Generative AI Use in Entrepreneurship: An Integrative Review and an Empowerment-Entrapment Framework
Jackson G. Lu, Gerui Gloria Zhao, Anna Manyi Zheng

TL;DR
This paper reviews how generative AI impacts entrepreneurship, proposing a framework that highlights its dual potential to empower and entrap entrepreneurs at each stage of the process.
Contribution
It offers an integrative review and a novel Empowerment-Entrapment Framework to understand GenAI's complex effects on entrepreneurs and provides practical guidance for strategic use.
Findings
GenAI can improve idea quality but may cause hallucinations and biases.
It can boost self-efficacy but also increase overconfidence.
GenAI enhances productivity but may erode critical thinking.
Abstract
Despite the growing use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in entrepreneurship, research on its impact remains fragmented. To address this limitation, we provide an integrative review of how GenAI influences entrepreneurs at each stage of the entrepreneurial process: (1) opportunity recognition and ideation, (2) opportunity evaluation and commitment, (3) resource assembly and mobilization, and (4) venture launch and growth. Based on our review, we propose the Empowerment-Entrapment Framework to understand how GenAI can both empower and entrap entrepreneurs, highlighting GenAI's role as a double-edged sword at each stage of the entrepreneurial process. For example, GenAI may improve venture idea quality but introduce hallucinations and training data biases; boost entrepreneurial self-efficacy but heighten entrepreneurial overconfidence; increase functional breadth but decrease…
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