Psychological Foundations of The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Highlighting three decades of key research and emphasizing the psychological processes that characterize us all, Psychological Foundations of The Entrepreneurial Mindset moves away from the traditional focus on the entrepreneurial ecosystem to provide a novel investigation at the level of the individuals themselves.

Identifying important questions including: Does the entrepreneur have a strong vision? Can the person execute successfully? and how will he or she recover if the business encounters setbacks? Kelly Shaver discusses how these judgements relate to an individual person, not a business. The book analyses the foundations of an entrepreneur’s mindset including sensation and perception, cognition, motivation and elements of personality, and considers how these factors contribute to ongoing behavior distinguishing one entrepreneur from another. Using research data from over 4,000 people in two countries and showcasing tests which are calibrated separately between men and women, this insightful book identifies the need for a different approach to better understand an entrepreneur’s mindset.



Providing a stimulating read, this book will be an excellent resource for entrepreneurship scholars interested in individual differences and wanting to specialize in the entrepreneurial mindset. Psychology researchers interested in learning more about the behavior of entrepreneurs and operators of assistance programs will also find the data illuminating and informative.