Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Assessment
Entrepreneurial Self Efficacy (ESE) (McGee, 2009)
Entrepreneurial Self Efficacy (ESE) is considered by many to be an important variable that predicts becoming an entrepreneur. If ESE is low, it can be improved through experience, education, training, and following business and entrepreneurship process models. (Brändle et al; 2018, Wei et al., 2020).
Sources
Brändle L, Berger E, Golla S, Kuckertz A. I Am What I Am – How Nascent Entrepreneurs’ Social Identity Affects Their Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy. Journal of Business Venturing Insights. June 1, 2018;9. doi:10.1016/j.jbvi.2017.12.001.
McGee J, Peterson M, Mueller S, Sequeira J. Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy: Refining the Measure. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. July 1, 2009:965-988.
Wei J, Chen Y, Zhang Y, Zhang J. How Does Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Influence Innovation Behavior? Exploring the Mechanism of Job Satisfaction and Zhongyong Thinking. Front Psychol. 2020;11. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00708.
Entrepreneurial Self Efficacy (ESE) Self Check
Learn your entrepreneurial self-efficacy level by completing the Entrepreneurial Self Efficacy self-check questionnaire on this site.
Leslie’s Responses to the Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE) Assessment:
Case: Leslie Bowen, PhD: Part 3
Description: 41-year-old Leslie Bowen is an associate professor and neuroscientist with a research idea she thinks is marketable. She discusses with her university Technology Transfer Office (TTO) the characteristics needed to be a successful entrepreneur to help her decide if starting a business is right for her.
Scenario Part 3: In this assessment, Leslie self-evaluates her entrepreneurial self-efficacy.
Completed Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE) Survey
Leslie’s responses are marked with a check mark.
Question stem: How much confidence do you have in your ability to:
| 3 questions on Searching | 1 Not Strongly Confident | 2 Not Confident | 3 Neutral | 4 Confident | 5 Strongly Confident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brainstorm (come up with) a new idea for a product or service. |  | ||||
| Identify the need for a new product or service. | | ||||
| Design a product or service that will satisfy customer needs and wants. | |
| 4 questions on Planning | 1 Not Strongly Confident | 2 Not Confident | 3 Neutral | 4 Confident | 5 Strongly Confident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate customer demand for a new product or service. | | ||||
| Determine a competitive price for a new product or service. | | ||||
| Estimate the amount of start-up funds and working capital necessary to start my business. | | ||||
| Design an effective marketing/advertising campaign for a new product or service. | |
| 3 questions on Marshaling | 1 Not Strongly Confident | 2 Not Confident | 3 Neutral | 4 Confident | 5 Strongly Confident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get others to identify with and believe in my vision and plans for a new business. | | ||||
| Network—i.e., make contact with and exchange information with others | | ||||
| Clearly and concisely explain verbally/in writing my science/business idea in everyday terms | |
5 questions on Implementing People
Leslie skipped these questions are on supervising, recruiting, delegating, and inspiring employees since she has developed these skills from having supervised graduate students in a university lab for over 10 years.
| 3 questions on Implementing Financial Aspects | 1 Not Strongly Confident | 2 Not Confident | 3 Neutral | 4 Confident | 5 Strongly Confident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organize and maintain the financial records of my business. | | ||||
| Manage the financial assets of my business. | | ||||
| Read and interpret financial statements. | |
Leslie’s Average Scores
Searching: 4.3 A little more than Confident
Planning: 2.75 Nearly Neutral
Marshaling: 3.67 Neutral to Confident
Implementing Financial: 2 Not Confident
Key: 5-point Likert Type scale (1 Not Strongly Confident, 2 Not Confident, 3 Neutral, 4 Confident, 5 Strongly Confident)
Interpretation:
Leslie is most confident in working with people and searching for new ideas, identifying need, and designing a product to meet the need.
She is nearly confident about her ability to marshall others to believe in her vision, develop a network, and explain her business idea.
Her confidence is low in planning, including determining customer demand, a competitive price, or how much start-up funding she needs.
She is not confident about financial matters, including maintaining and interpreting financial records and managing financial assets.
Tips for developing Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE)
- Ask what is holding you back. What’s the worst that could happen? If you have a strong fear of failure, entrepreneurship might not be the right choice, because some businesses do fail.
- Choose to create something you care about. A sense of excitement will help override your fears.
- Make fast decisions, knowing that most will be right. There will be lots of changes in the product to make all stakeholders happy.
- Work at appearing confident. Brag more. Own your accomplishments.
- Have tenacity, persevere. Think of obstacles as maizes instead of walls. View a challenge as an opportunity to learn. Change pro-actively. See challenges as places where growth is needed.
- Support other women scientist entrepreneurs. There’s enough room for successful businesses to go around.
- Draw from your childhood and any family business experiences.
From: Gascoigne Adriana. Tech Boss Lady: How to Start-up, Disrupt, and Thrive as a Female Founder. Seale Press. October 9, 2018. Book written by the founder of Girls in Tech.
