Measuring the social identity of entrepreneurs: Scale development and international validation

Abstract

Social identity theory offers an important lens to improve understanding of founders as enterprising individuals, the venture creation process, and its outcomes. Yet, further advances are hindered by the lack of valid scales to measure founders' social identities. Drawing on social identity theory and a systematic classification of founders' social identities (Darwinians, Communitarians, and Missionaries), we develop and test a corresponding 15-item scale in the Alpine region and validate it in 13 additional countries and regions. The scale allows identifying founders' social identities and relating them to processes and outcomes in entrepreneurship. The scale is available online in 15 languages.

Entrepreneurial Behavior: A Reconceptualization and Extension Based on Identity Theory

“…As discussed, in order to shed light on how the social identity of founders shapes their entrepreneurial behaviors, we draw on work by Fauchart and Gruber (2011), who applied social identity theory to investigate the heterogeneity of founders' social identities, and examine how such differences manifest themselves in new firm creation. Their typology of founder social identities seems to offer a particularly promising point of departure for research on entrepreneurial behavior, as also evidenced by recent studies that have adopted this typology (e.g., Alsos et al, 2016;Powell & Baker, 2017;Sieger et al, 2016). Furthermore, it is interesting to note that their way of viewing the self in the social space shows key parallels to the longstanding discourse on human nature that can be found in political philosophy: philosophers frequently distinguish among three main conceptions of human nature, i.e., the atomistic self, the communitarian self, and the cosmopolitan self (cf.…”

“…Scholars may also want to examine entrepreneurial behaviors in distinct phases of the process of setting up a venture-in opportunity identification (cf. findings discussed in Sieger et al, 2016) and in later stages of new firm development (cf. findings discussed in Alsos et al, 2016;Sieger et al, 2016;Powell & Baker, 2017).…”

“…findings discussed in Sieger et al, 2016) and in later stages of new firm development (cf. findings discussed in Alsos et al, 2016;Sieger et al, 2016;Powell & Baker, 2017). Here, it is likely that Darwinians, Communitarians, Missionaries, and Hybrids will see different opportunities for "value" creation in a given industry contextnot just due to the distinct knowledge settings in which they are embedded, but also due to the different meanings they associate with new firm creation.…”

“…2 Social identity theory (Tajfel, 1972;Tajfel & Turner, 1979) originates in the literature on social psychology. Entrepreneurship research that applies the lens offered by social identity theory is still young (Alsos, Clausen, Hytti, & Solvoll, 2016;Fauchart & Gruber, 2011;Obschonka, Goethner, Silbereisen, & Cantner, 2012;Powell & Baker, 2014, 2017Sieger, Gruber, Fauchart, & Zellweger, 2016). As we will explain in greater detail later, social identity theory has the unique advantage that it allows extending the scope of research on entrepreneurial behavior to include behaviors that are focused on advancing the life of others in the social space.…”

Are You an Excellent International Entrepreneur?—Building a Competency Model of International Entrepreneurs Based on the Grounded Theory

“…On the one hand, the training of entrepreneur abilities and qualities relies on individual awareness and growth of entrepreneurs [2]. On the other hand, it must keep pace with the development and internationalization of enterprises [3]. Only when "sharing a common fate" with the enterprise, will an entrepreneur's growth and progress become the support of corporate development and corporate development benefit from the progress of the entrepreneur [4].…”