Croatian Science Foundation · Installation Research Project
Digitally scaffolded entrepreneurial cognition
A process perspective on metacognitive regulation in entrepreneurs’ interactions with generative AI, where AI functions as a cognitive copilot rather than merely as a tool.
Explore the projectThe inquiry
AI as a cognitive copilot
The recent “AI-fication” of entrepreneurship has opened up entirely new scholarly debates. Within the entrepreneurial cognition literature, questions are emerging about how artificial intelligence cognitively scaffolds entrepreneurial thinking.
Rather than merely serving as a supportive tool, AI is increasingly conceptualised as a cognitive copilot for entrepreneurs, augmenting their cognitive resources and reshaping how they think, regulate their thinking, and make decisions. Building on this largely unexplored line of inquiry, ICON examines how entrepreneurs’ interactions with generative AI shape their metacognitive regulation, and identifies and operationalises its key dimensions as well as the patterns through which they vary across entrepreneurs.
This interdisciplinary project will provide the first empirical investigation of AI in entrepreneurs’ metacognition, laying the groundwork for a theory of digitally scaffolded entrepreneurial cognition.
Objectives
Four research objectives
Together, they move from a process model and the conceptual definition of key dimensions to a validated measurement instrument and empirically distinguishable entrepreneur profiles.
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RO 1
A process model of metacognitive regulation
Identify how entrepreneurs’ interactions with generative AI shape their metacognitive regulation, and develop a process model of metacognitive regulation in digitally scaffolded entrepreneurial cognition.
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RO 2
Conceptual definitions of key dimensions
Identify and conceptually define the key dimensions of metacognitive regulation in entrepreneurs’ interactions with generative AI, and distinguish them from related constructs.
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RO 3
A validated measurement instrument
Develop and validate a measurement instrument for assessing key dimensions of metacognitive regulation.
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RO 4
Distinct entrepreneur profiles
Identify distinct profiles of entrepreneurs based on the dimensions of metacognitive regulation, and test for differences between these profiles in the quality of entrepreneurial decisions.
Design
A sequential mixed-method strategy
A qualitative phase reconstructs the process and derives its key dimensions. A quantitative phase validates the scale and develops entrepreneur profiles. Both are conducted in two diverse national contexts to distinguish structural consistency from context-specific variation.
Why it matters
What makes ICON distinctive
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01
First of its kind
This is the first empirical study of entrepreneurial metacognition in human–AI interaction, moving the field from conceptual debate to evidence.
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02
Three fields, one framework
ICON sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, cognitive psychology and information science, integrating entrepreneurial cognition with a human–AI interaction perspective.
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03
Process, not a state
ICON studies entrepreneur–AI dynamics through the broader structure of metacognitive regulation.
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04
Cross-cultural design
Croatia and Norway differ in levels of AI adoption and digital maturity, enabling a test of cross-context robustness and the first cross-cultural validation of metacognitive regulation in entrepreneur–AI interaction.
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05
Behaviour, not just self-report
Verbal and self-reported data are triangulated with behavioural evidence of AI-induced decision revision, while the survey embeds a decision task alongside self-report measures.
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06
Beyond the paper
A free, web-based reflection tool will translate the findings into practice for entrepreneurs, students and educators, and will be integrated into at least one university course.
Policy alignment
Answering Article 14
The project directly addresses the EU AI Act, in particular Article 14 on human oversight, which regulates the cognitive challenges of using AI: the interpretive processing of AI results and automation bias.
ICON’s objectives are congruent with the imperatives of Shaping Europe’s Digital Future and the AI Innovation Package, and support the EU’s AI Strategy and its vision of Europe as an AI Continent with a strong innovation ecosystem. Findings on trust calibration speak to the risk of uncritical dependence on AI at the level of the individual entrepreneur, and to AI risk governance at the level of the firm.
The group
An interdisciplinary research group
Five core members (two assistant professors, two senior assistants and one PhD student) are supported by three senior researchers acting in a mentoring and advisory capacity.
Explore
The project in pages
Milestones, results and announcements
Fieldwork milestones, accepted papers, workshops and presentations, recorded as the project reaches them.
ResearchBackground, objectives and methodology
The conceptual grounding, the four objectives in detail, and the qualitative and quantitative research designs.
TeamResearchers and competencies
Five core members across four disciplines, three senior researchers in a mentoring role, and how their expertise combines.
Work planWork packages and reflection tool
Four work packages across 36 months and the web-based reflection tool deliverable.
ImpactScientific, societal and policy impact
Contributions to three fields, alignment with European AI policy, and ethics and regulatory governance.
PublicationsPublications and research results
Journal articles and conference papers produced by the project, listed as they appear in print.
