The relationship between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial behavioural engagement with mediating affect of achievement goals

Abstract

Scholars have invested a considerable amount of effort in understanding different types of motives that propel entrepreneurs but still we know relatively little about from where entrepreneurial motivation originates and how they motivate an individual to engage in entrepreneurial behaviour. Present study offers that one source of the particularly strong entrepreneurial motive can be their passion. Furthermore, this study validates the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial behavioural engagement with the mediating effect of achievement motivation goals by proposing a new model. Empirical results according to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) indicate that entrepreneurs harbouring harmonious passion seek increased levels of independence and set high ambition levels. However, the presence of obsessive passion leads to less risk-taking and close attachment to business customs, further leading to less ambition. The presence of harmonious passion results in high levels of mastery goals. On the other hand, the presence of obsessive passion leads to all three achievement motivation goals (i.e. mastery, performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals). Mastery goals additionally lead to entrepreneurs’ need for independence and creativity but result in restraint from high ambition levels. In addition, performanceavoidance goals negatively predict entrepreneurs’ need for creativity. Besides confirming that mastery goals are exacerbated by harmonious and obsessive passion, they are found to significantly mediate the relationships between the following: harmonious passion and independence, harmonious passion and creativity, obsessive passion and creativity, and obsessive passion and daring. Performance-avoidance goals, on the other hand, significantly mediate the following relations: obsessive passion and creativity, obsessive passion and daring, and obsessive passion and ambition.