Laviolette, Radu Lefebvre and Brunel (2012) tested a structural model in which the
impact of role models on self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention was conceptualized as a cognitive and affective five-step process. To be effective, a sensitization entrepreneurial message must first generate identification between the observer and the fictional role model. Second, once the identification stage is secured, it is necessary to ensure that the observer holds a favorable attitude toward the model. Third, if the attitude toward the model is positive, there is a need to check whether the message generates a strong emotional arousal. Fourth, if there is strong emotional arousal, the observer may experience increased self-efficacy beliefs. Fifth, if the level of self-efficacy beliefs is high, entrepreneurial intention may also be reinforced.
Figure 2. The impact of role models on entrepreneurial intention: a structural model
In social psychology, the impact of negative role models on self-efficacy and behavioral intention has rarely been studied. A long tradition of research going back to learning psychology (Bandura‘s theory of vicarious learning, 1971) reinforced the tendency to focus on detailed analyses of the impact of positive role models, whereas the impact of negative models was regarded as being slight or non-existent in terms of changing attitudes and intentions. However, emphasizing narratives of success rather than failure is not necessarily the most effective strategy to use when the objective is to encourage change (Higgins, 1998). Individuals can be influenced by a message featuring a successful model or by a message highlighting the failure of a counter- model (Stapel and Koomen, 2001; Stapel and Marx, 2006). Models of failure may be more effective than models of success in situations in which the aim is to avoid an undesirable state or
41 result, such as entrepreneurial failure at an early stage. From a cognitive standpoint, the key variable of this impact seems to be identification with the role model, which may consequently influence attitude toward the role model.
Identification is encouraged by perceived similarity in terms of personal characteristics and skills, including age, gender, field of competence (Wheeler, Petty and Bizer, 2005; Wohlford, Lochman and Barry, 2004), values and aspirations (Filstad, 2004). The more a role model is perceived as being similar, the greater the probability that the observer will produce imitative behaviors (Wilson et al., 2009; Scott, 2009). Research indicates that perceived similarity is a key moderating variable of self-efficacy concerning the start of a new business (Gupta et al., 2008, 2009; Mueller and Conway Dato-On, 2008). Entrepreneurs tend to have role models of the same gender (Bosma et al., 2011). Gender similarity may be a particularly influential factor for potential female entrepreneurs (Murrell and Zagenczyk, 2006; Quimby and DeSantis, 2006; Wilson, Kickul and Marlino, 2007). Men and women generally decide to embark on careers that traditionally correspond to their gender (Buunk and Gibbons, 2007; Buunk and Van der Laan, 2002). Research has shown that women tend to restrict their professional choice to a greater degree than men due to the low level of self-efficacy that they express regarding careers such as management and enterprise creation, viewed as ―masculine‖ (Chowdury and Endres, 2005; Wilson, Kickful and Marlino, 2007). However, students‘ attitudes and behaviors can be modified by repeated exposure to less conventional role models, either real or imagined (Bird and Brush, 2002; Oppedisano and Laird, 2006).
We carried out an experimental study on 276 French students enrolled in a management and entrepreneurship curriculum in the spring of 2011. Participants were 152 female and 124 male students with a major or a minor in entrepreneurship. Participants were exposed to either a positive or a negative same-gender role model. The success story was attributed to a young graduate who had swiftly become an established entrepreneur, whereas a young graduate who failed as an established entrepreneur after graduation narrated an unsuccessful story. The experiment had a 2 (model type: positive or negative) x 2 (model gender: female or male) between-participant design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. After exposure to the role model testimonial, participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire that measured the impact of the print message. We assessed attitude toward the role model, role model identification, emotional arousal, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention.
To test our hypotheses and the structural model, we used the structural equation method that enabled us to analyze several groups simultaneously. Results indicate that the model explains
42 37% of attitude toward the role model, 56% of emotional arousal, 4% of entrepreneurial self- efficacy and 16% of entrepreneurial intention. To test the two moderating hypotheses, we performed a multi-group analysis. Message framing moderated all the relationships among the variables. A successful entrepreneurial story reinforces the relationships between role model identification and attitude toward the role model, that between emotional arousal and self-efficacy, and that between self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention. A failure testimonial reinforces only the relationship between self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention. Gender had no impact on the relationship between attitude toward the model and emotional arousal, but it did moderate all the other relationships of the model. Moreover, the female role model generated a stronger impact on women‘s entrepreneurial intentions than the male role model did for male participants.
Entrepreneurial education may play a significant role in developing positive self-efficacy beliefs, through a systematic effort to develop the main sources of self-efficacy, notably modeling, social persuasion and emotional arousal (Bandura, 2006). Typically, entrepreneurial education consists in case studies and meetings with guest entrepreneurs, which offer a prime opportunity to enhance self-efficacy through social comparison feedback. Following exposure to role models, persuasive discussions with professors and professionals in educational programs can also contribute to consolidating self-efficacy beliefs while reducing stress levels and anxiety (social persuasion and emotional arousal regulation). Entrepreneurship education could therefore move towards a more interactive role modeling pedagogy.
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