A Longitudinal Study of Cognitive Factors Influencing Start-Up Behaviors and Success at Venture Creation

Explores whether specific cognitive attributes of potential entrepreneurs can be used to predict future startup success and persistence in business startup activities. Two hypotheses are proposed and tested: (1) potential entrepreneurs who offer internal and stable explanations (attributions) for their plans for getting into business should be more likely to persist in actions that lead to successfully starting a business; and (2) potential entrepreneurs with high personal efficacy scores should be more likely to persist in actions that lead to successfully starting a new business. Data were gathered from 142 responses from pre-venture clients of a Small Business Development Center in a large southwestern metropolitan area between October 1990 and February 1991 and from 85 responses to a follow-up questionnaire completed in February 1992. Results show that both those who are successful and those who are not successful at getting into business devote the same amount of time to gathering market information, estimating profits, completing the groundwork, and structuring the company. However, those individuals who were successful at getting into business took the next step and devoted effort to beginning operations. Only assessing the market correlated with setting up business operations. It was also found that the internal attribution measure was significantly correlated to some entrepreneurial activities -- particularly structuring the company. The attribution measure was also useful at predicting individual success at getting into business. Females with internal and stable reasons and males with external and stable reasons for getting into business were more likely to start businesses that generated sales. In addition, the results contribute to the view that gender is not merely a demographic descriptor of the sample entrepreneurs' characteristics, but rather an important differentiating factor. If different reasons are given for the persistence of successful male and female nascent entrepreneurs, then selection and training need to account for the difference in their reasons. The value of the attributional framework for research and practice is further discussed. (SFL)