Are you an innovator or adaptor? the impact of cognitive propensity on venture expectations and outcomes

In this study we confirm the often assumed but largely untested belief that entrepreneurs think and behave differently than others. We examine a group of more than 700 nascent entrepreneurs and 400 nonentrepreneurs. We determine the entrepreneurs’ cognitive style propensity for problem solving (Inno...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kevin LaMont Johnson, Wade M. Danis, Marc J. Dollinger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2008-03-01
Series:New England Journal of Entrepreneurship
Online Access:https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NEJE-11-02-2008-B003/full/pdf?title=are-you-an-innovator-or-adaptor-the-impact-of-cognitive-propensity-on-venture-expectations-and-outcomes
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Summary:In this study we confirm the often assumed but largely untested belief that entrepreneurs think and behave differently than others. We examine a group of more than 700 nascent entrepreneurs and 400 nonentrepreneurs. We determine the entrepreneurs’ cognitive style propensity for problem solving (Innovator versus Adaptor); we compare their expectations; and, we examine the outcomes (performance and start-up) of their ventures. We find that nascent entrepreneurs are more likely to be overly optimistic Innovators, most people are Adaptors, and oneʼs cognitive style can indeed play a role in the initial development and outcome for the venture, but not always as expected.
ISSN:2574-8904