A identidade do empreendedor como base para o comportamento efetual

Abstract

Identity is a very studied construct in Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy. However, it has gradually gained prominence in Administration, especially in the study of Entrepreneurship, as it is closely related to aspects of the intention and behavior of entrepreneurs. It is known that one of the functions of identity is to guide thoughts, choices, motivations and desires of individuals. In this sense, identity can direct a person to a certain type of behavior, since the entrepreneur tends to be the main decision maker regarding the way in which his business arises, develops or grows. To understand the importance of identity in entrepreneurship, one of the main theoretical lenses is the effectuation theory (Effectuation - Sarasvathy, 2001), which proposes a logic of entrepreneurial behavior, in which the actor (entrepreneur) surveys possible effects that can be generated using the means it has under its control, including: who it is (identity); who he knows (relationship network); and what he knows (knowledge). This survey reveals the objectives and possible actions that, in the actor's understanding, do not exceed a maximum acceptable loss in the event of a setback. This process is called effectual behavior (Sarasvathy, 2001; 2008; Dew & Sarasvathy, 2005). In this theory, identity plays a central role and is a fertile analytical tool for knowing the subjective processes inherent to the dynamics of the entrepreneurial process by effectuation. To do so, it starts from the following research question: How does the entrepreneur's identity guide effectual behavior? Faced with this questioning, the general objective of the thesis was defined: to explain how the identity of the entrepreneur guides the effectual behavior. In pursuit of this objective, a compendium of three studies was carried out that correspond to the central chapters of this thesis, according to the structure suggested by Costa, Ramos and Pedron (2019). The first study (Chapter 2) is a Systematic Review of the Literature that aimed to evaluate and synthesize the existing literature on the entrepreneur's identity in connection with effectuation, characterizing the state of the art of research on the subject. The second study (Chapter 3) is a qualitative research that aimed to examine entrepreneurs' social identity and how it influences effectual behavior. Using the Life History method, this study reveals that there are trends in effectual behavior and causal behavior motivated by the entrepreneur's social identity, but there is no clear linear behavior and the options defining the entrepreneur's behavior take into account their social and their own perceptions of uncertainty. The third study (Chapter 4), also qualitative, was dedicated to examining how personal identity underpins the effectual behavior of entrepreneurs. Using semistructured interviews, this study revealed that identity is a historical, dynamic construction, partly cumulative, partly renewable, which gives rise to effectual behavior in certain cases. In general terms, each of the central studies has its own methods for its execution, considering partial results in the respective individualized conclusions, so that, in the last chapter (Chapter 5), they come together to achieve the general objective of the thesis in question. an integrative conclusion. As a result, the thesis presents an explanation of the dynamics and relationships of entrepreneurs' personal and social identities, which move entrepreneurs to effectual or causal behaviors according to how a given identity presents greater salience. It is concluded that identity is related to business development and affects risk aversion level definitions. Identity guides and/or gives birth to the effective behavior of entrepreneurs, who seek adjustments and new uses for the effective means available, to increase their cycle of exploring opportunities, based on their personal and/or social identities. In the end, it presents theoretical and practical contributions, in addition to proposing new avenues of research in Entrepreneurship.