Interaction and cognition in entrepreneurial encounters

About this book

This paper addresses the very earliest stages of the entrepreneurial process by investigating the mechanisms underlying the joining-up of two individuals in the pursuit of a new business venture. We develop a model based on research in social psychology and microsociology to show how signaling processes and particularly language use can facilitate the coming together of individuals with the express intent of growing and building an entrepreneurial organization. We apply our framework with a case illustration of entrepreneurial encounters observed at the 128 Venture Group, a monthly forum in the Boston area designed to facilitate entrepreneurial matches between people with complementary needs and resources. We conclude with implications for entrepreneurial research.