Most of us believe that entrepreneurs are special. We do this because both scholars and practitioners tell us so.
Bob Gates, Colin Griffiths, Paul Keenan, Sandra Fleming, Carmel Doyle, Helen L. Atherton, Su McAnelly, Michelle Cleary and Paul Sutton
J. Robert Mitchell, Ronald K. Mitchell, Benjamin T. Mitchell and Sharon Alvarez
In this study we focus on how conditions of uncertainty shape the entrepreneurial action that underlies opportunity creation. We utilize the basic structure of economic exchange…
Abstract
In this study we focus on how conditions of uncertainty shape the entrepreneurial action that underlies opportunity creation. We utilize the basic structure of economic exchange in the context of opportunity creation theory to further investigate the conditions under which an entrepreneur might be expected to act to bring an opportunity into existence. Specifically, we suggest that uncertainty, that is manifest as relational uncertainty and resource uncertainty, shapes the entrepreneurial actions that underlie the creation of opportunities. In a laboratory experiment we test this hypothesis by observing 56 three-person groups engaged in an opportunity creation-focused exchange task. The results of the experiment support the hypothesis that variability in the conditions of uncertainty (relational uncertainty and resource uncertainty) affects the entrepreneurial action that results in opportunity creation. These results lead us then to propose that there exists a theoretically specifiable set of key entrepreneurial actions (one that is others-focused and another that is works-focused). From this analysis we suggest potential directions for future research in the areas of entrepreneurial action and opportunity creation.
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Matthew S. Wood, David W. Williams and Denis A. Grégoire
Studies of entrepreneurial action often distinguish between different phases such as opportunity identification, evaluation, and exploitation. Yet, the richness of past…
Abstract
Studies of entrepreneurial action often distinguish between different phases such as opportunity identification, evaluation, and exploitation. Yet, the richness of past contributions masks the absence of an integral framework to organize, in a theoretically consistent ensemble, the different kinds of cognitive processes that underpin entrepreneurial action. In this chapter, we draw from research on human action and cognition to offer an integrative model of the cognitive processes that foster entrepreneurial action. By presenting a more specific articulation of when, how, and why different cognitive processes operate, we provide theorists and empiricists with a more complete picture of how entrepreneurs’ thinking evolves from the emergence of an opportunity idea to the initiation of concrete entrepreneurial acts. In addition, our framework draws attention to cognitive inflection points that entrepreneurs must navigate in their journey toward entrepreneurship. By explicitly locating these inflection points and specifying the changes in mental processing that occurs at each point, we highlight that for entrepreneurial action to ensue, entrepreneurs must shift from one type of cognitive processing to another. Along this line, our model draws attention to the entire set of cognitive “skills” entrepreneurs must master for successful completion of each phase and successful transitions between phases.
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Bruce T. Teague and William B. Gartner
This chapter uses the expertise literature (e.g., Ericsson et al., 2018; Ericsson & Pool, 2016) to explore ways that entrepreneurship education might be enhanced through the…
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This chapter uses the expertise literature (e.g., Ericsson et al., 2018; Ericsson & Pool, 2016) to explore ways that entrepreneurship education might be enhanced through the deliberate practice of specific entrepreneurial behaviors and cognitive skills. What is appealing about the use of expertise methods and theory is the application of very rigorous standards for improving behavioral and cognitive skills that are correlated to better outcomes. The authors suggest that an expertise approach challenges entrepreneurship educators to identify what aspects of the entrepreneurial process might be “deliberately practiced” and to consider modifying aspects of training entrepreneurs to better develop their entrepreneurial capabilities.
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Mian Zhang and Xiyue Ma
The overall goal of this chapter is twofold. First, the authors aim to identify indigenous phenomena that influence employee turnover and retention in the Chinese context. Second…
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The overall goal of this chapter is twofold. First, the authors aim to identify indigenous phenomena that influence employee turnover and retention in the Chinese context. Second, the authors link these phenomena to the contextualization of job embeddedness theory. To achieve the goal, the authors begin by introducing three macro-level forces (i.e., political, economic, and cultural forces) in China that help scholars analyze contextual issues in turnover studies. The authors then provide findings in the literature research on employee retention studies published in Chinese academic journals. Next, the authors discuss six indigenous phenomena (i.e., hukou, community in China, migrant workers, state-owned companies, family benefit prioritization, and guanxi) under the three macro-level forces and offer exploratory propositions illustrating how these phenomena contribute to understanding employee retention in China. Finally, the authors offer suggestions on how contextualized turnover studies shall be conducted in China.
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Carlos Poblete and Vesna Mandakovic
This paper aims to analyze how different experts in entrepreneurship perceive their surrounding environment and business opportunities. The authors suggest that people act the way…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze how different experts in entrepreneurship perceive their surrounding environment and business opportunities. The authors suggest that people act the way they do not only because of different interpretations of the environment but also because of the relative importance they give to the context and themselves in their mental scripts.
Design/methodology/approach
A Mann–Whitney U non-parametric test and principal component analysis were conducted to examine the national expert survey from the global entrepreneurship monitor database of Chilean exports.
Findings
When experts in entrepreneurship are compared, entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs differ in their use of certain cognitive resources about past or current events, but they map out future situations similarly, suggesting that their mental simulations may converge into similar patterns.
Originality/value
This study provides useful insights regarding the impact that mental representation has on experts’ perception, by discussing how experts who are entrepreneurs perceive the entrepreneurial ecosystem and current opportunities differently than experts who are not entrepreneurs. The specific context plays a key role in the way entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs analyze their surrounding environment but not necessarily opportunities.
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Matthew S. Wood and J. Robert Mitchell
Judgments and decision are central to entrepreneurship, but capturing them empirically is challenging. Shepherd and Zacharakis (1997) addressed this challenge by identifying…
Abstract
Judgments and decision are central to entrepreneurship, but capturing them empirically is challenging. Shepherd and Zacharakis (1997) addressed this challenge by identifying metric conjoint analysis as an experimental method capable of capturing the decision policies of actors engaged in entrepreneurial task, creating a “window of opportunity” for entrepreneurship research. On the twentieth anniversary of this chapter, the authors reflect on the impact the ideas had on their own work and careers, while, at the same time, address the possibility that the “typical” conjoint study may have reached the end. From this platform, the authors identify unknown attributes, interactive effects, rich media, mixed methods, and sophisticated data analysis as potential pathways by which conjoint analysis can continue to advance understanding of entrepreneurship. Their conclusion is that when coupled with impactful research questions, innovative uses of conjoint analysis have an important role to play in the future of entrepreneurship research. Hence, the authors believe that Dean A. Shepherd’s and Zach Zacharakis’s bold effort will continue as a quintessential resource for those researchers who wish to tap the mind of entrepreneurs, investors, and other key actors as they traverse the journey of business venturing.
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Due to the scanty of theoretical attempts to link entrepreneurial cognitions to strategic change momentum (SCM) and to explore moderating effects of organizational knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the scanty of theoretical attempts to link entrepreneurial cognitions to strategic change momentum (SCM) and to explore moderating effects of organizational knowledge structures in the relationship, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial cognitions and SCM, as well as the moderating effects of organizational knowledge structures by drawing on the institutional theory and resource-based view.
Design/methodology/approach
Using analysis of covariance, multivariate analysis of variance, and hierarchical regression analysis, the data of 229 enterprise samples are used to empirically test the hypotheses.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that two dimensions of entrepreneurial cognitions, arrangement and willingness cognitions, will positively influence SCM, with organizational knowledge structures as a moderator. Specifically, explicit knowledge decreases the positive relationship between entrepreneurial arrangement cognitions and SCM, and tacit knowledge increases the positive relationship between entrepreneurial arrangement, willingness and ability cognitions and SCM. However, entrepreneurial ability cognitions have no significant effect on SCM, and explicit knowledge does not moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial willingness and ability cognitions and SCM.
Practical implications
From the results of this study, the paper can derive some important managerial implications that entrepreneurs should holistically understand the concept of entrepreneurial cognitions in Chinese context as well as strengthen the innovation of their internal management institutions and consolidate their institutional platforms for improving entrepreneurial cognitive efficacy. Moreover, strategic control ability should be further enhanced for China’s entrepreneurs, and also the dynamic balances during the conversion process between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge should be promoted so as to optimize the organizational knowledge structures.
Originality/value
By integrating entrepreneurial cognitions, organizational knowledge structures, and SCM into a unified theoretical framework, the paper empirically examines the theoretical problems about the interactions among the three variables involved. The findings can broaden the research perspectives and deepen the research field of strategic change, and also provide managerial implications for cultivating entrepreneurs and optimizing organizational knowledge structures under the context of China.
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Robert P. Garrett and Tommie Welcher
In this chapter, the authors conceptualize corporate entrepreneurship as a mental model that allows firms to adapt to new competitive landscapes by facilitating the development of…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors conceptualize corporate entrepreneurship as a mental model that allows firms to adapt to new competitive landscapes by facilitating the development of new cognitive scripts and schemas. The authors begin by explaining what it means for a firm to be competitively bewildered, or lost, in a rapidly changing competitive domain. The authors also describe five stages of being lost competitively. The authors then map the attributes of an entrepreneurial firm – adaptability, speed, flexibility, aggressiveness, and innovativeness – to stages of the bewilderment process wherein they may be most helpful to realign competitive realities and entrepreneurial scripts and schemas. The authors conclude by proposing contributions resulting from conceptualizing corporate entrepreneurship as a bewilderment schema and also explain how this represents a novel perspective.