Discerning Entrepreneurial Judgment as Reflected in Entrepreneurs’ Responses to Feedback

An entrepreneur’s judgment is perhaps the most important asset that a start-up company has. As important as entrepreneurial judgment is, it is a difficult characteristic for others to discern and to evaluate. The purpose of this research project is to bring greater insight and clarity to the process of evaluating the judgment capacities of entrepreneurs during this critical stage of the founding of their companies.

This project applies the theory of formal axiology as a lens for studying entrepreneurial judgment and decision-making by analyzing how entrepreneurs receive and respond to feedback. An assessment tool known as the Hartman Value Profile (HVP) provides a way to measure the multi-faceted nature of judgment axiologically. Analysis of participants’ HVP scores suggests that HVP scores are capable of revealing meaningful insights for investors, entrepreneurs, and academics. Many of the findings relate to self awareness, with entrepreneurs being more likely to reflect upon feedback rather than deflect it.