Risk perception in the business venture process

Cahiers de Recherche du CERAG, n° 2006-11, 25 p.Though entrepreneurs are generally regarded as risk-takers, empirical research has failed to prove that they have a higher risk propensity than non-entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, risk remains a central element of the entrepreneurial phenomenon: venture capitalists, governments, incubators, entrepreneurs... almost everybody who is involved with entrepreneurship would benefit from a better understanding of the concept of risk in entrepreneurial settings.In order to address this issue, I draw on Bruyat's (1993) conceptual framework, and consider the creation of an organization as a dynamic process in which the entrepreneur's perceptions are fundamental. I focus on risk perception, which I perceive as being contingent and dynamic; that is, changing over time and impacting the new organization's creation process. Moreover, I see the interaction with other actors, such as the experts working in an incubator, as changing the entrepreneur's perception about his/her own project and about the risk that this project involves.Thus, the following question is of interest to me in my doctoral research: how do entrepreneurs' and other actors' perceptions of the risk associated with a new venture evolve, develop, and change over time? In addition, what impact do these perceptions have on the creation process?I will address this question using a hypothetic-deductive approach, which intends to combine cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. The implications of this study include, on the one hand, making Bruyat's conceptual framework operational, and on the other, helping entrepreneurs understand their own behaviors and improving existing methods for stimulating and supporting new venture projects