Commitment profiles of nascent entrepreneurs: insights from an empirical taxonomy among French student entrepreneurs

Laetitia Gabay-Mariani and Jean-Pierre Boissin ()
Additional contact information
Laetitia Gabay-Mariani: CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes
Jean-Pierre Boissin: CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: Purpose In line with an emerging body of literature questioning student entrepreneurs' practices, and recent calls to bridge the intention-action gap, this contribution aims to identify profiles of commitment among nascent entrepreneurs, and their relationship with the performance of entrepreneurial behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Relying on Meyer and Allen's multidimensional model, the authors build an empirical taxonomy regarding affective and instrumental forms of commitment experienced by nascent entrepreneurs ( n = 328) operating within French higher education. Findings The authors identify three commitment profiles – weak, affective and total – associated with distinct levels of advancement and investment in the entrepreneurial process. This analysis leads them to map out the entrepreneurial process followed by nascent entrepreneurs with three main thresholds: the initial threshold, the resonance threshold and the irreversibility threshold. Research limitations/implications The work contributes to an emerging field of research dedicated to student entrepreneurship. It highlights the existence of different trajectories among nascent entrepreneurs, but also to different ways of being tied to them. It also enriches more broadly the understanding of the entrepreneurial process, especially its volitional phase. Practical implications The results are also important to guide public action, especially to design relevant support programs accounting for nascent entrepreneurs' diversity. Originality/value This is the first research to identify profiles of nascent student entrepreneurs based on the way they feel tied to their project, but also to the broader project of becoming entrepreneurs.

Date: 2021-06-08
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 2021, 5 (27), pp.1214-1240. ⟨10.1108/IJEBR-09-2020-0652⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03981314

DOI: 10.1108/IJEBR-09-2020-0652

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().