The Social Psychology of Entrepreneurial Behavior

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to describe four major areas of theory and research in social psychology, and to indicate how each has found its place in the study of entrepreneurial activity. Economic conditions in an industry may favor the emergence of new entrants, venture capital may be readily available, technolog- ical advances may create market opportunities, but as Shaver and Scott (1991) have noted, there will be no new companies created without focused and sus- tained entrepreneurial behavior. Such entrepreneurial action may be the work of an individual, or it may be the work of a team. In either case, the behavioral processes involved are ones normally considered within the domain of social psy- chology. As team-based entrepreneurship is often treated separately from individual entrepreneurship (see, for example, Cooper & Daily, 1997;Stewart, 1989), this chapter will concentrate on what social psychology refers to as the “intrapersonal” processes of an individual entrepreneur. These include social cognition, attribution, attitudes, and the self. The specific topics to be discussed were selected because (a) they are traditional concerns of social psychology and (b) they have been the sub- ject of numerous papers in entrepreneurship. Our review is necessarily selective, but will still advance a strong case for further consideration of the social psychological processes that guide the entrepreneur’s venture-organizing activities