How entrepreneurial implementation intention moves toward subsequent actions: affordable loss and environmental uncertainty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap between entrepreneurial implementation intention and subsequent actions, addressing the isotropic issue under uncertain entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted two rounds surveys, a total of 2,350 individuals are surveyed, and 240 of whom expressed entrepreneurial intention but had yet to start a business comprised the sample. Findings This research finds that entrepreneurial implementation intention has a significant positive relationship with subsequent actions, affordable loss mediates the effect of implementation intention on subsequent actions, environmental uncertainty negatively moderates the relationship between affordable loss and subsequent actions, and the indirect effect of entrepreneurial implementation intention on entrepreneurial action can be enhanced at the low level of environmental uncertainty. Originality/value This study contributes new insights to the literature on Rubicon model of action phases in entrepreneurship field by using affordable loss and uncertainty. It also contributes to the literature on affordable loss by examining how environmental uncertainty conditions the effect of affordable loss on entrepreneurial action. Additionally, the negatively moderating role of environmental uncertainty offers a new possibility to explain entrepreneurial uncertainty.