The Microfoundations of Entrepreneurial Cognition Research: Toward an Integrative Approach
By Brandon Randolph-Seng, Texas A&M University - Commerce, USA, Brandon.Randolph-Seng@tamuc.edu | Ronald K. Mitchell, Texas Tech University, USA, ronald.mitchell@ttu.edu | Hamid Vahidnia, Texas Tech University, USA | J. Robert Mitchell, Western University, Canada | Shawna Chen, Brock University, Canada | John Statzer, Texas Tech University, USA
Abstract
In this monograph, we adopt a microfoundations-type approach to understanding the present state of the field of entrepreneurial cognition research. The notion of microfoundations - which link micro concepts to macro concepts [Barney and Felin, 2013] - is increasingly being utilized to unbundle compound processes, and thereby to generate improved explanations in social science research. From its roots in psychology, we selectively review and trace the progress of the field of entrepreneurial cognition research over time, and we make a case for socially situated cognition as a new and useful framework in which the microfoundations of some of the emerging and more dynamic approaches to the study of entrepreneurs' thinking can be understood and organized. We also outline some productive directions for future entrepreneurial cognition research. We believe that the review of these earlier roots enables the reader to more fully appreciate how the development of social cognition research intertwines with other fields in influencing the current state of entrepreneurial cognition research.
The Microfoundations of Entrepreneurial Cognition Research
The Microfoundations of Entrepreneurial Cognition Research is divided into three sections. The first section reviews the precursor field of social cognition and its historical development to explore how progression in this broader field serves as a conceptual footing for the more specialized, microfoundation-based examination of entrepreneurial social cognition. The second section briefly reviews some of the relevant work in fields that are closely related to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking. It also examines the work of scholars who provided earlier conceptualizations of the role that human thought plays in economic aspects of entrepreneurship, selectively reviewing the major theoretical approaches in the field of entrepreneurial cognition research. The last section makes a case for socially situated cognition as a new and useful framework under which the microfoundations of some of the emerging and more dynamic approaches to the study of entrepreneurs' thinking can be understood and organized. The authors outline some possible productive directions for future entrepreneurial cognition research.
