This study challenges intention-based models of entrepreneurship by arguing that the main constraint on entrepreneurial action is not intention formation but its failure of activation. We develop a process theory of entrepreneurial empowerment based on identity–legitimacy coupling to explain when entrepreneurial intentions translate into action. Using a qualitative study of individuals in recovery, we show that intentions become action only when reconstructed entrepreneurial identities are externally validated within socially recognized systems of legitimacy. This coupling is recursive and requires continuous social endorsement to enable access to critical resources. When achieved, entrepreneurial action emerges; when disrupted, identity–legitimacy decoupling produces persistent inaction despite strong aspiration. We further show that stigma is a causal mechanism that breaks this coupling by undermining legitimacy and restricting resources. Extending institutional theory, we introduce paradoxical institutional embeddedness, where institutional logics simultaneously enable identity reconstruction while constraining legitimacy acquisition, explaining the intention–action gap in high-stigma contexts.
Bachri et al. (Mon,) studied this question.