Kallinikidis, A hanasios Kons an inos
A icle
The employees' en ep eneu ial mindse : The in luence
o pe cei ed supe iso e o on he employees'
en ep eneu ial passion
Junio Managemen Science (JUMS)
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Sugges ed Ci a ion: Kallinikidis, A hanasios Kons an inos (2024) : The employees' en ep eneu ial
mindse : The in luence o pe cei ed supe iso e o on he employees' en ep eneu ial passion,
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Ad iso y Edi o ial Boa d:
FREDERIK AHLEMANN
JAN-PHILIPP AHRENS
THOMAS BAHLINGER
MARKUS BECKMANN
CHRISTOPH BODE
SULEIKA BORT
ROLF BRÜHL
KATRIN BURMEISTER-LAMP
CATHERINE CLEOPHAS
NILS CRASSELT
BENEDIKT DOWNAR
RALF ELSAS
KERSTIN FEHRE
MATTHIAS FINK
DAVID FLORYSIAK
GUNTHER FRIEDL
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FRANZ FUERST
WOLFGANG GÜTTEL
NINA KATRIN HANSEN
ANNE KATARINA HEIDER
CHRISTIAN HOFMANN
SVEN HÖRNER
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LUTZ JOHANNING
STEPHAN KAISER
NADINE KAMMERLANDER
ALFRED KIESER
NATALIA KLIEWER
DODO ZU KNYPHAUSEN-AUFSESS
SABINE T. KÖSZEGI
ARJAN KOZICA
CHRISTIAN KOZIOL
MARTIN KREEB
TOBIAS KRETSCHMER
WERNER KUNZ
HANS-ULRICH KÜPPER
MICHAEL MEYER
JÜRGEN MÜHLBACHER
GORDON MÜLLER-SEITZ
J. PETER MURMANN
ANDREAS OSTERMAIER
BURKHARD PEDELL
MARCEL PROKOPCZUK
TANJA RABL
SASCHA RAITHEL
NICOLE RATZINGER-SAKEL
ASTRID REICHEL
KATJA ROST
THOMAS RUSSACK
FLORIAN SAHLING
MARKO SARSTEDT
ANDREAS G. SCHERER
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UTE SCHMIEL
CHRISTIAN SCHMITZ
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ANJA TUSCHKE
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CHRISTIAN VÖGTLIN
STEPHAN WAGNER
BARBARA E. WEISSENBERGER
ISABELL M. WELPE
HANNES WINNER
THOMAS WRONA
THOMAS ZWICK
Volume 9, Issue 3, Sep embe 2024
JUNIOR
MANAGEMENT
SCIENCE
Anna Sme diagina,Los in T ansc ip ion: Expe imen al
Findings on E hnic and Age Biases in AI Sys ems
Jaqueline Domnick, Au hen ici y and B and Ac i ism –An
Empi ical Analysis
A hanasios Kons an inos Kallinikidis, The Employees’
En ep eneu ial Mindse : The In luence o Pe cei ed
Supe iso E o on he Employees’ En ep eneu ial
Passion
Leonie Böhm, Mo i a ions and Ou comes o he An i-
Consump ion P ac ice ‘S ooping’
Lukas Hilke, When Does Ma ke ing & Sales Collabo a ion
A ec he Pe cei ed Lead Quali y? –The
Mode a ing E ec s o IT Sys ems
Hannah F anziska Gundel, Accele a o Impac on Pee
Ne wo king - Examining he Fo ma ion, Use, and
De elopmen o In e -O ganiza ional Ne wo ks
Among Ea ly-S age S a -Ups
Anna Simon, De eloping and Main aining a S ong Co po a e
Cul u e, While Coping Wi h a Wo k o ce G owing
Signi ican ly: A Quali a i e Analysis onCo po a e
Cul u e De elopmen o Fas -G owing S a -Ups
Robin Spi a, How Does ESG Ra ing Disag eemen In luence
Analys Fo ecas Dispe sion?
Ch is oph Weebe , De elopmen o a Cos Op imal
P edic i e Main enance S a egy
Alexand a Hanna James, The Munich En ep eneu ial
Ecosys em in he Heal h Sec o : Cu en S a e and
Imp o emen A eas
1591
1609
1634
1665
1681
1700
1733
1769
1805
1836
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ISSN: 2942-1861
The Employees’ En ep eneu ial Mindse : The In luence o Pe cei ed Supe iso E o
on he Employees’ En ep eneu ial Passion
A hanasios Kons an inos Kallinikidis
Technical Uni e si y o Munich
Abs ac
This pape examines he e ec o pe cei ed supe iso e o on he employees’ en ep eneu ial passion. The s udy combines
heo ies on emo ional con agion, goal con agion, and sel - egula ion o explain he unde lying mechanisms o occu ing
phenomena. Case-based esea ch deli e ed he da a o in es iga e he ela ionship be ween pe cei ed supe iso e o and
he employees’ en ep eneu ial passion. The da a e ealed ha p oximi y o he ounde s, en ep eneu ial- ela edness o he
employee’s asks, and ini ial en ep eneu ial passion wo k as an eceden s o he combined mechanism o con agion and sel -
egula ion. The indings sugges ha employees a e a ec ed posi i ely by he pe cep ion o high e o and nega i ely by he
pe cep ion o low e o in hei passion o en ep eneu ship when p oximi y o he ounde s, en ep eneu ial- ela edness o
he asks, and ini ial en ep eneu ial passion a e high. Howe e , he pe cep ion o high e o can dec ease en ep eneu ial
passion when employees we e ini ially low passiona e abou en ep eneu ship. This wo k con ibu es o he li e a u e by
p o iding a heo e ical model ha desc ibes how pe cei ed supe iso e o impac s en ep eneu ial passion on an employee-
le el ou come.
Keywo ds: con agion; employee; en ep eneu ial e o ; en ep eneu ial passion; pe cei ed e o
1. In oduc ion
En ep eneu ial passion is me apho ical “ he i e o de-
si e” (Ca don e al., 2009, p. 515) ha d i es e o s in he
con ex o new en u e c ea ion and is he e o e essen ial
o esea ch in he ield o en ep eneu ship (Gielnik e al.,
2015). Founde s wi h a high en ep eneu ial passion a e
mo e c ea i e, mo i a ed, and success ul (Ca don e al.,
2005,2013; Chen e al., 2009). E o is ano he ele an
cons uc in en ep eneu ship as i is conside ed a d i e o
success ul launches o new businesses (Foo e al., 2009).
Schola s insis ha e o e lec s he pu pose o mobilizing
esou ces and ene gy o achie e he desi ed objec i e (Dik
& Aa s, 2007). They in e p e e o as a signal o pu sue
goals. Consequen ly, passion and e o a e emendously
subs an ial cons uc s o success ul en ep eneu ship.
The e is much esea ch on how passion in luences en-
ep eneu ial e o (Baum e al., 2001; Ca don e al., 2009).
While he di ec ion o in luence seems in ui i ely co ec o
s a om emo ion like passion leading o beha io like e -
o (Russell, 2003), Gielnik e al. (2015) ound a causal e-
la ionship o he o he di ec ion: en ep eneu ial e o d i -
ing en ep eneu ial passion. B eugs e al. (2012) pa ed he
way o a new li e a u e s eam on en ep eneu ial passion.
They pu he en ep eneu ’s employee in o he spo ligh and
esea ched he e ec o pe cei ed en ep eneu ial passion
on he employees’ commi men owa d he nascen en u e.
They ound signi ican ela ionships be ween passion and a -
ec i e commi men .
Mo eo e , Hubne e al. (2020) esea ched he e ec s o
pe cei ing passion. They con end ha en ep eneu s can de-
elop in hei employees a sense o passion o hei asks, es-
pecially i ha passion did no exis p e iously, and enhance
pe o mance by exp essing passion. Howe e , he wo k o
B eugs e al. (2012) and Hubne e al. (2020) has shown
ha he e is li le knowledge o he e ec s o he employ-
ees’ pe cep ion o hei supe iso in he en ep eneu ial con-
ex . This esea ch s eam, combined wi h he no el ind-
ing o Gielnik e al. (2015) ha e o is a ac o s imula ing
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.5282/jums/ 9i3pp1634-1664
© The Au ho (s) 2024. Published by Junio Managemen Science.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he CC-BY-4.0
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A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1635
en ep eneu ial passion, e eals a esea ch gap on how em-
ployees’ emo ions a e a ec ed by he pe cep ions o hei su-
pe iso ’s beha io . The e o e, he ques ion a ises whe he
and how he conclusion o Gielnik e al. (2015) holds o he
amewo k p o ided by schola s like B eugs e al. (2012) o
Hubne e al. (2020) wi h pu ing he employee in he ocus
o he analysis.
The heo e ical amewo k o his s udy me ges he he-
o e ical app oaches o he espec i e esea ch s eams o
B eugs e al. (2012) and Gielnik e al. (2015). Simila o
he men ioned academic con ibu ions, I will d aw on he
emo ional con agion heo y (Ha ield e al., 1993; Pla ow e
al., 2005) o illus a e he ans e o emo ions be ween wo
indi iduals. Besides, I use he sel - egula ion heo y (Ban-
du a e al., 1999; Ca e & Scheie , 1982; Locke & La ham,
2002) o desc ibe he wi hin-pe son ela ionship o e o
and passion in he di ec ion ha beha io in luences emo-
ion. Fi s , elying on emo ional con agion heo y explains
ha displayed posi i e a ec by he en ep eneu can gene -
a e a ec i e eac ions in he employee. Following his heo y,
a ec can be ans e ed om en ep eneu o employee du -
ing social in e ac ions a wo k, in luencing he employee’s
emo ions. The e o e, pe cei ing en ep eneu ial passion can
make employees mo e passiona e abou en ep eneu ship.
Second, applying sel - egula ion heo ies explains ha e o
can igge posi i e a ec when employees make p og ess.
P og ess educes he disc epancy o he desi ed goal, which
leads o expe iencing posi i e emo ions (Ca e , 2006). This
mechanism indica es ha employees can become mo e pas-
siona e abou en ep eneu ship when hey pu e o in o
en ep eneu ial asks. To build he b idge be ween hose
heo e ical amewo ks, I will add he heo y on goal con-
agion (Dik & Aa s, 2008; Paloma es, 2013) o poin ou
how pe cei ed e o can igge he employee’s e o . Goal
con agion builds on he p iming mechanism (Lau in, 2016).
I explains ha he employee mus pe cei e an ex e nal s im-
ulus ha ac i a es a men al ep esen a ion which he o she
hen accesses la e and adap s as his o he own.
B eugs e al. (2012) and Hubne e al. (2020) asked
how he pe cep ion o en ep eneu ial passion can in luence
employee-le el ou comes. Gielnik e al. (2015) ques ioned
he unique di ec ion o passion d i ing e o while in es i-
ga ing how he e e se e ec could occu . As a esul o bo h
app oaches, I aim o combine bo h s eams and esea ch he
e ec o pe cei ed supe iso e o on he employee’s en-
ep eneu ial passion. This esul s in he ollowing esea ch
ques ion:
How does he employees’ pe cep ion o hei supe -
iso ’s e o in luence he employees’ en ep eneu ial
passion?
I adop ed a quali a i e me hodology o disco e an an-
swe o my esea ch ques ion. This app oach is e ec i e in
esea ch se ings wi h a leas limi ed heo y o knowledge
abou how a p ocess ope a es, such as in he cu en esea ch
(Lee e al., 1999). I used a mul iple case s udy app oach ha
helps o de elop new insigh s in o a esea ch subjec ha has
no ye been ho oughly in es iga ed (Eisenha d , 1989). A
case s udy echnique is a sui able me hodology because he e
is only limi ed heo y on how pe cei ed supe iso e o in-
luences he employees’ en ep eneu ial passion. A mul iple
case s udy app oach helps answe esea ch ques ions ha
s a wi h “how” o “why” (Edmondson & McManus, 2007).
The uni o analysis I wan o in es iga e is he pe cep ion
and emo ions o cu en o o me employees o small en-
u es as hey a e o we e in equen and di ec con ac wi h
he en ep eneu s (B eugs e al., 2012). The e o e, he bes -
sui ed sample o da a collec ion is he ac ual en ep eneu ial
employee. I used heo e ical sampling o selec he app op i-
a e popula ion o his s udy (Miles & Hube man, 1994). I
ideo-in e iewed eigh en ep eneu ial employees and used
a semi-s uc u ed se ing ha p o ided lexibili y in da a col-
lec ion (Edwa ds & Holland, 2013). To s eng hen he a-
lidi y o his s udy, I elied on he iangula ion logic (Jick,
1979) and en iched he cases wi h seconda y da a.
The s udy makes se e al con ibu ions o he li e a u e
as he in e play o en ep eneu ial passion and e o om
he employees’ poin o iew ackles he ields o emo ion,
beha io , and en ep eneu ship. I con ibu e by using he
wo k o Gielnik e al. (2015) wi hin he amewo k schol-
a s like B eugs e al. (2012) and Hubne e al. (2020) p o-
ided by in es iga ing whe he pe cei ed e o can d i e pas-
sion while ocusing on he en ep eneu ial employee. My
app oach esul s in no el indings o he me ged esea ch
s eams. Besides, his s udy en iches he esea ch on ac o s
d i ing en ep eneu ial passion as asked o by p e ious con-
ibu ions (Ca don e al., 2012; Gielnik e al., 2015; Mu nieks
e al., 2014). Fu he mo e, his s udy con ibu es o esea ch
on leade ship as an en ep eneu ial ask which has no been
explo ed much (B eugs e al., 2012) by showing how he
pe cei ed leade beha io can impac he emo ions o his em-
ployees.
O e all, his pape ex ends he li e a u e by p o iding a
heo e ical model ha desc ibes how pe cei ed supe iso e -
o impac s he employees’ en ep eneu ial passion and de-
i es es able p oposi ions. The indings sugges ha em-
ployees’ en ep eneu ial passion can be a ec ed by he me e
pe cep ion o supe iso e o . The pe cep ion o he supe -
iso ’s e o can ha e a no iceable e ec on he employee,
depending on ac o s such as ini ial passion, p oximi y o he
ounde s, and he en ep eneu ial- ela edness o he employ-
ees’ asks. Then, employees pe cei ing high e o a e mo e
likely o pu up mo e e o on hei own, which in u n s im-
ula es an inc ease in en ep eneu ial passion. On he o he
hand, employees who pe cei e low e o may exe less e -
o hemsel es, which leads o a decline in en ep eneu ial
passion. Addi ionally, i an employee ini ially el less pas-
siona e abou en ep eneu ship, oo much e o may cause
ha passion o waning. Ano he impo an inding o his
s udy is ha pe cep ions o s ong passion can ou weigh pe -
cep ions o poo e o , sugges ing ha pe cep ions o emo-
ion may signi ican ly impac employees’ emo ions mo e han
pe cep ions o beha io .
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-16641636
Fo p ac i ione s, my indings help cu en employees and
en ep eneu s unde s and he ou come o en ep eneu ial
passion wi h pe cei ed e o as an inpu ac o . Then, en-
ep eneu s can wo k on hei communica ion skills and
show hei e o s he igh way o achie e changes in he
en ep eneu ial passion o hei employees. As many i ms
wan hei employees o ha e an en ep eneu ial mindse ,
de eloping he employees’ en ep eneu ial passion is highly
bene icial. Employees wi h high en ep eneu ial passion
could imp o e inno a ion, de elop in en ions, o s a a
en u e inside he i m.
2. Theo y
This con ibu ion aims o in es iga e he e ec s o he
pe cep ion o an en ep eneu ’s e o on he employees’
en ep eneu ial passion. Cu en esea ch p o ides knowl-
edge ha pa es he way o h ee di e en possible pa hs.
Taken oge he , hey can explain how he pe cep ion o en-
ep eneu ial e o can a ec he en ep eneu ial passion
expe ienced by he employees. Two pa hs a e in e pe sonal
as hey desc ibe how he ans e o passion o e o om
an en ep eneu o an employee occu s. The hi d pa h is
in ape sonal and desc ibes how passion de elops h ough
e o .
Li e a u e ound answe s o how passion ans e s om
one pe son o ano he ia pe cep ion and i s e ec s (B eugs
e al., 2012; B undin e al., 2008; Ca don, 2008; Hubne
e al., 2020) (Pa h I). Mo eo e , ano he s eam o li e a-
u e ocused on how e o and goals ans e be ween people
h ough pe cep ion (Aa s e al., 2004; B eugs e al., 2020;
Dik & Aa s, 2007,2008; Loe sch e al., 2008; Paloma es,
2013) (Pa h II). Finally, schola s ound ou abou he coun e -
in ui i e in ape sonal pa h om e o in luencing passion in
en ep eneu ship (Gielnik e al., 2015; Lex e al., 2020) (Pa h
III). They di e ge om he hough ha emo ions d i e be-
ha io (Russell, 2003) bu con e ge on emo ions as a eed-
back sys em (Baumeis e e al., 2007). This sys em allows us
o accoun o emo ion as he ou pu o beha io . Combin-
ing hese li e a u e s eams will b ing us close o answe ing
he esea ch ques ion. In his s udy, he i s pa h, which de-
sc ibes a ans e o emo ion, wo ks wi hou addi ional con-
side a ions. Howe e , he second pa h, which desc ibes a
ans e o beha io , and he hi d pa h, which desc ibes how
beha io s imula es emo ion, ac as a uni in his amewo k.
Fi s , I will de ine and desc ibe he co e concep s o
his wo k: en ep eneu ial passion, e o , and he en-
ep eneu ial employee. As his wo k s udies en ep eneu ial
passion, en ep eneu ial e o , and he en ep eneu ial em-
ployee, i is i al o ha e a common unde s anding o hem
and look a he es ablished knowledge o hese concep s and
subjec s in he li e a u e. Second, I will e iew he li e a u e
on he h ee pa hs s a ing om en ep eneu ial e o lead-
ing o he employees’ en ep eneu ial passion and show he
cu en s a e o esea ch. Thi d, I will explain he ele an
heo ies o he di e en pa hs o unde s and how pe cei ed
e o can de elop in o en ep eneu ial passion.
2.1. En ep eneu ial e o , passion, and he employee
2.1.1. En ep eneu ial passion
Schola s ag ee on he impo ance o passion in he en-
ep eneu ial con ex (Ca don e al., 2013; Gielnik e al.,
2015; Lex e al., 2019; Mu nieks e al., 2014). Howe e ,
he de ini ion o passion a ies ac oss academics. While
Baum and Locke (2004) de ine passion as he lo e o one’s
wo k, o he schola s emphasize he a ac ion o engage in
ce ain ac i i ies in hei de ini ions (Philippe e al., 2010;
Valle and e al., 2003). Li e a u e concu s on he emo ional
dimension o passion (Chen e al., 2009) and de ines en-
ep eneu ial passion as in ense and posi i e emo ions el
du ing en ep eneu ial asks (Ca don e al., 2009; D no sek
e al., 2016; Hubne e al., 2020). As en ep eneu ial passion
is a ec i e by na u e (Ca don e al., 2009), his pape looks
a i as a phenomenon o expe ience du ing ce ain ac i i ies
han as a ai o an en ep eneu , which is in line wi h cu -
en li e a u e (Ca don e al., 2013; Valle and e al., 2003).
Fo his academic con ibu ion, I decompose en ep eneu ial
passion as a s ong, posi i e, and a ec i e emo ion owa d
en ep eneu ial asks. These emo ions a e no exclusi e o
he en ep eneu bu can be expe ienced by employees oo,
which is hen called employee passion esponse (Hubne e
al., 2020).
The li e a u e dis inguishes be ween h ee ypes o en-
ep eneu ial passion: passion o in en ing, passion o
ounding, and passion o de eloping (B eugs e al., 2012;
Ca don e al., 2009,2013). Passion o in en ing includes
iden i ying and explo ing he ma ke o new business oppo -
uni ies o de elop and in en new p oduc s, se ices, and
p o o ypes. Passion o ounding a ises when passion occu s
in c ea ing new en u es o exploi speci ic oppo uni ies.
Expanding and ex ending a business a e i s c ea ion is pa
o he passion o de eloping.
En ep eneu ial passion is ela ed o di e en cha ac e -
is ics. Fo ins ance, en ep eneu ial passion con ibu es o
he success o en ep eneu s (B eugs e al., 2012), p ecisely
hei success in s a ing and managing a business (Ca don e
al., 2009), and o he g ow h and success o s a ups (Baum
& Locke, 2004; Ca don e al., 2017; D no sek e al., 2016).
Besides, schola s desc ibe passion as a d i e o mo i a ion
(Ca don e al., 2005; Chen e al., 2009) while ha ing e ec s
on c ea i i y (Ba on, 2008; Ca don, 2008) and commi men
(B eugs e al., 2012). Fu he mo e, en ep eneu ial passion
is connec ed o e alua ions, und aising (Mi eness e al.,
2012), and ec ui ing essen ial employees (Ca don, 2008).
Howe e , he mos ele an cha ac e is ic o passion o his
pape is ha passion is con agious, which is one co e assump-
ion in en ep eneu ship li e a u e (e.g., Hubne e al. 2020).
I means ha employees can pe cei e and ca ch he passion o
he en ep eneu . Emo ional con agion heo y explains his
phenomenon.
2.1.2. En ep eneu ial e o
People say ha i someone wan s o achie e some hing,
hey mus pu e o in o i . Nowadays, people speak o e -
o as he engine o achie e goals. Acco ding o Dik and
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1637
Aa s (2007), e o mi o s he in en ion o mobilize ene gy
and esou ces o accomplish he desi ed goal. They see e o
as a signal o mo i a ional goal pu sui . In en ep eneu -
ship, his means ha people inside an o ganiza ion wo k in-
ensi ely on en ep eneu ial asks o pu sue and a ain spe-
ci ic desi ed goals (Foo e al., 2009). Fo his pape , I de ine
en ep eneu ial e o concu en ly o li e a u e as in ensi e
wo k in en ep eneu ial asks o each en ep eneu ial goals.
En ep eneu s and employees can pe o m en ep eneu ial
asks, which is s anda d p ac ice in s a ups nowadays.
E o is o en connec ed o success and con idence. The
a ionale is ha he mo e e o someone pu s in o a ask, he
highe he likelihood o succeeding (Bandu a e al., 1999; Lex
e al., 2019). I people belie e in hei skills and abili ies o
succeed in en ep eneu ial asks, hey a e mo e likely o in-
ensi y hei wo k and hus be success ul (Ga ewood e al.,
2002). En ep eneu ial asks embody goals o gi e he en-
ep eneu ial e o he necessa y di ec ion and cla i y (Ca -
don e al., 2009). People who pu e o in o a pa icula ask
o achie e a goal exp ess how impo an hei goals a e o
hem and how much hey alue hem (Co co an e al., 2020;
Dik & Aa s, 2008). Simila ly o passion, e o is con agious
(B eugs e al., 2020), meaning ha , in he en ep eneu ial
con ex , e o is ans e able om he en ep eneu o he
employee. Goal con agion heo y, suppo ed by heo y on
social mo i a ion, can explain his mechanism.
2.1.3. En ep eneu ial employee
As he ope a ing en i onmen o i ms becomes mo e
complex and dynamic, gi en as and discon inuous change,
he whole o ganiza ion has o ac en ep eneu ially (Hi ,
2000). Al hough employees play a di e en ole compa ed
o he en ep eneu as hey ha e no ound he i m, hey
can also be in ol ed and pu e o in o en ep eneu ial asks
and, he e o e, expe ience passion while engaging hem.
Employees in new en u es ake on en ep eneu ial asks
egula ly by hemsel es o collabo a e closely wi h he en-
ep eneu when wo king on en ep eneu ial p ocesses, o
example, du ing en ep eneu ial oppo uni y de elopmen
o when con ibu ing wi h hei inno a i e ideas (Hubne
e al., 2020). A ele an esea ch s eam ies o unde -
s and he phenomena occu ing when employees ac en-
ep eneu ially inside a i m (e.g., Mo iano e al. 2014). In-
ap eneu ship suppo s he idea o employees pa icipa ing
in en ep eneu ial asks.
Consis en wi h p e ious esea ch, his pape highligh s
he ole o he employee and his pe cep ion o he en-
ep eneu in he con ex o esea ch on en ep eneu ial
passion (e.g., B eugs e al. 2012; B undin e al. 2008; Hub-
ne e al. 2020) and he e o e aligns wi h he call om Ca -
don (2008) o ex end he li e a u e in ha a ea. Resea ching
wha employees pe cei e o hei supe iso s is essen ial as
his pe cep ion may implica e hei beha io (Dik & Aa s,
2007). B undin e al. (2008) a gued o he impo ance
o employees who hink and ac as en ep eneu s as hey
c ea e new knowledge, p oduc s, and se ices and disco e
aluable business oppo uni ies
In nascen en u es, employees pe cei e a close ela ion
o hei supe iso s and hence eel esponsible o and highly
in ol ed in en ep eneu ial ac i i ies while hey de elop a
passion o hem (B eugs e al., 2012). As passiona e en-
ep eneu s a e c ucial o en u e success and employees a e
also i al o he pe o mance o new en u es (e.g., Hay on
2003), Ca don (2008) deduc ed ha passiona e employees
a e bene icial. Fu he mo e, employees can also bene i om
he posi i e cha ac e is ics o ha ing en ep eneu ial passion,
so passiona e employees may be mo e c ea i e o mo i a ed
han employees wi h less passion who, in addi ion, a e less
success ul a wo k asks (Ho & Pollack, 2014).
2.2. Pa hs om pe cei ed en ep eneu ial e o o employee
en ep eneu ial passion
2.2.1. Con agion o en ep eneu ial passion (Pa h I)
Ca don (2008) deli e ed he s a ing poin in esea ch
on he con agion o en ep eneu ial passion o employees
and s a ed i as “a new a ea o inqui y in he ield o en-
ep eneu ship” (Ca don, 2008, p. 84). She summa ized
he li e a u e’s opinion on he impo ance o passion o en-
ep eneu ial success. Ca don u he a gued ha ha ing
passiona e employees is also ele an and deduc ed how en-
ep eneu s could ans e hei passion o inc ease he em-
ployees’ passion. She a gued ha en ep eneu s display hei
passion and used emo ional con agion heo y o desc ibe he
p ocess o passion ans e .
B undin e al. (2008) conduc ed empi ical esea ch o ex-
plo e he connec ion be ween he supe iso ’s emo ional dis-
play and he employees’ willingness o ac en ep eneu ially.
Al hough passion was no explici ly s a ed and measu ed as
an emo ion in ha pape , i i s in o hei ca ego y o pos-
i i e emo ions. Sa is ac ion also inds a place, as posi i e
emo ions a e ypical o passion. Fo hei expe imen , hey
collec ed da a om 91 employees om 31 di e en small
Swedish i ms who we e in equen con ac wi h he CEO.
O e all, hey claimed ha displaying posi i e emo ions om
he en ep eneu would “pu employees in posi i e moods
wi h espec o hei en ep eneu ial mo i a ion” (B undin
e al., 2008, p. 238).
B eugs e al. (2012) ex ended he wo k o B undin
e al. (2008), pa icipa ed in he esea ch s eam o en-
ep eneu ial passion, and in es iga ed he impac s o pe -
cei ed en ep eneu ial passion on he employees’ commi -
men o new en u es. They analyzed how he pe cep ion
o en ep eneu ial passion o in en ing, de eloping, and
ounding a ec s employee commi men . To explain he phe-
nomenon, hey used emo ional con agion and goal-se ing
heo y. They a gued ha pe cei ed passion leads o he expe-
ience o posi i e a ec a wo k and a ec s goal cla i y. Then,
he cons uc s o posi i e a ec a wo k and goal cla i y a -
ec employee commi men . The esul showed a posi i e
ela ionship be ween passion o in en ing and de eloping
wi h en u e commi men , while passion o ounding is
nega i ely associa ed wi h ha cons uc . They explain his
nega i e associa ion as en ep eneu s who a e passiona e
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-16641638
abou ounding may signal hei employees ha hey migh
lea e he i m o s a ano he one again. Besides, hey
claimed ha he a ec i e pa h showed a highe magni ude
han he pa h ia goal cla i y h ough hei da a which is in
line wi h o he schola s who highligh he a ec i e na u e o
passion (e.g., Ca don 2008). They measu ed hese e ec s by
conduc ing a quan i a i e s udy h ough a su ey, ecei ing
esponses om employees om o e 100 ea ly-s age en-
u es. They also ound ou ha he en u e s age does no
in luence he impac o pe cei ed en ep eneu ial passion.
Hubne e al. (2020) en iched he li e a u e on he con-
agion o en ep eneu ial passion and i s e ec on employ-
ees. Again, schola s used emo ional con agion heo y o
explain he mechanism o en ep eneu ial passion ans e
om he en ep eneu o he employee. They we e he i s
o empi ically demons a e he con agion mechanism o en-
ep eneu ial passion using wo complemen a y s udies. In
he i s ield s udy, hey ma ched c oss-sec ional su ey da a
om Ge man employees wi h hei supe iso s, whe e hey
ecei ed o e 200 esponses. In he second s udy, conduc ed
h ough an expe imen al design, hey hi ed 321 eelance
wo ke s om an online pla o m and old hem ha a eal
en ep eneu hi ed hem. Then, hey wa ched ideo mes-
sages ha con ained he manipula ion o en ep eneu ial
passion whe e hey go hei asks explained. Thei ind-
ings sugges ed ha he con agion o passion exis s, lead-
ing he employees o pu ex a e o in o hei asks and
enhance o he wo k- ela ed ou comes. They easoned ha
a highe employee passion esponse makes employees in-
es mo e ene gy in o accomplishing en ep eneu ial asks as
hey connec hese asks o posi i e emo ions, which hen e-
sul s in highe commi men owa ds he asks (B eugs e al.,
2012; Visse e al., 2013). Acco ding o hem, en ep eneu s
can make hei employees passiona e abou en ep eneu ial
asks, especially when hey ha e no been passiona e be o e-
hand, and also s imula e hei wo k pe o mance (e.g., e -
o ).
To summa ize, en ep eneu ship esea ch acknowledges
he impo ance o en ep eneu ial passion and i s con agious
na u e. Schola s ound ou ha passion is ans e able be-
ween people. In en ep eneu ship, passion can ans e om
he en ep eneu o he employee. Fu he mo e, he li e a-
u e also s a ed ha he pe cep ion o en ep eneu ial pas-
sion o ela ed emo ions migh also igge subsequen ben-
e icial beha io , o example, commi men o he willing-
ness o ac en ep eneu ially. The e o e, employees may pe -
cei e hei supe iso s’ en ep eneu ial passion and become
passiona e abou en ep eneu ial asks. Emo ional con a-
gion heo y desc ibes he wo king mechanism o his phe-
nomenon, which I will explain la e .
2.2.2. Con agion o goals and he ole o pe cei ed e o
(Pa h II)
Li e a u e on goal con agion assumes ha people connec
o he people’s goals o hei beha io . Aa s e al. (2004)
in es iga ed how and unde which ci cums ances goal con-
agion occu s. They es ed o goal con agion in six di e -
en expe imen al designs in hei con ibu ion. They exposed
hei pa icipan s o w i en scena ios o goals on a compu e
sc een, o example, o make money. A e wa d, in a beha -
io al se ing, hey es ed o he goal con agion o he pa -
icipan s. In ha se ing, he pa icipan s could s i e o
he goal. Howe e , i equi ed a di e en beha io han ha
p o ided in he w i en scena io, so hey could ule ou ha
he pa icipan s mimicked he p esen ed ac ions. They used
Du ch unde g adua e s uden s as a andomly assigned con-
ol o goal condi ion g oup sample. O e all, hey p o ided
he ounda ion o o he schola s o build on goal con agion
heo y as hey ound s ong suppo in hei da a o hei hy-
po hesis ha people unconsciously ake on he goals implied
by o he people. They claimed ha people migh become
mo e simila in wha hey wan and hence wha hey plan o
he u u e when goal con agion occu s. Fu he mo e, hey
ound ou ha goals pu sued unde unaccep able ways o
condi ions o wi h imp ope manne s become less desi able,
and goal con agion becomes less likely o occu .
Dik and Aa s (2007, p. 728) ad anced his idea by high-
ligh ing he ole o pe cei ed e o in goal con agion as a
“basic cha ac e is ic o mo i a ional goal-di ec ed beha io ”
ha acili a es he occu ence o goal con agion. They see
pe cei ed e o as a cue o o he people’s goals. This cue
helps he pe cei e o accoun o he goal-di ec ed beha io
and hus helps o disco e he speci ic goals ha mo i a e he
ac ing agen . Wi h he help o a sel -p oduced ideo ha im-
plied he goal o helping, hey buil an expe imen al s udy o
es o he impac o pe cei ed e o on goal con agion. The
sample o his s udy consis ed o o e all 116 Du ch unde -
g adua e s uden s. The ideo showed a la ge ball ha ied
o help ano he smalle ball o ee a s uck ki e ou o a ee.
The ball had o sea ch o a ladde inside a oom wi h ou
doo s. The numbe o doo s manipula ed he ball’s e o o
open o access he ladde . Then, hey exposed hei pa ic-
ipan s o a wo d comple ion ask whe e hey had o come
up wi h he wo d help o check i he goal o helping was
accessed success ully. Addi ionally, he manipula ion check
was conduc ed by asking he pa icipan s how much e o
he ball had pu in o sea ching o he ladde . They la e con-
duc ed a simila second s udy, eplacing he wo d comple ion
ask wi h a lexical decision ask o ensu e ha goal in e ence
occu ed spon aneously wi hou he pa icipan s’ conscious
awa eness. Du ing a hi d expe imen , hey wan ed o ind
e idence o changes in ac ual beha io a e wa ching he
anima ed ilms. A e being exposed o he same ideos as
in he p e ious expe imen s, hey asked hei pa icipan s i
hey wan ed o ill ou ano he ques ionnai e wi hou ge ing
a ewa d o hei pa icipa ion. They could eely decide
i hey wan ed o lea e he labo a o y o i hey wan ed o
olun ee wi hou being asked o help di ec ly. The da a on
his expe imen showed ha pe cei ing mo e e o led he
pa icipan s o a s onge pu sui o he goal. All in all, hei
indings p opose a linea ela ionship be ween e o and goal
in e ences. The mo e e o is shown, he mo e accessible he
goal o he pe cei e o his e o ul beha io .
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1639
In a subsequen s udy, Dik and Aa s (2008) in es iga ed
whe he he pe cep ion o ano he peoples e o o a ain a
goal ha migh be ye unknown o he pe cei e igge s he
pe cei e ’s mo i a ion o ind ou abou he goal. They as-
sumed ha an e o ul beha io signalizes he goal as alu-
able o he pu sue . To es hei hypo hesis, hey used h ee
expe imen s whe e Du ch unde g adua e s uden s obse ed
an agen who pu sued an un e ealed goal wi h ei he low,
medium, o high e o . A e wa d, hey es ed he pa ici-
pan s’ mo i a ion o in e he unknown goal. The wo ex-
pe imen s used a ex comp ehension ask and an anima ed
ilm o demons a e an agen ’s e o ul beha io and le hem
sel -cap u e hei mo i a ion o goal in e ence. In he hi d
expe imen , hey used a clicking ask on a compu e con-
nec ed o he anima ed ilm o he p e ious expe imen as
a beha io al measu e o accoun o goal in e ence mo i a-
ion. The eby, hey ex ended hei s udy by adding ac ual
beha io in a spon aneous manne . They ound e idence
o he pe cei ed e o o be connec ed o goal in e ence:
“people become mo e mo i a ed o ind ou he goal o an
ac o ’s beha io whene e his beha io is cha ac e ized by
mo e e o .” (Dik & Aa s, 2008, p. 750). They u he a gue
ha goal in e ence is essen ial in collabo a i e asks and ha
o he people’s goals a e a ele an sou ce o en i onmen al
in o ma ion. Fo hem, he mo i a ion o in e goals is he ba-
sis o goal con agion, which is enhanced by he pe cep ion
o e o ul beha io .
In he con ex o goal con agion, Loe sch e al. (2008)
in es iga ed he unde s anding o he ole o g oup belong-
ing. They hypo hesized ha i is mo e likely o goal con-
agion o occu when he ac o and he pe cei e belong o
he same g oup. In hei s udy, hey showed hei pa ici-
pan s sel -c ea ed ideos o people playing acque ball wi h
ei he compe i i e o coope a i e beha io . In he compe -
i i e e sion, he ac o s played mo e in ensely, while in he
coope a i e e sion, hey played mo e slowly wi h less in-
en ion o win he game and ins ead kep he ball up in he
ai . They labeled he ideos so he pa icipan s could ca ego-
ize he ac o s as join g oup membe s. They did his in he
sha ed g oup membe ship e sion by showing an o e lay in
he ideo wi h he ex o he espec i e uni e si y o he pa -
icipan s who we e s uden s. A e wa d, hey measu ed he
goal ac i a ion by asking he pa icipan s o imagine hem-
sel es being a coach a an Ame ican oo ball eam and de ise
a s a egy o win a game. The esea che s ca ego ized he
p o ided s a egies by compe i i eness. They ound a signi -
ican ela ionship be ween goal con agion and g oup mem-
be ship. Those who iewed compe i i e beha io by mem-
be s o hei g oup wan ed o implemen a mo e compe i i e
s a egy han he o he s, whe eas he e was no di e ence in
he non-membe ship g oup.
Paloma es (2013) u he alida ed esea ch on goal con-
agion as he was he i s o s udy au hen ic con e sa ions a -
e he e ec ’s examina ion in w i en scena ios o ideos. He
a gued o i s impo ance because goal con agion “[is]highly
social and oo ed in in e ac ion” (Paloma es, 2013, p. 76).
He le unde g adua e s uden s in he US o m con e sa ions
wi h each o he whe e one had o pe cei e wha he o he
had o s i e o a goal. The pu sue ecei ed a h ee-le el
goal o es o goal speci ici y. Then, he pe cei e illed ou a
ques ionnai e o es o goal con agion. O e all, he claimed
his s udy o be a success ul suppo and eplica ion o he
s udy o Aa s e al. (2004) bu in a mo e na u al and ealis-
ic se ing.
B eugs e al. (2020) in es iga ed he con agion o e o
in new en u e managemen eams, aking he esea ch in o
he en ep eneu ship con ex . They based hei wo k on so-
cial mo i a ion heo y, sugges ing ha e o is con agious.
Howe e , hey es ed he bounda ies o social mo i a ion he-
o y o see unde which ci cums ances con agion is hampe ed
o acili a ed. In a longi udinal s udy, hey collec ed da a
h ough su eys om 161 co ounde s o 64 di e en eams
managing ea ly-s age en u es. In hei esea ch, hey ound
ou ha when a eamma e pu s e o in o he s a up, i plays
an essen ial ole in igge ing he e o o he ocal manage .
Al hough hey did no ind suppo o con agion o happen
au oma ically, hey ound e o con agious a he manage-
men le el o new en u e eams when h ea s eme ge. These
h ea s a e a low pe o mance o he own en u e and en i-
onmen al hos ili y.
To conclude, esea ch acknowledges ha people pu e -
o in o asks o achie e speci ic goals, and hese goals, as
well as hei e o s, can be ans e ed om one pe son o
ano he . As hese e ec s a e mo e obus i he people belong
o he same g oup, his idea also applies o he en ep eneu
and his employee. Li e a u e ound e idence ha people can
in e he goals o o he s, ind hem aluable and s a o pu -
sue hem by hemsel es and, hus, pu e o in o asks. I
hey al eady pe cei e highe le els o e o om he agen ,
hese goals a e mo e likely o ans e . Goal con agion he-
o y explains his phenomenon’s wo king mechanism, which
I will p esen la e . In addi ion o he ole o e o in mak-
ing goal con agion mo e likely, e o is also con agious. Al-
hough schola s in es iga ed his wi h new en u e manage-
men eams as he uni o analysis, he a gumen s p esen ed
also hold o he con ex o he employee-en ep eneu ela-
ionship as hey o en collabo a e closely in small en u es.
The e o e, pe cei ing en ep eneu ial e o can make he
employee inc ease his o he e o on en ep eneu ial asks
h ough goal and e o con agion.
2.2.3. Impac o e o on en ep eneu ial passion (Pa h III)
When alking abou eelings and beha io , i seems in u-
i i e ha beha io ollows emo ion. We o en say ha people
do ce ain hings because hey eel a ce ain way. When Rus-
sell (2003) heo ized abou he psychological cons uc ion
o emo ion, he a gued ha emo ional s a es in luence beha -
io . Foo e al. (2009) s udied how eelings in luence e o
in he en ep eneu ial con ex . They ocused on he a ec -
e o link because en ep eneu ship is an a ec i e p ocess
and e o is a signi ican ac o o new en u e success. They
a gued, using sel - egula ion heo y, ha nega i e a ec is
a sign o slowe p og ess, and hus en ep eneu s will in-
c ease subsequen e o . Posi i e a ec , on he o he side,
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-16641640
signalizes ha hings a e going well and opens he scope o
a en ion. They hypo hesized ha posi i e a ec leads en-
ep eneu s o ocus mo e on he u u e, which esul s in
hem engaging wi h ex a e o in en u e asks beyond wha
is equi ed immedia ely. They es ed hei hypo hesis using
an expe ience sampling me hodology wi h a sample o 46 en-
ep eneu s who had o ill ou sho su eys on hei phones
mul iple imes a week. O e all, hey ound suppo in he
da a o hei claims.
Baumeis e e al. (2007) con adic he p edominan iew
by a guing ha emo ions occu in eedback loops whe e hey
can eme ge as descendan s o people’s beha io . They as-
sume ha all psychological p ocesses (e.g., emo ion) exis
o in luence beha io pa ly bu no di ec ly. They heo ized
ha emo ion in luences beha io h ough a eedback sys em.
They used he example o guil o explain hei heo y. In
he example, hey desc ibe a pe son who causes dis ess o
a iend, so he o she eels guil y a e wa d. Because o he
expe ienced guil , he pe son hinks abou wha he o she has
done w ong o a oid a simila eeling in he u u e. I he e is
a simila si ua ion nex ime, he pe son may adap his o he
beha io so ha i does no cause dis ess. So, i s , he e was
he beha io , hen he e was he emo ion which esul ed in
a change in la e beha io o a oid his emo ion. They a gue
ha emo ion as eedback is help ul o modi y beha io and,
he e o e, also aluable o goal pu sui as beha io di ec s
owa d a goal. The beha io will be adjus ed in goal pu -
sui o expe ience mo e posi i e emo ions as hey signalize
p og ess owa d a che ished goal.
Gielnik e al. (2015) ollowed his iew by claiming ha
i is no only emo ion ha d i es beha io , bu i is also be-
ha io ha d i es emo ion. No ably, hey in es iga ed how
en ep eneu ial e o in luences en ep eneu ial passion and
ound e idence o e o o p edic changes in passion. They
d aw upon heo ies o sel - egula ion, ha is, con ol, goal-
se ing, and social cogni i e heo y, o explain he unde lying
mechanisms. They conduc ed a ield s udy o e eigh weeks
o ind suppo o hei claims. Thei sample consis ed o
54 Ge man en ep eneu s who had o comple e an online
su ey weekly whe e hey should epo hei wo k- ela ed
e o and passion. Addi ionally, hey un a labo a o y expe -
imen o u he in es iga e he causal chain om e o o
passion. The e o e, hey ook unde g adua e s uden s who
i s comple ed a ques ionnai e o cap u e en ep eneu ial
passion and he commi men o in es e o . A e wa d, hey
ecei ed he ask o de eloping a business idea in o a mo e
ma u e business plan. A e comple ing his ask, hey had o
comple e a second and hi d su ey ha se ed as manipula-
ion checks and ou come a iables as en ep eneu ial passion
was measu ed. To manipula e e o , hey a ied he wo k-
ing ime o he ask. O e all, hei indings indica e ha en-
ep eneu ial e o p edic s changes in en ep eneu ial pas-
sion. New en u e p og ess as a media o o his e ec and
ee choice as a mode a o o he media ed e ec p o ides
he unde lying causal link.
O he schola s like Lex e al. (2020) based hei wo k
on his idea. They accep ed e o as an an eceden o en-
ep eneu ial passion while using sel - egula ion heo ies
o co e new models on he de elopmen o passion in en-
ep eneu ship o e ime. They posi ha passion de elops
in a eedback loop dependen on en ep eneu ial sel -e icacy
and pe o mance. Then, his pe o mance ge s cogni i ely
e alua ed. To es hei model, hey used 65 en ep eneu s
om Tanzania ac oss hei i s s udy’s h ee phases o he
en ep eneu ial p ocess. They collec ed da a h ough s uc-
u ed in e iews in pe son as wells as h ough ques ionnai es
a e he in e iew and a subsequen ques ionnai e la e in
he p ocess. Da a collec ion esul ed in h ee di e en mea-
su emen s o each pa icipan du ing he s udy. Thei i s
s udy p o ided e idence o en ep eneu ial pe o mance’s
impac on posi i e eelings. Thei second s udy aimed o ex-
end hose indings. The e, hey o e ed an en ep eneu ship
aining p og am o e 12 weeks o simula e all s ages and
signi ican asks o en ep eneu ship. The sample consis ed
o 150 Tanzanian s uden s, and da a was collec ed h ough
ques ionnai es by he end o each aining week. Thei e-
sul s eplica ed he indings om he i s s udy success ully.
They ex ended hem by p o iding e idence o he in lu-
ence o en ep eneu ial pe o mance on iden i y cen ali y,
ano he an eceden o passion, o e he mo e ex ended 12-
week pe iod. They conduc ed a hi d s udy o gene alize and
ex end he p esen indings o p o ide e idence o he medi-
a ion e ec o en ep eneu ial sel -e icacy be ween he e ec
o en ep eneu ial pe o mance on posi i e eelings. They
used a simila me hodology o he second s udy bu adap ed
he ime ame and he ques ionnai es o accoun o he me-
dia ion e ec . They ound suppo in he collec ed da a o
hei hypo hesis. O e all, hey ound suppo o hei ecu -
si e and ecip ocal model o he de elopmen o passion o e
ime. Acco ding o hei model, passion de elops due o e al-
ua ing one’s pe o mance, wi h en ep eneu ial sel -e icacy
media ing his ela ionship. They would answe he ques ion
o wha came i s , passion o pe o mance, he ollowing:
“[...]passion and pe o mance de elop join ly and i e a-
i ely o e ime in a ci cula manne , no necessa ily wi h a
s a ing poin inhe en o unidi ec ional ela ionships.” (Lex
e al., 2020, p. 26).
All in all, li e a u e has di e ing iews on wha came
i s , he emo ion o he beha io . One s eam o he li -
e a u e assumes ha en ep eneu ial passion in luences
en ep eneu ial e o , while he o he s eam makes he
assump ion o he opposi e di ec ion alid. The iew on
en ep eneu ial passion as pa o a eedback sys em b ings
bo h iews oge he and le s hem exis concu en ly. The e-
o e, en ep eneu ial passion may in luence en ep eneu ial
e o , bu i may also be ue ha en ep eneu ial passion
a ises h ough he me e exe ion o e o on en ep eneu ial
asks. Fo he employee, his means ha while wo king
on en ep eneu ial asks, he may become passiona e abou
hose asks. Theo ies on sel - egula ion, namely con ol,
goal-se ing, and social cogni ion heo y, can explain his
phenomenon.
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1641
2.3. Explaining heo ies: how and why he h ee pa hs wo k
2.3.1. Con agion o goals and emo ions
I use heo ies o emo ional and goal con agion o explain
wo di e en ways in which he pe cei ed beha io o he en-
ep eneu e ec s he employee passion esponse. Theo ies
on con agion will explain he in e pe sonal e ec s om he
en ep eneu o he employee. Al hough bo h heo ies a e
no he same, hey desc ibe how ei he he emo ion o pas-
sion o he beha io o e o is ans e able om one indi id-
ual o ano he . Li e a u e de ines con agion as “a p ocess in
which a pe son o g oup in luences he emo ions o beha io
o ano he pe son o g oup h ough he conscious o uncon-
scious induc ion o emo ion s a es and beha io al a i udes”
(Schoenewol , 1990, p. 50). Con agion, he e o e, desc ibes
ha pe cei ed emo ions and beha io s o o he s can in lu-
ence he own emo ions and beha io .
I use emo ional con agion heo y o explain how he pe -
cep ion o an en ep eneu ’s passion a wo k igge s an em-
ployee’s passion esponse. I use goal con agion o desc ibe
how e o is ca ied om one pe son o ano he h ough
wo king on goals.
Goal con agion
To unde s and goal con agion, suppose ha he employee
and he en ep eneu o a small new en u e si in he same
o ice and close o each o he . They equen ly in e ac du -
ing he wo kday and can engage wi h each o he o en. The
employee and he supe iso wo k closely oge he on he
same asks o achie e speci ic goals o help he i m in mak-
ing p ocess and succeed. Du ing hese close engagemen s,
he en ep eneu will o en se he goals o o mula e hem
wi h he employee in collabo a ion. Due o he close collabo-
a ion, he employee will pe cei e ha he en ep eneu pu s
e o in o he s a ed goals and will see himsel in he same
boa as his supe iso . Acco ding o goal con agion heo y,
he employee may see he goals now as his own and will
wo k in ensi ely on he asks o achie e hem. The e o e,
e o ans e s om he en ep eneu o he employee. Con-
cu en ly, e e yday li e shows us he phenomenon: we ge
inspi ed by o he people, especially i hey ha e a highe po-
si ion. When we obse e how inspi ing people each hei
goals, we some imes y o se simila goals and de elop sim-
ila beha io o achie e hem. When he younge b o he pe -
cei es ha he olde b o he is w i ing good g ades a school
while spending much ime s udying, he younge b o he will
likely y o spend mo e ime in p epa a ion o w i e be e
g ades.
Aa s e al. (2004, p. 24) summa ized he de ini ion o he
e m goal om li e a u e and desc ibed i as “a men al ep e-
sen a ion o he desi ed s a e ha may pe ain o a beha io
[...]o an ou come [...]”. An example o he beha io can
be en ep eneu ial e o , and an example o he ou come can
be he success o he en ep eneu ial i m. They u he de-
sc ibe he p ocess o goal con agion as “au oma ic adop ion
and pu sui o goals ha o he s a e pe cei ed o s i e o ”
(Aa s e al., 2004, p. 24). Au oma ic means ha he p o-
cess s a s wi hou he need o consciousness o in en ion
o he employee. Acco ding o hem, he pe cep ion o be-
ha io igge s goal con agion. Fu he mo e, Dik and Aa s
(2008) suppo ed ha idea by heo izing ha goals become
desi able o a pe son by obse ing o he s wo king ha d on
hei achie emen . Empi ical indings o o he schola s gi e
addi ional e idence o his idea (e.g., Co co an e al. 2020).
The wo king mechanism o goal con agion is ha o a
p iming phenomenon ha needs h ee condi ions o occu
(Lau in, 2016). Fi s , he employee mus pe cei e an ex e -
nal s imulus ha ac i a es a men al ep esen a ion. An ex-
ample o an ex e nal s imulus in ou case can be ha he em-
ployee sees his en ep eneu spending much ime on p oduc
inno a ion, so he employee will in e ha he en ep eneu ’s
goal is o b ing a new p oduc o he ma ke o inc ease i m
pe o mance. The ex e nal s imulus is he en ep eneu , and
he men al ep esen a ion is he goal. Second, he goal has
o emain accessible o a pa icula du a ion a e i s ac i-
a ion, which depends on he mo i a ional ele ance (Ei am
& Higgins, 2010). In ou example, he employee has o pe -
cei e he en ep eneu wo king on he men ioned asks e-
quen ly, and he has o ca e o some deg ee abou he goals.
As he employee is in he same i m as his supe iso , he has a
pe sonal in e es in he i m pe o ming well. Thi d, he pe -
cei e mus misa ibu e he accessibili y o he men al ep e-
sen a ion as own desi e (Loe sch & Payne, 2014). When he
employee la e ies o in es iga e how he can con ibu e o
i m pe o mance by doing p oduc inno a ion, he may mis-
a ibu e ha his was his supe iso ’s goal and assume ha
he now wan s o pu sue his own i m pe o mance goal.
Pe cei ed e o is a ca alys o goal con agion o occu .
The li e a u e s a ed ha i is mo e likely o someone o in-
e he goal o he o he i one sees he o he pu ing mo e
e o in o a ask (Dik & Aa s, 2007,2008; Paloma es, 2013).
The eason is ha he pe cei e will in e p e he goal as o
highe alue due o he high e o pu in o he ask by he
o he (K uge e al., 2004). Fu he mo e, goal con agion is a
highly social p ocess ha equi es human in e ac ion (Palo-
ma es, 2013). Human in e ac ion happens mo e o en be-
ween in-g oup membe s (e.g., en ep eneu and employee
o he same i m) han among ou -g oup membe s leading o
goals being mo e con agious inside he same g oup (Loe sch
e al., 2008).
The heo y o social mo i a ion suppo s he heo y o
goal con agion inside social g oups. I s a es ha indi idu-
als in social si ua ions beha e ecip ocally in collec i e asks
meaning ha i a pe son does some hing o someone else,
he o he eels obliga ed o e u n he a o (B eugs e al.,
2020; Geen, 1991). Following social mo i a ion heo y, i s ,
he employee will engage in social compa ison p ocesses
wi h he en ep eneu and hus y o ma ch he in es ed
e o . Second, he will y o comply wi h he s anda ds se
by he en ep eneu and iew his beha io as a benchma k
o his own.
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-16641648
abou hei eams and p oduc s on YouTube, Ins ag am, and
LinkedIn. Besides, I looked a he supe iso s’ and in e ie-
wees’ educa ional and p o essional backg ounds on LinkedIn
and o he ma e ial I ound abou hem, like hei websi es
o blogs, publica ions, a icles in ce ain magazines, o in-
e iews hey conduc ed o enhance my unde s anding o
hei pe sonali ies. Addi ionally, he pa icipan s showed me
p esen a ion decks o hei espec i e companies, which I
was allowed o ake no es on bu no o use a e wa d in
my da a analysis as a sepa a e ile. Finally, I looked on he
in e ne o u he in e iews wi h employees o he espec-
i e i ms o deepe insigh s and alida ing s a emen s. To
collec hese da a, I u ilized Google as a sea ch engine and
applied a keywo d s a egy using ope a o s such as “and” and
“o ” o accoun o aspec s and synonyms. Then, I c ea ed
a ma ix o de ining and acking sea ch e ms o combine
di e en wo dings and languages o c ea e speci ic sea ch
que ies. To o m a sea ch e m, o example, I ook he name
o one o he en u es and added he wo ds in e iew and
employee wi h he connec o “and” o look o employee
in e iews o his i m. I used a webpage- o-pd con e e
(P in F iendly & PDF) o he p in unc ion o he Google
Ch ome web b owse o sc ape he in o ma ion om he di -
e en sou ces and make i usable o da a analysis so wa e
la e in he p ocess. Fo ideo o audio ma e ial, I used a
so wa e named T in which deli e s a i icial in elligence-
based ansc ip s wi h a su icien accu acy a e o sa e ime
in he da a collec ion p ocess and make i usable o u he
analysis.
This kind o da a collec ion echnique is commonly ac-
cep ed and used by schola s (e.g., Gehman e al. 2018).
Seconda y da a helped e i y he in e iewees’ sel - epo ed
claims and he cha ac e is ics o hei en ep eneu s and in-
c eased he o e all con idence in he accu acy o he indings.
I suppo ed me in unde s anding he pa icipan s’ wo king
en i onmen as hey some imes needed help o gi e ce ain
in o ma ion on a speci ic opic because hey could no e-
membe o did no men ion i du ing he in e iew, al hough
I asked hem. Table 2summa izes which da a sou ce I used
o e e y case.
3.3. Da a analysis
Al hough I knew I wan ed o iden i y pa e ns ela ing
o how pe cei ed e o a ec ed employees’ en ep eneu ial
passion while coding, I ied o app oach he da a wi h an
open mind and no p econcei ed no ions (Suddaby, 2006). I
could he e o e ind no ions ha we e ela ed o he esea ch
issue. When eading h ough he ansc ip s and seconda y
da a o he i s ime, I decided agains immedia ely s a -
ing he analyzing p ocess because I wan ed o become mo e
amilia wi h he da a and ge a be e sense o he big pic-
u e. I was necessa y because one challenge was a oiding
bias while p ocessing he collec ed da a (Eisenha d , 1989).
In o de o make su e I did no miss any hing, I s a ed
coding as soon as I inished eading h ough he da a o he
second ime. To con i m he codes, I coded each uni o da a
wice. I mixed bo om-up wi h op-down coding as I do no
gene a e new heo y bu wo k in exis ing heo e ical ames
and wan o allow he na a i e o eme ge inside his ame
om he aw da a. The e o e, I an icipa ed some codes de-
i ed om he esea ch ques ion and he heo e ical ame-
wo k I wo k in ha I migh use la e o building my model
and s a ed wi h he mos co e concep s o my esea ch: pe -
cei ed en ep eneu ial e o , pe cei ed en ep eneu ial pas-
sion, en ep eneu ial e o , and en ep eneu ial passion o
he employee. Then, I o ganized he da a inside his ca e-
go iza ion wi h an open coding s a egy (Co bin & S auss,
1990). I coded each s a emen I belie ed o be help ul o
deepen he insigh s and subsequen ly be g ouped wi h o he
s a emen s and seconda y da a. By iden i ying and g ouping
ex uni s belonging o he same concep s, I alloca ed codes
o s a emen s.
Labeling s a emen s p oduced nume ous i s -o de codes.
The i s -o de codes’ complex na a i es a e he ounda ion
o a mo e heo e ical and analy ical iew o he da a han
jus a desc ip i e one. To o ganize he i s -o de codes
which eme ged om open coding, I ollowed an axial coding
app oach (S auss & Co bin, 1998) o ind di e ences and
simila i ies be ween he ca ego ized da a pa s. I p ocessed
his by connec ing he i s -o de codes and g ouping hem
in o ca ego ies ha p oduce a logical whole. I educed he
numbe o codes and esul ed in a be e o e iew o he
in o ma ion pieces. In his s ep, I sough o agg ega e codes
in o highe -o de concep s o pa e he way o he co e-
sponding li e a u e and heo y. I esul ed in he c ea ion
o second-o de codes. An in es iga ion o his kind enables
he disco e y o po en ial unde lying dimensions o pa e ns
in he da a. Nex , I used selec i e coding o he eme gen
pa e ns in he da a o ex ac he heo e ically explana o y
dimensions (S auss & Co bin, 1998) and build he b idge
back o my ini ial coding scheme conside a ions. The inal
phase o my analysis s a ed wi h abs ac ing hemes in o
highe -o de heo e ical dimensions. I i e a ed back and
o h be ween my in e p e a ions and he da a o ensu e he
o me held.
I i e a i ely wo ked on he da a coding using MAXQDA
(Ve sion: Plus 2022, Release 22.3.0) as my comp ehension
o he esea ch issue g ew and deepened (S auss & Co bin,
1998). As a esul , whene e I de eloped new insigh s in o
he ma e ial, I had o e-check he coding scheme. I in-
ol ed enaming i s -o de codes and e-clus e ing my codes
in o subca ego ies. This p ocess ollows he eplica ion logic
o he mul iple case app oach, as e e y single case can be
obse ed independen ly and no as an addi ional da a poin
(Eisenha d , 2021). The e o e, I es ed e e y case o he
eme gen heo y’s occu ence, which helped me gain amil-
ia i y wi h da a and p elimina y heo y de elopmen . I also
helped o iden i y pa e ns ac oss he cases. Obse ing e e y
single case on i s own encou aged me o look pas my i s
imp ession and conside he e idence om a ious angles,
o o m ela ionships and in es iga e he unde lying mecha-
nism. I upda ed he codes egula ly du ing he analysis ol-
lowing his p ocedu e. I means I added new codes while
d opping o he codes in he p ocess. Du ing da a analysis, I
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1649
Table 2: O e iew o used da a ypes o he sample cases
Case In e iew
Da a CV CV
Founde s
Websi e
In o ma ion
O he
Employee
In e iews
A icles Founde
In e iews
O he
in o ma ion
JG 8 pages Yes 3 CVs 37 pages 28 pages - - -
GD 8 pages Yes 4 CVs 35 pages - 4 pages - 6 pages
RB 10 pages Yes 3 CVs 8 pages 12 pages 6 pages - 64 pages
MS 10 pages Yes 3 CVs 13 pages - - 13 pages 18 pages
CH 8 pages Yes 4 CVs 17 pages - - 16 pages 26 pages
JK 10 pages Yes 3 CVs 9 pages - 11 pages - 1 page
LL 10 pages Yes 3 CVs 8 pages 12 pages - - 4 pages
AW 7 pages Yes 2 CVs 47 pages - 7 pages 3 pages -
egula ly i e a ed be ween he eme gen heo y and he da a
o compa e exis ing knowledge wi h new in o ma ion o close
he esea ch gap, as ecommended by Eisenha d (2021).
O e all, he coding and analysis p ocess was done i e a-
i ely and epea edly be o e ending up wi h a inal scheme
and analysis (Miles & Hube man, 1994). This s a egy
helped me gain new insigh s om he da a I migh ha e
missed i I had only gone h ough i once. Besides, I asked
a colleague o check and ag ee on he meaning o he codes
and he co esponden da a. Double-checking enhanced he
accu acy o my indings. Toge he we e-e alua ed he da a,
commi ed o discussions, and con e ged in e p e a ions i
he e we e disc epancies o e speci ic codes. As he las s ep,
I compa ed all da a o he inal coding scheme a he end o
he analysis p ocess. Figu e 2shows an exce p o he da a
s uc u e scheme. The comple e lis o codes, wi h explana-
ions and examples o e e y code, and he code s uc u e, is
shown in Appendix A3.
4. Findings
To assu e he p omised anonymi y and con iden iali y
o he in e iewed people and hei espec i e i ms and
ounde s, I eplaced hei names wi h ac onyms o andom-
ized names, o example, JG de i ed om John G ey. When
I w i e abou he company ha JG wo ks o , I e e o i as
JG_Company, adding an unde sco e and he wo d company
o he espec i e name. The same holds o he ounde o
he espec i e i m, who will be e e ed o as JG_Founde i
he e is only one ounde , and i he e a e mul iple ones, I will
add a numbe su ix o he name, o example, JG_Founde _1
ep esen ing one ounde and JG_Founde _2 ep esen ing an
addi ional ounde . The numbe s esemble an o de o p ox-
imi y o he ounde , meaning ha JG wo ked close wi h
JG_Founde _1 han wi h JG_Founde _2. I used his nam-
ing con en ion o e e y da a ela ed o he co esponden
in e iew pa ne .
4.1. Case desc ip ions and wi hin-case analyses
4.1.1. The case o JG
JG is 28 yea s old and s udied compu e science and busi-
ness adminis a ion in his bachelo ’s and mas e ’s p og ams
a a la ge uni e si y. Du ing his s udies, he wan ed o ex-
plo e he e e yday li e o a s a up and joined a young en-
u e o one yea o e all as his i s job. The i m ope a es in
da a secu i y. They consul wi hin hese opics as and o e
small so wa e solu ions o p o ide he egula o y s anda ds
ha small and medium-sized companies need. The i m was
ounded by ano he i m ha hi ed h ee expe ienced CEOs
o build and g ow he s a up. As JG joined he company
in i s i s yea a e i s ounda ion in 2017, his asks we e
b oad. His p ima y ocus was wo king in sales and gene a -
ing as many leads as possible o acqui e new po en ial cus-
ome s o he i m secu ing a deal wi h hem. Because o
his IT backg ound, he could suppo equi emen s analysis
o so wa e selec ion, p ocessing incoming ouble icke s,
and e en p og amming. O e all, he ac ed addi ionally as an
assis an o he CEOs as he suppo ed hem wi h hei daily
wo k and e en had o sea ch o ano he o ice as he i m
s a ed o g ow. JG coope a ed mos ly wi h JG_Founde _1.
She b ough in much wo king expe ience as she had p e i-
ously wo ked as a business analys in consul ing and as a
head o co po a e sales o ano he s a up in he ood in-
dus y. In he end, JG le he company o explo e ano he
challenge a an IT consul ancy, whe e he s ill wo ks nowa-
days and is enjoying his job. A e wo king o he s a up,
he ne e go in ouch wi h o he small en u es.
Be o e wo king o his company, JG had no ouching
poin s wi h s a ups o en ep eneu ship. He men ioned ha
gene ally, he would like he idea o ounding his own com-
pany one day i he inds an app op ia e IT- ela ed p oduc
and could imagine aking he necessa y adeo s like no
ea ning much in he beginning. All in all, he s a ed wi h a
low passion o en ep eneu ship in compa ison o he o he
pa icipan s.
JG pe cei ed his ounde s o pu high e o in o hei
asks and he en u e. He epo ed ha his ounde s always
we e willing o go he ex a mile “wi hou excep ion” and
ha he has “ne e seen hem going home o coming o wo k
e e ” due o he long wo king hou s he pe cei ed. Besides, he
ecei ed emails and ask desc ip ions on he weekends and
es ima es o his supe iso s addi ional “12 hou s o 8 hou s
no mal wo king ime on Sa u days and Sundays”. He pe -
cei ed high en ep eneu ial passion om his ounde s. He
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-16641650
Figu e 2: Exce p o da a s uc u e
desc ibed JG_Founde _1 as “ e y passiona e and e y ex o-
e ed” who always had o “d op and lea e e e y hing else
aside” when she had an idea and pushed o immedia e im-
plemen a ion as she “ eally ell in lo e wi h he ideas and
pushed hem owa ds he end.”.
JG claimed ha his beha io in luenced him as he “ he e-
o e s ayed o en longe in he o ice” o collabo a e wi h
JG_Founde _1 on he ideas. He easoned ha he inc eased
his e o because o his passion o he asks. He also men-
ioned ha p og ess made his supe iso happie , and “she
seemed o be e y in e es ed in his p og ess. Tha was ac-
ually he passion ha made [him]s ay longe because [he]
knew ha i was e y impo an o he and ha she was ex-
emely happy when he e was p og ess.”. O e all, JG in-
c eased his le el o e o while wo king o JG_Company as
he “was almos always willing, i [he]had no o he obliga-
ions [...] o go he ex a mile and also s ay la e a he o -
ice.”. Howe e , he did no enjoy his amoun o e o a e
a ew mon hs because he ei he “wan ed o do o he s u ,”
and “had o he in e es s han si ing in he o ice wi h he
ounde s a e 11 pm” o disliked he expec ancy o “con in-
uously s aying un il 11 pm he nex day oo”. He ealized
ha his is no he wo king schedule ha i s in his li e and
he e o e chose o join a i m whe e he had a s able 40-hou s-
week. He desc ibed ha his expe ience “b ough [him] u -
he away om ounding a en u e” which i s he ac ha
he ne e showed in e es o he en ep eneu ial p ocess a -
e wa d. To sum up, JG pe cei ed much en ep eneu ial e -
o and passion, which made him inc ease he e o he pu
in o his asks while wo king wi h he ounde s. Howe e , his
amoun o e o dec eased his passion o en ep eneu ship.
4.1.2. The case o GD
GD is 29 yea s old and was e e ed o his s udy by JG
om his ne wo k. GD ea ned a deg ee om a Tu kish uni-
e si y in compu e enginee ing. He long- e m goals, which
she also men ions on he social media accoun s, a e o s a
a business, become a s ong ech woman, and c ea e cu ing-
edge echnology. A e wo king as a so wa e de elope o
a Tu kish company, she mo ed o Ge many ou yea s ago o
s a wo king o he GD_Company, a s a up ope a ing in he
medical sec o . The e, she is s ill wo king as a so wa e de el-
ope . She joined he i m as one o he i s en employees.
GD saw he s a up g ow o 450 employees, bu a Swedish
company acqui ed he company du ing his pe iod. The ini-
ial ounde s d opped ou a e he acquisi ion and go e-
placed by wo manage s. GD_Founde _1 and GD_Founde _2
ounded he i m in he i s place wi h mo e han 30 yea s o
combined wo king expe ience in ele an ields and sec o s.
In compa ison, GD_Founde _2 b ough expe ise in business
o he medical indus y, and GD_Founde _1, as CTO, was he
p ima y con ac pe son o GD discussing ele an echnical
opics wi h p e ious expe ience in ele an esea ch ields.
GD_Founde _3 and GD_Founde _4, who b ing equi alen ex-
pe ience o he i m, eplaced he ounding eam.
GD had he i s ouching poin wi h en ep eneu ship be-
o e wo king o GD_Company. She pa icipa ed in a p o-
g amming compe i ion whe e she won. By winning he com-
pe i ion, she go a sponso ship o build he own company,
which she ied o s a . Acco ding o he , he la e business
ailed because he sponso ship was insu icien , and he go -
e nmen e used o suppo he u he , making he look ou
o in e na ional oppo uni ies. She disco e ed an oppo u-
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1651
ni y o suppo in Ge many, bu a he same ime, she go a
job o e om GD_Company, which she ul ima ely ook. Ne -
e heless, GD s a ed he job wi h a high ini ial passion o en-
ep eneu ship as “i was [he ]main idea o ound a s a up.”.
She epo ed ha when asked du ing he job in e iew whe e
she sees he sel in 5 yea s, GD said she wan ed o ha e he
own business hen.
GD enjoyed wo king wi h he ini ial ounde s be o e hey
le he i m. F om GD_Founde _1 and GD_Founde _2, she
pe cei ed a high le el o e o . She had ne e seen hem
lea ing he o ice be o e he sel and pe cei ed hem o in-
es ex a e o beyond wha was immedia ely equi ed. I
he e was a p oblem a wo k, “ hey had o sol e i oday.”.
A e he ini ial ounde s le he i m and he new manage s
ook o e , she pe cei ed a decline in e o : “so he ounde
eam, I would say hey we e mo e in es ed as he cu en
ones.”. She desc ibed he ini ial ounde s, GD_Founde _1
and GD_Founde _2, as “ he c ea i e minds” who b ough
he ideas in and wo ked in ensi ely o imp o e he p od-
uc . Howe e , a e he change, she saw GD_Founde _3 and
GD_Founde _4 “wo king he same as us - 40 hou s” pe week,
no being commi ed o imp o ing he p oduc as hey “don’
b ing he ideas” and lea ing he o ice egula ly be o e he -
sel . Addi ionally, she pe cei ed low passion om he new su-
pe iso s. Acco ding o he , hey ocus on p o i abili y, com-
pany bene i , and deli e ing a minimal aluable p oduc . In-
s ead, he ini ial ounde s we e able o c ea e and imp o e
he p oduc and ca ed mo e abou he cus ome s as hey a -
eled mo e o cus ome s in pe son o sol e hei p oblems.
Pe cei ing di e en le els o e o and passion by he wo
di e en managing eams led o di e en e ec s on GD. Pe -
cei ing he e o o he ini ial ounde s inc eased he le el o
e o while hey wo ked in “challenging” imes and sol ed
p oblems oge he . They enhanced he in gaining espon-
sibili y o mo e en ep eneu ial asks when she a eled o
cus ome s o speci ic asks e en hough “no mally, so wa e
de elope s do no a el.” Especially he e o hey pu in o
hei p oduc a ec ed GD as she said, “[...]i you employ-
e s a e mo e ocused on en ep eneu ship o hey a e spend-
ing mo e e o on he p oduc ha hey ha e c ea ed, you
see ha , and you also ge mo e mo i a ion as well.”. This
e ec changed o he opposi e a e he new manage s we e
in cha ge, and GD pe cei ed li le e o . Now, she is consid-
e ing educing he wo king hou s om 40 o 35 and acking
he wo king ime o a oid subs an ial o e ime. She will no
inc ease he e o i she does no bene i pe sonally om i .
Concu en ly, he en ep eneu ial passion dec eased as she
now eels “ ha I kind o los ha mindse as well. Bu wi h
he ounde s, I was so much sea ching o do he s u , and I
was so eally ocused on he idea o ha ing a business, bu
igh now, I los i . No ully los i , bu i is de ini ely de-
c eased. So, he e is a huge e ec .”. She also pe cei ed his
e ec in he las job when she wo ked solely on sol ing daily
p oblems and los he d i e o con inue on en ep eneu ial
asks. Na owing down he e o solely on daily asks was
“kind o a ec ing” o he , “e en hough you don’ ealize i .”.
She eels he same as she had el in he p e ious job: “Be-
ing a no mal employee ha ’s jus sa ing he day as I had in
Tu key.”
To explain his e ec , she used a me apho ela ed o
he con agion e ec desc ibed in he heo y sec ion: “In
Tu key, we say i you wan o know he pe son you should
ask he iends. You look a he iend o unde s and he
o he pe son. So, i you a e wo king wi h a colleague who
is en ep eneu ship- ocused, you will be mi o ing you sel
one day. As soon as you ge close , you communica e, you
discuss, so you ge some ideas om you iend. So, his is
wha I eel. So, i you ha e a iend who is up he e, i pulls
you up.” In addi ion, she said: “I mean e en o he child en.
I you look a he child en, hey a e he copy o hei amilies.
I is he same. You a e so close o you amily, so you become
a copy o hem. And he same wi h iends. You only become
iends wi h people who a e like you, o hey will a ec you
in a way ha you will look like hem a some poin . So same
o colleagues as well. I hey a e so mo i a ed and ha e nice
ideas ha will b ing alue o you. A some poin , you will
be like hem. So, i is mi o ing o pulling each o he o he
same le el, like his.”.
O e all, GD s a ed he jou ney wi h a high ini ial
en ep eneu ial passion. While wo king wi h he ini ial
ounde s o GD_Company, she pe cei ed a high le el o
passion and e o , which inc eased he le el o e o and
passion. Howe e , a e he change in managemen , she
pe cei ed less passion and e o , which dec eased he e o
and en ep eneu ial passion.
4.1.3. The case o RB
RB is a 27-yea -old se ial en ep eneu who has ounded
wo companies in he pas i e yea s. He s udied Manage-
men & Compu e Science in Ge many a e li ing in Tu key
and Dubai in his eenage yea s. Du ing a wo king s uden
job o a cloud se ice p o ide o compliance and in es o
ela ions, he s a ed his i s company, an in o ma ion pla -
o m o c yp ocu encies, wi h he help o his o me CEO
a e discussing his oppo uni y wi h him. RB, he e o e, be-
came an in ap eneu . A e unning ou o money du ing he
co id pandemic, he le he i m. Then, he s a ed a men al
heal h company ocusing on building a lea ning and commu-
nica ion pla o m o people wi h men al and psychological
issues. He educed o pa - ime wo k on his p ojec as he e-
alized ha in es o s we e unwilling o in es he money he
wan ed o launch he p oduc success ully and make he i m
g ow. He hen decided o gain expe ience in an es ablished
young en u e o lea n om o he s’ expe iences.
Since he beginning o 2022, he has wo ked o a
cons uc ion- ech s a up in no he n Ge many, which e-
cen ly secu ed a Se ies B in es men . The goal o RB_Company
is o uni e all pa icipan s in he cons uc ion sec o and
ans o m hei collabo a ion h ough so wa e and cus ome
se ice. RB s a ed as a en u e de elope , bu he was e-
cen ly p omo ed o he in e im head o ma ke ing, ope a ing
in close con ac wi h he ounde s. The ounding eam con-
sis s o h ee people who a e s ill a he company. Toge he ,
hey b ing in mo e han 25 yea s o p o essional expe ience
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-16641652
in di e en en u es and gained insigh s in o wo king o
o he s a ups be o e becoming en ep eneu s.
RB s a ed his posi ion a RB_Company wi h a high ini ial
en ep eneu ial passion as he p e iously ounded wo i ms.
He men ioned ha he enjoys wo king in en ep eneu ial en-
i onmen s because o he di e en imp essions he gained
du ing ha ime. Also, lea ning new hings and being in-
dependen “ igge ed his passion” in he i s place, and he
belie es his passion inc eases he longe he wo ks in his en-
i onmen .
RB epo ed a mixed pe cep ion o e o . On he one
hand, he ecognized he high e o behind he en u e by
saying: “E en when I look a RB_Company now, o exam-
ple, I no ice how much ha d wo k is behind i , e en mo e
han be o e.”, epo ing ha his ounde s a e “24/7 a ail-
able” and ecei ing messages a e midnigh . On he o he
hand, he emphasized ha his ounde s y o main ain a bal-
ance o hei men al heal h. Abou RB_Founde _1, he said
he “[...]is supe a hle ic and ea s a supe heal hy die , pays
a en ion o his sleep, and is a he me iculous and disci-
plined abou ensu ing he ge s enough balance. When asked
whe he he eels ha his ounde wo ks oo much o oo li -
le on his asks, he answe ed, “well, ha ’s supe di e en .
Righ now, I eel like he’s aking on a managemen ask mo e
han he’s aking on he ask. So, he’s ying o c ea e mo e
p essu e on he people, ha i ’s p io i ized p ope ly among
hem, ins ead o him doing he ask himsel .”. Compa ed
o he o he cases, RB pe cei ed a neu al le el o e o .
Conce ning he en ep eneu ial passion he pe cei ed, he was
clea e in his s a emen s as he desc ibed RB_Company as he
ounde s’ “[...]baby o which hey would do any hing o
make i wo k.”. Addi ionally, he ecognizes in e e y mee ing
ha hey show how impo an he asks a e o hem and how
much o he “ i e” hey ha e. As he also epo ed eeling he
passion sp ead by he ounde s, o e all, RB pe cei ed a high
le el o en ep eneu ial passion.
As RB ounded wo en u es be o e wo king o RB_Company,
i was no su p ising ha he epo ed ha he cons an ly
wo ks many hou s and is willing o go he ex a mile “when-
e e he e is a chance o go he ex a mile.” The e was no
e idence in he da a ha his le el o e o changed du ing
his ime a RB_Company. Nei he was i in luenced by he
pe cep ion o he ounde s’ e o s. Conce ning he de el-
opmen o his en ep eneu ial passion, he epo ed: “My
passion has basically no changed. [...]I simply ealized
ha i was mo e di icul han I hough . I ’s mo e complex
han I hough . The e a e so many p oblems ha you ha e
o manage a he same ime.” La e du ing he in e iew, he
once again men ioned ha his passion o en ep eneu ship
s ayed he same.
To conclude, RB s a ed his ole a RB_Company wi h a
high ini ial en ep eneu ial passion. Al hough he pe cei ed
high en ep eneu ial passion and neu al en ep eneu ial e -
o , he e is no no ice in he da a ha his le el o e o and
passion changed while collabo a ing wi h he ounding eam
closely.
4.1.4. The case o MS
MS, 25 yea s old, is a so wa e enginee who holds a
mas e ’s deg ee in compu e science om a Ge man uni-
e si y. Th oughou his s udies, he gained wo king expe i-
ences in di e en company sizes, om small o la ge co -
po a ions, om consul ing o p oduc ion. A e g adua ing,
he ac ed as a Co-Founde and CTO o a so wa e s a up in
he ideo s eam business o six mon hs. He le he com-
pany a e he lack o success and pe sonal di e ences wi h
he o he ounde . Then, he joined MS_Company, whe e he
also wo ked du ing his s udies as a wo king s uden and in-
e n as a so wa e enginee . The e, he builds he ounda-
ion o he p oduc oge he wi h he CTO. MS_Company is
a so wa e-as-a-se ice company ha helps cus ome s con-
nec hei sys ems and pla o ms. His esponsibili ies con-
ain he echnical onboa ding o new cus ome s, main aining
he in as uc u e o he so wa e, and wo king on he in e-
g abili y o di e en sys ems. The ounding eam consis s
o h ee en ep eneu s. MS_Founde _2 and MS_Founde _3
me while wo king o a la ge consul ing i m a e g adua -
ing o a ew yea s. MS_Founde _2 s a ed ano he en u e
be o e s a ing MS_Company, which was acqui ed jus be-
o e he new en u e c ea ion, and is, he e o e, a se ial en-
ep eneu . MS_Founde _1 comple es he ounding io and
ac s as CTO and CPO, whom MS wo ks close wi h due o his
echnical backg ound. MS_Founde _1 is highly expe ienced,
wi h mo e han 20 yea s in he indus y, and had al eady o -
me oles as CTO, CPO, and VP in o he so wa e i ms. MS
could imagine ying o ound ano he s a up one day.
Because MS ounded a s a up be o e joining MS_Company,
he can be conside ed highly passiona e abou en ep eneu -
ship e en be o e wo king o his cu en employe . He e-
po ed ha he is highly passiona e abou in en ing when
alking abou en ep eneu ial passion. He enjoys c ea ing
new p oduc s, especially “[...]c ea ing some hing ha
o he people will use.”. Acco ding o him, his main d i e o
his p o essional ca ee is he “c ea ion o hings.” He also
explained ha he s a up en i onmen would i his in e es
in c ea ing new hings bes . Hence, he joined MS_Company,
whe e he eels o ge excep ional suppo o his passion.
MS pe cei es a high le el o en ep eneu ial e o and
passion om his ounde s. While alking abou MS_Founde _1,
he men ioned ha he could no emembe a momen when
MS_Founde _1 was no a wo k. MS pe cei es MS_Founde _1
o gi e “1000%” o his company. Besides, he pe cei es ha
he bounda ies be ween his ounde ’s wo k li e and p i a e
li e become blu ed since he pe cei es a high likelihood o
ge ing esponses o ques ions a e 11 pm. When I asked MS
abou how passiona e his ounde s a e, he eplied: “I hink
mo e is almos impossible. Tha would be my pe cep ion.”.
While wo king o MS_Company, bo h he en ep eneu ial
passion and e o o MS inc eased. He desc ibed himsel as
a high pe o me who pu s a lo o passion, ime, and ene gy
in o his asks. Also, he is su e ha one day he will y he
s ep again o s a his own company. He also men ioned
ha his le el o e o is highe han ini ially expec ed by his
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1653
supe iso s, which hey also communica ed o him. Besides,
he es ima ed ha , on a e age, he wo ks ha de and wi h
mo e e o han o he people wi h simila asks inside and
ou side his company. He epo ed ha e en in his p i a e
en i onmen , people pe cei ed ha MS inc eased his le el
o e o , o example, when he e used o go ou on a F iday
e ening and chose o wo k ins ead. While elling ha s o y,
MS e ealed no ions o con agion as he epo ed ying o
hink in he con ex o he en u e and he e o e adap ed
o hink en ep eneu ially. Fu he mo e, when asked abou
he e ec s o pe cei ing he beha io o his supe iso s, he
s a ed: “I would say ousing and mo i a ing a he - o show
ha you can do i .”, which indica es a con agion e ec .
All in all, MS joined MS_Company wi h a high ini ial
en ep eneu ial passion. He pe cei ed highly passiona e
en ep eneu s who wo k on hei asks wi h high e o .
Wo king o his ounde s inc eased his le el o e o and
en ep eneu ial passion.
4.1.5. The case o CH
CH is a 28-yea -old bachelo ’s g adua e in Managemen
and Compu e Science. He gained his i s wo king expe i-
ence in cus ome success o a s a up called CH_Company,
whe e he wo ked o one and a hal yea s. He joined he
i m du ing he phase whe e hey secu ed hei Se ies B
ound. CH_Company p oduces so wa e o digi al iden i y
ecogni ion and managemen . CH suppo ed he a e sales
p ocess inside he cus ome success depa men . The ound-
ing eam consis ed o wo co- ounde s. CH in e ac ed mos
wi h CH_Founde _1 and had ewe ouching poin s wi h
CH_Founde _2. Bo h ounde s a e highly expe ienced, wi h
mo e han 40 yea s o combined wo king expe ience. They
ha e al eady ounded and exi ed a s a up in he pas suc-
cess ully oge he . As a mul i-se ial en ep eneu ounding
se e al i ms in hei collabo a ion, CH_Founde _1 has mo e
expe ience in he ield o en ep eneu ship, wi h mo e han
i e new en u es c ea ed. Du ing his ime a CH_Company,
he expe ienced a change in he CEO ole. CH_Founde _1
d opped ou o he daily ope a i e wo k and ook he ole
o a chai man supe ising he company’s business while
CH_Founde _2 s ayed.
A e his ime a CH_Company, CH was selec ed o an
en ep eneu ship schola ship and ounded a s a up. Wi h
a young eam o ou people wi h di e en backg ounds, he
ied o es ablish a digi al educa ion pla o m. His company
c ea ed an MVP, secu ed in es men s, and hi ed mul iple peo-
ple o sales, ma ke ing, and so wa e de elopmen . A e
one and a hal yea s, hey qui his p ojec due o a lack o
pe cei ed ma ke accep ance by po en ial cus ome s. A e -
wa d, CH emained in he en ep eneu ial ecosys em o i-
nance solu ions and joined a Sou he n Eu opean s a up o-
cusing on a pla o m o sus ainable in es ing o a hal -yea
p ojec . La e and un il oday, CH s a ed wo king o ano he
s a up in no he n Ge many wi h a p oduc idea simila o
he one he ied o c ea e.
Be o e joining CH_Company, CH did no conside becom-
ing an en ep eneu one day. E en a e he s a ed his po-
si ion he e, “i was ne e wi hin ealis ic each o ound a
en u e.” Despi e some lec u es a uni e si y, he opic o en-
ep eneu ship ne e c ossed his pa h. The e o e, CH s a ed
o explo e he en ep eneu ial wo ld wi h a low ini ial pas-
sion o en ep eneu ship.
Conside ing CH’s pe cep ions o his ounde s’ e o and
passion, CH epo ed di e en pe cep ions. On he one hand,
he pe cei ed his ounde s o be low-passiona e and o pu low
e o in o hei asks while wo king o CH_Company. Fo ex-
ample, CH desc ibed ha his ounde s el a ached o o he
p ojec s du ing hei ime a CH_Company and ha he as-
sumes ha hey a e people who always enjoy ying ou new
p ojec s. The e o e, hey did no exp ess o show passion o
hei cu en en u e bu al eady looked a o he p ojec s.
Conce ning hei e o , CH es ima ed hei a e age wo k-
ing hou s o he s a up by “ a below 40” hou s a week be-
cause hey “did many o he hings” in pa allel. He obse ed
CH_Founde _1 educe his ope a i e in ol emen s ep by s ep
un il he only held supe ising asks. He explained his unde -
s anding o his supe iso s’ beha io as hey had o spli hei
a en ion o engage in o he p ojec s. On he o he hand, he
pe cei ed hem o be highly passiona e abou o he p ojec s
ou side CH_Company because hey end o ini ia e mul iple
p ojec s in pa allel. CH epo ed ha his ounde s wo ked
on building a pla o m o en ep eneu s and es ablishing a
en u e capi alis i m while hey an CH_Company. CH pe -
cei ed his ounde s as “c ea i e people who always wan o
le o s eam in new p ojec s.”. He was imp essed by he en-
ep eneu ’s high passion o ounding which impac ed him
highly.
Pe cei ing he beha io o his supe iso s had a conside -
able e ec on CH as he go inspi ed by hem. CH pa icipa ed
in an en ep eneu ship p og am which CH_Founde _1 did as
well in he pas , and s a ed his en u e a e wa d, which in-
dica es an inc ease in en ep eneu ial passion. Addi ionally,
he epo ed ha a e his ime a CH_Company, he de el-
oped a high passion o being c ea i e, inding solu ions, and
c ea ing hings himsel which a e all ypes o en ep eneu ial
passion. I is mainly his passion o in en ing ha inc eased
as he epo ed ha “[...]c ea ing some hing is some hing
ha I eally enjoy because i ’s kind o ‘you baby’ [laughing].
And be i somehow a p oduc , a websi e, o any hing else.”
His e o le el shows pa allels o he beha io o his ounde s
as he pu “inconsis en ” e o in o his en u e whe e “ he e
we e p obably also weeks whe e [he] eally wo ked ull- ime
on i , and he e we e also weeks [...]whe e [he]wo ked
e y li le and only a ew hou s on i .”. When I asked wha
had o be di e en so he would ha e spen mo e e o , he
eplied, “ ewe dis ac ions, ewe side p ojec s. So, i ’s jus
ha I was doing qui e a lo in pa allel a he ime.”. I esem-
bles he pe cei ed beha io o his supe iso s. Conce ning
e o , he also men ioned ha pe cei ing a high le el o e o
imp essed him. Howe e , i also made him eel in imida ed,
ha he needs his wo k-li e balance in wo king en i onmen s
and ha he is cu en ly no eady o go he e o commi -
men needed o s a ano he en u e again.
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-16641654
O e all, CH s a ed wi h a low ini ial passion o en-
ep eneu ship. He pe cei ed low e o and low passion
om his ounde s while wo king o CH_Company, bu simul-
aneously, he pe cei ed high passion om hem while hey
we e wo king on o he p ojec s. Inspi ed by he ounde s, his
en ep eneu ial passion inc eased while his e o lowe ed.
4.1.6. The case o JK
JK is a 25-yea -old Ge man business compu e science
g adua e who wo ked o a s a up called JK_Company ha
has been ope a ing in he gas onomy sec o o mo e han
ou yea s. He wo ked in dis inc oles as a cus ome suc-
cess manage and p oduc manage o he company and was
one o he i s employees hi ed. He suppo ed de eloping an
app enabling cus ome s o o de ood, pay, and collec poin s.
The company had o shu down du ing he pandemic because
mos es au an s and ca es we e no allowed o ope a e, e-
sul ing in a sho age o money. Consequen ly, JK le he i m.
Howe e , he company was acqui ed mid-2022 and now uns
unde new leade ship.
Since he was he i s employee, he equen ly commu-
nica ed wi h he ounding eam. I consis ed o h ee young
and inexpe ienced s uden s who me du ing an en ep eneu -
ship p og am a hei uni e si y. They ba ely gained wo k-
ing expe ience ou side o in e nships and wo king s uden
jobs. Du ing he ime o he company’s ounda ion, hey had
an o e all ull- ime wo king expe ience o ewe han h ee
yea s combined, mainly in consul ing. All h ee came in wi h
di e en academic backg ounds g adua ing in business, psy-
chology, and compu e science in hei mas e ’s p og ams.
A e his ime a JK_Company, JK con inued hei idea wi h
new de elopmen s in his s a up. He de eloped an MVP o
an app and hi ed some employees o g ow he en u e. Cu -
en ly, he is looking o in es o s o expand he i m and gain
ma ke sha e. On social media, he desc ibes himsel as an
open-minded pe son willing o go he ex a mile.
JK de eloped a high ini ial passion o en ep eneu ship
be o e joining JK_Company, as he was bo n and aised in a
amily o many en ep eneu s. His g andpa en s and some
o his uncles and aun s had owned businesses and showed
hei passion o en ep eneu ship. His amily a ec ed him,
as he explained: “[...]I hink ha ubbed o ela i ely ea ly
on because I saw how eely hey could mo e a ound, how
much un hey had [...].”. Subsequen ly, he hough abou
owning a business himsel one day, which he ul illed la e .
While wo king o JK_Company, JK pe cei ed high en-
ep eneu ial e o and passion om his ounde s. He e-
po ed ha hey ne e wo ked less han 80 hou s pe week.
He desc ibed hei e o as he “p ime example o going he
ex a mile wi hin hose yea s.”. He el ha his ounde s
“only li e o his p ojec ,” which led one o join a e ea
because o bu nou symp oms. JK highligh ed he ounde s’
lo e o hei p oduc , as hey migh e en be he people who
used i mos . He explained ha passion was e y in luen ial
du ing his ime a JK_Company.
Wo king o JK_Company inc eased JK’s le el o e o .
He said ha “ he e we e ex emely many weeks whe e I
didn’ ge ou o he o ice wi h less han 60-70 hou s, and
I eally pushed hings h ough on he weekends because I
had he eeling ha i was necessa y.” and ha “i has o -
en gone beyond, e y o en gone beyond” a egula wo king
amewo k. Addi ionally, he ook on ex a asks and espon-
sibili ies o help he i m. Fo example, he independen ly
in es ed addi ional e o in lea ning in-app design o sup-
po he ounde s in his ask, as hey could no hi e some-
one o ha . Also, his passion o en ep eneu ship inc eased
as he epo ed wo king wi h a high passion o JK_Company.
He a gues ha one o he main easons o his e o was
his “passion o his opic.” He desc ibed ha his passion
eme ged and g ew wi h he inc ease o his in ol emen in
en ep eneu ial asks. Fo example, he said, “Pe sonally, I
would say ha his en ep eneu ial passion has de ini ely in-
c eased due o he esponsibili y I go in he p oduc a ea.”.
While analyzing he in e iew wi h JK, i became clea
ha he was highly a ec ed by his ounde s as he oo ed his
decision o s a a en u e in pe cei ing his ounde s. Fo
example, he explained: “Tha is o say, his b idge, his con-
nec ion, be ween wha I had wi h he ounde s, wha was
now in e ospec , o cou se, e y un o una e ha i did no
wo k, bu was c ucial and de e mining o my decision o say
I will now ound a company mysel .”, o “I hink maybe he
bo om line o why I pe sonally made his decision o say I’m
willing o do his mysel was ac ually he - I would call i -
he ise and all o wha he ounde s hemsel es ha e gone
h ough.”. This e ec goes in line wi h he men ioned con a-
gion mechanisms.
To summa ize, JK s a ed o wo k o JK_Company wi h
high ini ial en ep eneu ial passion and became acquain ed
wi h a ounding eam ha he pe cei ed o be highly passion-
a e and high in e o . This pe cep ion inc eased his passion
and e o , esul ing in him becoming a s a up ounde .
4.1.7. The case o LL
LL, a holde o a mas e ’s deg ee in inance and manage-
men om a Ge man uni e si y, is 25 yea s old and has al-
ways wan ed o become an en ep eneu . He de eloped an
en ep eneu ial mindse ea ly on du ing school as he s a ed
o buy di e en consume goods on he in e ne and sold
hem o his o me classma es, iends, and amily. Du -
ing his bachelo s udies, he co- ounded a managemen se -
ice o se iced apa men p o ide s in a big Ge man ci y,
which ope a ed o one yea bu closed due o a lack o de-
mand and he ocus on o he p ojec s. LL has gained expe-
iences in se e al Eu opean i ms, such as banks, consul an-
cies, s a ups, and en u e capi alis s. He was also a mem-
be o an en ep eneu ial ne wo k. A e inishing he bach-
elo ’s p og am, he go an o e o wo k o a big consul ancy
i m. Howe e , he ejec ed i because i would no be ela -
able enough o en ep eneu ship. Pa allel o his mas e ’s, he
wo ked o a en u e capi alis whe e he in ensi ely collab-
o a ed wi h ea ly-s aged en u es in he en ep eneu ial op-
po uni y de elopmen p ocesses. Then, a e g adua ing, he
ied o s a a en u e wi h wo colleagues. La e , o es ablish
a business plan and a business case and pi ch hei ideas o
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1655
se e al in es o s, hey delayed he inal commi men o s a
ope a ing o se e al easons. Howe e , he main eason was
ha hey wan ed o become mo e expe ienced be o e aking
he isk o c ea ing a se ious business hemsel es.
LL inally signed as chie o s a o a cons uc ion- ech
s a up in no he n Ge many. I is he same company whe e
RB wo ks. RB e e ed LL o his s udy. They know each
o he om en ep eneu ial ne wo ks. LL s a ed hal a yea
ea lie han RB a his company. To s ick o he naming con-
en ion and o simplici y easons, I will e e o he i m as
LL_Company, al hough i is he same as he RB_Company.
In his ole, he ac s as he igh hand o he ounde s and
collabo a es closely wi h all o hem. Addi ionally, he ac ed
as in e im head o people o he company du ing he ime
o he in e iew. LL joined LL_Company wi h a high ini ial
en ep eneu ial passion. As al eady desc ibed, he s a ed
o gain in e es in en ep eneu ship when he was a child,
gained se e al wo king expe iences in he en ep eneu ial
en i onmen , ounded a en u e himsel , and pu sued an en-
ep eneu ial ca ee .
LL pe cei ed low en ep eneu ial e o om his ounde s
compa ed o he o he cases. He epo ed ha “ hey’ e al-
eady s epping on he gas. Bu I hink a a heal hy le el and
could s ill be a bi mo e.” when I asked abou hei le el
o e o . Acco ding o him, o he en ep eneu s pu mo e e -
o in o hei en u es. Addi ionally, he some imes eels hey
wan o delay speci ic asks o decisions, al hough, in LL’s
opinion, hey could ackle hem he same e ening, implica -
ing a lack o pe cei ed e o . Sui ably, LL desc ibed hem as
ocused on “ha ing a heal hy li es yle” when he alked abou
he pe cei ed e o and ha hey sugges ed he should s ep
down some imes. Conce ning hei en ep eneu ial passion,
he pe cei ed a low le el o passion. He desc ibed ha hey do
no exp ess hei passion “Jo dan Bel o -like” because hey
a e somewha “ es ained,” and o e all, hey “don’ show
hei passion ha o en o he ou side.” As an example, he
desc ibed hei company mee ings whe e he “speech om
hem, ha doesn’ appeal o [him]so much. [They]could
make i mo e emo ional.”.
While wo king o LL_Company, LL’s le el o e o a he
s a ing poin was e y high, bu la ely, he ques ioned his e -
o le el and hough abou dec easing hi . Usually, he wo ks
“clea ly o e 40 hou s” a week, comple es asks on weekends,
and has p ojec s whe e he wo ked o mul iple weeks “un il
he middle o he nigh .” He claimed ha s epping on he
gas e en mo e, would no be possible. In si ua ions whe e
his ounde s exp ess a low le el o e o , he said, “yes, ha
annoys me ex emely because I hink I gi e 110% he e, and
I wan o ea he hing down. [...]And hen, o cou se,
you ques ion you sel in one si ua ion o ano he . Is i wo h
i ? Shouldn’ you also slow down a bi ?” and “I jus ge s on
you ne es, and you hink ha hey’ e no he e oday wi h
he igh a i ude, and ha d ags you down. So, I would de i-
ni ely ag ee ha his in luences my a i ude.”. This led him o
ques ion his le el o e o o , as he said: “I o en ask mysel
he same ques ion. Whe he i would be igh o make ‘pi-
ano,’ because hey ad ise me wi h hei expe ience and say
go a li le slowe .”, esul ing in ac ually dec ease he e o
due o a low pe cep ion o e o : “And when you ealize,
okay, he boss doesn’ ha e he d i e o doesn’ ha e he en-
e gy, hen you hink, why should I pu in he ene gy?”. When
asked abou he impac o his pe cep ion on his passion o
en ep eneu ship, his answe s di e ged. On he one hand, he
old ha “ he i e s ill bu ns” and ha he s ill wan s o ound
himsel again. On he o he hand, he men ioned ha “[...]
he e is he nega i e impac o ‘well, you see how i ac ually
wo ks in eali y.” and ha i is no ha easy and “[...]glo-
i ied, as i is jus always p esen ed om he ou side [...]”.
Subsequen ly, he concluded abou his de elopmen o pas-
sion: “So I’d ha e o say i educed, bu on a di e en basis,
because now I ha e mo e expe ience and mo e knowledge
and skills and so on.”.
To summa ize, LL s a ed his job a LL_Company wi h a
high en ep eneu ial passion. He pe cei ed his ounde s o
in es a low le el o e o wi h low passion, which esul ed
in him ques ioning his le el o e o and educing his pas-
sion o en ep eneu ship. In he case o LL, he con agion
mechanism became e iden in he nega i e manne in which
he desc ibed himsel by saying: “Bu o cou se, i you jus
hink, yes, he ounde isn’ wo king oo ha d, and he com-
pany isn’ success ul ei he , hen ha ’s jus us a ing. Then
you hink, wha am I ac ually doing? I he’s no up o i ,
I’m no up o i ei he , and hen maybe you don’ eel like
ounding a company anymo e i you’ e had such a nega i e
expe ience.”. Tha s a emen indica es ha his le el o e o
and passion d opped.
4.1.8. The case o AW
AW is 25 yea s old and wo ks as a business de elop-
men ep esen a i e in he sales a ea o a s a up in sou h
Ge many ha de elops a communica ion app o o he busi-
nesses. She holds a deg ee in ashion managemen om a
business school. AW has se e al expe iences as a wo king
s uden o indus y and ashion i ms in HR. Howe e , she
had no ouching poin s wi h en ep eneu ship p io o wo k-
ing o AW_Company in he cu en ole. Nei he did she
e e wan o become an en ep eneu he sel . As a business
de elopmen ep esen a i e, she does no sha e collabo a i e
asks wi h he ounding eam. Howe e , due o he en u e’s
ea ly s age, she pe cei es he ounde s daily a wo k.
The ounding eam consis s o AW_Founde _1 and
AW_Founde _2. AW_Founde _1 is a business managemen
g adua e who wo ked o ou yea s as a p ojec leade o a
big Ge man p oduc ion i m be o e ounding AW_Company.
In pa allel, he is a membe o he ad iso y boa d o an-
o he en u e. On his social media p o iles, he claims he is
e y passiona e abou he i m and he p oduc he c ea es.
AW_Founde _2 is a se ial en ep eneu who g adua ed in me-
dia managemen and en e p ise communica ions. He wo ked
o se e al i ms o nea ly ou yea s be o e ounding his i s
i m, a web design consul ancy. Then, he came oge he wi h
AW_Founde _1 o c ea e AW_Company.
AW desc ibed he sel as someone who “hones ly didn’
ha e such in ensi e hough s” abou en ep eneu ship be o e
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-16641656
joining AW_Company, which ac ually “was a bi andom.”
She men ioned ha passion o en ep eneu ship was no he
“main ocus o main eason o aking he job.” The e o e,
AW joined he s a up wi h a low ini ial en ep eneu ial pas-
sion.
AW pe cei es he supe iso s o wo k wi h much e o
and passion. She desc ibed he ounde s as “c azy wo k-
ing” and ha she “would assume ha hei li e is ou com-
pany. So, he e is no sepa a ion ei he spa ially o in e ms
o ime. The e is no sepa a ion be ween p i a e li e and
AW_Company, so hey li e o i and a e abso bed in i . I ’s
c azy how much hey in es in i .”. Addi ionally, she pe -
cei es he ounde s o be “ e y passiona e,” ha “ hey li e
o i ,” and ha “ hey eally pu hei hea and soul and hei
ime in o i .”.
Pe cei ing he ounde s wo king wi h high e o on hei
asks has nei he changed AW’s e o no he passion o en-
ep eneu ship. She epo ed ha she wo ks less han o he
people in he i m, which she is happy abou . Besides, she
said abou he e ec o he pe cei ed e o : “I doesn’ a ec
me so much ha I now say I ha e o adap he e; I ha e o
wo k jus as much.”. She desc ibes he wo kload ela ed o
ounding a i m as a “de e en ” and concludes ha a ounde
would “no ha e a p i a e li e anymo e,” which would no
sui he way o li e. Al hough she was “wi hin a e y sho
ime [...]inspi ed by he cons uc o a s a up” and ha she
sees “how cool i can be o ha e you own s a up because you
can ul ill you d eams,” she does no eel he willingness o
ound a i m one day because o he high amoun o e o
needed.
All in all, AW s a ed he posi ion a AW_Company wi h
low en ep eneu ial passion, which has no changed du ing
he wo king pe iod un il oday. AW pe cei ed high e o and
passion om he en ep eneu s. Acco ding o he , ha pe -
cep ion had no no iceable impac on he passion and e o .
Table 3shows a summa y o he indings om he wi hin-
case analysis. I cap u es he ini ial passion, de elopmen o
passion and e o , and pe cei ed passion and e o o each
case. As GD’s pe cep ions and own de elopmen s changed
wi h he d opou o he o iginal ounding eam, he esul s al-
e ed o e ime. I ma ked i in he able wi h an a ow mean-
ing he i s en y ep esen s he s a e be o e he d opou , and
he second en y ep esen s he s a e a e he d opou . In six
ou o eigh cases, I assigned he same le el o pe cei ed e -
o and pe cei ed passion. I suppo s he ini ial assump ion
o he combined con agion and sel - egula ion amewo k
ha employees concu en ly pe cei e passion while pe cei -
ing e o and ha hese cons uc s a e associa ed. The e o e,
I p opose he ollowing:
P oposi ion 1a: High pe cei ed en ep eneu ial e -
o inc eases he likelihood o pe cei ing high en-
ep eneu ial passion.
P oposi ion 1b: Low pe cei ed en ep eneu ial e -
o inc eases he likelihood o pe cei ing low en-
ep eneu ial passion.
4.2. Case pa e ns and be ween-case analysis
In he cases o MS, JK, and un il he poin when he
ounde s le he company in he case o GD, all h ee cases
showed posi i e syne gies conce ning en ep eneu ial pas-
sion while pe cei ing high e o . The case o LL and he
case o GD a e he d opou o he ounding eam showed a
nega i e e ec on en ep eneu ial passion while pe cei ing
low e o . The men ioned cases align wi h wha I expec ed
as an ou come acco ding o he combined heo e ical ame-
wo k on con agion and sel - egula ion ha explains how pe -
cei ed e o could a ec he employees’ passion esponse.
MS, JK, and GD, wi h he ini ial ounde s, epo ed ha hey
pe cei ed high e o by hei supe iso s. These pe cep-
ions, in u n, igge ed an inc ease in hei e o , which he
men ioned con agion heo y can explain. Then, explained
by sel - egula ion heo y, he highe le el o e o posi i ely
impac ed hei passion o en ep eneu ial asks. The e o e,
wo king o hei co esponding i ms made hem mo e pas-
siona e abou en ep eneu ial asks han hey we e p io o
hei employmen . The opposi e happened in he case o LL,
and he case o GD a e he new CEOs ook o e . Bo h pe -
cei ed hei co esponding supe iso s o wo k on hei asks
wi h li le e o . This pe cep ion led GD o dec ease he e -
o and LL o de elop a endency o educe his e o . In
u n, hei en ep eneu ial passion declined as bo h wan ed
o become en ep eneu s be o e hei employmen , and now
hey a e ques ioning ha plan. In addi ion, he high-e o
cases also showed ha he pa icipan s pe cei ed high pas-
sion om he en ep eneu s, and he low-e o cases showed
a low passion pe cep ion by he employees. The e o e, pe -
cei ing e o migh co a ia e wi h pe cei ing passion, wi h
bo h going in he same di ec ion.
In he cases o RB and AW, he da a e ealed ha he pe -
cep ion o e o did no in luence hei en ep eneu ial pas-
sion. The da a in he cases o JG and CH showed coun e in u-
i i e esul s acco ding o he empo al heo e ical amewo k.
JG pe cei ed high e o , which inc eased his le el o e o
bu ins ead o his en ep eneu ial passion inc easing, i de-
clined. CH pe cei ed a low le el o e o by his supe iso
ha lowe ed his le el o e o , which impac ed him e en a -
e lea ing he i m. Ins ead o his passion o en ep eneu ial
asks declining, his passion inc eased as he la e ounded a
i m, whe e, acco ding o him, he ailed o succeed due o his
low le el o e o .
4.2.1. P oximi y o he ounde s, en ep eneu ial- ela edness
o he asks, and ini ial en ep eneu ial passion
All cases ha wen along he expec ed ou come, speaking
o MS, JK, and GD o obse ing high e o , which inc eased
hei en ep eneu ial passion, and speaking o LL and GD o
obse ing low e o , which dec eased hei passion ollowed
a pa e n. All hese employees ha e high p oximi y o hei
ounde s, hei asks a e highly en ep eneu ial- ela ed, and
hey had high ini ial en ep eneu ial passion be o e s a ing
he ole in hei co esponding s a up. This inding indica es
ha a pa icula in ol emen o hese h ee ac o s is a pos-
sible equi emen o he ini ia ion o he p oposed e ec s o
A. K. Kallinikidis /Junio Managemen Science 9(3) (2024) 1634-1664 1657
Table 3: Summa y o wi hin-case analysis
Case Ini ial
Passion
Pe cei ed
E o
Pe cei ed
Passion
E o
de elopmen
Passion
de elopmen
JG Low High High Lowe Lowe
GD High High →Low High →Low Highe →Lowe Highe →Lowe
RB High Neu al High Neu al Neu al
MS High High High Highe Highe
CH Low Low High Lowe Highe
JK High High High Highe Highe
LL High Low Low Lowe Lowe
AW Low High High Neu al Neu al
he combined mechanism. In he cases whe e he mechanism
wo ked as expec ed, hese h ee ac o s we e abo e a speci ic
bounda y compa ed o he o he cases whe e he obse a ion
did no ollow he expec ed way.
P oximi y can be unde s ood b oadly in he employee-
en ep eneu ela ionship. I can include he employee’s eel-
ing o a close connec ion o he supe iso s, equen commu-
nica ion, spa ial p oximi y wi h si ing nex o each o he in
he same o ice, and a ole-based close collabo a ion as be-
ing he head o a pa icula depa men , o example. Ha ing
high p oximi y be ween he en ep eneu and he employee
inc eases he equency and in ensi y o he con agion e ec
as bo h subjec s ha e mo e and deepe poin s o in e ac ion
which acili a es he e ec ’s occu ence. I aligns wi h o he
schola s’ assump ions ha employees eel being in he same
boa as hei ounde s (B eugs e al., 2012). Highe p ox-
imi y o he ounde a wo k helps o ge iche pe cep ions
o he en ep eneu ial e o . I is because he employee pe -
cei es he en ep eneu mo e o en, e alua es his le el o e -
o mo e eliably and d aws mo e accu a e in e ences abou
how e o leads o p og ess o he en u e, which is neces-
sa y o e o con agion o occu . Table 4shows examples o
s a emen s abou p oximi y o he ounde s om he in e -
iew pa icipan s.
Ha ing asks ha a e ich in en ep eneu ial con en
is also essen ial o obse ing he expec ed e ec s. These
asks can ypically include ac s o in en ing o de eloping
he i m. Usually, hese asks ha e a high deg ee o deci-
sional eedom, high c ea i i y, deep p oduc in ol emen ,
high hie a chy le els, o high esponsibili y. Wo king on
hese ypes o asks wi h he en ep eneu acili a es he con-
agion e ec as hese asks a e mo e simila o he ac ual
asks o he en ep eneu and, he e o e, close ela ed o
en ep eneu ial passion. I inc eases he likelihood o he
employee o pe cei e a goal ha is mo e accessible and eases
goal con agion. Pu ing e o in o en ep eneu ial- ela ed
asks helps he sel - egula ion mechanism a ec he passion
o en ep eneu ial asks. Table 5displays he commen s o
he in e iewed employees on hei asks. The ound pa -
e ns in e o pe cep ion lead o he de elopmen o hese
p oposi ions:
P oposi ion 2a: A high p oximi y o he ounde s
inc eases he likelihood ha pe cei ed e o ig-
ge s he combined con agion and sel - egula ion
mechanism, whe e high pe cei ed e o inc eases
en ep eneu ial passion and low pe cei ed e o
dec eases en ep eneu ial passion.
P oposi ion 2b: A high en ep eneu ial- ela edness
o he employee’s ask inc eases he likelihood ha
pe cei ed e o igge s he combined con agion
and sel - egula ion mechanism, whe e high pe -
cei ed e o inc eases en ep eneu ial passion and
low pe cei ed e o dec eases en ep eneu ial pas-
sion.
P oposi ion 2c: A high ini ial en ep eneu ial
passion inc eases he likelihood ha pe cei ed
e o igge s he combined con agion and sel -
egula ion mechanism, whe e high pe cei ed e o
inc eases en ep eneu ial passion and low pe -
cei ed e o dec eases en ep eneu ial passion.
4.2.2. E o -Passion disc epancy and he pe cei ed e o -
passion an agonism
Suppose p oximi y o he ounde s, en ep eneu ial-
ela edness o he employee’s asks, o ini ial en ep eneu ial
passion a e low. In ha case, his migh change he ex-
pec ed e ec o pe cei ed e o on he employee’s passion
esponse, as in he cases o JG and CH. As shown in he case
o JG, he had high p oximi y o his ounde s, bu his asks
we e low in en ep eneu ial- ela edness, and he had low
ini ial passion. Concu en ly, he empo al model did no
deli e he expec ed ou come. He epo ed pe cei ing high
en ep eneu ial e o by his supe iso s, which igge ed his
e o and inc eased i . Ins ead o his en ep eneu ial passion
inc easing like in he o he cases, i declined as he did no en-
joy he e o , which dis anced him om an en ep eneu ial
ca ee , as he explained. Al hough he supe iso ’s e o
success ully ans e ed om JG_Founde _1 o JG, he sel -
egula ion mechanism did no occu . The u ning poin in his
case migh be his ini ial en ep eneu ial passion which was
ela i ely low compa ed o o he cases. JG had no ouching
poin wi h en ep eneu ship p io o his ole a JG_Company.
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