ENTREPRENEURIAL SELF-EFFICACY, INTENT AND INTENSITY: DOES EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING ENHANCE OR INHIBIT PREDISPOSITION?

Whereas prior research has investigated the relationship between the belief in one's abilities (entrepreneurial self-efficacy) and the intent to form a new business as a discrete event, little research has investigated the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and his or her focus and commitment (entrepreneurial intensity). Consequently, potential meaningful theoretical and pedagogical aspects remain less well understood. This study addresses this void explicitly by employing a pre-post design that investigates both the dynamics of the relationships between entrepreneurial self-efficacy, intent and intensity, as well as the moderating influence of different training methodologies. Our results suggest a change in focus from intent to intensity produces important theoretical and practical insights about the dynamics of early stage decision making.