Entrepreneurial Identity Formation and the Initial Enterprise Education Intervention

Abstract

An individual has an entrepreneurial identity when they regard themselves as an entrepreneur (Down and Reveley, 2004). However, identity does not come fully formed but is constructed through observed and experienced behaviours. Conceptualising the formation of entrepreneurial identity through the early stage of a students’ entrepreneurial journey, this paper explores the fragility of the nascent entrepreneurial identity. Utilising a proposed teaching framework for enterprise education (Fayolle et al, 2006), the paper examines the impact of an early stage experiential learning intervention on students entrepreneurial identity using Entrepreneurial Intent as the appropriate dependent measure. Using a modified version of the Linan et al, (2011) model, the study adopts a pre-test / post-test quasi-experimental design to assess the impact of an experiential intervention on early stage students using a treatment and control group. The research findings indicate that the initial intervention has a significant negative impact on Entrepreneurial Intent overall. The impact is more pronounced for the female gender and for those with entrepreneurial role models. The paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating the impact of an enterprise intervention on the forming of entrepreneurial identity during the early stage of a student’s enterprise education.