Exploring moderators in the relationship between cognitive adaptability and entrepreneurial intention: findings from South Africa

Abstract

We build on the work of Haynie and Shepherd (2009), who introduced five dimensions of cognitive adaptability in an entrepreneurial context, and Urban (2012a), who explored the relationship of cognitive adaptability with entrepreneurial intention. There is evidence that cognitive adaptability represents a link in the development of intentions and we empirically answer the call to explore moderators of this relationship. We analyse data collected from 602 potential entrepreneurs in South Africa using structural equation modelling. The results indicate that three cognitive adaptability dimensions, namely goal orientation, metacognitive experience, and metacognitive choice, have a positive relationship with entrepreneurial intention. Level of education, age, gender and entrepreneurial type were tested as moderators as they represent personal-level variables related to both cognitive adaptability and entrepreneurial intention in the literature. Level of education moderated the relationship between goal orientation and entrepreneurial intention, as well as between metacognitive experience and entrepreneurial intention. The moderating role of gender affected the positive influence of goal orientation on entrepreneurial intention, which was stronger for females, while the negative influence of monitoring was stronger for males and weaker for females. For the entrepreneurial type moderator, the sample was split between 443 necessity-driven and 159 opportunity-driven potential entrepreneurs. The results revealed that entrepreneurial type moderated the path between metacognitive experience and entrepreneurial intention, which was stronger for necessity than opportunity potential entrepreneurs. The unconventional moderation effects observed in this South African study carry far wider applicability for the development of the theory of cognitive adaptability in an entrepreneurial context.

Cognitive adaptability and narrow personality traits: Proposing a person–entrepreneurship fit for established entrepreneurs in South Africa

“…Second, from a developing country perspective, seven dimensions of cognitive adaptability were found rather than the five dimensions found by Haynie and Shepherd (2009) in a developed country context. To this end, this article provides a more nuanced perspective of the factors required to achieve a person-entrepreneurship fit, and serves to build on prior work on cognitive adaptability in the South African context (Botha & Bignotti, 2017). For example, the results show that the newly formed factor, prior metacognitive knowledge, had negative relationships with most of the narrow personality traits, and might not be one of the dimensions that one would include in a South African entrepreneurial training programme.…”

Influence of the entrepreneur's capacity in business performance

“…The education is essential to provide the skills and knowledge that are fundamental to the development of an entrepreneurial culture (Botha & Bignotti, 2016), this is also one of the key elements to increase people's business attitudes (Potter, 2008). Botha and Bignotti (2017) postulate that people with higher levels of training and/or education are associated with a greater ability to understand information from the environment, guiding their objectives and their business idea more effectively.…”

Making sense of entrepreneurial intent: a look at gender and entrepreneurial personal theory

“…Kreiser et al , 2010), while others show that women experience lower levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy even in cultures with flatter power structures (e.g. Botha and Bignotti, 2017; Wilson et al , 2007). Likewise, some work finds no meaningful differences in entrepreneurial intentions between men and women (e.g.…”