"Trying" to be Entrepreneurial

If we are to understand how entrepreneurial intentions evolve, we must embrace theories reflecting the inherent dynamics of human decision making. While the dominant model of entrepreneurial intentions remains invaluable, capturing the dynamics is necessary to advance our understanding of how intent becomes action. To this end, we offer Bagozzi’s Theory of Trying (TT) as a theory-driven model that assumes a dynamic pathway to intent. Rather than focusing on intentions toward a static target behavior, TT focuses on intentions toward a dynamic goal. To support this perspective, we offer striking new evidence that the emergent intentions process is indeed dynamic.intentions, theory of trying, tipping points, reciprocal causation, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial cognition

La intención emprendedora en Reino Unido y España: un estudio comparativo

Extending from Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behaviour, this paper develops a more integrated entrepreneurial intention model. This incorporates the role of culture, along with motivations, skills and knowledge of the entrepreneurial environment. The cross-cultural applicability of the model is tested across two different countries, Great Britain and Spain, on a total sample of 1005. Partial Least Squares technique is used to try and overcome limitations of previous research. The model broadly holds for both countries. Implications for public decision makers and entrepreneurship education are discussed. In particular, enhancing the level of knowledge and awareness about entrepreneurship would increase self-efficacy perceptions and, hence, entrepreneurial intentionsEste trabajo, partiendo del enfoque de Acción Planificada (Ajzen), desarrolla un modelo más integrado de intención emprendedora, incorporando el papel de la cultura, las motivaciones, habilidades y conocimiento empresarial. La aplicabilidad transcultural del modelo se prueba analizando dos países diferentes (Gran Bretaña y España), en una muestra de 1005 individuos. Se utilizan Mínimos Cuadrados Parciales para superar las limitaciones de anteriores investigaciones. El modelo en general es válido para los dos países, derivándose implicaciones para la toma de decisiones y la educación emprendedora. En particular, mejorar el conocimiento y la toma de conciencia sobre el emprendimiento aumentaría la percepción de autoeficacia y, por lo tanto, las intenciones emprendedora

Generating resources through co-evolution of entrepreneurs and ecosystems

Purpose – The emerging perspectives of entrepreneurial ecosystems, bricolage and effectuationhighlight the interaction between the entrepreneur and the surrounding community, and its potentialfor creative resource acquisition and utilization. However, empirical work on how this process actuallyunfolds remains scarce. This paper aims to study the interaction between the opportunity constructionprocess and the development of resources in the surrounding ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a qualitative analysis of the extreme case of AaltoEntrepreneurship Society (Aaltoes), a newly founded organization successfully promotingentrepreneurship within a university merger with virtually no resources, based on interviews of six keycontributors and four stakeholder organisations. Findings – The opportunity construction process both supported and was supported by two keyresource generating mechanisms. Formulating and opportunistically reformulating the agenda forincreasing potential synergy laid the groundwork for mutual benefit. Proactive concretization enhancedboth initial resource allocation and sustaining input to the process through offering tangible instancesof specific opportunities and feedback. Research limitations/implications – Although based on a single case study in a university setting,proactive concretization emerges as a promising direction for further investigations of the benefits anddynamics of entrepreneur– ecosystem interaction in the opportunity construction process. Practical implications – Intentionally creating beneficial entrepreneur– ecosystem interaction andteaching proactive concretization becomes a key goal for educators of entrepreneurship. Originality/value – The paper extends an understanding of creative resource generation and utilizationin the opportunity construction process. The role of proactive concretization was emphasized in theinteraction of the entrepreneur and the ecosystem, creating virtuous spirals of entrepreneurial activity.Peer reviewe

Discrete Choices, Trade‐offs, and Advantages: Modeling Social Venture Opportunities and Intentions

[Excerpt] Our study is motivated by the fundamental question of whether social entrepreneurs differ from \u27traditional\u27 entrepreneurs. More concretely, is the way that aspiring entrepreneurs view social entrepreneurial opportunities different from the way they view more traditional (defined as primarily economic) entrepreneurial opportunities? Answering this question is critical to the advancement of the study of social entrepreneurship, and represents a powerful vehicle for demonstrating how the study of social entrepreneurship also advances our knowledge of traditional entrepreneurship

British and Spanish Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Comparative Study

Extending from Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behaviour, this paper develops a more integrated entrepreneurial intention model. This incorporates the role of culture, along with motivations, skills and knowledge of the entrepreneurial environment. The cross-cultural applicability of the model is tested across two different countries, Great Britain and Spain, on a total sample of 1005. Partial Least Squares technique is used to try and overcome limitations of previous research. The model broadly holds for both countries. Implications for public decision makers and entrepreneurship education are discussed. In particular, enhancing the level of knowledge and awareness about entrepreneurship would increase self-efficacy perceptions and, hence, entrepreneurial intentions

"Trying" to be Entrepreneurial

If we are to understand how entrepreneurial intentions evolve, we must embrace theories reflecting the inherent dynamics of human decision making. While the dominant model of entrepreneurial intentions remains invaluable, capturing the dynamics is necessary to advance our understanding of how intent becomes action. To this end, we offer Bagozzi’s Theory of Trying (TT) as a theory-driven model that assumes a dynamic pathway to intent. Rather than focusing on intentions toward a static target behavior, TT focuses on intentions toward a dynamic goal. To support this perspective, we offer striking new evidence that the emergent intentions process is indeed dynamic

Towards a conceptualization of young people’s political engagement: a qualitative focus group study

Disenchantment with politics and low electoral turnout does not mean young people are not engaged with politics. However, our understanding of what being ‘politically engaged’ entails is somewhat challenged by the lack of consensus concerning the definition of this particular concept. Furthermore, existing conceptualizations of political engagement and participation (offline and online) often center on a limited set of political action items, failing to realize that a person can be politically engaged but not participate in political actions. Despite attempts to understand how young people themselves define politics, there are insufficient youth specific explanations of what being politically engaged means. In the present study, focus groups including young people (18–24 years) were conducted to examine understandings of political engagement. Participants were also asked to group a set of items they considered most accurately assessed this construct. Using the results, a conceptualization is proposed taking into account young people’s definitions of political engagement; this suggests that young people consider political engagement to have emotional and cognitive dimensions but also to be conceptually distinct from political participation

Defining and characterizing team resilience in elite sport

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to develop a definition of team resilience and to identify the resilient characteristics of elite sport teams. Design and Method: Focus groups consisting of a total of 31 participants were conducted with five elite teams from a range of sports. An interpretive thematic analysis using inductive and deductive reasoning was employed to analyze the data. Results and Conclusions: Team resilience was defined as a dynamic, psychosocial process which protects a group of individuals from the potential negative effect of the stressors they collectively encounter. It comprises of processes whereby team members use their individual and combined resources to positively adapt when experiencing adversity. Findings revealed four main resilient characteristics of elite sport teams: group structure, mastery approaches, social capital, and collective efficacy. This study extends resilience research in sport psychology by providing greater conceptual clarity of resilience at a team level. The implications of the findings for those conducting research in this area and for those consulting with elite sport teams are discussed

Early-stage Fundraising of University Spin-offs: A Study through Demand-site Perspectives

University spin-offs have increasingly received attention from academia, governments and policy-makers. However, there are only a limited number of studies which fully understand the contribution made by the founding team to fundraising, specifically how they use their social networks and capabilities, especially within the university spin-off context. Employing a resource-based view theory and social networks approach, this paper examines whether a founding team exploits its social networks and capabilities to signal the value of a university spin-off. Capabilities are analysed through a set of constructs - technology, strategy, human capital, organizational viability and commercial resource - that have been derived from previous literature. The contribution made by social networks is evaluated using three dimensions - structure, governance and content - which form the construct of relationships within a network. Based on data from 181 university spin-offs in Spain, this paper empirically demonstrates that by exploiting social networks a founding team can improve its capabilities which, in turn, enhance its fundraising ability