The Fu u e o Resea ch on En ep eneu ial In en ions
Alain Fayollea, E.M. Lyon Business School, F ance
F ancisco Liñánb, Uni . Se ille, Spain
Oc obe 2013
The 2nd GIKA Con e ence (2013) hos ed a p e ious e sion o his pape , and we
hank pa icipan s o hei commen s. We a e mos g a e ul o he gues edi o s o hei
guidance and suppo , and also o he anonymous e iewe s o hei insigh ul
ecommenda ions, which ha e con ibu ed o enhancing he quali y o he pape .
a Di ec o o En ep eneu ship Resea ch Cen e , 23 A enue Guy de Collongue, 69134-
Ecully (F ance). Tel.: + 33 (0)4 78.33.70.32 ; email: [email protected];
b Dep . Economia Aplicada I, A . Ramon y Cajal, 1. 41018-Se ille (Spain). Tel.: +34
9545.54487; email: [email p o ec ed]
2
Abs ac
En ep eneu ial in en ion is a apidly e ol ing ield o esea ch, wi h a g owing
numbe o s udies using en ep eneu ial in en ion as a powe ul heo e ical amewo k.
Some au ho s, howe e , a e now calling o schola s o e hink he u u e o esea ch on
en ep eneu ial in en ions. This pape add esses his issue and, on he basis o a numbe
o knowledge gaps in he li e a u e, p oposes u u e di ec ions o esea ch.
1. In oduc ion
The publica ion o Shapi o’s seminal wo ks some 30 yea s ago (Shape o 1984;
Shape o & Sokol 1982) ma ks he poin a which he li e a u e on en ep eneu ial
in en ions begins i s cu en pe iod o apid g ow h. Soon a e ha , some independen
con ibu ions eme ge in he ield o en ep eneu ship, as mo e au ho s begin o
ecognize he po en ial alue o he in en ion app oach (Bi d 1988). A shi in he ocus
o en ep eneu ship esea ch owa d a p ocess iew (Ga ne 1985, 1989; Sha e &
Sco 1991) undoub edly con ibu es o his de elopmen .
The e olu ion o he li e a u e on en ep eneu ial in en ion is a p ime example o he
success ul in eg a ion o heo ies om a neighbo ing ield in o he s udy o
en ep eneu ship. In his pa icula case, he heo ies shi ing o he en ep eneu ship
ield belong o he a ea o social psychology, namely cogni i e psychology. The speed
o his in eg a ion p ocess is ema kable, as publica ion o he i s con ibu ions om
he ield o psychology almos coincides wi h he ea ly de elopmen s o he concep o
en ep eneu ial in en ion in he ield o en ep eneu ship. This phenomenon is ue o ,
o ins ance, he concep o sel -e icacy (Bandu a 1982, 1997), and he heo y o
planned beha io (Ajzen 1991) and i s an eceden s (Ajzen & Fishbein 1980).
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Since he ea ly nine ies, an inc easing numbe o con ibu ions employ
en ep eneu ial in en ion models (Kol e eid 1996a, 1996b; K uege 1993), con i ming
he applicabili y o he concep in di e en se ings (Au io, Keeley, Klo s en, Pa ke , &
Hay 2001; Liñán & Chen 2009; Tkache & Kol e eid 1999). Al hough no speci ic
wo k econciles al e na i e models in o a single one, au ho s show he compa ibili y o
in en ion-based models (Boyd & Vozikis 1994; K uege , Reilly, & Ca s ud 2000). This
app oach he e o e consolida es he subjec wi hin he gene al ca ego y o
en ep eneu ial in en ion models, Ajzen’s (1991) heo y o planned beha io p o iding
he p edominan speci ica ion.
Wi h he publica ion o mo e and mo e s udies using en ep eneu ial in en ion as a
amewo k, howe e , new applica ions, misma ches and speci ica ions eme ge (Ca s ud
& B ännback 2009, 2011; K uege 2007, 2009; K uege & Day 2010). K uege (2009)
conside s en ep eneu ial in en ions o be dead and claims long li e en ep eneu ial
in en ions, calling o a deep e hinking o esea ch on he ma e . Liñán and Fayolle
( o hcoming) unde line a lack o sys emiza ion and ca ego iza ion wi hin his s eam o
esea ch, o e ing a sys ema ic e iew o he li e a u e. Taking K uege ’s call as a
s a ing poin , and on he basis o Liñán and Fayolle’s ex ensi e e iew o he li e a u e,
his pape ’s pu pose is o de elop ideas and hough s o sugges new di ec ions o
u u e esea ch.
2. New di ec ions o en ep eneu ial in en ion esea ch
The p oposal o new ideas and esea ch pe spec i es on en ep eneu ial in en ions
d aws on he esea ch ca ego ies, o concep ual app oaches, se ou in Liñán and
Fayolle’s ( o hcoming) e iew o he li e a u e.
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a) The i s ca ego y co e s pape s s udying he co e en ep eneu ial in en ion
model, ei he deepening knowledge o some heo e ical nuances, o analyzing
me hodological issues.
b) The second ca ego y analyzes he ole o pe sonal-le el a iables in he
con igu a ion o en ep eneu ial in en ions.
c) A hi d g oup o pape s add esses he in e ela ionship be ween
en ep eneu ship educa ion and he en ep eneu ial in en ion o i s pa icipan s.
d) The ole con ex and ins i u ions play in he con igu a ion o en ep eneu ial
in en ions cons i u es he ou h ca ego y.
e) Finally, a i h esea ch app oach conside s he en ep eneu ial p ocess and he
in en ion–beha io link.
The au ho s link hei p oposals o he gaps ha each o hese ca ego ies highligh s.
2.1. Co e model, me hodological, and heo e ical issues
Th ee models p ima ily se e as a guide o an unde s anding o he de elopmen o
en ep eneu ial in en ions: 1) Bi d’s (1988) model o implemen ing en ep eneu ial
ideas; 2) Shape o and Sokol’s (1982) model o he en ep eneu ial e en ; and 3) Ajzen’s
(1991) heo y o planned beha io (Ca s ud & B annback 2009; Shook, P iem, &
Mcgee 2003). Empi ical e idence suppo s he applicabili y o Shape o and Sokol’s
model, and he heo y o planned beha io o he ield o en ep eneu ship (K uege e
al. 2000; K uege & B azeal 1994); howe e , s angely enough, he li e a u e has ye o
alida e Bi d’s model empi ically (Shook e al. 2003). The au ho s sugges a eas o
u he esea ch o alida e his model and hus o e a new heo e ical a enue o
expanding esea ch on en ep eneu ial in en ion.
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As p e ious wo ks (K uege 2009; Liñán & Fayolle, o hcoming; Shook e al. 2003)
poin ou , key de ini ional challenges emain. To add ess his issue, esea che s should
de ine and explain p ecisely wha hey mean by en ep eneu ial in en ion. Fu u e
esea ch also ough o in es iga e in en ion in a wide ange o en ep eneu ial scena ios,
by ying o cap u e and documen , o example, co po a e en ep eneu ship in en ion
(Fini, G imaldi, Ma zocchi, & Sob e o 2012), social en ep eneu ship in en ion (Nga &
Shamugana han 2010), academic en ep eneu ship in en ion (Goe hne , Obschonka,
Silbe eisen, & Can ne 2012), and amily en ep eneu ship in en ion (Zellwege , Siege ,
& Hal e 2011).
As K uege s a es (2009, p. 53), “The cons uc o in en ions appea s o be deeply
undamen al o human decision making and, as such, i should a o d us mul iple ui ul
oppo uni ies o explo e he connec ion be ween in en and a as a ay o o he heo ies
and models ha ela e o decision making unde isk and unce ain y.” This iew opens
he doo o he de elopmen o in eg a i e and mo e sophis ica ed heo e ical models o
he en ep eneu ial p ocess, linking in en ion-based models wi h p ospec heo y
(Kahneman & T e sky 1979) o e ec ua ion heo y (Sa as a hy 2001). New esea ch
may also conside in e ac ion (Fi zsimmons & Douglas 2011), media ion (Ba Ni ,
Wa son, & Hu chins 2011) and mode a ion (Pollack, Vanepps, & Hayes 2012) e ec s.
Finally, a he me hodological le el, a need exis s o encou age esea ch using
samples o would-be en ep eneu s o nascen en ep eneu s, and longi udinal da a o
iden i y causal o de in he en ep eneu ial p ocess (Kessle and F ank 2009). Following
a sugges ion by Shook e al. (2003), esea che s should also a emp o iangula e hei
indings using mul i-me hod s udies.
2.2. In luence o pe sonal-le el a iables on en ep eneu ial in en ion

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D awing on sugges ions by K uege (2007, 2009), esea ch on en ep eneu ial
in en ion could make signi ican p og ess by ying o imp o e he unde s anding o he
deep assump ions unde pinning in en ions (Hay on & Cholako a 2012). Assessing he
ole and he impo ance o men al p o o ypes, cogni i e sc ip s, men al schemas, and
maps may shed ligh on he o ma ion o en ep eneu ial in en ions and he p ocess
leading om in en ion o beha io (P abhu, McGui e, D os , & Kwong 2012; Shinna ,
Giacomin, & Janssen 2012). These concep s will help o gain a be e unde s anding o
how human decision making occu s ia au oma ic p ocessing (K uege & Day 2010).
2.3. En ep eneu ship educa ion and in en ion
Empi ical esea ch esul s e eal signi ican di e ences in e ms o a i udes and
in en ion le els o s uden s who ake pa in en ep eneu ship educa ion p og ams and
hose who do no . None heless, whe he and how a gene aliza ion o hose esul s o a
ange o se ings may occu emains a pending ques ion (Zhao, Siebe , & Hills 2005).
Fu he mo e, acco ding o Fayolle and Gailly (2013), li le knowledge exis s ega ding
he po en ial causal link be ween some educa ional a iables (pa icipan selec ion and
pas en ep eneu ial exposu e, cou se con en s, pedagogical me hods, eache s’
p o essional p o iles, a ailable esou ces, e c.) and he impac o en ep eneu ship
educa ion p og ams on he an eceden s o in en ion and/o beha io (a i udes, alues,
skills, e c.). Fo example, igo ous empi ical s udies o answe K uege and Ca s ud’s
(1993) ques ion ega ding how he p ocess o d awing up a business plan a ec s
in en ions a e non-exis en . How does he ype o pedagogy (ac i e e sus passi e, ace-
o- ace e sus dis ance lea ning, using ICT o no , e c.) a ec in en ion le els? How do
he p o ile and backg ound o educa o s in luence s uden s’ in en ions? How does he
en ep eneu ial in en ion o educa o s impac on hei s uden s’ en ep eneu ial
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in en ions? How do he con en s o en ep eneu ship educa ion p og ams ( heo e ical
e sus p ac ice-based knowledge) bea upon s uden s’ in en ions? Resea ch could also
p obe in o issues ela ing o he ecip ocal ela ionships be ween s uden s’
en ep eneu ial in en ions, he quali y o hei en ep eneu ial lea ning and he
de elopmen o hei en ep eneu ial compe ences in educa ional se ings (Ma in,
McNally & Kay 2013).
Conce ning u u e esea ch on en ep eneu ship educa ion using in en ion as an
impac ac o , schola s should seek o conduc s udies wi h a high s anda d o
me hodological igo . O pa icula impo ance o such s udies is he inclusion o a
ea men g oup (s uden s who ecei e en ep eneu ship educa ion) and a con ol g oup
(s uden s ou side he en ep eneu ship educa ion sphe e). Conside ing andomiza ion in
assignmen o ea men and con ol g oups is also possible o a oid sampling biases.
Finally, s udies on his kind o esea ch issue (i.e., he assessmen o en ep eneu ship
educa ion), should include measu es o a iables a bo h p e- and pos -in e en ion
(Fayolle & Gailly 2013; Ma in e al. 2013).
2.4. The ole o con ex and ins i u ions
As Wel e (2011, p. 165) ecen ly claims, “The e is g owing ecogni ion in
en ep eneu ship esea ch ha economic beha io can be be e unde s ood wi hin i s
his o ical, empo al, ins i u ional, spa ial and social con ex .” Thus, a s ong need exis s
o examine he he e ogeneous aspec o con ex (Zah a & W igh 2011). Some esea ch
se s ou o unde s and en ep eneu ial in en ion in di e en coun ies (Engle, Schlaegel,
& Dimi iadi 2011; Liñán, Fe nández, & Rome o 2013; Mo iano, Go gie ski, Laguna,
S ephan, & Za a shani 2012). Ne e heless, al hough coun ies a e one sub-dimension
o he spa ial con ex , he design o esea ch could also assess he in luence o
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communi ies, indus ial dis ic s and clus e s (o he sub-dimensions o he spa ial
con ex ) on en ep eneu ial in en ion o ma ion (Liñán, U bano, & Gue e o 2011).
Mo e impo an ly, u he esea ch could in es iga e he ole o ins i u ions and he
way public policies may in luence en ep eneu ial in en ions by changing ins i u ions.
Regula i e, no ma i e and cul u al-cogni i e ins i u ions (Shane 2008) in luence, bo h
di ec ly and indi ec ly, he pe cep ions ha indi iduals may ha e abou he desi abili y
and easibili y o en ep eneu ship. Ins i u ions can bo h cons ain and enable sel -
employmen and en ep eneu ship (Wel e & Smallbone 2012).
In his con ex , esea che s could s udy he impac o na ional, egional, p o essional
and co po a e cul u e on changes in indi idual a i udes owa d en ep eneu ship and
en ep eneu ial in en ion. Resea ch could also assess he e ec s o egula i e sys ems
and legal policies on in en ions (Engle e al. 2011). S udying inancing and job ma ke s
as enable s o cons aine s o en ep eneu ial in en ion o ma ion and de elopmen is
also possible. A use ul addi ion o he li e a u e in ol es emba king on an e alua ion o
public ini ia i es, incen i es and policies aiming a changing ins i u ions o enable,
encou age and acili a e en ep eneu ship h ough hei e ec s on en ep eneu ial
in en ion, using a p e- and pos -in e en ion esea ch design. This e alua ion could
con ibu e o s eng hening he link be ween en ep eneu ship esea ch and public policy
(Zah a & W igh 2011).
2.5. The en ep eneu ial p ocess and he in en ion–beha io link
The mos impo an esea ch challenges on en ep eneu ial in en ion a e p obably in
his a ea. In en ion-based models ocus on in en ions bu dis ega d he iming o en u e
c ea ion (K uege e al. 2000) and, “I may be a ela i ely long o sho ime a e in en
de elops be o e a new en u e oppo uni y is e en iden i ied.” (Shook e al. 2003, p.
9
383). Al hough esea ch e eals a high le el o in en ion-beha io co ela ion— om
0.90 o 0.96 (Ajzen, Csasch, & Flood 2009)—a me a-analy ic e iew o 185 s udies
using he heo y o planned beha io inds ha , on a e age, beha io al in en ions
explain 27% o he a iance in beha io (A mi age & Conne 2001). This poin is
c ucial, as in en ion owa d a gi en beha io ough o p edic such beha io wi hin he
amewo k o in en ion-based models.
In en ep eneu ship esea ch, an u gen need exis s o empi ically and heo e ically
in es iga e he in en ion–beha io link. As Bi d s a es (1992, p. 12), “[en ep eneu ial]
en u es ake ime o c ea e, wi h many in e ela ed e en s and p ocesses, each wi h
di e en ime demands, wea ing oge he du ing o ganiza ion eme gence. The
en ep eneu ’s in en ion behind hese e en s and p ocesses aims o sense and di ec he
pace, sequence, and synch oniza ion o ac i i ies.” Despi e his s a emen da ing back o
he ea ly nine ies, knowledge o he mechanisms and he empo ali ies ha a ec how
en ep eneu ial in en ions lead o beha io s is s ill poo (Kau onen, Van Gelde en, &
To niko ski 2013; Laspi a B eugs , Heblich, & Pa zel 2012). Consequen ly, new
esea ch ideas and pe spec i es o examining he in en ion-beha io link in he ield o
en ep eneu ship a e necessa y. In his ega d, wo main and complemen a y di ec ions
o u u e esea ch s and ou .
En ep eneu ship esea che s could apply implemen a ion in en ion heo y
(Gollwi ze 1999) in s udying he link be ween in en ion and beha io . An
implemen a ion in en ion is a sel - egula o y s a egy in he o m o an i - hen plan ha
can lead o be e goal a ainmen . “Implemen a ion in en ions a e subo dina e o goal
in en ions and speci y he when, whe e and how o esponses leading o goal
a ainmen .” (Gollwi ze 1999, p. 494). Indi iduals who o m an implemen a ion
in en ion (i.e. a speci ic plan de ailing whe e, when and how he desi ed beha io will
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