Antecedents of new venture creation decision in iranian high-tech industries: Conceptualizing by a non-teleological approach

Abstract

Entrepreneurs’ decision-making process is one of the main research topics in entrepreneurship studies. This research aims to conceptualize the antecedents of new venture creation decision in Iranian high tech industries. The research utilizes an innovative non-teleological approach in order to take into account the specific regional context of Iran. Most research into entrepreneurial decision making utilizes teleological approaches; however, these models could not adequately explain the phenomena within the Iranian context. This qualitative study utilized event- based interviews with 20 nascent entrepreneurs. Results from coding, categorizing and validating the research findings, revealed 3 main categories as antecedents of new venture creation decision. Accordingly, concepts of entrepreneurial meta-cognition; primary actions and receiving feedback; and positive attitude toward change, constitute the main antecedents of new venture creation decision in this context. The findings also reveal the non-teleological nature of entrepreneurial decision- making, and adoption of some effectuation logics in the studied decision-making process.