Is It Because I Can or Because of Who I Am? The Moderating Effect of Entrepreneurs&amp;#8217; Social Identity on Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacys' - Entrepreneurial Intention Relationship

María Laura Gonzalez-Canosa,Joan-Lluís Capelleras Segura,Fabian Osorio-Tinoco,Catherine Krauss-Delorme,Fernando Pereira-Laverde

doi:10.4067/s0718-27242021000400046

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to examine whether potential entrepreneurs are mainly driven by entrepreneurial skills or by a social identity to engage in entrepreneurial behaviors. Using a sample of 696 Colombian students from the data of Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit StudentsâSurvey (GUESSS), findings confirm Darwinian and Missionary social identity influence entrepreneurial intention positively. Furthermore, we find that the more a person identifies with a Darwinian social identity, the less entrepreneurial intention depends on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, while the contrary happens for missionary social identity. This study provides empirical evidence that competence, and identification influence the entrepreneurial process. Additionally, this study provides an explanation in a new setting, about why some individuals with strong entrepreneurial self-efficacy do not exhibit strong entrepreneurial intention.

Highlights

In order to better understand entrepreneurship, scholars historically have examined the central question: Why, when, and how some individuals are becoming entrepreneurs
To eliminate multicollinearity that could result from including the theoretical variables and their interactions in the same equation, we applied the mean-centering method recommended by Jaccard et al (1990)
Our results show that for Darwinian and Missionary entrepreneurs both self-perception of entrepreneurship-related capacities and perceived identity influence positively and directly the entrepreneurial intention

Summary

Introduction

In order to better understand entrepreneurship, scholars historically have examined the central question: Why, when, and how some individuals are becoming entrepreneurs. In this sense, entrepreneurhip research acknowledges the intentionality of entrepreneurial behavior being entrepreneurial intention the most proximal predictor of the decision to engage in entrepreneurial activities (Obschonka et al, 2012). The relationship between entrepreneurial behavior and perceptions has been focused mainly from the viewpoint that perception influences entrepreneurial behavior (Hogg et al, 1998) These studies focus upon and refer mostly to two concepts, self-efficacy and identity (Estrada Cruz et al, 2019)

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