Abstract:

Encouraging and promoting entrepreneurship at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) has emerged as a novel approach in recent years for effectively linking long-term poverty alleviation with rural revitalization. However, to date, the cognitive factors influencing the entrepreneurial behavior of the BOP population have received scant attention. This study focuses on the core research question: “Does the poverty mindset affect entrepreneurial ideation?” and investigates the relationship between the poverty mindset and entrepreneurial ideation in the BOP entrepreneurial context through three major research modules. Research Module 1 adopts the scarcity theory perspective to explore process mechanisms through which the poverty mindset affects entrepreneurial ideation. Specifically: 1) Using the attentional focus shift path of scarcity, it reveals the "tunneling effect" on entrepreneurial ideation via prospective thinking and the resource-induced coping heuristic as mediating variables; 2) Applying the cognitive load path of scarcity, it demonstrates the "bandwidth effect" on entrepreneurial ideation through intuitive cognition and cognitive flexibility as mediators. Research Module 2 employs a constructivist lens to examine intervention strategies for poverty mindset's impact on entrepreneurial ideation. This includes: 1) Drawing from sensemaking theory to identify boundary conditions for the "tunneling effect" using perceived innovation legitimacy as moderator; 2) Grounded in cognitive construction theory, it establishes boundary conditions for the "bandwidth effect" using ideation structuring as moderator. Research Module 3 utilizes the scarcity self-regulation perspective to investigate latent profiles of poverty mindset and their predictive effects. Originating from the need to explore BOP entrepreneur heterogeneity, this module applies a person-centered research paradigm to examine whether replicable poverty mindset profiles exist among BOP entrepreneurs, and how these profiles predict entrepreneurial mindset and ideation quality. This study demonstrates the following theoretical innovations: first, we respond to the academic call to integrate poverty mindset and entrepreneurial mindset research by constructing the theoretical pathway “poverty mindset → entrepreneurial mindset → entrepreneurial ideation”, broadening the theoretical scope of poverty psychology driving entrepreneurial behavior processes and promoting cross-fertilization between scarcity theory and entrepreneurship research; second, we integrate perspectives from the cognitive-driven viewpoint of scarcity theory to propose the process mechanism through which the relationship between the poverty mindset and entrepreneurial ideation in the BOP context is mediated by the entrepreneurial mindset, thereby uncovering the black-box mechanism of how the poverty mindset acts upon entrepreneurial ideation and deepening the academic understanding of the front end of BOP entrepreneurs’ innovation activities under a poverty mindset; third, we construct an intervention framework for the “poverty mindset → entrepreneurial ideation” relationship, providing a new theoretical perspective for intervention strategies aimed at enhancing the quality of entrepreneurial ideation under a poverty mindset; fourth, we explore the latent profiles of the poverty mindset among BOP entrepreneurs and their predictive effects based on a person-centered research paradigm, enriching the application of the person-centered approach in entrepreneurial ideation research. Through a multi-perspective systematic research design, this study aims to reveal the developmental patterns of the relationship between the poverty mindset and entrepreneurial ideation in the local BOP entrepreneurial context, deepen the theoretical understanding of the front end of BOP entrepreneurs’ innovation activities driven by context and cognition, and provide theoretical guidance and practical implications for governments and practitioners in formulating entrepreneurial support policies and designing entrepreneurial knowledge services targeting the BOP population.

Key words: poverty mindset, entrepreneurial ideation, entrepreneurial mindset