The production of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays was measured as a function of transverse momentum (class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si2.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=fc913c73eb2d293f338bf5eac1af122e" title="Click to view the MathML source">pTclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode">) in minimum-bias p–Pb collisions at class="mathmlsrc">class="mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si1.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=b1cc8bc8ab2427eca86dd7d4f446f259">class="imgLazyJSB inlineImage" height="15" width="105" alt="View the MathML source" style="margin-top: -5px; vertical-align: middle" title="View the MathML source" src="/sd/grey_pxl.gif" data-inlimgeid="1-s2.0-S0370269315010151-si1.gif">class="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The measurement covers the class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si2.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=fc913c73eb2d293f338bf5eac1af122e" title="Click to view the MathML source">pTclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> interval class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si117.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=64f08a678f93b10e95cd074cc4808f53" title="Click to view the MathML source">0.5<pT<12 GeV/cclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> and the rapidity range class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si129.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=75d9e03aaa27e92fff8630c644cede5b" title="Click to view the MathML source">−1.065<ycms<0.135class="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> in the centre-of-mass reference frame. The contribution of electrons from background sources was subtracted using an invariant mass approach. The nuclear modification factor class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si114.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=7870a314240d78af9d436f8136f3b599" title="Click to view the MathML source">RpPbclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> was calculated by comparing the class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si2.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=fc913c73eb2d293f338bf5eac1af122e" title="Click to view the MathML source">pTclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode">-differential invariant cross section in p–Pb collisions to a pp reference at the same centre-of-mass energy, which was obtained by interpolating measurements at class="mathmlsrc">class="mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si116.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=6f276a89225c9273288785adedf62c11">class="imgLazyJSB inlineImage" height="15" width="90" alt="View the MathML source" style="margin-top: -5px; vertical-align: middle" title="View the MathML source" src="/sd/grey_pxl.gif" data-inlimgeid="1-s2.0-S0370269315010151-si116.gif">class="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> and class="mathmlsrc">class="mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si126.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=9c935ad32becaa97c21d560af0879b6e">class="imgLazyJSB inlineImage" height="15" width="71" alt="View the MathML source" style="margin-top: -5px; vertical-align: middle" title="View the MathML source" src="/sd/grey_pxl.gif" data-inlimgeid="1-s2.0-S0370269315010151-si126.gif">class="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode">. The class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si114.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=7870a314240d78af9d436f8136f3b599" title="Click to view the MathML source">RpPbclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> is consistent with unity within uncertainties of about 25%, which become larger for class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si2.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=fc913c73eb2d293f338bf5eac1af122e" title="Click to view the MathML source">pTclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> below class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si10.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=ac3ba3974d40eee946a81b9971c005df" title="Click to view the MathML source">1 GeV/cclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode">. The measurement shows that heavy-flavour production is consistent with binary scaling, so that a suppression in the high-class="mathmlsrc">class="formulatext stixSupport mathImg" data-mathURL="/science?_ob=MathURL&_method=retrieve&_eid=1-s2.0-S0370269315010151&_mathId=si2.gif&_user=111111111&_pii=S0370269315010151&_rdoc=1&_issn=03702693&md5=fc913c73eb2d293f338bf5eac1af122e" title="Click to view the MathML source">pTclass="mathContainer hidden">class="mathCode"> yield in Pb–Pb collisions has to be attributed to effects induced by the hot medium produced in the final state. The data in p–Pb collisions are described by recent model calculations that include cold nuclear matter effects.