Events and entrepreneurial passion: The moderating role of event coping competence

Abstract

Few studies have examined how external events that disrupt the economy impact entrepreneurial passion. To address this gap, we focus on two event aspects: event novelty and event disruption. We examine their impact on entrepreneurial passion under two contingencies: innovation capability and future orientation. We conducted a field survey study with government initiatives as the focal event (Study 1) and an online survey study with the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2). We supplemented our analysis with interviews of entrepreneurs in two Silicon Alleys of China. Study 1 shows that event novelty and disruption positively affect entrepreneurial passion when ventures have strong innovation capabilities or future-oriented entrepreneurs. However, Study 2 reveals that, during the COVID-19 outbreak, innovation capability does not significantly influence passion related to event novelty, and future orientation does not moderate the relationship between event disruption and passion. This study elucidates how and when external events influence entrepreneurial passion.