How Social Identity Affects Entrepreneurs’ Desire for Control
In order to obtain a better understanding why some entrepreneurs retain more control over their venture than others, this article analyzes the relationship between the social identity of the entrepreneur and her/his desire for control. In fact, entrepreneurs face an important tradeoff between attrac...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/1/7 |
| _version_ | 1797490428737486848 |
|---|---|
| author | Hans Vanoorbeek Laura Lecluyse |
| author_facet | Hans Vanoorbeek Laura Lecluyse |
| author_sort | Hans Vanoorbeek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In order to obtain a better understanding why some entrepreneurs retain more control over their venture than others, this article analyzes the relationship between the social identity of the entrepreneur and her/his desire for control. In fact, entrepreneurs face an important tradeoff between attracting resources required to build company value and retaining decision-making control. Yet, we currently lack insight into whether and how entrepreneurs’ social motivations shape this trade-off. This study draws on social identity theory and a unique sample of 148 buyout entrepreneurs, as this setting confronts aspiring entrepreneurs directly with the value–control tradeoff. In our logistic regression, we find that entrepreneurs with a strong missionary identity, where venture creation revolves around advancing a cause, hold a higher desire for control. We do not observe a significant relationship between entrepreneurs having a Darwinian (driven by economic self-interest) or communitarian (driven by the concern for the community) identity and the desire to control their venture. When adding the moderating role of the portion of personal wealth the entrepreneur is willing to invest in her/his venture, the relationships between having a Darwinian or missionary social identity and the desire for control become significantly positive when the entrepreneur is looking to invest a larger portion of her/his wealth. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:32:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd3dca3b4d684bd3a7bc441a45b8bf6f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:32:52Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd3dca3b4d684bd3a7bc441a45b8bf6f2023-11-23T15:23:28ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602021-12-01111710.3390/socsci11010007How Social Identity Affects Entrepreneurs’ Desire for ControlHans Vanoorbeek0Laura Lecluyse1Vlerick Business School, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumIDEA Consult, 1000 Brussels, BelgiumIn order to obtain a better understanding why some entrepreneurs retain more control over their venture than others, this article analyzes the relationship between the social identity of the entrepreneur and her/his desire for control. In fact, entrepreneurs face an important tradeoff between attracting resources required to build company value and retaining decision-making control. Yet, we currently lack insight into whether and how entrepreneurs’ social motivations shape this trade-off. This study draws on social identity theory and a unique sample of 148 buyout entrepreneurs, as this setting confronts aspiring entrepreneurs directly with the value–control tradeoff. In our logistic regression, we find that entrepreneurs with a strong missionary identity, where venture creation revolves around advancing a cause, hold a higher desire for control. We do not observe a significant relationship between entrepreneurs having a Darwinian (driven by economic self-interest) or communitarian (driven by the concern for the community) identity and the desire to control their venture. When adding the moderating role of the portion of personal wealth the entrepreneur is willing to invest in her/his venture, the relationships between having a Darwinian or missionary social identity and the desire for control become significantly positive when the entrepreneur is looking to invest a larger portion of her/his wealth.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/1/7social identity theoryentrepreneurshipcontrol and autonomy |
| spellingShingle | Hans Vanoorbeek Laura Lecluyse How Social Identity Affects Entrepreneurs’ Desire for Control Social Sciences social identity theory entrepreneurship control and autonomy |
| title | How Social Identity Affects Entrepreneurs’ Desire for Control |
| title_full | How Social Identity Affects Entrepreneurs’ Desire for Control |
| title_fullStr | How Social Identity Affects Entrepreneurs’ Desire for Control |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Social Identity Affects Entrepreneurs’ Desire for Control |
| title_short | How Social Identity Affects Entrepreneurs’ Desire for Control |
| title_sort | how social identity affects entrepreneurs desire for control |
| topic | social identity theory entrepreneurship control and autonomy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/1/7 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hansvanoorbeek howsocialidentityaffectsentrepreneursdesireforcontrol AT lauralecluyse howsocialidentityaffectsentrepreneursdesireforcontrol |