The representation of the enterprise object by its creator: what influences on the entrepreneurial process?

Summary An increasing number of academic studies point out the limits of the methodologies usually used to support business creation. As these are based on sequential and normative approaches, they impose a sequencing that is poorly adapted to the individual dynamics of a non-linear entrepreneurial process. Taking individual cognitive factors into account is a research avenue that could contribute to the improvement of support systems. This thesis deals with the relationship of influence between the cognitive schemas of the entrepreneur and the course of the entrepreneurial process. To this end, the concept of social representation is mobilized and applied to the central ideal object of the process, the Enterprise object. A longitudinal qualitative approach was chosen in order to study four cases of business creation, over periods ranging from one to four years, completed by a comparative analysis of the representations of the entrepreneur-companion for one of the cases. The link between social representation and the entrepreneurial process was analyzed through the construction of cognitive maps. The results confirmed the importance of the representation of the enterprise object in the strategic choices made and its potential influence on the performance of the created enterprise. One of the theoretical contributions of this work lies in the proposal of a model of the entrepreneurial process articulated around the variable "representation of the enterprise object". From a managerial point of view, the basis of an iterative methodology of accompaniment, aiming at updating and then analyzing the representation of the creator, is established.