The moderating role of effectuation in the relationship between self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention among university students

Resumen

The recent effectuation approach in entrepreneurship has shifted the focus to entrepreneurial action in order to better understand entrepreneurial phenomena, as opposed to the traditional lineal, rational logics (Sarasvathy, 2001, 2008). Effectual logic inherently implies creativity (Sarasvathy, 2001), and constitutes a means of entrepreneurial expertise (Read and Sarasvathy, 2005), favouring thus learning through experience. Because of this creative and adaptive nature, we propose that effectual reasoning can contribute to develop entrepreneurial attitudes. In order to explore this question, we analyse the relationship between self-efficacy (SE) and entrepreneurial intention (EI) in the light of two alternative logics, i.e., causation and effectuation (Sarasvathy, 2001). Specifically, we explore the question of how causal or effectual logics can moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial SE and EI, based on the practice acquired by individuals through experience in entrepreneurial activities.