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Examining Psychological Mediators in Entrepreneurship: Experimental Designs, Remedies, and Recommendations

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  • Dan K. Hsu
  • J. Robert Mitchell
  • Xian Cao

Abstract

Psychological mediators underlie many entrepreneurship phenomena. Unfolding psychological mechanisms enhances our understanding of theoretical relationships in entrepreneurship. This paper first reviews the current state of entrepreneurship studies examining psychological mediators and identifies the hurdles that push researchers away from employing randomized experiments to unfold the causal relationships underlying mediation. To alleviate these hurdles, we then propose parsimonious yet rigorous experimental designs that make experiments testing psychological mediators in entrepreneurship feasible and cost efficient. In addition, when manipulating the mediator is not feasible, we theorize and identify two remedies a single experiment can use to examine the causal chain underlying mediation.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:48:y:2024:i:1:p:418-445
    DOI: 10.1177/10422587231152824
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