The Role of Attributional Explanatory Style in the Perceived Outcomes of Entrepreneurial Venture Failure

Askim-Lovseth, Mary K.; Feinberg, Richard A.

doi:10.1080/08276331.2012.10593573

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 58 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Other studies focussed on the attribution of the entrepreneur, rather than the bias of the general public, related to their perceived reasons for their success (Chattopadhyay, 2007;Diochon et al, 2007;Gronhaug and Falkenberg, 1994;Rogoff et al, 2004;Sequeira et al, 2009). Other studies focussed on the entrepreneurs' attribution of the reasons for their businesses failure (Askim-Lovseth and Feinberg, 2012;Cardon et al, 2011;Humphreys et al, 2011;Mantere et al, 2013). Yusuf (2012) reported selection bias problems in research.…”

Section: Jepp 42mentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring and testing general fundamental attribution error in entrepreneurship effecting public policy

Fiore

Lussier

2015

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically test for fundamental attribution error (FAE) – the naturally occurring bias of humans to over-attribute business success to celebrity-entrepreneur disposition. Design/methodology/approach – Employing a five-step process, this paper measures and tests for FAE bias in entrepreneurial situations. The methodology includes anecdotal historical evidence; developing a FAE survey instrument; having 101 respondents classify variables; statistically testing and validating the instrument; and then statistically identifying the importance of each factor with a sample 105. Findings – Significant statistical evidence for an active FAE bias was found. People do tend to attribute business success to entrepreneurial dispositions, rather than team behavior and circumstantial outcome factors which can reduce the effectiveness of public policy. Research limitations/implications – There is minimal research on FAE in entrepreneurship effecting public policy, thus there is a need for research to better understand factors of business outcomes actually based on entrepreneurial dispositions vs team behavior and circumstantial-situational factors. Practical implications – FAE bias may lead the general public, entrepreneurs, and public policy makers to overemphasize the impact of the entrepreneur’s behavior and especially the dispositional factors of the celebrity-based entrepreneur when assessing causation of firm performance. This would under-emphasize the value of other organizational factors. Misidentification of true cause-effect factors may lead to inappropriate managerial conclusions and introduction of error in public policy decisions. Originality/value – Although FAE is primarily a psychological literature concept, this is the first study to contribute empirical evidence of the FAE of professionals employed in business as it applies to entrepreneurship and economic outcomes.

show abstract

Section: Jepp 42mentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring and testing general fundamental attribution error in entrepreneurship effecting public policy

Fiore

Lussier

2015

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This crisis manifests as an actual fear of failure (FoF) that lasts even after the venture fails [ 4 ]. This deleterious impact, including stress and emotional pain, may prevent failed entrepreneurs (FEs) from restarting; hence, how they cope with failure has received increased attention in recent years [ 5 ]. Failed entrepreneurs’ re-entry is also prevalent [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do Failed Entrepreneurs Cope with Their Prior Failure When They Seek Subsequent Re-Entry into Serial Entrepreneurship? Failed Entrepreneurs’ Optimism and Defensive Pessimism and Coping Humor as a Moderator

Hwang

Choi

2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Entrepreneurial failure is prevalent, and particularly when the COVID−19 crisis exacerbates the economic recession, it becomes even more prevalent. Entrepreneurs experience an intensive emotional crisis when their ventures fail, and this deleterious impact, including stress and emotional pain, may prevent failed entrepreneurs (FEs) from restarting; hence, how they cope with failure has received increased attention in recent years. However, most of the extant literature focuses on success rather than failure, and there is very limited literature on how FEs cope with the psychological and emotional crisis caused by failure. This study focuses on FEs’ use of optimism and defensive pessimism as coping strategies within the mental simulation theory with respect to their re-entry intentions. It examines the impact of career ambition and public self-awareness on optimism, of the fear of failure (FoF) and self-doubt, on defensive pessimism, and of coping humor as a moderator. We used structural equation modeling to analyze the data of 277 Korean FEs who have actual entrepreneurial failure experiences and actively prepared for their re-entry. The results show that career ambitions and public self-awareness have an impact on optimism, and FoF and self-doubt lead to defensive pessimism. Coping humor also has a moderating effect on the path from defensive pessimism to the intention to re-enter. This study advances the literature on coping mechanisms that FEs employ to manage the negative impact of failure and prepare for their subsequent re-entry. Its theoretical model, based on the mental simulation theory combined with social comparison theory, provides a possible integrative framework that includes both the pervasively held view of entrepreneurs’ optimism related to overconfidence and their defensive pessimism related to their vulnerability due to their ventures’ failure. Thus, this study makes theoretical contributions to the literature of entrepreneurial failure, as well as practical implications for policymakers and educators who assist FEs in successfully coping with entrepreneurial failure and re-entry.

show abstract

How Social Entrepreneurs Respond to Enterprise Failure

Smollan

Singh

2021

Journal of Social Entrepreneurship

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Role of Attributional Explanatory Style in the Perceived Outcomes of Entrepreneurial Venture Failure

Cited by 5 publications

References 58 publications

Measuring and testing general fundamental attribution error in entrepreneurship effecting public policy

Measuring and testing general fundamental attribution error in entrepreneurship effecting public policy

How Do Failed Entrepreneurs Cope with Their Prior Failure When They Seek Subsequent Re-Entry into Serial Entrepreneurship? Failed Entrepreneurs’ Optimism and Defensive Pessimism and Coping Humor as a Moderator

How Social Entrepreneurs Respond to Enterprise Failure

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About