Role Modeling During the Creation of a New Business: a Qualitative Processual Analysis

Abstract

Role models have received substantial attention in the field of entrepreneurship. Much of researchers’ interest has been on the influence of role models on the decision to engage in entrepreneurial activity. However, less is known about the process of role modeling after the decision to become entrepreneur. Motivated by the limitation of existing literature, this thesis adopts a qualitative methodology to explore and develop a theory of role modeling in the entrepreneurship context. The thesis addresses the main research question “How does the process of role modeling unfold for the entrepreneur during the start-up?” by answering the following two underlying sub questions: a) “What are the attributes of role models for entrepreneurs during the start-up?” and b) “What are the outcomes of role modeling for entrepreneurs during the start-up?”.

Date of Award	16 Jun 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Dimo Dimov (Supervisor) & Antonio Costa (Supervisor)