Implementation intentions in the entrepreneurial process: concept, empirical findings, and research agenda

Abstract

Prior studies find sizable gaps between entrepreneurial intentions and subsequent actions. We extend models of entrepreneurial intentions by drawing on action phase theory to better understand how entrepreneurial intentions translate into actions. Our study focuses on the effects of implementation intentions on taking entrepreneurial action. The analysis uses two waves of survey data on 422 individuals, from the Swedish general population, who had an explicit interest in starting a business and who reported on their actions 6 months later. We test and find support for a moderated mediation model in which implementation intentions mediate the effects of goal intentions on taking entrepreneurial action. We further find the mediated effect to be even stronger for those confirming a strong intention to start a new business. We provide an in-depth discussion of the concept of implementation intention and an extensive research agenda.

Positive Psychological Attributes and Entrepreneurial Intention and Action: The Moderating Role of Perceived Family Support

“…Using the concepts of a proactive personality and psychological capital as cases of reference, the present study investigates the effects of people's positive psychological attributes on entrepreneurial intentions and actions in the context of a developing country (e.g., Uganda). Secondly, we examined the mediating roles of entrepreneurial intentions and implementation intentions in the relationship between positive psychological attributes and actions (van Gelderen et al, 2018); and the moderating role of perceived family support in the movement from implementation intentions to taking action toward a business start-up. Our analysis F(1, 138) demonstrates that having firm implementation intentions is essential to translating intentions into action.…”

“…In support of van Gelderen et al (2018) extended model of entrepreneurial intentions, our findings show that implementation intentions mediate the effects of entrepreneurial intentions on entrepreneurial actions. Implementation intentions involve delegating the behavioral control to situational cues that consequently elicit behavior, making people become more alert to situational cues (van Gelderen et al, 2018). Consequently, people with strong intentions to implement their entrepreneurial ideas become more alert to opportunities for acting on those ideas.…”

Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Intention among Young People: Model and Regional Evidence

“…The attitude in this model corresponds to the perceived desirability included in the former model, and behavioral control is a form of perceived viability, considered in the Shapero and Sokol model [44]. Ajzen adds the subjective norm in the second model, which also influences the entrepreneurial intention [72][73][74]. Intention-based models are implemented successfully in social psychology, marketing and management, and prior research revealed very interesting empirical conclusions.…”

Mindfulness and Taking Action to Start a New Business

“…; Van Gelderen, Kautonen and Fink ; Van Gelderen et al . ). Our study adds to this line of research, and we interpret our findings as providing further evidence for the role of self‐control (Van Gelderen et al .…”