Entrepreneurial thinking: rational vs intuitive

What is it about?

Intentions are central to entrepreneurial thinking and thus entrepreneurial action. We understand the critical antecedents of intentions but have not explored the differential pathways by which entrepreneurs arrive at this intent. Entrepreneurial cognition research has begun to explore the role of cognitive style which would seem capable of playing a major role in entrepreneurial thinking. How does a relatively stable measure of cognitive style influence nascent entrepreneurs’ development of their perceptions of intentionality? We examine the complex interaction of cognitive style with entrepreneurial intentions, finding evidence that there are indeed multiple pathways to an entrepreneurial intent. We find that cognitive style has a dramatic effect on the specification of the formal intentions model. This may be the first evidence that the formal intentions model may not be universal. We argue that entrepreneurs’ intentions can evolve along different pathways: Two entrepreneurs might arrive at the same intention but through very different processes because they differ in cognitive style. Given these findings, we discuss practical implications for entrepreneurship education and pedagogy as well as explore directions for future research.

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