Social Identity and the Transition to Entrepreneurship

In the transition from employment to entrepreneurship, what part does social identity play? Social identity is supposed to shape the cognitive processes that underlie the development of entrepreneurial intentions, according to the theory of planned actions (TPB). In the TPB model, based on the attitudes of academic scientists to market research awareness, we examined social identity (the group association of scientists with their academic peers at work) as a moderator. In a group of 488 German researchers, our theories are tested. The data revealed that mood, social norms, and perceived control predicted entrepreneurial intentions and that perceived control was negatively correlated with group identity. Multi-group structural equation modeling also showed that the TPB-intention relation was moderated by group recognition. Low-group identification scientists based their entrepreneurial aspirations not so much on social norms and behaviors, but on their own initiative and confidence in power. In addition, entrepreneurial intentions were primarily a function of social norms among scientists with high group identification.In summary, these findings highlight the long-neglected dynamic significance for the transition to the entrepreneurship of identifying with and social cohesion within peer groups at the workplace