The Mind in the Middle: Taking Stock of Affect and Cognition Research in Entrepreneurship

Abstract

In spite of substantial advances, entrepreneurship research on affect and cognition remains characterized by a multiplicity of theoretical approaches, methods, variables and measures. Although this multiplicity affords a lot of richness, it also poses potential risks – from the lack of a coherent knowledge base to the dangers of an atomistic evolution, with minimum exchanges between ‘siloed’ groups of scholars, limited theoretical integration and increased chances of redundant repetitions without real advances in understanding. To help guard against these risks and in order to augment the impact and value‐adding contribution of future research, the six papers in this special issue analyse the progress made in entrepreneurship research on (1) situated cognition, (2) fear, (3) how affective dynamics influences entrepreneurship, (4) intuition, (5) opportunity evaluation and (6) entrepreneurial team cognition. This short introductory essay builds on the synthesis of the literature to summarize ‘the road travelled so far’. The six papers forming this special issue are then introduced and their respective focus and contributions are detailed. The authors conclude by reflecting on these papers’ implications, and offer a number of observations about future research and the ‘road ahead’.

Past Career in Future Thinking: How Career Management Practices Shape Entrepreneurial Decision Making

“…In contrast, career practices that emphasize career investments rather than career planning are linked to more‐effectual decision making. These findings provide answers to recent calls to gain a better understanding of entrepreneurs’ cognitive differences (Grégoire et al ., ; Grégoire et al ., ; Mitchell et al ., ) and speak to ongoing efforts to clarify the origins of effectual thinking (Baron, ; Dew et al ., ; Engel et al ., ; Engel, Kaandorp, and Elfring, ; Gabrielsson and Politis, ) by showing that an important source can be found in the study of careers.…”

Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Intention among Young People: Model and Regional Evidence

“…In addition to the variables mentioned in the causal models of reference, other authors have focused on other personal variables than those mentioned above, highlighting demographic variables, life history, work experience and gender [68,76,77]. Psychological variables have also been taken into account, as is the case of motivation or personality traits (e.g., commitment, self-esteem, safety, extroversion) [62,78,79]. In any case, the most influential articles regarding entrepreneurial intention can be classified into five groups.…”

“…Likewise, it would be of great interest to investigate further the entrepreneurial intention in the wide range of business scenarios, such as social entrepreneurship [95], family entrepreneurship [96], and entrepreneurship in the academic context [61,97]. In the latter case, it would be useful to explore the possible causal link between some educational variables (e.g., selection of participants, course contents, pedagogical methods) and certain factors that influence the intention and/or behavior (e.g., attitudes, values, abilities) [78,98]. Finally, some researchers suggest the need to carry out a greater number of comparative studies of the entrepreneurial intention at the regional level [52,94,99], and in the context of sustainable entrepreneurship [99,100].…”

Cascading ripples: Contagion effects of entrepreneurial activity on self‐employment attitudes and choices in regional cohorts

“…Attitudes and behaviors are distinct yet related concepts, with attitudes driving behavior via decisions (Ajzen & Fishbein, ; Krueger, ). It is true, however, that attitudes do not always translate to actions; this is evident in entrepreneurship, a process where the bridge between one's desire to start a new business and starting a business often fails to materialize (Grégoire, Cornelissen, Dimov, & van Burg, ). This is an important consideration for our model because referent‐based processes, such as contagion, grow in abstractness as spatial distance increases (Trope & Liberman, ) and, thus, may widen the chasm between preference to engage in entrepreneurship and tangibly acting to make that happen.…”