The mediating role of impulsivity in the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and the entrepreneurial action stages

Abstract

Most aspiring entrepreneurs desire to start their own businesses; however, their intentions do not always translate into action. The issue of low entrepreneurial action levels is a global phenomenon and South Africa is no exception. However, in this study it is addressed through exploiting the role of impulsivity in the relationship between entrepreneurial intention (EI) and different stages of entrepreneurial action (EA).

This research expanded on the work by Wiklund, Yu and Patzelt (2017) by positing the dimensions of impulsivity (urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation and sensation seeking). A survey was administered to a database of 1000 entrepreneurs which was obtained from Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA). From this database, 597 nascent and established entrepreneurs completed the survey and therefore the response rate was 59.7%. The collected data were analysed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling. The elements that inform EI were established through the Theory of Planned Behaviour in conjunction with Motivation Opportunity Ability theory, and for the stages of EA, the creative theory and discovery theory were utilised. Through this study, a variety of models were tested, and an overall model fit positing dimensions of impulsivity linking entrepreneurial intention to stages of entrepreneurial action was demonstrated. As a result urgency, lack of perseverance and lack of premeditation partially mediated the relationship between EI and the stages of EA, while sensation seeking partially mediated the evaluation stage, though not the entrepreneurial opportunity discovery and exploitation stages.

The study also investigated the influence of age, gender and years in business in the relationship between EI and the stages of EA, mediated by dimensions of impulsivity. No moderation effect by age or gender was detected between EI and the dimensions of impulsivity; only the number of years in business moderated the path between EI and the lack of premeditation dimension. In terms of the relationship between the impulsivity dimensions and the stages of EA, the following moderated mediations were detected, namely: Years in business between lack of perseverance and the opportunity discovery stage; Years in business between sensation seeking and the opportunity exploitation stage; Years in business between lack of premeditation and all the three stages of the entrepreneurial action; Gender between lack of perseverance and the opportunity evaluation stage; and Gender between lack of premeditation and the discovery and evaluation stage.

Notwithstanding the study’s limitations, the findings indicate that impulsivity dimensions, which were previously viewed as negative personality traits, could play a significant role, in particular to a nascent entrepreneur, and are expected to affect entrepreneurial action in order for the entrepreneurial action to take place. Therefore, the findings in this study can provide useful guidelines in that dimensions of impulsivity should be incorporated into entrepreneurship training programmes to enhance the entrepreneurial action of aspiring and established entrepreneurs.