Entrepreneurial Self-identity Research Articles

The influence mechanism of women’s entrepreneurial self-identity on entrepreneurial well-being: evidence from China

Purpose This study aims to investigate how women’s entrepreneurial self-identity influences their experience of well-being through entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach This study tested and validated a model using survey data from 210 women entrepreneurs in China. Hierarchical regression and bootstrapping methods were used to test the hypotheses. Findings This study finds that women’s entrepreneurial self-identity not only has a direct positive effect on entrepreneurial well-being but also an indirect positive effect on entrepreneurial well-being through the mediating role of entrepreneurial work autonomy and work meaning. Moreover, in mediation analyses, the autonomy and meaning of entrepreneurial work simultaneously mediate the relationship between women’s entrepreneurial self-identity and entrepreneurial well-being, and further play a chain mediating role between the two. Originality/value Little is known about how women perceive well-being through entrepreneurship. Moreover, the available literature has mostly overlooked the impact of women’s entrepreneurial self-identity on their entrepreneurial well-being. This study reveals the influence mechanism from the perspectives of identity and self-determination theories, with a focus on women entrepreneurs in China.

A case of design based research methodology to create curriculum for an entrepreneurial thinking course.

In light of complex social, environmental and economic challenges, business schools play a critical role in preparing students to become future leaders. Society will need responsible and ethical leaders who will address these challenges, think entrepreneurially, and find ways to create viable solutions in for-profit, social enterprise and not-for-profit organizations. After extensive consultation with students, employers, and community partners, the researchers recognized that entrepreneurial skills are essential in business, regardless of career path or entrepreneurial self-identity. Using design-based research methodology, a unique course on entrepreneurial thinking was developed and launched by a large Canadian university in 2014. The course is unique in three ways: it is a required course for all Bachelor of Commerce Students (rather than elective); it is entirely focused on skill development (rather than entrepreneurial identity or efficacy); and it is large scale, with over 800 students per year enrolled in the class. This paper demonstrates over seven years of curriculum creation and iteration using design-based research. The learning and results of this work are presented through a theoretical lens of a deviant case study. The paper examines the unique combination of pedagogical approaches that have been utilized in the class and demonstrates the large-scale impact from more than 6000 students completing this course to-date. The researchers have developed a curriculum, based on Kolb's experiential learning theory, which delivers entrepreneurial thinking skills to non-nascent entrepreneurs at scale. The skill development that takes place in the course has been validated by multiple stakeholder groups including students, faculty, community, and employers. The paper aims to share the findings with the community.

The Effect of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Self-Identity on Entrepreneurial Goal Intentions of Female and Male College Students in Zimbabwe

This article investigated how entrepreneurial self-identity and self-efficacy interact to affect the entrepreneurial goal intentions of a sample of female and male college students in Zimbabwe. Researchers are urged to examine these factors’ combined influence, given that earlier studies looked at their effects separately. To achieve the research goal, a cross-sectional survey using a self-completion questionnaire on a convenience sample of 262 respondents was conducted in Zimbabwe among college students. The results confirmed that entrepreneurial self-identity and self-efficacy had statistically significant direct effects on the intention to pursue an entrepreneurial goal. They also confirmed that the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial goal intention was mediated by entrepreneurial self-identity. The study, however, found no statistically significant differences in the pattern of results between males and females. The study adds to the body of knowledge by proposing and testing a conceptual model that has never been considered before. The findings of the study have implications for the formulation of interventions and policies aimed at promoting entrepreneurship.

AN EXTENDED MODEL OF ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION IN INDONESIA: ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SELF-IDENTITY AS MODERATOR

This study aims to examine the effect of the variable attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on entrepreneurial intention which is moderated by the entrepreneurial self-identity variable. This study has three hypotheses. Data were collected from respondents obtained from online questionnaires distributed to students in Yogyakarta Indonesia. The data were then analyzed using a structural equation modeling technique with the help of SmartPLS 3 software. The results of this study indicate that the variable attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control have a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial intention which is moderated by the entrepreneurial self-identity variable. All hypotheses in this study were accepted. Each hypothesis is discussed in detail in this article
 Keywords: Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioral Control, Entrepreneurial Intention, Entrepreneurial Self-identity.

The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on the Construction of Entrepreneurial Self-identity of University Students in Egypt

Due to the rise in the number of entrepreneurship education programs that are believed to have an impact beyond creating entrepreneurial knowledge and the multiple attempts to understand the entrepreneurial identity and how it is constructed, the current research aims at investigating the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial self-identity construction for university level-students, hence utilized two measures, the first one asked students whether they define him or herself in an entrepreneurial role or not (Hoang and Gimeno, 2015) and the second one was concerned about the social identity and measured it using the “Identity-scale” developed by Sieger et al. (2016).A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 550 students, whereas 280 received formal entrepreneurship education and 270 did not. Results showed that entrepreneurship education had a direct impact on the construction of entrepreneurial identities of university students. However, the impact was of a very low level not exceeding 3.1%, implying the existence of other non-entrepreneurship education-related factors that might contribute to entrepreneurial identity construction to a higher extent.

Am I an Entrepreneur? Entrepreneurial Self-Identity as an Antecedent of Entrepreneurial Intention

Although many studies have shown that entrepreneurial intention can be explained according to a theory of planned behavior, some scholars have provided interesting insights into the role of job self-identity perception—in particularly the ones related to entrepreneurship—as significant precursor of entrepreneurial intention. A questionnaire has been administered to graduates and students of an Italian university (N = 153). A hierarchical regression analysis controlling for demographic variables has been performed in order to test the research hypotheses. The findings of this study have been discussed, with particular attention paid to the unexpected, weak, or non-significant effects of perceived behavioral control and social norms on entrepreneurial intention.

How spatial contexts, institutions and self-identity affect entrepreneurial intentions

Purpose This study aims to examine how spatial contexts, institutions and entrepreneurial self-identity affected the formation of entrepreneurial intentions of a sample of students in Zimbabwe. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from 284 students enrolled in two vocational education institutions located in Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. To select the respondents, convenience sampling was used. The sample size was determined by the total number of students agreeing to participate in the research. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (maximum likelihood estimation method). Findings Social approval, supportive cultural environment and entrepreneurial self-identity had positive statistically significant direct effects on entrepreneurial intentions. Also, entrepreneurial self-identity partially mediated the effects of social approval and supportive cultural environment on entrepreneurial intentions. The total effect of supportive higher education institutions on entrepreneurial intentions was statistically significant, despite the direct and indirect effects being non-significant. Practical implications The findings suggest a need to cultivate supportive social contexts and higher education institutions for nurturing entrepreneurial self-identity and entrepreneurial intentions, factors that are integral to the development of future entrepreneurs. Originality/value The study examined the validity of a novel conceptual model based on the contribution of entrepreneurial self-identity, spatial context and institutional variables in shaping entrepreneurial intentions of selected college students in the global south.

Entrepreneurial Self-Identity, Perceived Corruption, Exogenous and Endogenous Obstacles as Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Intention in Italy

Although entrepreneurship is considered one of the most powerful drivers of national economies around the world, there is little consensus about what informal factors foster entrepreneurial intention. In accordance with recent literature, entrepreneurial self-identity perception, the perception of corruption in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and perceived exogenous and endogenous obstacles to entrepreneurship were hypothesized as antecedents of college students’ and graduates’ entrepreneurial intention. A study with a sample (N = 153) composed of college students and graduates from an Italian university was conducted. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to test the research hypotheses. The hypotheses that entrepreneurial self-identity perception and corruption perception of the entrepreneurial ecosystem are positive antecedents of entrepreneurial intention were confirmed. Corruption was considered as a viable and socially acceptable strategy that entrepreneurs might adopt in order to easily overcome governmental norms and rules about managing firms. It was hypothesized that the perception of corruption of the entrepreneurial ecosystem might be a positive antecedent of entrepreneurial intention if the subjects perceived the corruption as pervasive of the economic ecosystem and the effort made by national government to control corruption as ineffective. From this point of view, the positive causal relationship between perceived corruption and entrepreneurial intention could reveal college students and graduates’ propensity to perceive corruption as a phenomenon capable of generating a “grease the wheel” effect.

Who Intends to Enroll in Entrepreneurship Education? Entrepreneurial Self-Identity as a Precursor

Entrepreneurial self-identity is attracting increasing attention as a potentially relevant variable in explaining the entrepreneurial process. So far, most research treats entrepreneurial self-identity as a consequence of, or, at the most, as being developed through the start-up process. In this article, in contrast, we analyze its role as a previous element that helps determine the entrepreneurial intention of individuals, the perceived usefulness of entrepreneurship education, and, indirectly, their interest in participating in entrepreneurship education courses. Our hypotheses are tested on a sample of Italian university students and graduates ( N = 88) with no previous participation in entrepreneurship education or self-employment experience. The results clearly support the proposed model. The implications of these results, if further confirmed, are highly relevant. They indicate that there is a strong risk of self-selection bias in most entrepreneurship education evaluation studies. This is due to an element of reversed causation in which participants who already exhibit a higher entrepreneurial self-identity are more interested in entrepreneurship. At the same time, these results also suggest that professionals and public decision-makers involved in fostering entrepreneurship should pay attention to the development of this entrepreneurial self-identity in childhood and adolescence.

Filthy Lucre? Innovative Communities, Identity, and Commercialization

Online communities play an increasingly important role in developing innovation. However, relatively little is known about the ways in which community affiliation influences how innovations and products generated in these communities are commercialized. By examining open source software (OSS) as an example of an innovation community and using both a quasi experiment and a longitudinal survey, I seek to shed light on this issue. In the quasi experiment, using the launch of the Apple App Store, I find a decreased propensity toward commercialization among individuals associated with online community innovation. I then examine the mechanisms for this decreased commercialization with a novel longitudinal survey of OSS community members. Despite the history of OSS as an anticommercial community, I do not find that anticommercial attitudes play a role in commercialization decisions. Instead, differences in entrepreneurial self-identity have large significant effects on the propensity to commercialize. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the literatures on both entrepreneurial identity and community innovation.

Narratives of enterprise revisited: methodological appendices in ethnographic books

Purpose– This paper is the first in a series that reprints methodological appendices or methods chapters found in workplace and organisational ethnographic books, and provides an opportunity for reflection by the author through an introductory commentary. Simon Down, the author of Narratives of Enterprise (Down, 2006) reflects on the writing and the research underpinning his ethnography. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– The reprinting of such chapters will enhance access to key ethnographic texts, and facilitate reflection on methodological choices authors made. In so doing this paper will provide insights into methodological ethnographic writing, and show how sensibilities and fashions change over time.Findings– Narratives of Enterprise (Down, 2006) examined how two small business managers in a single firm construct an entrepreneurial self-identity, and what this process of self-creation means for the individuals and how the firm is managed. The key topics explored in the book, self-identity as a conceptual tool and enterprise as a social and economic reality, have both grown in relevance and importance since the research was conducted. Down also reflects on that nature and dynamism of friendship in research practice.Originality/value– Reflection on choices made at some distance can provide particular and valuable insights into the development of research practice.

Entrepreneurial Self-Identity: Predictors and Effects Within the Theory of Planned Behavior Framework

Purpose To combine the identity and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) approaches to entrepreneurship, we investigated unique main effects as well as moderating effects of an entrepreneurial self-identity in the TPB-entrepreneurship framework. We also investigated predictors of an entrepreneurial self-identity. Design/methodology/approach Considering a process model of entrepreneurship, we analyzed two cross-sectional T1 samples of German scientists with regard to two central tasks along the entrepreneurial process (business idea development and business founding) via path model analyses as well as data from follow-up surveys collected at T2 and T3 via regression analyses. Findings Self-identity predicted founding intentions, above and beyond the effect of the TPB variables. Moreover, self-identity showed a characteristic moderating effect with TPB-intention predictors. Their effect was weaker or even zero at low levels of self-identity. In addition, self-identity forecasted behavior, but had no unique main or moderating effect on behavior in the TPB framework. Self-identity was predictable by past behavior, personality structure, recalled adolescent competencies, and early parental role models. Moreover, an engagement in entrepreneurial activity led to an increase in self-identity over time. Implications The results suggest that self-identity operates as a motivational factor in entrepreneurial transitions that interacts with TPB variables in a characteristic way. An entrepreneurial self-identity develops from an early developmental stage on, but also during the working life. Originality/value This study is unique because it integrates the occupational self-concept/self-identity construct into the TPB–entrepreneurship approach, and also delivers new implications concerning how to foster entrepreneurial motivations more effectively by taking the developing occupational self-concept into account.

The Peculiarities of Starting the Entrepreneurship among People with Different Experiences of Entrepreneurial Activity

Abstract This study explores the specifics of starting the entrepreneurship and formation of entrepreneurial self-identity among people with different experiences of entrepreneurial activity. Starting the entrepreneurial activity of successful Russian entrepreneurs involves experience of life crisis, which is determined by the existential experiences. There were identified and described two types of life crises: “the crisis of the actual condition” and “the crisis of the development”. Young entrepreneurs do not associate starting business with life crisis and existential experience. The formation of entrepreneurial self-identity of successful entrepreneurs is unstable. The same process is authentic and often deliberately initiated by young entrepreneurs.

Simon Down: Narratives of Enterprise: Crafting Entrepreneurial Self-Identity in a Small Firm

Simon Down: Narratives of Enterprise: Crafting Entrepreneurial Self-Identity in a Small Firm

Book Review: Narratives of Enterprise: Crafting Entrepreneurial Self-Identity in a Small Firm

Book Review: Narratives of Enterprise: Crafting Entrepreneurial Self-Identity in a Small Firm