J. Robert Mitchell

Untangling the Intuition Mess: Intuition as a Construct in Entrepreneurship Research

Entrepreneurs often use intuition to explain their actions. But because entrepreneurial intuition is poorly defined in the research literature: the “intuitive” is confused with the “innate,” what is systematic is overlooked, and unexplained variance in entrepreneurial behavior remains high. Herein we: (1) bound and define the construct of entrepreneurial intuition within the distinctive domain of entrepreneurship research; (2) apply a levels–of–consciousness logic and process dynamism approach to; (3) organize definitions, antecedents, and consequences; and (4) produce propositions that lead to a working definition of entrepreneurial intuition. Our analysis renders intuition more usable in entrepreneurship research, and more valuable in practice.

Entrepreneurial Scripts and the New Transaction Commitment Mindset: Extending the Expert Information Processing Theory Approach to Entrepreneurial Cognition Research

In this study, we extend the expert information processing theory approach to entrepreneurial cognition research through an empirical exploration of the new transaction commitment mindset among business people in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Using analysis of covariance, multivariate analysis of variance, and hierarchical regression analysis of data from a cross–sectional sample of 417 respondents, our results provide a foundation for additional cross–level theory development, with related implications for increasing the practicality of expert information processing theory–based entrepreneurial cognition research. Specifically, this paper: (1) clarifies the nature of the relationship between entrepreneurial expert scripts and constructs that might represent an entrepreneurial mindset at the individual level of analysis; (2) identifies analogous relationships at the economy level of analysis, where the structure found at the individual level informs an economy–level problem; (3) presents a North American Free Trade Agreement–based illustration analysis to demonstrate the extent to which cognitive findings at the individual level can be used to explain economy–level phenomena; and (4) extrapolates from our analysis some of the ways in which script–based comparisons across country or culture can inform the more general task of making information processing–based comparisons among entrepreneurs across other contexts.

Becoming the Boss: Discretion and Postsuccession Success in Family Firms

Family firms can enjoy substantial longevity. Ironically, however, they are often imperiled by the very process that is essential to this longevity. Using the concept of managerial discretion as a starting point, we use a human agency lens to introduce the construct of successor discretion as a factor that affects the family business succession process. While important in general, successor discretion is positioned as a particularly relevant factor for productively managing organizational renewal in family businesses. This study represents a foundation for future empirical research investigating the role of agency in entrepreneurial action in the family business context, which consequently can contribute to the larger research literature on succession and change.

Opportunity Creation, Underlying Conditions and Economic Exchange

In this study we focus on how conditions of uncertainty shape the entrepreneurial action that underlies opportunity creation. We utilize the basic structure of economic exchange in the context of opportunity creation theory to further investigate the conditions under which an entrepreneur might be expected to act to bring an opportunity into existence. Specifically, we suggest that uncertainty, that is manifest as relational uncertainty and resource uncertainty, shapes the entrepreneurial actions that underlie the creation of opportunities. In a laboratory experiment we test this hypothesis by observing 56 three-person groups engaged in an opportunity creation-focused exchange task. The results of the experiment support the hypothesis that variability in the conditions of uncertainty (relational uncertainty and resource uncertainty) affects the entrepreneurial action that results in opportunity creation. These results lead us then to propose that there exists a theoretically specifiable set of key entrepreneurial actions (one that is others-focused and another that is works-focused). From this analysis we suggest potential directions for future research in the areas of entrepreneurial action and opportunity creation.

Reimagining Profits and Stakeholder Capital to Address Tensions Among Stakeholders

In this article, we use ideas from stakeholder capital maintenance theory to address tensions in allocating firm profits between stockholders and other stakeholders. We utilize a mediative thought experiment to conceptualize how multiple stakeholder interests might better be served, such that genuine firm profits (from new value creation) versus artificial firm profits (from non-wealth-producing transfers) may be identified and incentivized. We thereby examine how such accounting transfers can be envisioned as stakeholder capital to be maintained for the benefit of both the firm and the economy. We present examples to illustrate the hypothetical model proposed and its implications.

Situated Scripting and Entrepreneurial Expertise: A Socially Situated View of the Information-Processing Perspective

Over the past few years a new narrative has emerged within the area of entrepreneurial cognition research that has moved explanations away from boxologies—seemingly static representations of abstract, disembodied cognitive structures—and towards a more dynamic view of entrepreneurial cognition. In this chapter, using socially situated cognition theory, we revisit our original chapter on entrepreneurial scripts and entrepreneurial expertise in order to better-situate entrepreneurial scripts within this new (more dynamic) narrative. We suggest an explanation that unifies both the static and dynamic views of entrepreneurial scripts.