Transition from entrepreneurial intention to venture gestation behavior: a longitudinal evidence

The current study applies the Rubicon model of action phases to check the influence of entrepreneurial alertness (EA), passion (EP), and competence (EC) on entrepreneurial intention (EI) of Indian university business students. Further, this study also longitudinally checks the effect of EI on students' venture gestation behavior (GB), followed by checking the moderating effect of fear of failure (FoF) on the path between EI and GB. The study longitudinally collects the data from 398 students of three Indian universities in two waves, and study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to establish the measurement model and test the direct hypotheses, while for moderation analysis, the study used model-1 in Process Macro. Findings reveal that EA, EP, and EC significantly enhance EI, which in turn boosts students' GB. The findings also reveal that the transition of EI into GB gets weaker for the students who perceive higher FoF. The uniqueness of the study is its longitudinal design and application of the Rubicon model of action phases, hence significantly contributing to the literature on nascent entrepreneurship. The study also makes valuable suggestions for practical implications.