Entrepreneurial Intentions: Moving the Field Forwards

The purpose of this article is to articulate reasoning as to why there is a pressing need for a contextually based temporal approach towards the study of entrepreneurial intentions. Having done so, a potential means by which this can be achieved is put forth through assuming a socially situated perspective that links intentions, the entrepreneurial process of new venture creation, and a model of action abstractness. A conceptual model is proposed taking into consideration the entrepreneurial intention domain ‘as is’, ‘as should be’ and ‘as could be’. Value of current practice is assessed and challenged in a bid to stimulate new thinking in the area. The dynamic model provided contributes to contemporary scholarship through aligning entrepreneurial intentions with the accepted conception of entrepreneurship as a temporally embedded process. It moves beyond the artificial closure of an inherently open phenomenon.

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