Entrepreneurial passion, orientation and behavior: the moderating role of linear and nonlinear thinking styles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to unpack the underlying mechanisms of entrepreneurs’ passion, orientation, and behavior by investigating the role of rational and non-rational cognitive elements. Building on dual process theory and socio-intuitionism, a conceptual model is proposed in order to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial passion, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and strategic entrepreneurship behavior (SEB). Specifically, entrepreneurs’ linear thinking styles (System 2) and non-linear thinking styles (System 1) are hypothesized as being significant moderators of such a relationship. Design/methodology/approach – Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) is used to empirically validate the proposed conceptual model and test the moderating hypotheses on a sample of 300 entrepreneurs actively involved in European small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Findings – Entrepreneurial passion is shown to be a significant antecedent of EO which, in turn, strongly influences SEB. Moreover, entrepreneurs’ linear thinking style positively moderates the EO-SEB relationship, but not the link between passion and EO. Instead, a non-linear thinking style positively moderates the relationship between passion and EO, but not the links between EO and SEB. Practical implications – Entrepreneurs should trust their non-linear thinking style – related to affective/emotive and intuitive information processing systems – to foster the effect of their entrepreneurial passion on entrepreneurial orientation. Furthermore, entrepreneurs should rely on a linear thinking style, namely the rational and deliberative cognitive processes, to enhance the impact of their entrepreneurial orientation on strategic entrepreneurship behavior. Originality/value – Dual process theory and socio-intuitionism are integrated to simultaneously investigate the effect of non-rational and rational cognitive mechanisms on entrepreneurs’ orientation and behavior. Moreover, the proposed model is empirically tested on a sample of entrepreneurs working in SMEs located in Europe, which have received little attention from entrepreneurship scholars in comparison to their US counterparts. Our findings suggest important implications for entrepreneurs, policy makers, and entrepreneurial universities educators.