The Dual Process Model of Reasoning and Entrepreneurial Decision-making: A Field Study of New Childcare Ventures

Experimental research supports a dual process model of cognitive systems used for reasoning. One process is rapid and intuitive; the other is slow and deliberate. This study measured the extent to which entrepreneurs that started child care businesses displayed elements of each reasoning process for common new venture decisions. The study also assessed whether respondent's exposure to college-level business courses predicted the extent to which they reported using deliberative versus intuitive reasoning processes. Most respondents reported very limited amounts of information search and analysis before making these decisions. The amount of college-level business classes the entrepreneur completed was a significant predictor of deliberative logic-based decision-making. The significant positive relationship between the amount of formal business education and logic-based decision making supports the view that the entrepreneur is less likely to develop the necessary analytic skills required for proper decision-making outside of a formal business education.