Submitted by: Submitted by melissalynette
Views: 344
Words: 255
Pages: 2
Category: Societal Issues
Date Submitted: 03/13/2009 06:35 AM
Scholars have invested a considerable amount of effort in understanding the
different types of motives that propel entrepreneurs but we know relatively little
about where entrepreneurial motivation originates. In this dissertation, I offer that
one source of the particularly strong entrepreneurial motive I define as passion is the
ideal entrepreneurial identity, an aspirational self-conception that fuels an intense
drive for entrepreneurial activity.
Identities are internalized meanings and expectations of behavior tied to
certain societal roles that we occupy or wish to occupy (Stryker, 1968). Put simply,
identities answer the question “Who am I?” I apply identity theory (Stryker & Burke,
2000) to propose that some individuals may possess an ideal entrepreneurial identity
(an aspirational version of their entrepreneurial identity) that is the genesis for their
motivation towards entrepreneurial behaviors. In addition, I focus my research
surrounding identities on the intense motives such as passion likely to be particularly
prominent for entrepreneurs. While passion is often cited as a key element in the
entrepreneurial process (Smilor, 1997), it has received little empirical or theoretical
attention (Shane, Locke & Collins, 2003).
In this dissertation, I present two complementary studies that inquire about the
nature of entrepreneurial identities, and their relationships to entrepreneurial passion.
I also analyze the ties between entrepreneurial passion and the setting of proximal
goals. This research has three primary goals, specifically to demonstrate 1) that
entrepreneurial identities, and ideal entrepreneurial identities, exist, 2) that ideal
entrepreneurial identities are one source for entrepreneurial passion, and 3) that
entrepreneurial passion is related to proximal goal-setting.