Confirmation Bias in Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Research findings confirm that individuals seek confirmation for their decisions and discount data inconsistent with their beliefs. This confirmation bias—the tendency to trust, remember, and act only on information that supports what an individual already believes—is pernicious and wide-spread and may also contribute to the high failure rate of entrepreneurial ventures because of those biases. The purpose of this paper is to help entrepreneurs be aware of these biases and help them understand that bias can be moderated using System 2 thinking, which is characterized as reasoned, reflective, and conscious.