial intentions

Although the impact of family business exposure on offspring’s entrepreneurial intentions has attracted significant attention, assessments of this impact remain inconsistent. To solve this puzzle, we switch the focus from the presence of family business exposure to the content of exposure by examining the learning experiences of business family offspring. Specifically, we test the impact of perceived parental entrepreneurial rewards on entrepreneurial intentions and explore the underlying process in this relationship. Findings from a sample of 131 Chinese business family offspring support that perceived parental entrepreneurial rewards are positively related to entrepreneurial intentions, and this relationship is found to be partially mediated by entrepreneurial self-efficacy; additionally, offspring’s family business involvement weakens the positive impact of perceived parental entrepreneurial rewards on entrepreneurial intentions but strengthens the impact of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The findings from this research contribute to the social cognitive career theory, family business, and entrepreneurial cognition literature. We also provide practical guidance for parent entrepreneurs by clarifying the impact of perceived parental entrepreneurial rewards and family business involvement on their children’s entrepreneurial intentions.     

The role of entrepreneurship education as a predictor of university students’ entrepreneurial intention

Using Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior and Shapero’s entrepreneurial event model as well as entrepreneurial cognition theory, we attempt to identify the relationship between entrepreneurship education, prior entrepreneurial exposure, perceived desirability and feasibility, and entrepreneurial intentions (EI) for university students. The data were collected from a survey of ten universities; we received 494 effective responses. We used probit estimation to show that perceived desirability significantly impacts EI whereas there is no significant impact from perceived feasibility. There is a significant negative impact from exposure (which is surprising) and a significant positive impact from entrepreneurship education. Males and people from technological universities and/or backgrounds have higher EI than females and people from other universities and backgrounds. There are also significant positive interactive effects by gender, university type, and study major on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and EI.     

The impact of role models on entrepreneurial intentions and behavior: a review of the literature

Despite the presence of the term ‘entrepreneurial role model’ (ERM) in the discourse on entrepreneurship, existing empirical evidence on the effects of role models is rather limited. By investigating 86 published journal articles, we provide a structured overview of the academic research on role models’ effects on entrepreneurial intentions and behavior. We reveal that prior research focuses particularly on different types of role models (by whom), at which stage of life (when) and in which context the exposure to role models occurs. We use these research areas to structure our review. By expanding the understanding of the current state of ERM research, we reveal research gaps and provide future research recommendations. Our work could help policy makers and educators consider the different types of role models, the sociocultural context and the life cycle stage of the participants in structuring their entrepreneurship education programs.

     

Factors affecting peasant entrepreneurs’ intention in the Chinese context

In the extant literature, research attention has been largely given to explore the issue of Chinese peasant entrepreneurship based on strategic entrepreneurial perspective. The current study examines the intention of Chinese peasant entrepreneurs based on entrepreneurial behavior perspective and hypothesizes that self-efficacy positively moderates the relationship between the need for power and entrepreneurial intention and the relationship between institutional environment and entrepreneurial intention. An analysis of a sample of 298 Chinese peasants proved most of the hypotheses. Results show that the need for power has a positive influence on the entrepreneurial intentions of the selected low-social-status population. Results also reveal the positive effect of the institutional environment perceived by individuals on entrepreneurial intention. The finding indicates that the government can enhance the entrepreneurial intention of rural individuals by updating entrepreneurial policies, by training and education in entrepreneurial activities that target the rural masses, and by promoting a successful entrepreneurial model. Moreover, positive moderation of self-efficacy on the relationship between the need for power and entrepreneurial intention is proven, which indicates that the effects of these two factors on entrepreneurial intention mutually reinforce each other. The finding also indicates that moderation of self-efficacy on the relationship between the institutional environment and entrepreneurial intention is negative that shows that self-efficacy and institutional environment can substitute for each other.     

Emotional competencies and cognitive antecedents in shaping student’s entrepreneurial intention: the moderating role of entrepreneurship education

This paper focuses on the analytic thinking of emotional competencies and their influence, in particular, in shaping university students’ entrepreneurial intentions, backed by an extended model of Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour, and analyses the moderating role of entrepreneurial education among the variables under study. The results, derived from an ex-ante and ex-post questionnaire addressed to Spanish university students engaged in a compulsory entrepreneurship course, were subjected to structural equation modelling analysis. Our findings show that entrepreneurship by university students is favoured by the development of their emotional competencies, due to the direct influence of the latter in shaping entrepreneurial intention and its positive impact on their cognitive antecedents (entrepreneurial attitudes and perceived self-efficacy), and suggest that students with a higher degree of emotional competencies who receive entrepreneurship education will have a more positive attitude towards entrepreneurship and will perceive themselves more capable of becoming entrepreneurs. The primary contribution of this paper is to spotlight the use of emotional competencies in encouraging entrepreneurship, and to heighten awareness of the positive effect of education on emotionally-competent students, a factor that should be taken into account to improve entrepreneurship education programmes.

     

Innovative outcomes from migrant entrepreneurship: a matter of whether you think you can,or think you can’t

The entrepreneurship literature has exposed some of the most influential antecedents of innovative entrepreneurship. Prior research has also identified crucial features of migrant entrepreneurship. This article employs lessons from these two areas and draws on social cognitive theory to explore the main drivers of innovative ventures among migrants. We center the attention on entrepreneurs, differentiating them between two management strategies: imitation or innovation; and we study the role of perceived self-efficacy, prior entrepreneurial experience, and social capital into the likelihood of acting innovative. For our empirical analysis, we primarily use data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor for three years covering 2016–2018 and gathering 5713 observations of early-stage entrepreneurs from Chile. Our estimations show that being a migrant is in itself an insufficient condition to influence seeking substantial differentiation from what is traditionally offered in the local market; instead, we confirm that a migrant who feels capable of successfully starting a business will be likely to conduct innovative entrepreneurship. Contributions of these findings for theoretical and practical advances of the field are discussed.

     

International graduate students' perceptions and interest in international careers

This research developed and tested a comprehensive model of the antecedents of international graduate students' interest in an international career. Based largely on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the model included elements that pertain to perceptions of external constraints (perceptions of the labor market, family pressure to return), international student experience (adjustment in the foreign country during graduate studies, exposure and immersion to the international context) and individual factors (self-efficacy with respect to working abroad and outcome expectancy). Participants were 139 international graduate students in the UK. Individual factors and perceived constraints were directly related to interest in an international career. The factors that comprised current international student experience were indirectly related to interest via their relationship with self-efficacy, while adjustment moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and interest. Although the hypothesized moderating role of family pressure to return did not materialize, the findings suggest that perceptions of constraints play a more substantial role in the formation of interest than has been assumed by SCCT theory thus far. The findings are discussed with respect to their implications for the literature and for the policies of host country stakeholders.     

Entrepreneurial intentions, motivations and barriers: Differences among American, Asian and European students

Should entrepreneurship education be the same in every country or should it be adapted to each context? In addition to answering this question, it appears to be important to identify the concerns students have regarding their entrepreneurship education programs, so as to strengthen their perceptions of feasibility and desirability of an entrepreneurial career. In this article we examine whether differences exist among American, Asian and European students in terms of entrepreneurial intentions and dispositions, as well as motivations and perceived barriers for business startup. Results indicate that entrepreneurial disposition and intentions differ by country but that students across countries are motivated and/or discouraged by similar variables. However, our results indicate that the levels of sensitivity to each motivator and barrier differ by country. Our results support the argument made by past researches that cultural differences should be taken into consideration when developing entrepreneurship education programs.     

The moderating role of anticipated affective ambivalence in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions

Students’ predictions of the affective consequences of starting their own business encompass, simultaneously, positive and negative thoughts and feelings (anticipated affective ambivalence). We theorize that anticipated affective ambivalence constitutes a significant element in the entrepreneurial process holding a central role in the realization of entrepreneurial intentions. In the herein presented research, we propose and test a model within which anticipated affective ambivalence is expected to moderate the impact of attitudes towards entrepreneurship (ATT), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) on entrepreneurial intention. Results from a large sample of university student participants found that anticipated affective ambivalence moderated the effects of ATT and SN on entrepreneurial intention (INT) but not the effect of PBC on INT. Theoretically the findings introduce affective ambivalence in the area of nascent entrepreneurship and within the Theory of Planned Behavior model. Practically, the study highlights affective ambivalence in the context of universities’ increasing interest to promote entrepreneurship and to develop suitable educational programs.     

Three levels of culture and firms’ entrepreneurial orientation: A research agenda

Numerous studies examining the linkage between corporate entrepreneurship and performance resort to the entrepreneurial orientation construct to assess a firm's degree of entrepreneurship. Little conceptual and empirical research has been devoted to understanding the factors and conditions that produce Entrepreneurial Orientation. Generic explanatory variables such as environment, organization, strategy and culture have been mentioned in past research, but though a number of hypotheses have been proposed, few have been thoroughly developed and tested. In this article, we focus on one explanatory variable – culture – that we develop along multiple axes. We propose a conceptual framework that aims to provide a better understanding of how three interdependent levels of culture – national, industry and corporate – influence Entrepreneurial Orientation.     

Social capital and entrepreneurial process

The paper examines the relationship between social capital and entrepreneurial engagement of individuals in 35 nations from Europe and Asia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical research that attempts to investigate the influence of three-dimensional social capital concept – trust, networks and norms – on three stages of entrepreneurial process – preference, trial and success – using such large and comprehensive cross-sectional micro data. In general, we find that all three dimensions of social capital matter in the entrepreneurship context, albeit differently. They become beneficial in different ways and at different stages of entrepreneurial involvement. For example, among trust variables, institutional trust in general, and trust in business-oriented and business-supporting actors in particular, exert significant positive effect on entrepreneurial process. Individuals with formal membership in professional associations are more likely to perceive entrepreneurial opportunities, while some close or strong-tie networks might prevent them from progressing in the entrepreneurship ladder. Finally, individual level civic norms appear to be negatively associated with early-stage entrepreneurship, while the success in becoming an entrepreneur is not found to be bound by people’s civic norms.     

Does entrepreneurial activity matter for economic growth in developing countries? The role of the institutional environment

The discussion on which institutions determine entrepreneurial activity – and the role of institutions in the aggregated output for developing countries – is as yet unresolved. The extant literature about entrepreneurship recognizes new ventures as potential mechanisms for long-term development. Yet, there is a consensus on the lack of evidence, particularly for these countries. Drawing on institutional economics, this article explores the interrelationships among institutional environment, entrepreneurial activity, and economic growth. To this end, we use simultaneous-equation panel data models for a sample of 14 developing countries (78 observations) over the period of 2004–2012. The main findings suggest a causal chain running from institutions to opportunity entrepreneurship, which is linked to the economic growth of emerging economies. In particular, we find that institutional factors – such as the number of procedures to start a new business, private credit coverage ,, and access to communication– influence entrepreneurial activity driven by opportunity. Policy implications for developing countries could be derived in order to enhance their economic performance through entrepreneurial activity.

     

Beyond Homo Entrepreneurus: Judgment and the Theory of Cultural Entrepreneurship

In this paper, we embrace the critique of the contemporary entrepreneurship literature offered by Foss, Klein, and Bjørnskov, and applaud their advance of the Judgment‐Based Approach (JBA) as a way to broaden our understanding of entrepreneurial processes by contextualizing entrepreneurial action. However, we believe that to attain the promise of the JBA, a broader inter‐disciplinary engagement beyond economics is required. Drawing on theory and arguments in the cultural entrepreneurship literature, we emphasize the fruitfulness of foregrounding the role of culture – a theoretical focus that is marginalized both in the mainstream entrepreneurship literature and in the JBA. We compare the JBA and the Theory of Cultural Entrepreneurship and outline how a wider inter‐disciplinary research agenda could be advanced in entrepreneurial studies.     

Characteristics of high-growth entrepreneurs in Latin America

Scholars and governments presumed that growing the rate of entrepreneurs would naturally result in economic and job growth, and entrepreneurship has widely been viewed as an important tool for developing economies. Yet recently scholars have questioned the empirical evidence regarding the actual contribution of entrepreneurship to economic development. Recent contributions to the field suggest that not all entrepreneurial activity has a positive effect on economic growth in developing regions. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) provides a unique lense in assisting the predictive capability of entrepreneurial motivation. In this research, we focus on what factors influence the motivation of some entrepreneurs to seek a high-growth model as these growth oriented entrepreneurs, usually associated with opportunity-motivated firm founding, are the most likely to actually create jobs in developing countries. We utilize motivation for founding, five entrepreneurial competencies and three firm characteristics to predict growth expectations of entrepreneurial growth expectations. Leveraging responses to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey from more than 100,000 entrepreneurs in 19 Latin American countries, we discovered the existence of a triple interaction effect amongst opportunity-based entrepreneurs with higher levels of education and an export orientation and their growth expectations. In discussing the results, we reflect on the public policy implications for promoting the desired types of entrepreneurship in developing regions.     

Why are some graduate entrepreneurs more innovative than others? The effect of human capital,psychological factor and entrepreneurial rewards on entrepreneurial innovativeness

This study investigates the innovation behaviour of graduate start-ups at the individual level. It bridges the graduate enterprise literature and innovative entrepreneurship literature to put forward three arguments that ascertain why highly educated graduate entrepreneurs are not always innovative in starting new businesses. First, anchoring on the individual opportunity costs–entrepreneurial rewards nexus, it argues that graduate entrepreneurs will exploit opportunities innovatively if they expect the levels of entrepreneurial rewards that match their high human capital and high opportunity costs. Second, it is argued that entrepreneurial innovativeness is conditional on psychological factors such as students’ managerial self-efficacy and overconfidence. Third, it is also argued that the nonlinear relationship between entrepreneurial innovativeness and entrepreneurial rewards will drive graduate entrepreneurs to exploit even riskier opportunities in search for high rewards. This study operationalizes the theoretical framework with an empirical model and estimates it using a graduate entrepreneur sample from a questionnaire survey in China. Our results suggest that innovation behaviour of graduate start-ups is influenced by the quantity of human capital, psychological make-up and expectations of entrepreneurial rewards.