Publication
Development and validation of a unidimensional domain-specific entrepreneurial self-efficacy scale
Publisher:
Emerald
Date:
09-01-2017
DOI:
10.1108/IJEBR-11-2015-0251
Abstract: Given the nature of entrepreneurship, a domain-specific self-efficacy scale should pertain to venture creation, be unidimensional, and be developed and validated using nascent entrepreneurs – persons for whom self-efficacy may be most important. Extant measures employed in entrepreneurship research do not meet all these criteria. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a unidimensional entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) scale based on s les of nascent entrepreneurs. Data from a s le of nascent entrepreneurs and items from PSED I were used to develop and assess the validity of a new ESE scale. To further establish scale validity, a comparison group from PSED I along with a s le of nascent entrepreneurs from PSED II were employed. A unidimensional three-item self-efficacy scale for assessing a person’s belief that s/he can create a new business successfully is developed and validated using s les of nascent entrepreneurs and a control group. The scale offers opportunity to enhance research-based assessment using a parsimonious, reliable, and valid unidimensional measure of ESE. The scale may enhance future research findings, as well as promoting reconsideration of past research findings, on many issues in the entrepreneurship literature. This research uses a s le of nascent entrepreneurs to provide a new three-item scale for assessment of ESE that is parsimonious, valid, and unidimensional.