Affect Versus Cognition: Examining the Nature of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy

Abstract

We examine whether affective constructs – positive affectivity, negative affectivity, and emotional intelligence – explain variance in entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) over and above the established cognitive constructs – need for cognition, faith in intuition, and counterfactual thinking – and whether they may be even more important for the understanding of ESE. We examined these research questions with two longitudinal studies with two measurement points, sampling students (Study 1 N = 195) and entrepreneurs (Study 2 N = 144). Results of a hierarchical regression analysis complemented by a relative weight analysis confirm expectations that affective dimensions explain substantial variance in ESE above and beyond cognitive predictors. This holds for all its sub-dimensions related to searching for ideas, planning, marshalling, implementing-people, and implementing-financial. These findings open ways for new theorizing about ESE using established emotion theories in addition to social cognitive theory. The study has implications for entrepreneurial education and trainers in showing the need to include both emotional and cognitive components.