Abstract:
To provide a naturalistic, empirical analysis of entrepreneurial
decision-making through textual analysis, DICTION is used to analyse
student journal entries made in conjunction with an entrepreneurship
simulation used widely in teaching entrepreneurship. Concrete terms
are used as a proxy for action orientation and cognition-related words
as a proxy for analytical orientation. Being disposed toward cognitive
activity instead of concrete action detracts from performance. To the
degree that one’s use of language reflects underlying thought patterns,
thinking concretely is a desirable trait for entrepreneurs. This article
contributes to research conducted in a naturalistic environment and
allows for a closer examination of cognitive processes by analysing
the kinds of words used. The article also introduces CATA as a viable
methodological tool for the entrepreneurship domain.
