Influence Of Entrepreneurial Motivation On Risk Decision-making

Entrepreneurial activity, both in developed countries and developing countries, is linked closely with economic output, employment and the like. It also has become a strong driving force in world-wide economic development. However, risks on start-ups, increased by rapidly changing technology, market and environment, bring entrepreneurial activity into a much more severe situation. A high rate of failure pushes a growing number of scholars into the study of risk management of start-ups, so it is especially important to analyze risk decision-making of entreprenuers.Related studies have shown that entrepreneurs the dominant role in risk management and also the direct bearer of risk and doer of risk decision-making activity, can also affect risk decision-making of entrepreneurs by their entrepreneurial motivation and their internal cognitive traits. Firstly, entrepreneurial motivation is the inducement for an individual to coordinate internal need and external activities, thus forming a driving force in this one. This driving force, as the inintial cause for entrepreneurs to start a company, can motivate and keep an individual to engage in entrepreneurial activity, and guide such entrepreneurial activity close to one certain target, which means it has the function of stimulation, guidance, maintanence, and decide risk decision-making of entrepreneurs. Secondly, entrepreneurs’ internal cognitive traits --risk perception and entrepreneurial self-efficacy can also affect risk decision-making of entrepreneurs. By combing through domestic and foreign literatures, this paper, based mainly on attribution theory, and by introducing cognitive traits--risk perception, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, divides entrepreneurial motivation into two dimensions--survival motivation and achievement motivation, and goes in deep the influence mechanism of entrepreneurial motivation on risk decision-making.The study shows that:firstly, entrepreneurial motivation has direct effect on risk decision- making. Entrepreneurs with stronger survival motivation are more inclined to avoid risk while those with stronger achievement motivation are more inclined to run after risk. Secondly, risk perception has an intermediary role in part in achievement motivation and risk decision-making, but it has no intermediary role in survival motivation and risk decision-making. Finally, entrepreneurial self-efficacy has a regulating effect in the relation between achievement motivation and risk perception; and it has a regulating effect in the relation between entrepreneurial motivation and risk decision-making as well. The study makes clear the influence mechanism of entrepreneurial motivation on risk decision-making of entrepreneurs, and reveals the role of risk perception and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of entrepreneurs played in it. This study gives more research ideas in the study of entrepreneurial risk management, and references for entrepreneurs and start-ups on how to do risk decision-making in an effective way. It has great practical significance for the development of entrepreneurial theory and entrepreneurial activity.