The impact of role models on entrepreneurial intentions and behavior: a review of the literature

Abstract

Despite the presence of the term 'entrepreneurial role model' (ERM) in the discourse on entrepreneurship, existing empirical evidence on the effects of role models is rather limited. By investigating 86 published journal articles, we provide a structured overview of the academic research on role models' effects on entrepreneurial intentions and behavior. We reveal that prior research focuses particularly on different types of role models (by whom), at which stage of life (when) and in which context the exposure to role models occurs. We use these research areas to structure our review. By expanding the understanding of the current state of ERM research, we reveal research gaps and provide future research recommendations. Our work could help policy makers and educators consider the different types of role models, the sociocultural context and the life cycle stage of the participants in structuring their entrepreneurship education programs.

Development and validation of sources of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and outcome expectations: A social cognitive career theory perspective

“…This aspect of learning experiences has been explored considerably in entrepreneurship research. Having family, friends, acquaintances, etc., engage in entrepreneurial activities has been found to predict ESE (BarNir, Watson, & Hutchins, 2011;Farashah, 2015;Vanevenhoven & Liguori, 2013) and entrepreneurial intention (Abbasianchavari & Moritz, 2021;Nowiński & Haddoud, 2019).…”

The link between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and entrepreneurial orientation in Japanese business owners

“…Moreover, it would be interesting to study the influence of role models, for example, successful entrepreneurs diagnosed with ADHD, on students with ADHD symptoms. Studies show that role models have positive effects on entrepreneurial intentions, especially when the perceived similarity is high (Abbasianchavari and Moritz 2020).…”

The university students enterprises development: Lesson from Indonesia

“…Prior studies by Wu et al (2008); Miranda et al (2017) believed that entrepreneurial intention is the deciding component in forecasting effective venture creation that involves perceptions of entrepreneurial feasibility and desirability. The increasing number of work literature on entrepreneurship's subject remarked that perceived desirability is a willingness and eagerness to provide for their own business (Abbasianchavari & Moritz, 2020;Paunescu et al, 2018). While other researchers, such as Vazquez et al (2009); Esfandiar et al (2019) argued that perceived desirability is related to one's beliefs on whether or how likely they are to benefit from undergoing the success of new ventures establishment.…”