Entrepreneurial Passion and Entrepreneurial Orientation: The Role of Regulatory Focus

Abstract

An emerging body of literature seeks to shed light into the underlying mechanisms through which the psychological characteristics of CEOs, entrepreneurs, and top management teams affect organization-level outcomes. This so-called black box of upper echelons theory is central to our shared understanding of how and why organizational strategy is influenced by individual-level characteristics. To reveal deeper insights into such cross-level relationships, we investigate how an important characteristic – entrepreneurial passion – influences firms’ strategic postures, specifically entrepreneurial orientation (EO). We invoke regulatory focus theory to explain the mechanism by which the intensely positive emotions associated with passion transmute into the innovative, proactive, and risk-seeking strategies that characterize firm-level EO. We consider both promotion and prevention foci to explain their differential impact on the passion-EO relationship. Moreover, we also explore how the contextual role of environmental dynamism influences the relationship between regulatory focus and EO. Thus, we contribute not only to the extant bodies of literature on entrepreneurial passion and EO but also to ongoing efforts to open the black box of upper echelons theory.