Entrepreneurial authenticity: The five-dimensional framework of entrepreneurial authenticity in strategic value creation for SMEs

Entrepreneurial authenticity is vital for innovation, value creation, and personal growth. Nevertheless, a comprehensive entrepreneurship-specific definition is lacking. To address this gap, we conceptualize entrepreneurial authenticity as a dynamic system of five dimensions: self-awareness, value-driven consistency, business integrity, exposure, and uniqueness. Through interviews with 37 entrepreneurs managing 43 ventures, we show that these dimensions operate across two interconnected layers: “being yourself” and “expressing yourself,” in a spiral development process. We demonstrate how entrepreneurs translate authenticity into market presence in increasing levels of authentic expression and exposure, positioning it as a strategic asset within resource-based view theory to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage.