Kurdoglu, Rasim SerdarLerner, DAtes, N. Y.2023-02-132023-02-132022-08-21http://hdl.handle.net/11693/111215Rationality is an elusive and increasingly debated concept in entrepreneurship research. We offer a novel conceptualization of rationality based on reasoning motivations. We posit that logical, probabilistic, and heuristic reasoning logics are motivationally rational because the decision-maker attempts to accurately perceive the external world and problem-solve (even if rapidly and approximately). By contrast, when the reasoning ignores an assessment of reality and accuracy in problem-solving and instead is deluded by psychological (e.g., hedonic) urges that prompt self-serving inferences, we categorize such decisions as motivationally irrational. We develop a theoretical account for how motivational irrationality is adaptive under extreme uncertainty as it enables entrepreneurs to dare action when even heuristic reasoning is inconclusive or entirely ineffective.EnglishBusiness venturingIrrationalityUncertaintyEntrepreneurial decision-makingEntrepreneurial action theoryArticle10.1016/j.jbvi.2022.e003362352-6734