Beyond self-efficacy: how core beliefs shape engagement with the entrepreneurial journey

The paper delves into how entrepreneurs' beliefs shape their thought processes and actions during the early stages of venturing. Rooted in personal experiences, beliefs guide individuals in understanding and navigating the world. While it has been established for some time that the belief known as self-efficacy influences initial venturing decisions and mitigate fear of failure, the role of beliefs once the venture begins remains understudied. Drawing on beliefs from Assumptive World Theory, the paper fills this gap by examining beliefs' impact on entrepreneurial choices once the venturing process has begun.

In order to appraise core beliefs, we collect verbal reflections on recent venturing events and critical decisions from 33 entrepreneurs in the post start-up and early commercialisation stage. Reflections on concurrent critical incidents are a vehicle to surface deeply held beliefs. The empirical context for entrepreneurs’ recruitment is a major funding competition known to include participants from a wide range of socio-demographic backgrounds (age, gender, gender orientation, ethnicity etc.).

Data analysis starts by concept-mapping standard core beliefs into entrepreneurs’ reflections. We next analyse the coded reflections inductively, aggregating them up by common themes in line with the Gioia method. Once we develop an inventory of core beliefs contextualised in entrepreneurial activity, we return to the individual entrepreneurs’ narratives to contextualise the role of entrepreneurial core beliefs in the entrepreneurial journey.

The analysis reveals several key themes illuminating the connection between core beliefs and entrepreneurial behaviour. Firstly, entrepreneurs' core beliefs about personal responsibility influence how they interpret setbacks, determining whether they attribute outcomes to their own abilities or external factors. Secondly, beliefs concerning safety in the environment shape entrepreneurs' willingness to involve others in the venturing process, share ideas and collaborate with support organisations, partners and other collaborators. Thirdly, beliefs about control and agency affect entrepreneurial resilience, with individuals holding positive beliefs more likely to utilize feedback for learning, venture adaptation and development, whilst those holding negative beliefs about control and agency may resist feedback, and either persevere with their existing course of action or abandon their journey. These findings add core beliefs to the toolbox researchers can use to explain variations in entrepreneurial journeys and entrepreneurial responses to events along the way.