Recently, a paper by our young faculty member Dr. Haiyan Li (first author) in collaboration with Associate Professor Salih Zeki Ozdemir and Professor Peter A. Heslin of the University of New South Wales, Australia , "Merely Folklore? The Role of a Growth Mindset in the Taking and Timing of Entrepreneurial Actions" was published online in the top international journal Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, which enriched the academic research system of our institute.
Paper Description
Having a growth mindset is an essential component of taking entrepreneurial action. While this intuitive conceptual appeal has become a staple of entrepreneurship textbooks and industry pronouncements, it has not been confirmed by existing academic research. It seems obvious, if not self-evident, that a growth mindset positively predicts entrepreneurial behavior. However, the mindset effect is significantly heterogeneous across individuals and contexts and depends on behavioral context, so it cannot simply be assumed that this idea holds. Based on incremental implicit theory, this paper analyzes how potential entrepreneurs' mindsets affect their entrepreneurial behavior and entrepreneurial speed, and conducts a research design and empirical analysis using event history analysis. This paper is the first study to conduct the role of mindset in entrepreneurial behavior. The study shows that having a more growth mindset relative to a fixed mindset helps to promote engagement in entrepreneurial behavior, and faster. Compared to search or planning type activities, growth mindset increases the likelihood of carrying out implementation type activities, but decreases the time spent taking search or planning actions, rather than implementing them. Interestingly, this is particularly likely to occur in more challenging contextual and task environments, while these effects disappear in more supportive, less challenging environments. Exploratory analyses further confirmed the idea that the role of growth mindset in entrepreneurial behavior is enhanced in challenging environments caused by neocoronary pneumonia-related constraints. These findings not only contribute to relevant theoretical research, but also provide a foundation for future research on growth mindset interventions and the development of policy portfolio interventions to promote entrepreneurial activity.
Journal Description
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice is internationally recognized as one of the most authoritative journals on entrepreneurship (Impact Factor: 9.993; 5-year Impact Factor: 14.105) and is known for its rigorous academic requirements and extreme editorial standards, dedicated to publishing empirical and theoretical research in the field of entrepreneurship and encouraging new insights and perspectives. The journal is one of the Financial Times 50 Journals (FT50), and is ranked among the top international journals related to business schools.
About the Author
Haiyan Li, a native of Xinzhou, Shanxi, graduated from Harbin Engineering University with a PhD in management in June 2020. Currently, she is a lecturer at Shantou University, and her main research interests are SME innovation, entrepreneurial behavior and returnee entrepreneurship. She has published papers as first author in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of International Management, Innovation Organization & Management, and Journal of Scientific Research.
