THE NATURE AND EXPERIENCE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION … · THE NATURE AND EXPERIENCE OF...

THE NATURE AND EXPERIENCE OFENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION

MELISSA S. CARDONPace University

JOAKIM WINCENTLuleå University of Technology

JAGDIP SINGHCase Western Reserve University

MATEJA DRNOVSEKUniversity of Ljubljana

Entrepreneurial passion plays an important role in entrepreneurship, but theoreticalunderstanding of what it is and what it does is lacking. We build on fragmented anddisparate extant work to conceptualize the nature of entrepreneurial passion associ-ated with salient entrepreneurial role identities. We also theorize the mechanisms ofthe experience of entrepreneurial passion that provide coherence to goal-directedcognitions and behaviors during the pursuit of entrepreneurial effectiveness.

Passion is deeply embedded in the folkloreand practice of entrepreneurship. Dating back toSchumpeter’s early writings (1951), researchersand practitioners alike have invoked passion toexplain entrepreneurial behaviors that defy rea-son-based explanations, such as unconven-tional risk taking, uncommon intensity of focus,and unwavering belief in a dream. In the popu-lar press, successful entrepreneurs havestressed the power of passion: Anita Roddick ofthe Bodyshop asserted that “to succeed youhave to believe in something with such a pas-sion that it becomes a reality,” and Michael Dellsuggested that “passion should be the fire thatdrives your life’s work.”1 Many academics con-cur, including Bird, who says that entrepreneur-ial behavior can be “passionate, full of emo-tional energy, drive, and spirit” (1989: 7– 8).Cardon, Zietsma, Saparito, Matherne, and Davis

suggest that entrepreneurship can be thought ofas a “tale of passion” (2005: 23), and Smilor goesso far as to say that passion is “perhaps themost observed phenomenon of the entrepreneur-ial process” (1997: 342).

Despite the widespread fascination with en-trepreneurial passion, it has not been studiedsystematically, and existing research is frag-mented. Moreover, while emphasizing that pas-sion is important for entrepreneurship, moststudies neither adequately define entrepreneur-ial passion nor explain its role in the entrepre-neurial process and its outcomes. We aim to fillthis gap by developing a definition of the natureof entrepreneurial passion and theorizing aboutthe experience of entrepreneurial passion to of-fer predictions about its influence in the entre-preneuring process.

Specifically, we first address what passion isby proposing a definition of the entrepreneurialpassion concept based on psychological re-search on emotions (Barrett, Mesquita, Ochsner,& Gross, 2007; Russell, 2003) and on identity(Burke, 2006; Stryker & Burke, 2000), as well asgrounded work in entrepreneurship. Second, weaddress what passion does by proposing a con-ceptual framework to theorize the mechanismsthat coordinate the influence of role-identity-specific passion on entrepreneurs’ cognitions

We sincerely appreciate the constructive comments andcritical enthusiasm of the guest editors and three anony-mous reviewers, which challenged and excited us during thereview process. We also thank Bill Schulze and ChuckMurnieks for helpful discussions and advice. In its earlydevelopment this work benefited from generous feedbackreceived during presentations at the 2004 Babson and 2005Academy of Management conferences.

1 We accessed these quotes at http://www.evancarmichael.com.

� Academy of Management Review2009, Vol. 34, No. 3, 511–532.

511Copyright of the Academy of Management, all rights reserved. Contents may not be copied, emailed, posted to a listserv, or otherwise transmitted without the copyrightholder’s express written permission. Users may print, download, or email articles for individual use only.

and behaviors in the pursuit of entrepreneurialeffectiveness. We assert that the proposedframework can help explain previously unan-swered questions in the literature, such as whysome nascent entrepreneurs who evidence highpassion for entrepreneuring lose the fire of pas-sion as the venture grows while others continueto experience the fire of passion throughouttheir entrepreneurial career; why some entre-preneurs who seem passionate about theirideas are willing to give them up to others togrow the venture and extract its market value;and why some entrepreneurs continue to persistdespite considerable obstacles and impedi-ments during the process of entrepreneuring.We use self-regulation as an overall theoreticalframework to extract empirically testable prop-ositions.

PASSION IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: REVIEWAND RELEVANCE

Table 1 summarizes the literature on passionand related emotions in entrepreneurship. Weinclude studies that focus on individual entre-preneurs who found new (de novo) venturesand/or pursue opportunity recognition, venturecreation, or venture growth activities. Consis-tent with Baron (2008), we focus on entrepreneurswho individually recognize and exploit opportu-nities rather than do so as part of a team.

While past research is fragmented in its con-ceptualization and theoretical development, it iscoherent in its recognition of the relevance ofpassion in entrepreneurship. Table 1 suggeststhree themes of convergence: (1) the content of“passion” is an intense positive emotion (2)whose empirical referents or objects usually in-volve venture-related opportunities, tasks, or ac-tivities and (3) that has a motivational effect thatstimulates entrepreneurs to overcome obstaclesand remain engaged. However, this review alsoidentifies several gaps and open issues, includ-ing lack of a clear definition of entrepreneurialpassion that is theoretically grounded, agree-ment over whether passion is a personal trait oris stimulated by an object or the context, and aconceptual model that explains how passion in-fluences entrepreneurial outcomes. We brieflyreview the preceding themes of convergenceand gaps to motivate our study.

Our review indicates that scholars view pas-sion as important but are unclear on what it

actually is. Studies define or associate passionwith a diverse range of positive affects, includ-ing pride (Bierly, Kessler, & Christensen, 2000),love (Baum & Locke, 2004; Cardon et al., 2005),enthusiasm, and joy (Smilor, 1997) that occur aspart of the entrepreneuring process and providean emotional resource for coping with entrepre-neurial challenges. While Schumpeter long rec-ognized that an entrepreneur needs unusuallystrong will and personal strength during theprocess of creation, which “is inherently emo-tional” (Goss, 2005: 209), few studies to date haveprovided an original theoretical foundation forlinking entrepreneurial passion to the broaderliterature on affect and emotional experiences.

The current literature is also vague in identi-fying the object of entrepreneurial passion andincludes ventures, opportunities, products,tasks, or, generally, “one’s work” (see Table 1).This suggests an implicit relevance of address-ing what entrepreneurs are passionate about,but there is no agreement on which specific ref-erents should be considered. Moreover, somestudies treat passion as an individual trait, giv-ing less emphasis to the specific objects in-volved (e.g., Baum, Locke, & Smith, 2001). Othersargue that both the individual and the venturemust be considered given that entrepreneurs in-vest themselves (e.g., in terms of time, money,and energy) heavily in their ventures (Cardon etal., 2005). Thus, the centrality of venture-relatedobjects appears evident in conceptualizing en-trepreneurial passion, but supporting theoreti-cal work is lacking.

Table 1 indicates that the literature is alsounclear about the mechanisms for how passioninfluences outcomes. Scholars suggest that en-trepreneurs who experience passion benefitfrom its motivational energy. For example, Ta-ble 1 indicates that passion involves strengthand courage (Bierly et al., 2000), mobilizing en-ergy (Brannback, Carsrud, Elfving, & Krueger,2006), and unflagging pursuit of challenginggoals (Smilor, 1997). Passion has been related todrive, tenacity, willingness to work long hours,courage, high levels of initiative, and persis-tence in the face of obstacles (Bierly et al., 2000;Bird, 1989). Brannback et al. note that “passioncan fuel motivation, enhance mental activity,and provide meaning to everyday work” (2006:3). Likewise, scholars suggest that highly acti-vated and positive emotional states such aspassion foster creativity and recognition of new

512 JulyAcademy of Management Review

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2009 513Cardon, Wincent, Singh, and Drnovsek

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patterns that are critical in opportunity explora-tion and exploitation in uncertain and risky en-vironments (Baron, 2008). Yet doubts remainabout whether entrepreneurial passion is uni-versally functional in the entrepreneurial pro-cess. Dysfunctional effects of passion, such asobsession and discounting negative information(Branzei & Zietsma, 2003), are thought to inter-fere with entrepreneurial effectiveness. Originaltheoretical work is needed to understand if andwhen entrepreneurial passion has functionaloutcomes and why.

Overall, the preceding literature review sug-gests two critical gaps that need attention: (1) atheoretically grounded conceptualization of thenature of entrepreneurial passion to addresswhat it is and (2) a theoretical model for theexperience of entrepreneurial passion thatguides empirical testing of its predicted influ-ence on cognitions and behaviors to explainwhat it does.

THE NATURE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION

We draw from the psychological literature onemotions and feelings and incorporategrounded ideas from entrepreneurship researchand practice to propose a conceptual definitionof entrepreneurial passion. Several notable re-views of psychological research on emotion areavailable (e.g., Barrett et al., 2007; Russell, 2003;Schwarz & Clore, 2007). We provide a summaryof the working definitions of key psychologicalconcepts relevant to our context in the Appen-dix. To build our conceptualization, we first out-line the supporting theoretical foundations fortwo key assertions central to our proposed con-ceptualization: (1) entrepreneurial passion is aconsciously accessible, intense positive feeling,and (2) entrepreneurial passion results from en-gagement in activities with identity meaningand salience to the entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurial Passion Is a ConsciouslyAccessible, Intense Positive Feeling

The notion of passion has a long history, withearly writings about its nature and importancedating back to Greek and Western philosophers(e.g., Aristotle’s Rhetoric [Roberts, 1924]), moraltheologists (e.g., Spinoza’s Ethics [Della Rocca,1996]), political scientists (e.g., Machiavelli’s ThePrince [1984]), and cultural mythologies (e.g.,

Bhagavad Gita [Radhakrishnan, 1993]). Whilethese writings differ on whether it impairs orempowers reason, most view passion as anyintense emotion that stirs humans with energyand deep longing to make a difference. Socialpsychologists’ interest in studying passion ismore recent and emphasizes its conscious expe-rience, motivational quality, and identity mean-ing. Csikszentmihalyi (1990), for instance, sug-gests that passion promotes intense, flowlikestates of total absorption in one’s activities. Val-lerand and colleagues’ (2003) notion of passionis focused on activities in which people investtime and energy and that they find important.Other scholars argue that passion is activatedby emotionally important goals that control andguide desires, thoughts, plans, and behaviorsand that persist over time, regardless of costs,external obstacles, and moral objections (Frijda,2005). Across these definitions, passion invari-ably involves feelings that are hot, overpower-ing, and suffused with desire. This fire of desireis referred to in virtually all writings on entre-preneurial passion with words such as enthusi-asm, zeal, and intense longing (Table 1).

In the psychological literature passion is con-ceived as energy that gives individuals a senseof “pleasure and promise” (Rockwell, 2002: 52)and engages them “wholeheartedly with what. . . [they] love” (Belitz & Lundstrom, 1997: 57). Thescholarly view of passion is compatible with afeeling that is highly intense and positive, sim-ilar to excitement, elation, and joy, but distinctfrom states that are negative and intense (e.g.,upset, stressed), states that are not at all intense(e.g., fatigued, calm), or states that are positivebut not intense (e.g., contented). As a feeling,passion involves consciously experiencedchanges in core affect (i.e., internal affectivestate) that are attributed to external stimuli andthat are effortfully reflected upon and storedcognitively for later retrieval (Damasio, 2003;Schwarz & Clore, 2007; see also the Appendix).Reflection might include self-awareness (“Whatam I feeling physically?”), appraisals (“Why amI feeling this way?” “What caused this feel-ing?”), and categorization (“How does it comparewith other feelings?”). As a feeling, entrepre-neurial passion differs from episodic changes incore affect. While the latter is subconsciously orunconsciously activated by external objects oractivities that may be inert or irrelevant to anindividual’s identity meaning, passion involves


“intense longing” that one feels for objects oractivities that are deeply meaningful to one’sidentity, whether those objects are real, remem-bered, desired, imagined, or anticipated. Wediscuss the implication of this identity meaningof entrepreneurial activities next.

Entrepreneurial Passion Results fromEngagement in Activities with IdentityMeaning and Salience

In our view, passion is aroused not becausesome entrepreneurs are inherently disposed tosuch feelings but, rather, because they are en-gaged in something that relates to a meaningfuland salient self-identity for them. For example,Baum and Locke (2004) and Shane, Locke, andCollins (2003) say that entrepreneurial passionis a love of work; Smilor (1997) argues it is aboutenthusiasm for venture-related activities; Car-don et al. (2005) say that passion is about love forthe venture itself; and Vallerand and colleaguesdefine passion as a “strong inclination towardan activity that people like, that they find impor-tant” (2003: 757). Although Vallerand et al. sug-gest that identity meaning is important for un-derstanding passion, they do not explicitlyconsider identities in their proposed definitionof passion, nor is their definition specific to en-trepreneurship. Murnieks and Mosakowski(2006) also invoke identities, arguing that pas-sion emerges when a broad entrepreneurial roleidentity is salient.

We extend the work of these authors by devel-oping the notion of distinct entrepreneurial roleidentities that are linked to particular activities.Specifically, based on a taxonomy of entrepre-neurial activities developed by Gartner, Starr,and Bhat (1999), we suggest three role identities:(1) an inventor identity, where the entrepreneur’spassion is for activities involved in identifying,inventing, and exploring new opportunities; (2) afounder identity, where the entrepreneur’s pas-sion is for activities involved in establishing aventure for commercializing and exploiting op-portunities; and (3) a developer identity, wherethe entrepreneur’s passion is for activities re-lated to nurturing, growing, and expanding theventure once it has been created. Undeniably,some entrepreneurs may be equally passionateabout all three of these identities, whereas oth-ers may weigh one identity as significantlymore meaningful to them.

Identity theory (Burke & Reitzes, 1981, 1991;Goffman, 1959), especially the literature focus-ing on conceptions of identity rooted in the self(Stryker & Burke, 2000), provides the theoreticallogic for conceptualizing these three role identi-ties. Here the focus is on the “active self” thatasks, “Who am I?” and on how this self-knowledge motivates reflexive thought and self-initiated action to create, sustain, and changelarger social and economic conditions to helpone’s self-growth and survival (Burke & Reitzes1991). Researchers have defined identity as in-ternalized expectations about those characteris-tics individuals hold as central, distinctive, andenduring about them and that are at least par-tially reflected in the roles they enact (Burke &Reitzes, 1991). For example, entrepreneurs whofind self-meaning in the role of an inventorbrimming with market-disruption ideas arelikely to view the inventor identity as a central,possibly defining, and enduring characteristicabout their self. Noting that the self is composedof multifaceted identities, identity theory ac-knowledges that, for any individual, identitiesare organized hierarchically such that an iden-tity placed higher in the hierarchy is more sa-lient and more central to self-meaning thanthose placed lower (Stryker & Burke, 2000).Therefore, some entrepreneurs may view afounder, rather than inventor, identity as moresalient and central, and, consequently, they maybe committed more to the role of creating a newventure than to that of exploring or inventing newopportunities. Indeed, over a lifetime, an entrepre-neur may change the salience of different roleidentities (e.g., founder may become more centralthan inventor); however, at any given time, therelative importance of role identities is stable,making an entrepreneur’s self-meaning tempo-rally both distinctive and coherent.

This distinctive and salient role identity moti-vates entrepreneurs to engage in certain activi-ties (and disengage from others) and explainsthe affective experience that this engagementinvokes. In particular, identities are a source ofmotivation for actions that result in social vali-dation of self-meaning. Role identities put peo-ple in social categories (e.g., “I am an inventor”),and individuals are motivated to maintain andconfirm their self-meaning by engaging in ac-tivities and interacting with people in ways thatconfirm the role expectations and validate thebehavioral implications of salient social catego-


ries (Burke & Reitzes, 1981, 1991; Goffman, 1959).Burke and Reitzes (1991) likened this to an activeself that seeks engagement in activities thatconfirm and disengagement from those activi-ties that distract from salient identities.

Such engagement in activities that validatesalient identities is often not affect neutral;rather, it arouses positive affect in accord withaffect control theory (Burke & Reitzes, 1991). In-dividuals experience positive emotions whentheir behavioral engagement maintains and en-hances their salient identity. When such ap-praisals are congruent (behaviors reinforce thesalient identity), activities are tagged with pos-itive emotions, motivational resources are bol-stered, and these associative links are stored inmemory for later retrieval. Conversely, when ap-praisals lack congruence (behaviors are con-trary to the salient identity), activities aretagged with negative emotion, motivational re-sources are mobilized to disengage, and suchactivities are possibly stored with avoidancelinks. Over repeated cycles and for some indi-viduals, certain activities become associatedwith intense positive feelings because they re-liably and strongly support the individuals’ sa-lient identity and motivate the individuals toexperience the positive feelings that come fromcontinued engagement in such identity-mean-ingful activities.

Consistent with the preceding logic, popularaccounts indicate that entrepreneurs are oftendifferentially passionate toward entrepreneur-ial activities. For instance, entrepreneurs witha salient inventor identity, exemplified byStephan Wozniak, are aroused by passion whenthey engage in activities that involve seekingout new ideas, tinkering with new product de-velopment, or scanning the environment formarket-disruptive opportunities. Alternatively,entrepreneurs who have the founder identity asmost salient, such as Wayne Huizenga, experi-ence passion for activities that involve assem-bling the resources necessary to create a firm,including financial (e.g., VC funding), human(e.g., employees), and social (e.g., board mem-bers) capital. Finally, entrepreneurs whose self-meaning is derived from the developer identity,exemplified by Ray Kroc, experience passionwhen they engage in activities related to marketdevelopment (e.g., attracting new customers)and financial growth (e.g., value creation andappropriation).

It is not necessary that entrepreneurs have asingle identity that is hierarchically dominant.However, when they do, entrepreneurs may dis-engage from activities relevant to other lessmeaningful identities. For example, entrepre-neurs may be so passionate about the inventorrole that they never actually take their productsto the market or found the venture to exploit theopportunity. Similarly, serial and portfolio en-trepreneurs may be more passionate about thefounder role and willing to sell their firm toothers who are more interested in growing theventure to realize its full market potential. Moregenerally, entrepreneurs may have multipleidentities that depict varying patterns and areorganized in a hierarchy of more or less impor-tance, where none is clearly dominant or wheresome may be in conflict. Burke (2006) has notedthat multiple identities shift focus to internalorganization of identities, and to mechanismsby which the active self negotiates among dif-ferent identities. Consideration of multiple en-trepreneurial role identities may help explainconditions that lead to harmonious passion (e.g.,when an entrepreneur can easily transitionamong salient role identities) and to obsessivepassion (e.g., when one role identity crowds outother identities). Thus, it matters which specificrole identity invokes passion for entrepreneurs,to what extent it interferes in the fulfillment ofroles related to other identities, and how anentrepreneur’s active self manages multipleidentities.

In summary, we conceptualize the nature ofentrepreneurial passion as consciously accessi-ble, intense positive feelings experienced by en-gagement in entrepreneurial activities associ-ated with roles that are meaningful and salientto the self-identity of the entrepreneur. Next wediscuss the experience of entrepreneurial pas-sion to address what it does.

THE EXPERIENCE OF ENTREPRENEURIALPASSION: COORDINATION OF COGNITIONS

AND BEHAVIORS FOR ENTREPRENEURIALEFFECTIVENESS

Once activated, entrepreneurial passion cata-lyzes full-blown emotional experiences, com-plete with engagement of brain (e.g., appraisalsand cognitions) and body (e.g., physiologicaland behavioral) responses (Russell, 2003). Thenotion of emotional experience recognizes that


the brain and body responses triggered by pas-sion do not appear as independent and discon-nected responses but, rather, as a coherent andcoordinated pattern that is maintained overtime (Damasio, 2003; see also the Appendix). Assuch, the passion experience facilitates an en-trepreneur’s efforts to adapt and cope with en-vironmental challenges. This does not presumethat the resulting adaptation and coping arenecessarily functional. Instead, we acknowl-edge that the experience of entrepreneurial pas-sion may produce response patterns that areobsessive, blind, or misdirected (e.g., Vallerandet al., 2003). Cases abound of entrepreneurs whoobsess about their ventures to the point that itcurbs growth or who persist with failing ventureslong after they should have moved on. In prefac-ing our conceptual model, we define the experi-ence of entrepreneurial passion as a complex pat-tern of psychological, brain, and body responsesactivated and maintained by an entrepreneur’spassion that, when regulated, aid in motivatingcoherent and coordinated goal pursuit. Below, weelaborate the proposed model with self-regulationtheory as the overarching conceptual framework.

Several aspects of self-regulation theory(Carver & Scheier, 1998) make it relevant forunderstanding how and why entrepreneurialpassion might coordinate entrepreneurs’ cogni-tions and behaviors. First, self-regulation pro-cesses are central to human agency (effortfuland conscious engagement of the self) and hu-man coping (mobilization of body and brain re-sponses to overcome challenges). The notions ofagency and coping are compatible with entre-preneurial thinking that recognizing, reshaping,and responding to opportunities lie at the nexusof the individual and the environment (Shane &Venkataraman, 2000). Second, self-regulationtheory views individual agency and coping asgoal-directed processes, just as entrepreneursare thought to engage in exploration and exploi-tation activities in pursuit of desired goals.Goals provide direction and clarity to entrepre-neurial efforts. Third, individual differences inself-regulation are known to influence copingeffectiveness. Likewise, entrepreneurs differ inthe degree to which they can regulate their in-ternal feeling states and behavioral responsesto cope effectively, especially when multiplefeeling states associated with disparate identi-ties are activated. For instance, entrepreneursmay demonstrate a range of regulative control,

from underregulation, characterized by an in-ability to optimally control or balance internalfeeling states and giving way to impulsive re-sponses, to overregulation, characterized bysuppression of one or more internal feelingstates and a lack of response spontaneity andnovelty (Gross, 1999).

Figure 1 depicts the proposed conceptualmodel. The modeled processes are triggeredwhen entrepreneurial passion is activated(shown in the left-most circle), and they culmi-nate in entrepreneurial outcomes (shown inthe right-most box). Consistent with three iden-tities proposed as meaningful for entrepreneurs,we include indicators of entrepreneurial out-comes that can be loosely categorized into thoseinvolving opportunity recognition (e.g., inventoridentity), venture creation (e.g., founder iden-tity), and venture growth (e.g., developer identi-ty).2

When a particular identity is activated (say,inventor), we expect that the experience of pas-sion mobilizes an entrepreneur’s self-regulationprocesses that are directed toward effectivenessin the pursuit of the corresponding entrepre-neurial goal (here, opportunity recognition). Thisgoal pursuit, in turn, involves validating thefocal identity by cognitive and behavioral en-gagement in activities in a manner that is char-acteristic of intense positive emotions. Conse-quently, the self-regulation processes linkingentrepreneurial passion and outcomes are rep-resented by linkages involving goal-relatedcognitions and entrepreneurial behaviors (thetwo middle boxes in Figure 1). We argue thatentrepreneurs fired by passion evidence behav-ioral engagement in entrepreneurial activitiesthat is characterized by (1) creative problemsolving, defined as the production of novel anduseful ideas or actions (Woodman, Sawyer, &Griffin, 1993); (2) persistence, defined as the con-tinuation of effortful action despite failures, im-pediments, or threats, either real or imagined(Gimeno, Folta, Cooper, & Woo, 1997); and (3)

2 While we include these three broad categories of entre-preneurial effectiveness in our model and specify potentialmetrics for each category based on entrepreneurship re-search, we do not view these indicators as definitive orcomplete. Additional details on opportunity recognition areavailable in Singh, Hills, Lumpkin, and Hybels (1999), ven-ture creation in Gartner (1985), and venture growth in Haberand Reichel (2005).


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absorption, defined as being fully concentratedand deeply engrossed in one’s work (Schinde-hutte, Morris, & Allen, 2006). Note that persis-tence, which refers to the duration of task en-gagement, is conceptually and empiricallydistinct from absorption, which refers to thelevel of task involvement.

We organize our discussion of the experienceof entrepreneurial passion by emphasizing thatthe role fulfillment for each identity involves afocus on the goal corresponding to a specific setof entrepreneurial outcomes, and this goal pur-suit is differentially affected by entrepreneurialbehaviors. We first focus on how entrepreneur-ial passion influences these behaviors directly,and we then focus on how it influences thesebehaviors indirectly through goal-related cogni-tions.

Direct Effects in the Experience ofEntrepreneurial Passion

Because passion involves intense and plea-surable feelings arising from engagement in ac-tivities associated with a role identity that isdeeply meaningful, we expect entrepreneurs toregulate their responses to maintain or enhancesuch feelings. With experience and learning, en-trepreneurs may encode a coherent pattern ofbehavioral responses as part of schema for aspecific role identity that can be autonomouslyactivated without much cognitive effort. Suchautonomous response patterns are the direct ef-fects in Figure 1 (paths A, B, and C).

Based on the psychology of positive emotions(Fredrickson, 1998), we posit that the intensefeelings associated with passion will result inan inverted-U effect on entrepreneurs’ creativeproblem solving (path A in Figure 1). Individualsexperiencing positive affect have an adaptiveapproach to environmental stimuli, motivatingtheir attention and energy to tackle encounteredchallenges or problems. When problems standin the way of dreams, desires, or purpose deeplyrooted in the self-identity, entrepreneurs whoare experiencing passion are more likely to reg-ulate their attention and motivation to identifysolutions that could otherwise go unnoticed orunexploited. In this sense, passion more readilyfacilitates creation of unusual associations,such as recognition of patterns and relatednessamong stimuli, enabling entrepreneurs to en-gage in novel and creative paths of action

(Fredrickson, 1998). Thus, we expect the regula-tory influence of passion to enable entrepre-neurs to recognize novel patterns of information,to perceptually process stimuli, and to leveragetheir existing knowledge to find creative solu-tions. This reasoning is consistent with Am-abile’s (1997: 42) finding that people who arefired by passion are more likely to pursue cre-ative solutions.

However, passion that is too positive or in-tense can limit an entrepreneur’s creative prob-lem solving. We theorize that this occurs be-cause the entrepreneur is resistant to exploringalternative options, fearing that doing so maydilute and distract the intense positive experi-ence, thereby curtailing the productive and flex-ible problem-solving approach associated withpassion. Consistent with this, Vallerand andcolleagues (2003) suggested that extremely in-tense passion may invoke an obsessive re-sponse indicated by a rigid rather than flexiblemanner of engagement in identity-relevant ac-tivities because the focal identity crowds outother identities, consistent with the notion of itshaving “disproportionate space” within a per-son’s life. Thus, we posit the following.

Proposition 1: Entrepreneurial passionwill have an inverted-U influence oncreative problem solving directed atidentity-relevant activities.

The importance of creative problem solvingfor effectiveness is especially germane when anentrepreneur’s passion is for the inventor iden-tity. In this instance validation and affirmationof the entrepreneur’s identity will come fromeffectiveness in opportunity recognition ratherthan other outcomes. Such an entrepreneur willbe particularly driven toward engagement increative pursuit of identifying, inventing, andexploring new opportunities or market niches(Wilson & Stokes, 2005). Past research suggeststhat creative problem solving is particularly im-portant for generating novel and useful ideasand opportunities for business ventures (Ward,2004). For instance, many entrepreneurs arechallenged by identifying novel market oppor-tunities that are concurrently interesting, com-patible with their individual human capital andskills, innovative for the potential market, andviable as a profit-making venture. Thus, whilepersistence and absorption behaviors can behelpful in effective opportunity recognition, en-


trepreneurial engagement in creative problemsolving is crucial.

Proposition 2: When an entrepreneur’sinventor identity is dominant, entre-preneurial passion will influence theentrepreneur’s effectiveness in oppor-tunity recognition, mainly because ofits effect on creative problem solving.

As depicted by the direct path B in Figure 1,we also expect that passion will positively anddirectly influence an entrepreneur’s persistenceon tasks that validate and reaffirm the identityactivated by passion. Support for this assertionis drawn from psychological studies of behav-ioral patterns associated with and regulated bypositive feelings (Fredrickson, 1998). In general,positive feelings enhance continued engage-ment in tasks and activities that invoke suchfeelings, because people want to maintain apositive emotional state and resist disengage-ment (Pham, 2004). When the focal activities arenot only pleasurable but are also deeply mean-ingful to self-identity, we can expect that indi-viduals will be bolstered to persist so that theycan enjoy a prolonged state of positive affect,reinforce their role identity, and mitigate therisk of identity threats that come from prematuredisengagement (Burke, 2006; Pratt & Foreman,2000). Consequently, we posit the following.

Proposition 3: Entrepreneurial passionwill positively influence an entrepre-neur’s persistence on identity-relevantactivities.

When an entrepreneur’s passion is associatedwith the founder identity, we expect that theentrepreneur will regulate his or her attentionand motivation in pursuit of venture creationgoals. For effectiveness in this pursuit, we ex-pect that persistence and creative problem solv-ing will be particularly important. The liabilitiesof smallness and newness are most prominentat the venture creation stage (D’Intino, Goldsby,Houghton, & Neck, 2007). Entrepreneurs face con-siderable challenges, including rejection ofideas, refusal of funding requests, and lack oflegitimacy, which together may turn away po-tential customers as well as employees. To se-cure funding, locate customers, hire employees,and more generally establish the firm’s reputa-tion and legitimacy, an entrepreneur’s persis-

tence in the pursuit of financial, human, andsocial capital is critical (Gimeno et al., 1997).

We expect that the regulatory influence of in-tense positive feelings associated with thefounder identity is likely to mobilize action andthe needed energy of entrepreneurs to masterchallenging situations by overcoming uncer-tainties, setbacks, and resource shortages in theassembly of financial, human, and social capi-tal. Bierley and colleagues (2000) affirmed thatpassion is linked to energetic and persistentgoal pursuit, particularly the ability to overcomeresistance, obtain resources, coordinate activity,and motivate key people. However, creativeproblem solving in developing new ways ofreaching out to potential investors, employees,and customers is also important. For example,Elsbach (2003) studied venture capital pitch ses-sions and found that the investors often madetheir investment decision at least in part basedon the creativity of the entrepreneur making thepitch. More broadly, Lee, Florida, and Acs (2004)argued that creativity has a positive relation-ship with new firm formation.

Proposition 4: When an entrepreneur’sfounder identity is dominant, entre-preneurial passion will influence theentrepreneur’s effectiveness in ven-ture creation, mainly because of itseffect on persistence and creativeproblem solving.

We also predict that entrepreneurial passionwill positively influence absorption with entre-preneurial activities associated with the in-voked role identity (path C). Engagement intasks and activities that hold identity meaningis posited to be an experience akin to “flow,”where entrepreneurs become immersed in andfeel in complete control of their activities suchthat they barely notice the passing of time or thepeople around them (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).The combination of intense excitement and fo-cus, which are defining characteristics of flowexperiences, is central to the experiential andregulation effects of entrepreneurial passion.When entrepreneurs are aroused by their pas-sion for activities associated with a meaningfulidentity, they experience intense excitementthat comes from pursuit of deeply internalizedgoals such that they often ignore activities orpeople that may detract from it.


Some scholars suggest that entrepreneurs’success largely depends on their regulative ca-pabilities to cultivate personal flow experiences(e.g., Schindehutte et al., 2006). Successful entre-preneurs, such as Bill Gates, who are able tocontinuously innovate in highly competitive andrapidly evolving markets are thought to be ca-pable of remaining in states of flow for muchlonger periods of time than the average busi-ness person (D’Intino et al., 2007). Thus, we ex-pect a positive relationship between entrepre-neurial passion and absorption.

Proposition 5: Entrepreneurial passionwill positively influence an entrepre-neur’s absorption in identity-relevantactivities.

Further, an entrepreneur’s goal pursuit islikely to be regulated for venture growth whenthe developer identity is at the fore of entrepre-neurial passion. In this instance we expect thatan entrepreneur’s absorption and persistenceare relatively more significant for effectivenessin venture growth, although creative problemsolving is also relevant. The challenges of ven-ture growth involve navigating the chaos andambiguity of markets that come from continu-ously evolving customer needs and unrelentingcompetitive moves (Schindehutte et al., 2006).When entrepreneurs approach venture growthactivities with a high level of absorption, theyare less prone to be perturbed by environmentalambiguity and are more likely to engage inthem with clarity and focus (Jelinek & Litterer,1995). In addition, the liability of growth poseschallenges of managing competing pressures,including maintaining rapid growth while pro-viding bureaucratic stability, along with theneed to simultaneously monitor changing mar-ket and environmental conditions (e.g., Slevin &Covin, 1997). Such challenges require resolveand sustained effort over time in order to effec-tively cope with the considerable tension, tran-sition, and change involved in venture growth.Thus, the combination of focused attention (ab-sorption) and continued efforts (persistence) iscritical to market growth activities.

Proposition 6: When an entrepreneur’sdeveloper identity is dominant, entre-preneurial passion will influence theentrepreneur’s effectiveness in ven-

ture growth, mainly because of its ef-fect on absorption and persistence.

Thus far, we have assumed that an entrepre-neur’s role identities are organized hierarchi-cally such that only a single identity is domi-nant in the experience of entrepreneurialpassion. In reality, this is not always the case.Entrepreneurs may have conflicting role identi-ties. However, at a given point in time, an entre-preneur’s passion may be associated with onlyone of the salient identities. In such instancesmultiple identities do not pose any conflict, andan entrepreneur can harmoniously navigate hisor her passion for different identities. In someinstances multiple identities may be concur-rently activated. For instance, in the nascentstages of venture creation, entrepreneuring mayinvolve activities that relate to both inventorand founder identities, such as when entrepre-neurs present their ideas to a prospective ven-ture capitalist. In these situations the proposeddirect effects will be contingent on the regula-tory capabilities of entrepreneurs. When the en-trepreneurs are able to regulate harmoniouslyamong the invoked identities, the proposed ef-fects are likely to hold. However, when entrepre-neurs’ regulatory capabilities are challenged byidentity conflict, we expect the proposed effectsto be subdued and even to become nonsignifi-cant as the conflict dilutes and divides the en-trepreneurs’ attention and motivation. We ex-pect regulatory capabilities to vary acrossentrepreneurs and to influence the ability of theentrepreneurs to realize the positive outcomesfrom passion, especially in situations involvingconflicting identities.

Mediated Effects in the Experience ofEntrepreneurial Passion

We also argue that entrepreneurial passionwill influence behaviors and, ultimately, effec-tiveness through its mediating effect on goal-related cognitions (see Figure 1). Despite pastarguments that emotions and reason are inher-ently at odds, scholars now recognize that cog-nitions and emotions may act as coherent andconnected systems that work together to dynam-ically regulate human behavior toward desiredgoals (Damasio, 2003; Pham, 2004). For example,Fredrickson (1998) postulated that positive feel-ings broaden one’s thought-action repertoires


by activating (via attentional processes) andbroadening (via information processing) thescope of cognitions, which, in turn, guides one’sbehavioral response toward effective goal pur-suit. Seo, Barrett, and Bartunek (2004) specifiedbroaden-and-build postulates for work motiva-tion by proposing goal cognitions as mediatorsof the influence of core affect.

Building on these ideas, we propose media-tion effects of goal cognitions to reflect coordi-nation between passion and cognition duringgoal pursuit. Specifically, we propose that en-trepreneurial passion will influence the level ofchallenge inherent in the goals entrepreneursset, their commitment to those goals, and thenature of their striving toward goal attainment.These goal cognitions, in turn, will have differ-ential effects on entrepreneurs’ creative prob-lem solving, persistence, and absorption inidentity-relevant tasks. These behaviors will in-fluence entrepreneurial effectiveness, as weelaborated on in the preceding section.

Consider the influence of entrepreneurial pas-sion mediated by goal challenge—the difficultylevel of goals set (paths d-g and d-h in Figure 1).We expect that an entrepreneur’s passion willlead to setting more challenging goals for thetasks and activities associated with the invokedrole identity, for two primary reasons. First, thepositive valence of passion bolsters success be-liefs for activities that affirm and validate theidentity associated with that passion. When en-trepreneurs engage in activities they are pas-sionate about, they are more confident and pos-itive in making evaluative judgments aboutpossibilities of success in those activities. Thismay happen, for instance, because the entrepre-neurs interpret their intense positive feelings foridentity-relevant tasks as affirmative informa-tion about their capabilities to meet environ-mental demands (i.e., “I feel good, so I must begood at this”), in accord with the feeling-as-information hypothesis (Schwarz & Clore, 2007).When success beliefs are bolstered, entrepre-neurs with passion are prone to set more chal-lenging goals than those who approach the fo-cal activities without being energized bypassion. More generally, Locke and Latham(2002) suggested that positive feelings influencecognitive appraisals associated with settingchallenging goals.

Second, when entrepreneurs are passionateabout a particular role identity, they are likely to

have more expansive thought-action repertoiresas per the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrick-son, 1998; Seo et al., 2004), resulting in an en-larged sense of their capabilities and personalresources. In uncertain and dynamic situationswhere success expectancies are unknown, ines-timable, or fuzzy, entrepreneurs experiencingpassion are more likely to be emboldened bytheir heightened sense of capabilities and re-sources to set more challenging goals thanthose entrepreneurs lacking the spark of pas-sion. Baum and Locke’s (2004) research suggeststhat entrepreneurs with passion are more proneto garner and invest resources like time andeffort to develop needed capabilities for activi-ties they like and goals they aspire toward.Thus, passion is associated with setting chal-lenging goals.

In turn, setting challenging goals is predictedto enhance creative problem solving and to in-hibit persistence on role-relevant activities. Cre-ativity in entrepreneurial tasks necessitatesflexibly altering preexisting routines to explorenew approaches and ideas that are effective inproblem solving. Challenging goals, especiallywhen they are self-set and identity relevantrather than assigned and identity irrelevant, arelikely to energize entrepreneurs to expendgreater effort and develop creative task strate-gies. This is because self-set challenging goalshave motivational influence such that entrepre-neurs have a strong desire to achieve thosegoals so they can validate or bolster their inter-nalized entrepreneurial identity. When this mo-tivation is focused and directed by challenginggoals to specific identity-relevant activities,studies report that individuals find and makebetter task strategies to attain goals (Locke &Latham, 2002).

While challenging goals can increase persis-tence in stable and predictable environments(Locke & Latham, 2002), we expect the reverseeffect in environments involving uncertain orambiguous feedback during goal pursuit, suchas entrepreneurship. When entrepreneurs setchallenging goals, they are more likely to en-counter obstacles during goal pursuit, espe-cially in unstable environments where uncon-tested success is unlikely and where it is hard toassess whether performance goals are met.Such encumbered goal pursuit provides numer-ous instances of negative feedback. Althoughinitial negative feedback may not perturb an


entrepreneur fired by passion, continued nega-tive feedback from the pursuit of challenginggoals can result in the entrepreneur’s mitigatingthe growing threats to a strongly held identityby revising or disengaging from initial goals.Such actions diminish persistence on the chal-lenging goals. Also, given limited cognitive re-sources, a focus on developing and implement-ing ways to address challenging goals canconsume considerable cognitive resources, lim-iting resources available for persisting in over-coming unexpected obstacles encountered dur-ing goal pursuit.

Proposition 7: Entrepreneurial passionfor activities associated with a partic-ular identity will lead an entrepre-neur to set more challenging goals,resulting in (a) higher levels of cre-ative problem solving but (b) lowerlevels of persistence on identity-relevant activities.

Next, we posit that goal commitment will me-diate the influence of entrepreneurial passionon creative problem solving, persistence, andabsorption (paths e-i, e-j, and e-k in Figure 1).Goal commitment is defined as the extent ofdetermination an individual has to attain a setgoal (Locke & Latham, 2002). Because passion isassociated with salient role identities, it shouldlead entrepreneurs to be intrinsically motivatedto achieve the goals associated with affirmingthose identities. When entrepreneurs are intrin-sically motivated, they are likely to have greatercommitment than those entrepreneurs who setinstrumentally motivated goals. Studies showthat commitment is not simply due to higheractivation levels associated with positive emo-tion but, rather, to cognitive processes involvingevaluation of rewards (e.g., more valued), effort-outcome linkages (e.g., more confident andstronger), and autonomous control (e.g., moreself-directed) from intrinsic motivation. Al-though no study in the entrepreneurship litera-ture has directly examined the relationship be-tween passion and goal commitment, indirectevidence exists that when positive feelings ac-tivate identity-relevant goals, entrepreneurs aremotivated to effortfully engage in goal pursuit(Baron & Ward, 2004), which is a critical part ofgoal commitment.

In turn, goal commitment is predicted to en-hance entrepreneurs’ absorption, creative prob-

lem solving, and persistence. Once entrepre-neurs commit to set goals, their intrinsicmotivation regulates them to focus their cogni-tions on attainment of identity-relevant goalsand to suppress resources directed at identity-irrelevant activities and distractions (Locke &Latham, 2002). Suppression of goal-irrelevantdistractions, combined with highly focused andmotivated involvement, is conducive for flow ex-periences, thereby promoting task absorption(Schindehutte et al., 2006). Further, when entre-preneurs are intrinsically motivated to engagein activities that validate their salient identity,we expect that they will demonstrate greaterinvolvement in goal-directed tasks, resulting ina generative behavioral orientation, indicatedby a focus on learning and enjoyment of identity-relevant activities. Such an orientation is as-sociated with a flexible approach to problemsand enhanced creativity in problem solving. Fi-nally, we expect goal commitment to lead togreater persistence, because intrinsic motiva-tion is associated with higher levels of per-ceived autonomy and confident self-beliefs re-garding identity-salient activities that bolsteran entrepreneur’s effort and attention towardgoal-focused activities. In a recent study Schin-dehutte et al. found that entrepreneurs’ commit-ment level was a key indicator of peak perfor-mance, allowing them to persist as they“continue against the odds and overcome fa-tigue and pain to finish a task or meet a chal-lenge” (2006: 353). Thus, we propose the follow-ing.

Proposition 8: Entrepreneurial passionfor activities associated with a partic-ular identity will lead to greater goalcommitment, resulting in (a) higherlevels of creative problem solving, (b)higher levels of persistence, and (c)higher levels of absorption in identity-relevant activities.

Goal striving—defined as planning action,monitoring progress, and adjusting action plansbased on impediments encountered during goalpursuit (Oettingen & Gollwitzer, 2001)—is alsoposited to mediate the influence of entrepre-neurial passion on persistence and absorption(Figure 1, paths f-l and f-m). Entrepreneurialpassion directs attention to challenging strate-gic goals related to a particular meaningful roleidentity, rather than more tactical goals needed


to maintain progress on immediate tasks. This isbecause passion engages meaningful role iden-tities that are usually associated with abstractgoals. Building on past research (Seo et al.,2004), we reason that strong commitment to ini-tially set goals, combined with the goals’ higherlevel of abstraction (strategic rather than tacti-cal), will make entrepreneurs less inclined tomake frequent and thorough progress judg-ments and will inhibit them from altering andadjusting their initial goals. As a result, entre-preneurial passion should diminish goal striv-ing.

Support for this comes from Baum and Locke(2004), who noted that the energy of passion trig-gers a natural toughness to stick to the initialgoals involved in venturing and an unwaveringfocus on those initially set goals. Likewise, Covaand Svanfeldt (1993) suggested that entrepre-neurs with high levels of passion are less sen-sitive to contrary market information and in-stead continue with initially determined plans.This is consistent with Schwarz and Clore’s ar-guments (2007: 26) that when different process-ing styles are possible to meet current goals andtask demands, happy individuals rely on a lesseffortful, top-down, heuristic information-pro-cessing strategy, although they are able andwilling to engage in more careful and system-atic information processing (which is associ-ated with goal striving) when task demandsrequire it.

When entrepreneurs are more effective atgoal striving, we predict that they are likely toevidence higher persistence but lower absorp-tion. First, entrepreneurs who engage in goalstriving are planning and attending to taskfeedback, both of which are likely to lead togreater persistence in goal pursuit. Support forthis comes from Liao and Gartner (2006), whoreported that entrepreneurs who engaged inplanning activities were more persistent at newventure creation. Second, we expect goal striv-ing to diminish absorption in identity-relevantactivities because it shifts attention away fromstrategic goals activated by entrepreneurialpassion to more immediate tactical goals andassociated feedback, thereby interrupting flowexperiences that come from effortlessness ingoal-directed actions. Support for this comesfrom Schindehutte et al. (2006), who found thatthe flow experiences among founding entrepre-neurs had hallmarks of autotelic experiences,

which are indicative of heuristic processing thatis less compatible with the detailed cognitiveprocessing associated with goal striving. Fi-nally, because goal striving involves monitoringprogress feedback and attending to implemen-tation rather than innovation, we do not expectan association between goal striving and cre-ative problem solving.

Proposition 9: Entrepreneurial passionfor activities associated with a partic-ular identity will lead to lower levelsof goal striving, resulting in (a) lowerlevels of persistence (a positive effectof goal striving on persistence) and (b)higher levels of absorption (a negativeeffect of goal striving on absorption) inidentity-relevant activities.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

We have aimed to bring order to the disparatemeanings and uses of the term passion in entre-preneurship by developing a theory for under-standing the nature and experience of entrepre-neurial passion that addresses what it is andwhat it does. Best viewed as a starting point forprogrammatic research, the proposed theoreti-cal framework facilitates examining outstand-ing questions about passion in entrepreneur-ship that have thus far received mixed or limitedattention, and it invites empirical testing toguide further developments and refinements.We begin our discussion with contributions con-cerning the nature of entrepreneurial passion.

Entrepreneurial Role Identities and the Natureof Entrepreneurial Passion

Our conceptualization of the nature of entre-preneurial passion asserts that studies that askwhat passion is or what it does must begin byaddressing passion for what. We propose thatentrepreneurial passion is for one or moremeaningful roles that are salient to the self-identity of the entrepreneur and correspond tointense positive feelings consciously experi-enced by engagement in entrepreneurial activ-ities associated with the focal role(s). We specif-ically discuss three role identities—inventor,founder, and developer—that are relevant forentrepreneurship.

Past researchers, including Vallerand and col-leagues (2003), have noted that passion involves


engagement in specific activities (e.g., biking) orwith specific objects (e.g., coin collections), andsome have hinted that these activities and ob-jects have identity meaning. However, we arethe first to explicitly break down the notion of anabstract entrepreneurial identity (Murnieks &Mosakowski, 2006) so as to conceptualize andtheoretically develop three specific role identi-ties that have distinct characteristics and relateto disparate entrepreneurial outcomes, includ-ing opportunity recognition (inventor role), ven-ture creation (founder role), and venture growth(developer role). In so doing, our study movesbeyond theories of entrepreneurship that implic-itly or explicitly portray the entrepreneurial roleas motivated primarily by the instrumental goalof wealth creation and maximization. We do notrule out that, for some entrepreneurs, the merethought of possessing unimaginable wealthmay invoke intense positive feelings akin topassion. However, we argue that passion will beassociated with the three roles developed here,because these have intrinsic motivation stem-ming from the validation and affirmation of anentrepreneur’s conception of true self, therebyactivating authentic passions. In this sensewealth seeking is relevant but not central to theconception of the self.

Conceptualizing entrepreneurial role identi-ties as central to the nature of entrepreneurialpassion allows the field to (1) clarify the distinc-tion between passion and any positive emotion,(2) overcome the limitations of trait-based ap-proaches to entrepreneurial passion in explain-ing observed entrepreneurial behaviors, and (3)open new lines of theoretical and empirical in-quiry that current research neither facilitatesnor illuminates. First, it is inappropriate to con-flate entrepreneurial passion with episodicemotions or to view it simply as any intensepositive feeling. Episodic affect entails shifts incurrent moods that are primarily triggered byexternal events, are short term in duration, andare hardwired as involuntary responses to stim-uli. In contrast, entrepreneurial passion is con-sciously experienced and categorized feeling,invoked by engagement with activities an-chored to the entrepreneur’s self-identity andencoded based on effortful reflection, categori-zation, and integration of affective responses(see the Appendix). Moreover, while an entrepre-neur’s positive emotions will be based on aggre-gating across a diverse set of activities that are

engaged in over a (short) period of time, passioninvolves feelings experienced when entrepre-neurs engage in a set of activities that relate toa salient entrepreneurial identity and that en-dure over a longer period of time. Because weexpect that only feelings associated with theinventor role identity and its meaningfulnesswill influence, for example, persistence in op-portunity recognition activities, an aggregatedindicator of emotions is likely to lack compara-ble predictive and diagnostic power. An entre-preneur can, of course, experience passion andepisodic emotions concurrently, and this is anarea ripe for future inquiry.

Second, some recent studies conceive of entre-preneurial passion as a traitlike, individual-difference variable (Baum et al., 2001; Shane etal., 2003). These approaches can explain whysome entrepreneurs experience passion for theirpursuits while for others entrepreneurship is acognitive and rational pursuit, devoid of emo-tive content. However, our identity-based ap-proach is more flexible and can explain ob-served patterns of entrepreneurial behaviorsthat are not captured in the trait-based ap-proach. For instance, some nascent entrepre-neurs who evidence high passion for entrepre-neuring lose the fire of passion as the venturegrows, just as some entrepreneurs with passionfor discovering high-value-added market oppor-tunities are willing to let others take their ideasand extract market value by further growing theventure. Such patterns pose a challenge for thepassion-as-trait approach because it assertsthat passion will remain fairly stable across thelife cycle of entrepreneurs. Our conception sug-gests that whether passion remains stable or is“lost” depends on variability in the differing lev-els of passion entrepreneurs have for differentrole identities.

Third, in extending these lines of inquiry, wecan hypothesize that some nascent entrepre-neurs may lose the fire of passion because lessmeaningful role identities are invoked for themas the venture grows. For example, in the earlystages entrepreneurial activities are typicallylinked to an inventor identity, while in laterstages activities are more likely related to afounder or developer role, which may be lesscentral to an entrepreneur’s self-identity. Someentrepreneurs may find identity meaning ineach role identity and may harmoniously shiftfrom one identity to the other as the venture


emerges and grows. Similarly, some entrepre-neurs who experience passion for their ventureyet relinquish their inventions or ventures toothers may have passion for the inventor orfounder but not the developer identity. Althoughconjectural, such lines of inquiry are neither en-tertained in nor provoked by current conceptionsand warrant future investigation.

Empirical examination of the preceding in-sights will require developing a validated en-trepreneurial passion measure. Recent studieshave taken initial steps by identifying activitiestoward which entrepreneurs have strong incli-nations, that they find important, and in whichthey invest time and energy as a way to mea-sure entrepreneurial passion (Brannback et al.,2006; Murnieks, 2007). While important, these ef-forts neither link entrepreneuring activities tospecific role identities nor capture activities at aspecific enough level. Our definition insteadsuggests that original future work in operation-alizing entrepreneurial passion is needed to in-clude direct assessment of (1) the meaningful-ness of individual role identities for theentrepreneur (e.g., “Inventing new solutions toproblems is an important part of who I am”), (2)the intensity of positive feelings for activitiesassociated with individual role identities (e.g.,“It is exciting to figure out new ways to solveunmet market needs that can be commercial-ized”), and (3) a rule for combining the precedingevaluations to develop a composite or latententrepreneurial passion score for each identity.We note that such an operationalization paral-lels attitude measurements (a multiplicativecombination of beliefs and importance ratings),and much can be gained by drawing on theextensive experience with such measurements(e.g., Fishbein & Azjen, 1975).

Coordinated Regulation in the Experience ofEntrepreneurial Passion

Until recently, most studies expressed theview that passions cloud reason and that effec-tive decision making requires rational and rea-soned judgments (Damasio, 1994). For instance,Shane and Venkataraman (2000) asserted thatoptimism, an emotion related to passion, limitsinformation, leads to rosy forecasts, and im-pedes reason (act first, think later), and theyemphasized the superiority of reason-baseddecisions for effectiveness in exploiting oppor-

tunities. Our work goes beyond normative asser-tions of passion versus reason to develop theory-based predictions for a more balanced study ofpassion and reason as interdependent systems.In our view, when aroused, passion for entrepre-neurial identities coordinates and regulates en-trepreneurial cognitions and behaviors for goalpursuit. While this regulatory influence is notuniversally functional, the proposed theory ofentrepreneurial passion clarifies when it isfunctional or dysfunctional by positing directand goal-mediated effects on entrepreneuringbehaviors, along with contingencies for its con-sequences for entrepreneurial outcomes that areregulated by the salient identity(ies) entwinedin the experience of entrepreneurial passion.

Our theorizing contributes to the literature bymoving beyond global assertions about passionversus reason to provide a fine-grained under-standing of what passion does, when it is func-tional, and why. Our work suggests that whatpassion does varies, depending on (1) what thepassion is for (e.g., which identity is involvedand how salient that is to the individual), (2)which specific entrepreneurial behavior is con-sidered, (3) which particular goal cognitions areactivated, and (4) what aspect of entrepreneurialeffectiveness is of substantive interest. The pro-posed conceptual framework provides a system-atically organized approach to account for thepreceding effects in a way that encourages em-pirical examination. For instance, we predictthat entrepreneurs who experience passion forone or more salient identities will be more per-sistent and more absorbed in identity-relevanttasks but will be limited in their creative prob-lem solving beyond an intermediate point. Like-wise, our inclusion of goal cognitions as medi-ators of the influence of passion on behaviorssuggests parallel and dynamics pathways forpassion’s effects, rather than simple linear rela-tionships. Moreover, we advance a contingentview of entrepreneurial passion by theorizingdifferential effects of entrepreneurial behaviorson outcomes, depending on the specific identityinvoked in the experience of entrepreneurialpassion. When an inventor identity is invoked,for instance, opportunity recognition is the dom-inant goal and creative problem solving the con-sequential pathway for goal effectiveness.

Our rich theorizing allows new insights intothe observed heterogeneity in patterns of entre-preneurial success. For instance, why do some


entrepreneurs succeed in achieving impossiblegoals despite the odds and despite failuresalong the way, whereas others burn out tooquickly, resulting in grief and disappointment?Although past research has addressed thesequestions with variables such as personalitytraits, market forces, and luck, our theorizingsuggests that passion may be a critical ingredi-ent in an entrepreneur’s success in achievingchallenging goals not simply because it mobi-lizes energy and enhances commitment but,rather, because passion activates heuristic cog-nitive processing and coordinates broaden-and-build mechanisms that are especially func-tional. As such, our theory posits that entre-preneurs like Wayne Huizenga, Anita Roddick,and Stephan Wozniak may have succeeded be-cause they had high levels of passion for theirentrepreneurial identities, in particular for theinventor identity, and this passion kept theirenergy focused on overarching but challenginggoals and promoted cognitive mechanismsthat were not easily hindered by temporarysetbacks, impediments, or failures. Neverthe-less, at this stage our theorizing and proposi-tions are conjectural and warrant future empir-ical examination.

Initial empirical testing of the proposedframework will likely require quasi-experimen-tal and nonexperimental approaches with entre-preneurship-relevant samples. One possible ap-proach focused on internal validity would becontrolled, longitudinal quasi-experiments thatused materials for activating passion (e.g.,imagined task engagement) and dynamicallytracked individual entrepreneurs’ responses asthey worked toward goal-directed tasks. Com-puter “game” models and role-playing algo-rithms may be effective for such experiments, asthey have been in emotion studies (Barrett et al.,2007), provided that identity salience can eitherbe elicited or measured in such experiments.Another possible approach, focused on externalvalidity, would be cohort, panel, or random sam-ple studies that examined the key assertions ofthe hypothesized framework in the field withentrepreneurs.

CONCLUDING NOTES

Much has been written and said about thenature and experience of entrepreneurial pas-sion, yet there is little to show for conceptual

development of and theorizing about this in-triguing phenomenon. We correct this gap byproposing a theory of entrepreneurial passionthat provides a systematic foundation for exam-ining what passion is and what it does for en-trepreneurs. We do not presume that entrepre-neurs can necessarily be trained to feel more orless passion for entrepreneuring. Neither do weassert that passion is a panacea for successfullycoping with entrepreneurial challenges. Rather,our theorizing recognizes passion as a phenom-enon that is prevalent among entrepreneurs butis often loosely defined, confused with otheremotions or misunderstood, and inadequatelytheorized for understanding its mechanisms ofinfluence on entrepreneuring behaviors.

Clarity about the nature of entrepreneurialpassion and theorizing about its regulatory in-fluence have implications for theory and prac-tice. We hope that research guided by our theo-rizing will help entrepreneurs to recognize andeffectively regulate their passions, harmoni-ously manage conflict among competing entre-preneurial identities, and mitigate the dysfunc-tional effects of passion. We encourage scholarsto use our work as a starting point for systematicstudies of entrepreneurial passion to provideinsights for practice that nurture the fire of pas-sion for entrepreneurial effectiveness.

APPENDIX: REVIEW OF KEY PSYCHOLOGICALCONCEPTS RELEVANT FOR

ENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION

Core Affect and Affective Quality

Core affect is generally defined as an inter-nal, free-floating, and objectless neurophysio-logical state that is represented by the elemen-tary affects of pleasure or displeasure (i.e.,valence) and of activation or deactivation (i.e.,intensity), in accord with the circumplex model(Watson & Tellegen, 1999). The circumplexmodel represents different affective states (e.g.,excited, happy, upset, tense), which are situatedin a two-dimensional plane defined by plea-sure-displeasure and activation-deactivationaxes. Elation, for instance, is a reflection of coreaffect that is both highly activated and pleasant.Such affects are elementary because they usu-ally occur without effortful cognitive interven-tion, and they are experienced regardless of in-dividual, contextual, and cultural differences


(Russell & Barrett, 1999). Individuals vary in thedegree to which they characterize the valenceand intensity of their affective experiences.

External stimuli such as objects, activities,and contexts are imbued with affective quality.When individuals interact with the external en-vironment, they perceive these external stimulito hold more or less affective quality (e.g., bor-ing, exciting). While perception of affectivequality is an elemental process that is individ-ually dependent, to perceive affective quality isto assess external stimuli that may or may notinvoke any affect. Nevertheless, core affect andaffective quality are linked in complex ways,and a stimulus’s affective quality holds the “ca-pacity to change core affect” (Russell, 2003: 149).

Key Elements of Experiences of Emotion

Russell and Barrett (1999) note that experi-enced emotions may be conceptualized as pro-totypical episodes that involve four key ele-ments: (1) appraisals of the affective quality ofone or more stimuli in the environment, (2) con-scious experience of changes in one’s core affectand attributions to antecedent stimuli, (3) overtaction readiness or action directed toward oraway from the stimuli, and (4) associated en-gagement of brain and body response tenden-cies for goal pursuit. When all four elements arepresent, Russell (2003) calls them exemplars offull-blown or blue-ribbon emotions such as fearand elation. For instance, when an individual ona leisurely hike encounters a bear on a trail, theaccount of experienced emotion is as follows:the individual’s assessment of the bear (stimu-lus) indicates a danger (appraisal), triggering achange in core affect from pleasant to unpleas-ant (attribution), followed by an overt behavioralresponse of flight (action) and associated alert-ness, sweating, and increased effort directed atreducing danger (goal pursuit). The first two el-ements, involving the association of externalstimuli with changes in core affect through anattributional process, usually are viewed as acore aspect of emotion and are referred to asattributed affect. We do not deny that one canexperience affect without any attributions to ex-ternal stimuli (e.g., moods). However, such af-fects are less relevant in our context.

While appraisals, attributions, attributed af-fect, and action engagement are often cogni-tively mediated processes, learning can short-

circuit cognitions, resulting in effortless andautomatic behavioral responses that take splitseconds (Dolan, 2002). In this case the experi-ence of emotion may occur as automatic affect,as if subconsciously programmed (Baumeister,Vohs, DeWall, & Zhang, 2007). In other casesappraisal of the threats and opportunities posedby novel stimuli may be needed before an overtresponse or plan for such response is developed.A particularly relevant novel stimulus is feed-back from goal-directed behaviors. As individu-als execute behaviors in pursuit of goals, theymay encounter unforeseen impediments or op-portunities that invoke affect. Russell and Bar-rett (1999) view these encounters as episodes ofemotional experiences, since they are triggeredby environmental stimuli, dissipate once the in-dividuals’ behavioral response facilitates cop-ing, and hence have a beginning and an end.

Neurobiological studies provide initial data insupport of the preceding view of emotional ex-periences (Dolan, 2002; Noel, Van der Linden, &Bechara, 2006). Evidence suggests that theamygdala—a group of neurons located deep inthe brain—plays a critical role in linking theexternal stimulus to the individual’s affectivestate. The amygdala is involved in detecting thesalience and relevance of the stimulus and inactivating visceral motor structures, such as thehypothalamus and autonomic brainstem nuclei,that produce systematic changes in facial ex-pression and bodily responses usually condi-tioned by instinctive, social, or cultural learningfactors. Researchers characterize the patternedresponse involved in an emotional episode as a“reactive system” to recognize that it is acti-vated in reaction to external stimuli.

Russell notes that there is “no neural circuit,peptide or other biological marker” (2003: 151)that is unique to any specific affective state.Individuals construct the meaning of novel ex-periences using a psychological process of cat-egorization, which involves determining the ex-perience’s resemblance to stored mentalrepresentations of prototypical instances ofemotion. The mental representations are usu-ally based on culturally shared concepts, andthe categorization is thought to occur via onlineprocessing as individuals become conscious oftheir emotional experiences (Barrett et al., 2007).Researchers believe that, in so doing, individu-als provide coherence to the diverse elementsthat make up their emotional experiences.


Feelings and Experiences of Emotion

Feelings are defined in many different ways(Damasio, 2003). To identify a workable defini-tion for our study, we drew from neurobiologyresearch that provides a physiological basis fordefining feelings as a conscious experience ofchanges in one’s core affect that is attributed toexternal stimuli (like attributed affect) but thatengages additional resources for processing,storing, and retrieval on demand. Not all emo-tional experiences are salient. Changes in coreaffect that are less salient are less likely to elicitreflection (of the experience’s meaning) and in-tegration (with past experiences). When objectsor activities involved in emotional experiencesare central to an individual’s self-identity, effort-ful reflection on the current experience is likelyfollowed by its integration with past experi-ences. Such integration is object specific andmay be viewed as a network of nodes and link-ages in which the experienced and categorizedfeeling is a key node and is linked to cognitions,motivation, and action tendencies that aretagged by the focal identity associated with theemotional experience (Schwarz & Clore, 2007).As such, salient experiences of emotionstrengthen and update the encoding associatedwith the focal identity.

When stored mental representations of feel-ings have been effortfully encoded and updated,they are easier to retrieve when needed. Theprocess is individualized and idiosyncratic,leading neurobiologists to view feelings as a“reflective system” that stores accounts of indi-viduals’ reflections on experiences of emotion(Noel et al., 2006). Moreover, while feelings canbe stirred, activated, or amplified by direct en-gagement with stimuli, that is not necessary.Feelings can be retrieved as cohesive mentalconstructions, complete with their network oflinkages, long after the antecedent stimuli hasended or receded from the environment. A par-ticularly relevant retrieval process involves an-ticipatory feelings (Baumeister et al., 2007). Peo-ple may imagine, desire, dream, or long forengagement in activities involving a focal iden-tity and, in so doing, consciously experience theassociated feeling stored from past experiences.Because of their identity salience and their easeof retrieval, anticipatory feelings can producerelatively enduring behavioral engagement.

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Melissa S. Cardon ([email protected]) is an assistant professor of management atPace University’s Lubin School of Business. She received her Ph.D. from ColumbiaUniversity. Her research focuses on unleashing human potential within entrepreneur-ial firms, including HR practices that maximize employee potential, and the emo-tional, relational, and cognitive aspects of entrepreneurs that help optimize theirbehavior and performance.

Joakim Wincent ([email protected]) is a researcher in the Department of BusinessAdministration and Social Sciences, Luleå University of Technology. He received hisPh.D. from the Luleå University of Technology. His research focuses largely on stra-tegic interfirm relations, stress management and health of entrepreneurs, and effec-tiveness implications of cognitive foundations and emotional experiences in newventuring.

Jagdip Singh ([email protected]) is the H. Clark Ford Professor of Marketing atCase Western Reserve University. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University.His research focuses on issues of organizing effective interfaces for exploring andexploiting market opportunities.

Mateja Drnovsek ([email protected]) is an associate professor of entrepre-neurship in the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana. She received her Ph.D.from the University of Ljubljana. Her research focuses on cognitive and emotionaldeterminants of entrepreneurs and their influence on behaviors that lead to effectiveventuring. She is particularly interested in researching technology and high-growthfirms.


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