MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Entrepreneurial Identity: A Leader's Superpower and Their Achilles' Heel?

The way entrepreneurs answer the question “Who am I?” — that is, their entrepreneurial identity or EI — plays an important role in how they think and act from new venture launch to harvest.1 For example, how they define their background, their purpose, and their values as founders can inform the type and scale of resources they gather, the structure and goals of their businesses, and even their propensity to persevere (or not) in the face of adversity.

Extrapolating from our recent review of the existing EI literature and our own ongoing work in this area, we suggest that it is important for organizational leaders, those of small and large organizations alike, to assess and refresh the ways in which they might identify as entrepreneurs at every stage of their enterprises. In doing so, we look to help leaders align their entrepreneurial identity with the challenges they might face at various points in the life of their organizations and understand how their EI may inform the ways they seek to grow and develop their businesses.

About the Author

Eliana Crosina is an assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Miruna Radu-Lefebvre (@radulefebvre) is a professor of entrepreneurship at Audencia Business School in Nantes, France, and editor in chief of Entrepreneurship & Regional Development. Vincent Lefebvre (@vlentrepreneur) is an associate professor of entrepreneurship at Audencia Business School and social media editor at Entrepreneurship & Regional Development. Ulla Hytti (@ullahytti) is a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Turku in Finland and an associate editor at Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, as well as research editor at Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy. Alisa Jno-Charles (@alisajcharles) is an assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College.

Learn more about MIT SMR.