Entrepreneurial Intention and Action in Family Firms: A Socioemotional Wealth Perspective

Abstract

This study attempts to distinguish and link entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and entrepreneurial actions (EA) in a family business context. Entrepreneurial intentions capture the firm‟s willingness to create new value within an existing organization, whereas entrepreneurial actions refer to the actual behavior of the company. Building on literature from applied psychology we suggest that, although entrepreneurial intentions are often a good predictor for entrepreneurial activity, intentions do not always lead to the expected action. Especially in a family business context, the dark side of socioemotional wealth (SEW) will prevent the firm to put their intentions into practice, leading to an intention-behavior gap.