Entrepreneurial motivation: a non-entrepreneur’s journey to become an entrepreneur

Raj V. Mahto () and William C. McDowell ()
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Raj V. Mahto: The University of New Mexico
William C. McDowell: Bradley University

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2018, vol. 14, issue 3, No 2, 513-526

Abstract: Abstract In entrepreneurship literature, much research effort is focused on differentiating entrepreneurs, recognizing or exploiting opportunities, resources available or required, or a combination of the three entrepreneurship-defining factors. There is, however, very little research on understanding a non-entrepreneur’s motivation to become an entrepreneur. This greatly limits our knowledge of the entrepreneurial process. It has hindered our understanding of how non-entrepreneurs are motivated to pursue entrepreneurial career options and has led to misinformed decisions by scholars and policy makers. In this paper, our goal is to develop a theory of entrepreneurial motivation that explains how non-entrepreneurs develop the motivation to pursue entrepreneurship. We argue that an individual’s self-assessment of their identity is the primary factor in individuals developing entrepreneurial motivation. The identity self-assessment leads individuals either to seek enhancement of their identity or establish a new identity that opens them to the influence of entrepreneurial motivation reinforcing entrepreneurial exposure in their social environment.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Motivation; Entrepreneurship Theory; Identity; Self-Assessment; Social Identity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11365-018-0513-8

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