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To what extent is the level of higher educational background reflected in the effectuational/causational decision-making process of novice entrepreneurs?

Cieslik, Ann-Kristin (2016) To what extent is the level of higher educational background reflected in the effectuational/causational decision-making process of novice entrepreneurs?

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Abstract:Entrepreneurship is an evolving subject that is increasingly coming to the attention of researchers. More people are interested in the concept of successful new venture starting and its underlying principles. Decisions have to be made on a daily basis, regardless whether they are short-term or long-term. In the entrepreneurship literature, two dichotomous angles of decision-making have been introduced, namely causation and effectuation. An entrepreneur, who is acting like causation suggests, will set a certain goal, will expect predetermined returns, analyze competition, exploit knowledge and will focus on predicting an unpredictable future. An entrepreneur, who is acting like effectuation suggests, will start explore the means available first, will be willing to commit to an affordable loss, emphasize strategic alliances, exploit contingencies and ultimately seek to control an unpredictable future. Ever since the concept of effectuation has been introduced, researchers are interested in exploring and explaining the different dimensions that regard this concept. This research is aimed at creating value for novice entrepreneurs on how their higher educational degree pursued is influencing their decision-making in an effectuational or causational way, to in the end get more insight on entrepreneurial behavior. In this paper, highly educated German novice entrepreneurs were the main object of research. It has been found that the differences in educational degree (BA, MA, PhD) itself are not significantly related to decision-making style, however the background of study undertaken previously is. Therefore, there is indeed a significant difference in decision-making whether an entrepreneur has conducted a business related study or a non-business related study.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:International Business Administration BSc (50952)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/70115
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