This study uncovers
the multiple pathways and complex influence mechanisms that drive unintended
entrepreneurial action by examining the interplay between family size and
impulsivity traits. Unlike entrepreneurship driven by conscious rational
judgment, unintended entrepreneurship occurs without prior intention or
systematic reasoning analysis. Using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis
(fsQCA), we tracked 500 respondents over time and analyzed 49 valid samples of
individuals who engaged in unintended entrepreneurial action. Drawing on trait
activation theory, our findings reveal that two high-order configurations exert
equivalent effects on unintended entrepreneurial action. The first
configuration is characterized by planned or default actions in low-stimulus
environments, where individuals with low deliberation and high sensation
seeking pursue opportunities with less conscious analysis. The second
configuration is driven by impulsive actions in high-stimulus environments,
where high perseverance and low urgency enable individuals to persist despite
uncertainty. By integrating family size and impulsivity dimensions
(deliberation, urgency, sensation seeking, and perseverance), this study
contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial action and personal traits
through a configuration perspective, revealing the multi-path mechanisms
through which impulsivity traits interact with different family contexts to
trigger unintended entrepreneurship and expanding the boundary conditions of
trait activation theory.
