How Does Entrepreneurial Role Model Connect to Entrepreneurial Perceptions: The Moderating Role of Psychological Distance

The influence of entrepreneurial role models on individuals could be regarded as a social learning process. However, we still lack an in-depth understanding of under what conditions the impacts of entrepreneurial role models are stronger or weaker. This paper draws on social learning theory and cons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Entrepreneurship research journal 2024-10, Vol.14 (4), p.1975-2000
Main Authors: Zhao, Haiyuan, Jiang, Hui, Fang, Qinyi, Weng, Qingxiong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Entrepreneurship
psychological distance
role model
Role models
Social & emotional learning
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Summary:The influence of entrepreneurial role models on individuals could be regarded as a social learning process. However, we still lack an in-depth understanding of under what conditions the impacts of entrepreneurial role models are stronger or weaker. This paper draws on social learning theory and construal level theory to explore how entrepreneurial role models relate to individuals’ entrepreneurial perceptions under different psychological distance dimensions. A representative sample of 322 final-year students from nine universities in China was analyzed. The results demonstrated that entrepreneurial role model was positively associated with feasibility and desirability perceptions. Further, we found that the spatial distance and social distance as boundary conditions, respectively, moderated the main effects. This study extends prior research on the functions of entrepreneurial role model by providing a psychological distance perspective.
ISSN:2157-5665
2194-6175
2157-5665
DOI:10.1515/erj-2019-0284