Demystifying entrepreneurial cognition through a self-regulation approach

Based on three essays, this doctoral thesis examines the self-regulation mechanisms - in terms of promotion focus and prevention focus - that individuals mobilize in entrepreneurial situations. The notion of self-regulation captures the cognitive mechanisms that individuals mobilize to align their behavior with their goals and to implement appropriate strategies to attain them. Thus, this thesis sheds light on how mobilizing a promotion focus - i.e., linked to a need for advancement and progress - or a prevention focus - i.e., linked to a need for safety and security - influences the behavior and the decision-making process of individuals in entrepreneurial situations in various contexts. In the first essay, we show that entrepreneurs mobilizing preventive self-regulation are more prone to escalation bias, i.e., persisting in a failed course of action. In the second essay, we explore how family leaders favor risky or vigilant strategies depending on whether they prioritize their financial or socioemotional goals framed as a distinct self-regulation. Finally, with the third essay, we highlight the tensions between social and business goals that managers may experience, through their self-regulation mechanisms, in social enterprises. Through these three essays, this thesis paves the way for motivated metacognition. In other words, when individuals in entrepreneurial situations are aware of the tradeoffs they operate between promotion and prevention focus and the resulting strategies, then they are more likely to improve their performance in a wide range of contexts and tasks.