The Metacognitive Engine: Thinking About Thinking in High-Velocity Environments

Dean A. Shepherd () and Holger Patzelt ()
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Dean A. Shepherd: University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business
Holger Patzelt: Technical University of Munich, School of Management

Chapter 1 in The Entrepreneurial Compass, 2026, pp 1-7 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter explores the metacognitive engine, a higher-order cognitive system essential for navigating volatile entrepreneurial environments. Driven by state curiosity, this engine allows entrepreneurs to act as “motivated tacticians,” consciously selecting cognitive strategies to resolve environmental ambiguity. The authors detail a structural framework comprising metacognitive knowledge (of people, tasks, and strategies) and metacognitive experience (affective conduits such as intuition). The system maintains integrity through cognitive coherence, which triggers an urge to update mental models when they conflict with external signals. Furthermore, the chapter examines how neurodiversity, specifically ADHD, impacts this engine by fostering a natural bias toward rapid action and hyperfocus. Finally, the authors discuss grounding abstract thoughts through boundary objects such as prototypes to facilitate collective sensemaking and transform private conjectures into testable public hypotheses within a community of inquiry. Mastering this internal dialogue is the prerequisite for identifying and pursuing market opportunities.

Keywords: ADHD; Boundary Objects; Cognitive Adaptability; Cognitive Coherence; Metacognition; Self-regulation; State Curiosity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-36429-6_1

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-36429-6_1

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