Cognitive developmental psychology and constructivism offer possibilities for the future of entrepreneurial cognition research to explore: (1) deeply seated beliefs and belief structures that ultimately anchor entrepreneurial thinking and (2) how they change as entrepreneurs move toward a more professional, expert mind–set. Such insights aid the field in identifying those developmental experiences that are the sources of those critical deep beliefs intrinsic to our mental models regarding entrepreneurship. As a field, entrepreneurship is lauded for the effectiveness of its teaching, and this essay offers strong theory to explain that our pedagogical best practices reflect important, well–known cognitive phenomena.

Before we can act on opportunities we must first identify those opportunities. Understanding what promotes or inhibits entrepreneurial activity thus requires understanding how we construct perceived opportunities. Seeing a prospective course of action as a credible opportunity reflects an intentions-driven process driven by known critical antecedents. Based on well-developed theory and robust empirical evidence, we propose an intentions-based model of the cognitive infrastructure that supports or inhibits how we perceive opportunities. We discuss how this model both integrates past findings and guides future research. We also show the practical diagnostic power this model offers to managers.

Before there can be entrepreneurship there must be the potential for entrepreneurship, whether in a community seeking to develop or in a large organization seeking to innovate. Entrepreneurial potential, however, requires potential entrepreneurs. This paper discusses antecedents of such potential and proposes a model based on Shapero's (1982) model of the entrepreneurial event. We then discuss this model in light of supporting evidence from two different perspectives, corporate venturing and enterprise development.