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This study explores entrepreneurial decision-making in the equity crowdfunding (ECF) context, and it aims to shed some light on the relationship among three aspects: entrepreneurial characteristics (i.e. entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy), entrepreneurial motivations (i.e. promotion, improvement of networking and acquisition of product and market knowledge) and entrepreneurial behaviours (i.e. campaign characteristics in terms of communication and offerings).

The hypotheses testing and analysis were conducted using the partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling, and data were collected from the overall population of Italian ECF platforms.

Our results highlight that entrepreneurial characteristics may be central in ECF because of their significant impact on some motivation entrepreneurs have to adopt ECF, which in turn have an impact on meaningful campaign characteristics that can influence ECF performance.

The current literature is mainly focused on investors' decisions, while a neglected perspective until now has been that of entrepreneurs. This study is among the first to focus on entrepreneurs in the ECF context, and, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first study to investigate the entrepreneurial decision-making process. The added value of this research lies in the analysis of the entrepreneurial aspects underlying entrepreneurial decisions to use ECF.

There has been significant growth in entrepreneurship research over the past several decades. Yet with all of the knowledge gained and presumably improved training of would-be entrepreneurs, firm failure rates remain persistently high. It is argued here that the historical and continued research focus on successful entrepreneurs has limited the field. Entrepreneurs are often considered to possess uniquely positive capabilities relative to the general population; this paper explores the possibility that the majority of entrepreneurs suffer from overconfidence and that this leads most entrepreneurs to make “bad bets” that result in underperformance and firm failure.

In this paper, a qualitative review of the literature was performed.

Based on the literature review, three formal propositions are developed. The first two suggest that the majority of entrepreneurs are overconfident in their personal capabilities and the prospects for their new ventures. It is then proposed that this overconfidence leads to errors in judgment that results in financial underperformance and failure found among most new ventures.

This paper makes an important contribution to the entrepreneurship literature by arguing that overconfidence negatively impacts pre-founding decision-making such that entrepreneurs pursue flawed opportunities. Studying the issues raised in this paper may spur new lines of research and knowledge that lead to better entrepreneurial outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the theoretical discussion of effectuation since the seminal paper in 2001 and to propose an agenda for future studies.

Systematic literature review and content analysis of 71 papers.

Most papers performed a replication of the concepts empirically, and few studies proposed to understand theoretical aspects of effectuation, among them, some authors presented theoretical advances to improve the approach and others participated in an ongoing debate that shows there is no consensus on whether the approach is theory or if considered, appears to be under construction at a rudimentary level or being questioned.

The method requires authors to make choices, so the database used and the criteria defined for searching papers that were analyzed are the main limitations of this research.

The authors suggest that researchers, teachers and practitioners use effectuation analytically and reflectively.

The authors present and analyze the current theoretical debate on effectuation. Results suggest the need for new discussions about the concepts, as well as new theoretical efforts of the researchers to analyze the potentialities and limitations of this approach.

Among empirical and applied research, with replications of the concepts of effectuation, this research contributes to a theoretical discussion based on a systematic literature review, seeking to bring new reflections about this approach. Additionally, the authors present an agenda of theoretical gaps for the development of future research.

The purpose of this study is to build a proposal for an integrated analysis / evaluation / decision / implementation framework to suit entrepreneurial companies intending to redefine their strategic behaviours and their competitive schemes in the global environment.

A conceptual approach, based on theoretical perspectives relating to globalisation-based management and decision-making of entrepreneurs, is adopted.

The paper presents a conceptual framework useful for supporting entrepreneurial decisions for global strategies, drawing on an integrated analysis of external environment and internal components, with a specific focus on the entrepreneur's characteristics in terms of cognitive and emotional profiles. It is suggested to adopt a logical process aimed at identifying which strategic levers are available for entrepreneurial players to implement their strategies.

Entrepreneurial decision-making may benefit from an integrated framework which helps entrepreneurs, who aim to compete in the global marketplace, to explore and exploit all the key factors useful to defining their strategies.

There is a lack of decision-making frameworks that put the entrepreneur at the centre and, at the same time, present a potential balance between the external factors (globalisation drivers and local opportunities) and the resources and competences required to manage risks and difficulties of the global environment (internal factors). The originality of the proposed framework consists in filling this gap. Moreover, this framework can be useful for “re-born global” or “global-again” firms that are currently a neglected typology of studied firms.

This paper aims to add to the theorization of family dynamics and women’s entrepreneurship by examining women’s influence on decision-making in family businesses. Business decisions in family firms, in particular, are not free from family influence in terms of goals and strategies, and the role of women in decision-making processes is of particular interest. Consequently, the role of women entrepreneurs in family firms and their influence on business development requires a more fine-grained analysis of the family dynamic within the family and the business.

This study draws on a qualitative study and focuses on the life story narratives of nine women in rural family businesses in rural communities of Småland province in Sweden to empirically examine the decision-making processes. This region is known both for its entrepreneurial culture and traditional gender order. Based on the narrative accounts of women entrepreneurs in family businesses, the data analysis method is thematic, using a Gioia-inspired method.

The complexity of decision-making in rural family firms is further complicated in part due to a closeness with the rural community. Thus, a typology of three decision-making modes in family firms emerges an informal family-oriented mode, a semistructured family/employee consensus mode and a formal board mode with at least one nonfamily member. Moreover, the advantages, disadvantages and strategies that women use to influence decisions within the respective mode are outlined.

This work contributes to the study of women’s agency and its implications in family business and entrepreneurship in the rural context. The study implies that women’s agency shapes the (rural) entrepreneurship context and, likewise, the (rural) entrepreneurship context influences women’s agency. Hence, the author challenges the view of women as only caregivers and sheds light on the practices and processes behind the scenes of entrepreneurial family businesses.

This study explores the role of polychronic temporal orientation and decision-making decentralization on founders' perceptions of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE).

Longitudinal survey data were collected from 141 business founders in China.

Findings suggest that decision-making decentralization is positively associated with founders' ESE. In addition, a polychronic temporal orientation is positively related to ESE, and this relationship is mediated by decision-making decentralization.

This study adds to existing knowledge on ESE and temporal related issues by presenting empirical evidence that explains how and why the temporal orientation context and the practice of decision-making decentralization can shape ESE perceptions among venture founders.

Managers must make numerous strategic decisions in order to initiate and implement a business model innovation (BMI). This paper examines how managers perceive the management team interacts when making BMI decisions. The paper also investigates how group biases and board members’ risk willingness affect this process.

Empirical data were collected through 26 in-depth interviews with German managing directors from 13 companies in four industries (mobility, manufacturing, healthcare and energy) to explore three research questions: (1) What group effects are prevalent in BMI group decision-making? (2) What are the key characteristics of BMI group decisions? And (3) what are the potential relationships between BMI group decision-making and managers' risk willingness? A thematic analysis based on Gioia's guidelines was conducted to identify themes in the comprehensive dataset.

First, the results show four typical group biases in BMI group decisions: Groupthink, social influence, hidden profile and group polarization. Findings show that the hidden profile paradigm and groupthink theory are essential in the context of BMI decisions. Second, we developed a BMI decision matrix, including the following key characteristics of BMI group decision-making managerial cohesion, conflict readiness and information- and emotion-based decision behavior. Third, in contrast to previous literature, we found that individual risk aversion can improve the quality of BMI decisions.

This paper provides managers with an opportunity to become aware of group biases that may impede their strategic BMI decisions. Specifically, it points out that managers should consider the key cognitive constraints due to their interactions when making BMI decisions. This work also highlights the importance of risk-averse decision-makers on boards.

This qualitative study contributes to the literature on decision-making by revealing key cognitive group biases in strategic decision-making. This study also enriches the behavioral science research stream of the BMI literature by attributing a critical influence on the quality of BMI decisions to managers' group interactions. In addition, this article provides new perspectives on managers' risk aversion in strategic decision-making.

The purpose of this pilot study was to identify the key factors that influence the decisions of entrepreneurs who are considering the creation of a new venture. The pilot was conducted to explore the cognitive antecedents of entrepreneurial decision-making and whether specific factors contribute to the decision to create a new venture.

The study utilised an inductive and interpretive research design within a constructivist paradigm. The sample comprised entrepreneurs situated in a business incubation unit who engaged in a series of semi-structured interviews. The results of this study will be used to refine the questions asked in preparation for a larger sample using in-depth interviews with identified entrepreneurs. The resulting narrative in this pilot was subjected to discourse analysis and is categorised into relevant themes.

The findings in this pilot study reveal that factors such as technological advancement, market opportunity, competition, customer demand and prevailing market conditions have a significant influence on the decision-making process involved in creating a new venture.

Although the pilot has identified several factors in entrepreneurial decision-making, further work will be needed in the research design to be able to expose the cognitive processes associated with each factor. The aim is to identify the common cognitive characteristics associated with thinking through the decision to create a new venture with a much larger sample of entrepreneurs.

The value of this research lies in exploring and developing a better understanding of the antecedent cognitive processes used by entrepreneurs for identifying unique, innovative new ideas and converting them into exploitable products or services through new venture creation.

This research aims to theorize how a critical factor, resource access, can paradoxically impact the comprehensiveness of venture location decision processes and the relationship between decision comprehensiveness and new venture performance. To do so, the authors focus on nascent entrepreneurs’ venture location decision processes and introduce resource access as a double-edged sword.

In this conceptual article, the authors draw from the strategic decision-making and resource mobilization literature to theorize about the new venture location decision-making process and its performance implications.

By uncovering the paradox of resource access, the authors propose that high levels of resource access create a paradoxical situation in which nascent entrepreneurs are less likely to use comprehensive decision processes when their benefits are at their greatest.

This work contributes to entrepreneurship research on new venture location and resource mobilization in three important ways. First, the authors advance the literature on nascent entrepreneurs’ location decision-making processes by introducing “location decision comprehensiveness” as a decision process construct and juxtaposing it with resource access to uncover the entrepreneurial decision-making process. Second, the authors develop a more nuanced theorization of the location choices made by nascent entrepreneurs instead of relying on generalized conclusions drawn from well-established corporations’ location decisions. Last, the authors extend the literature on resource mobilization in entrepreneurship by shedding light on the paradoxical aspect of resource access. While previous research has emphasized the favorable effects of resource access on new venture processes and outcomes, the authors contend that it can also negatively impact entrepreneurs’ ability to make effective decisions.

This study addresses current research gaps by integrating resilience literature with crisis management theories, focussing on SMEs. Specifically, the authors examine how the entrepreneurial decision-making process, via the interplay of causation and effectuation logic, impacts a firm's ability to respond to unpredictable events. This paper aims to present an investigation that seeks to unearth the potentially complex interplay between causation and effectuation logic in fostering organisational resilience, particularly in the face of unprecedented disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study includes the responses of 80 Italian entrepreneurs operating in the hospitality sector. The paper deployed a joint analysis through a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique (PLS-SEM) and a necessary condition analysis (NCA) to assess how the decision-making logics impact the entrepreneurs' decision when reacting to the pandemic.

The findings show that how entrepreneurs make decisions influence how they react to the crisis. Causation was found as a direct cause of resilience and preparedness, and effectuation was a direct cause of resilience and agility. Moreover, causation indirectly caused resilience through preparedness, and effectuation indirectly caused resilience through agility. Finally, both preparedness and agility are direct causes of resilience.

This research generated insights into why and how some SMEs respond more effectively to uncertainty than others. It provides actionable strategies that business owners and managers can employ to enhance their ability to withstand and recover from crises.

This study's originality and novelty lie in its empirical investigation of the roles of causation and effectuation logic in entrepreneurial decision-making and, consequently, their influence on SME resilience. Focused on the Italian hospitality sector, it provides unique insights into resilience strategies under severe, real-world conditions, contributing to theoretical development and practical applications in crisis management.