Entrepreneurs’ Exploratory Perseverance in Learning Settings

Abstract

We introduce ‘exploratory perseverance’ as a novel construct that captures perseverant behavior in settings in which several alternatives can be explored and evaluated. We suggest that entrepreneurs display exploratory perseverance reflected by a tendency to keep exploring broader sets of alternatives, to adopt a parallel rather than sequential approach to trial-and-error learning, and, after negative experiences with some alternatives, to be more inclined to give them a second chance. The results from an experimental study of 449 individuals participating in the Iowa Gambling Task indicate that more entrepreneurially experienced individuals display greater exploratory perseverance than those with little to no entrepreneurial experience.

Keywords: Perseverance; Entrepreneurial cognition; Exploration; Iowa Gambling Task