The phenomenon of embedded lead userness has gained considerable attention in the past years. This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and embedded lead userness when mediated by creative bootlegging. After analysing the data collected from 554 employees in 41 Italian and Croatian firms, our study unveils that entrepreneurial self-efficacy exerts a positive impact on embedded lead userness when mediated by creative bootlegging. Consistent with research on identity work, these results suggest that employees who show self-motivation and conviction in entrepreneurial activities tend to commit to unofficial innovation projects, which in turn, makes them act as lead users of the products and services. The study’s contributions and practical implications are also discussed.

中文翻译：

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有效走私思想：解开创业自我效能、创意盗版和嵌入式领先用户之间的关系

在过去的几年中，嵌入式潜在用户的现象引起了相当大的关注。本研究探讨了在创意盗版的中介下，创业自我效能感与嵌入的潜在客户用户之间的关系。在分析了从 41 家意大利和克罗地亚公司的 554 名员工收集的数据后，我们的研究表明，在创意盗版的中介下，企业家的自我效能感对嵌入式领先用户产生了积极影响。与身份工作的研究一致，这些结果表明，在创业活动中表现出自我激励和信念的员工倾向于致力于非官方的创新项目，这反过来又使他们成为产品和服务的主要用户。还讨论了该研究的贡献和实际意义。