IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbvent/v34y2019i2p284-310.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Navigating the validity tradeoffs of entrepreneurship research experiments: A systematic review and best-practice suggestions

Author

Listed:
  • Grégoire, Denis A.
  • Binder, Julia K.
  • Rauch, Andreas

Abstract

Experimental methods provide important advantages for advancing academic understanding of entrepreneurship. Yet, the complex and comingled relationships between some of entrepreneurship's key characteristics pose thorny methodological challenges to entrepreneurship researchers – notably to negotiate important tradeoffs between the ideals of external and construct validity. To facilitate the sound mobilization of experimental methods in entrepreneurship research, we present an overview of critical validity challenges plaguing entrepreneurship research experiments and assess the validation practices mobilized in 144 studies using such methods. Building on these findings, we develop a practical guide of actionable validation strategies to help experimenters navigate the above tradeoffs and conduct entrepreneurship research experiments that are realistic, theoretically meaningful, and that help establish the causal effects of their focal variables. By doing so, we contribute a set of pragmatic means to support the mobilization of experimental methods for advancing entrepreneurship research.

Suggested Citation

  • Grégoire, Denis A. & Binder, Julia K. & Rauch, Andreas, 2019. "Navigating the validity tradeoffs of entrepreneurship research experiments: A systematic review and best-practice suggestions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 284-310.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:34:y:2019:i:2:p:284-310
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.10.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902617303324
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.10.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kuechle Graciela & Béatrice Boulu-Reshef & Sean D. Carr, 2016. "Prediction- and Control-Based Strategies in Entrepreneurship: The Role of Information," Post-Print hal-01296948, HAL.
    2. William B. Gartner, 2001. "Is There an Elephant in Entrepreneurship? Blind Assumptions in Theory Development," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 27-39, July.
    3. Swee Hoon Chuah & Robert Hoffmann & Bala Ramasamy & Jonathan H. W. Tan, 2016. "Is there a Spirit of Overseas Chinese Capitalism?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1095-1118, December.
    4. Aguinis, Herman & Lawal, Sola O., 2012. "Conducting field experiments using eLancing's natural environment," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 493-505.
    5. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. McMullen, Jeffery S. & Kier, Alexander S., 2016. "Trapped by the entrepreneurial mindset: Opportunity seeking and escalation of commitment in the Mount Everest disaster," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 663-686.
    7. Denis A. Grégoire & Andrew C. Corbett & Jeffery S. McMullen, 2011. "The Cognitive Perspective in Entrepreneurship: An Agenda for Future Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48, pages 1443-1477, September.
    8. Ashish Arora & Michelle Gittelman & Sarah Kaplan & John Lynch & Will Mitchell & Nicolaj Siggelkow & Brent Goldfarb & Andrew A. King, 2016. "Scientific apophenia in strategic management research: Significance tests & mistaken inference," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 167-176, January.
    9. Fried, Vance H., 2003. "Defining a forum for entrepreneurship scholars," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 1-11, January.
    10. Richard A. Bettis & Sendil Ethiraj & Alfonso Gambardella & Constance Helfat & Will Mitchell, 2016. "Creating repeatable cumulative knowledge in strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 257-261, February.
    11. Weinberger, Eva & Wach, Dominika & Stephan, Ute & Wegge, Jürgen, 2018. "Having a creative day: Understanding entrepreneurs' daily idea generation through a recovery lens," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 1-19.
    12. Victor J. Friedman & Helena Desivilya, 2010. "Integrating social entrepreneurship and conflict engagement for regional development in divided societies," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(6), pages 495-514, October.
    13. DeTienne, Dawn R. & Shepherd, Dean A. & De Castro, Julio O., 2008. "The fallacy of "only the strong survive": The effects of extrinsic motivation on the persistence decisions for under-performing firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 528-546, September.
    14. Daniel Bello & Kwok Leung & Lee Radebaugh & Rosalie L Tung & Arjen van Witteloostuijn, 2009. "From the Editors: Student samples in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(3), pages 361-364, April.
    15. Wood, Matthew S. & Williams, David W. & Drover, Will, 2017. "Past as prologue: Entrepreneurial inaction decisions and subsequent action judgments," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 107-127.
    16. Hakan J. Holm & Sonja Opper & Victor Nee, 2013. "Entrepreneurs Under Uncertainty: An Economic Experiment in China," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(7), pages 1671-1687, July.
    17. Fisher, Robert J, 1993. "Social Desirability Bias and the Validity of Indirect Questioning," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(2), pages 303-315, September.
    18. Drover, Will & Wood, Matthew S. & Fassin, Yves, 2014. "Take the money or run? Investors' ethical reputation and entrepreneurs' willingness to partner," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 723-740.
    19. Cardon, Melissa S. & Zietsma, Charlene & Saparito, Patrick & Matherne, Brett P. & Davis, Carolyn, 2005. "A tale of passion: New insights into entrepreneurship from a parenthood metaphor," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 23-45, January.
    20. Woo, Sang Eun & Keith, Melissa & Thornton, Meghan A., 2015. "Amazon Mechanical Turk for Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Advantages, Challenges, and Practical Recommendations," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 171-179, June.
    21. Jeffery S. McMullen & Dimo Dimov, 2013. "Time and the Entrepreneurial Journey: The Problems and Promise of Studying Entrepreneurship as a Process," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(8), pages 1481-1512, December.
    22. Keith, Melissa G. & Harms, Peter D., 2016. "Is Mechanical Turk the Answer to Our Sampling Woes?," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 162-167, March.
    23. Fitzsimmons, Jason R. & Douglas, Evan J., 2011. "Interaction between feasibility and desirability in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 431-440, July.
    24. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Ulf Andersson & Mary Yoko Brannen & Bo Bernhard Nielsen & A. Rebecca Reuber, 2016. "From the Editors: Can I trust your findings? Ruling out alternative explanations in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(8), pages 881-897, October.
    25. Dean A. Shepherd, 1999. "Venture Capitalists' Assessment of New Venture Survival," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(5), pages 621-632, May.
    26. Souitaris, Vangelis & Zerbinati, Stefania & Al-Laham, Andreas, 2007. "Do entrepreneurship programmes raise entrepreneurial intention of science and engineering students? The effect of learning, inspiration and resources," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 566-591, July.
    27. Baron, Robert A., 1998. "Cognitive mechanisms in entrepreneurship: why and when enterpreneurs think differently than other people," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 275-294, July.
    28. McKelvie, Alexander & Haynie, J. Michael & Gustavsson, Veronica, 2011. "Unpacking the uncertainty construct: Implications for entrepreneurial action," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 273-292, May.
    29. Corbett, Andrew C., 2007. "Learning asymmetries and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 97-118, January.
    30. Berinsky, Adam J. & Huber, Gregory A. & Lenz, Gabriel S., 2012. "Evaluating Online Labor Markets for Experimental Research: Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 351-368, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. García-Lillo, Francisco & Seva-Larrosa, Pedro & Sánchez-García, Eduardo, 2023. "What is going on in entrepreneurship research? A bibliometric and SNA analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Huang, Winifred & Vismara, Silvio & Wei, Xingjie, 2022. "Confidence and capital raising," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Stevenson, Regan & Allen, Jared & Wang, Tang, 2022. "Failed but validated? The effect of market validation on persistence and performance after a crowdfunding failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2).
    4. Jiyoung Kimjeon & Per Davidsson, 2022. "External Enablers of Entrepreneurship: A Review and Agenda for Accumulation of Strategically Actionable Knowledge," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 643-687, May.
    5. Roccapriore, Ashley Y. & Imhof, Zoë & Cardon, Melissa S., 2021. "Badge of honor or tolerable reality? How previous firm failure and experience influences investor perceptions," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 16(C).
    6. Bacq, Sophie & Hertel, Christina & Lumpkin, G.T., 2022. "Communities at the nexus of entrepreneurship and societal impact: A cross-disciplinary literature review," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    7. Marshall, David R. & Meek, William R. & Swab, R. Gabrielle & Markin, Erik, 2020. "Access to resources and entrepreneurial well-being: A self-efficacy approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 203-212.
    8. Bernd Wurth & Erik Stam & Ben Spigel, 2022. "Toward an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research Program," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 729-778, May.
    9. Kristian Roed Nielsen & Julia Katharina Binder, 2021. "I Am What I Pledge: The Importance of Value Alignment for Mobilizing Backers in Reward-Based Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(3), pages 531-561, May.
    10. Bacq, Sophie & Drover, Will & Kim, Phillip H., 2021. "Writing bold, broad, and rigorous review articles in entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    11. Markku Maula & Wouter Stam, 2020. "Enhancing Rigor in Quantitative Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(6), pages 1059-1090, November.
    12. Dan K. Hsu & J. Robert Mitchell & Xian Cao, 2024. "Examining Psychological Mediators in Entrepreneurship: Experimental Designs, Remedies, and Recommendations," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(1), pages 418-445, January.
    13. Koller, Sonia & Stephan, Ute & Ahmetoglu, Gorkan, 2022. "Ecological rationality and entrepreneurship: How entrepreneurs fit decision logics to decision content and structure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    14. Simmons, Sharon A. & Carr, Jon C. & Hsu, Dan & Craig, S. Bartholomew, 2023. "Intention to reengage in entrepreneurship: Performance feedback, sensation seeking and workaholism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    15. Evila Piva & Silvia Stroe, 2023. "New ventures fighting the war for talents: the impact of product innovativeness and entrepreneurs’ passion on applicant attraction," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 1133-1159, October.
    16. Pidduck, Robert J. & Busenitz, Lowell W. & Zhang, Yejun & Ghosh Moulick, Abhisekh, 2020. "Oh, the places you’ll go: A schema theory perspective on cross-cultural experience and entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    17. Krukowski, Kipp A. & Pollack, Jeffrey M. & Rutherford, Matthew W., 2023. "Winning the opportunity to pitch: Piquing startup investors’ interest by sending the right signals in executive summaries," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 75-86.
    18. Abd Hamid, Hamizah & Pidduck, Robert J. & Newman, Alexander & Ayob, Abu Hanifah & Sidek, Farhana, 2023. "Intercultural resource arbitrageurs: A review and extension of the literature on transnational entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    19. Guarana, Cristiano L. & Stevenson, Regan M. & Jeffrey Gish, J. & Ryu, Ji Woon & Crawley, Rohan, 2022. "Owls, larks, or investment sharks? The role of circadian process in early-stage investment decisions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(1).
    20. Daniel R. Clark & Robert J. Pidduck & G. T. Lumpkin & Jeffrey G. Covin, 2024. "Is It Okay to Study Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) at the Individual Level? Yes!," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(1), pages 349-391, January.
    21. Seung Hoon D. Chung & Simon C. Parker, 2023. "Founder affiliations: jobseeker reactions and impact on employee recruitment by start-up ventures," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 259-283, June.
    22. Küsshauer, Alexander & Baum, Matthias, 2023. "The good, the bad and the uncertain: Employers' perceptions of former entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2).
    23. Lu, Irene R.R. & Kwan, Ernest, 2023. "An investigation of two remedial measures for retailers to address the impact of disease threat on sustainable consumption: A moderated moderated mediation model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    24. Andreas Rauch & Willem Hulsink, 2023. "Just one Damned Thing After Another: Towards an Event-based Perspective of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(3), pages 662-681, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jeffery S. McMullen & Katrina M. Brownell & Joel Adams, 2021. "What Makes an Entrepreneurship Study Entrepreneurial? Toward A Unified Theory of Entrepreneurial Agency," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(5), pages 1197-1238, September.
    2. McMullen, Jeffery S. & Kier, Alexander S., 2016. "Trapped by the entrepreneurial mindset: Opportunity seeking and escalation of commitment in the Mount Everest disaster," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 663-686.
    3. Kollmann, Tobias & Stöckmann, Christoph & Kensbock, Julia M., 2017. "Fear of failure as a mediator of the relationship between obstacles and nascent entrepreneurial activity—An experimental approach," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 280-301.
    4. David J. Rapp & Michael Olbrich, 2021. "On predictive entrepreneurial action in uncertain, ill-structured conditions," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(7), pages 1961-1979, October.
    5. Dan K. Hsu & Johan Wiklund & Richard D. Cotton, 2017. "Success, Failure, and Entrepreneurial Reentry: An Experimental Assessment of the Veracity of Self–Efficacy and Prospect Theory," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(1), pages 19-47, January.
    6. Murnieks, Charles Y. & Arthurs, Jonathan D. & Cardon, Melissa S. & Farah, Nusrat & Stornelli, Jason & Michael Haynie, J., 2020. "Close your eyes or open your mind: Effects of sleep and mindfulness exercises on entrepreneurs' exhaustion," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2).
    7. Veroniek Collewaert & Frederik Anseel & Michiel Crommelinck & Alain De Beuckelaer & Jacob Vermeire, 2016. "When Passion Fades: Disentangling the Temporal Dynamics of Entrepreneurial Passion for Founding," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 966-995, September.
    8. DeTienne, Dawn R. & Shepherd, Dean A. & De Castro, Julio O., 2008. "The fallacy of "only the strong survive": The effects of extrinsic motivation on the persistence decisions for under-performing firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 528-546, September.
    9. Andreas Hack & Frauke Bieberstein & Nils D. Kraiczy, 2016. "Reference point formation and new venture creation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 447-465, March.
    10. Frederiks, Arjan J. & Englis, Basil G. & Ehrenhard, Michel L. & Groen, Aard J., 2019. "Entrepreneurial cognition and the quality of new venture ideas: An experimental approach to comparing future-oriented cognitive processes," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 327-347.
    11. Sara Sassetti & Giacomo Marzi & Vincenzo Cavaliere & Cristiano Ciappei, 2018. "Entrepreneurial cognition and socially situated approach: a systematic and bibliometric analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(3), pages 1675-1718, September.
    12. Casas Tomas & Hilb Michael, 2016. "Founders in the Living-Dead Trap: A Theoretical Exploration at Entrepreneurship’s Dark Core," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 6(4), pages 401-423, October.
    13. Matthew R. Marvel & Justin L. Davis & Curtis R. Sproul, 2016. "Human Capital and Entrepreneurship Research: A Critical Review and Future Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(3), pages 599-626, May.
    14. Grichnik, Dietmar & Smeja, Alexander & Welpe, Isabell, 2010. "The importance of being emotional: How do emotions affect entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation and exploitation?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 15-29, October.
    15. Erik Lundmark & Anna Krzeminska & Dean A. Shepherd, 2019. "Images of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Root Metaphors and Expanding Upon Them," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 138-170, January.
    16. Tim R. Holcomb & R. Duane Ireland & R. Michael Holmes Jr. & Michael A. Hitt, 2009. "Architecture of Entrepreneurial Learning: Exploring the Link among Heuristics, Knowledge, and Action," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(1), pages 167-192, January.
    17. Shepherd, Dean A. & Sattari, Rose & Patzelt, Holger, 2022. "A social model of opportunity development: Building and engaging communities of inquiry," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(1).
    18. Wood, Matthew S. & McKelvie, Alexander & Haynie, J. Michael, 2014. "Making it personal: Opportunity individuation and the shaping of opportunity beliefs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 252-272.
    19. Daniel V. Holland & Dean A. Shepherd, 2013. "Deciding to Persist: Adversity, Values, and Entrepreneurs’ Decision Policies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(2), pages 331-358, March.
    20. Pham, Dung & Jones, Paul & Dobson, Stephen & Liñán, Francisco & Viala, Céline, 2021. "Entrepreneurial implementation intention as a tool to moderate the stability of entrepreneurial goal intention: A sensemaking approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 97-105.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:34:y:2019:i:2:p:284-310. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusvent .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.