Curvilinear relationship of entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial self-efficacy: Entrepreneurial passion as a moderator

Keywords:
entrepreneurial experience, prior experience, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial passion, experience curve theory, social learning theory
Abstract

We combined experience curve theory and social learning theory and proposed that the relationship between entrepreneurs’ prior experience and their entrepreneurial self-efficacy would be curvilinear, with the upward slope of the curve gradually decreasing. Participants were 266 entrepreneurs in Southeast China who completed a survey. Our results show there was a nonlinear relationship between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, suggesting that as entrepreneurs gained more experience, the rate of entrepreneurial self-efficacy slowed down. Furthermore, we found that entrepreneurial passion moderated this curvilinear relationship, such that when entrepreneurial passion was strong, nascent entrepreneurs with less experience exhibited greater entrepreneurial self-efficacy than did entrepreneurs with more experience. Theoretical contributions and future research directions are discussed.

Author Biographies
  1. Yanbin Liu, NingboTech University
    School of Business
  2. Wei Wang, Ningbo University
    Business School
  3. Ping Yuan, Zhejiang Wanli University
    School of Business
  4. Yanpeng Yuan, NingboTech University
    School of Business
References
Published
2021-02-01
Section
Articles
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