DO ENTREPRENEURS ACT ON WHAT THEY KNOW OR WHAT THEY BELIEVE? TESTING COMPETING COGNITIVE THEORIES OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTION (SUMMARY)

In order to create a new firm, entrepreneurs need to take action and commit resources under conditions of uncertainty (Knight, 1921). Studies have shown that entrepreneurial action could stem from distinct cognitive origins and two overarching themes arise. One theme is the set of learning-action theories (e.g. Corbett, 2005; McMullen and Shepherd, 2006; Shane, 2000) and the other theme comprises of the conviction-based theories (e.g. Åstebro et al., 2007; Cardon et al., 2009; Dushnitsky, 2010). They do not axiomatically contradict each other; nevertheless, in spirit they emphasize different challenges and offer very different explanations of the observed commitment action. In this study, we extend these alternative cognitive theories of entrepreneurial action and test them concomitantly using purely cognitive measures of subjective judgment on key success factors. We theorize that learning-based mechanisms are substitutes of conviction- based mechanisms. Further, we hypothesize the moderating roles of perceived uncertainty and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in these cognition-action relationships.