Validating the response surface method in entrepreneurship management research

This study adapts an existing methodology in psychology to assess congruence relationships in entrepreneurship management. More specifically, it describes the application of a response surface method to examine the congruence effect of two predictor variables on an outcome variable. The study presents both visual and text presentations to serve as a guideline that can aid management researchers in adapting the method. The paper underscores three strengths of using the response surface method as a robust analytical approach to evaluating congruent and incongruent relationships. • The response surface method can be used to examine congruency and incongruency between variables in the field of management in general and entrepreneurship management in particular. • The results can be visualized as two- and three-dimensional graphs. • Compared with a traditional approach, the response surface method offers a clearer visual representation of a focal relationship.