I Am What I Am - How Nascent Entrepreneurs’ Social Identity Affects Their Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy

Their perceived entrepreneurial self-efficacy has various implications for nascent entrepreneurs. Those effects range from causing overconfident entrepreneurs to set unattainable goals, to overchallenged entrepreneurs being deterred by complex opportunities. We propose that entrepreneurs' social identity, which is related to the type of opportunity they pursue, might explain different levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Our analysis of a sample of 753 nascent entrepreneurs shows that self-interested Darwinian entrepreneurs are more likely to feel competent, while missionary entrepreneurs trying to further a cause applicable to society at large do not demonstrate high levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy