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Recent research acknowledges entrepreneurial passion’s outcomes, but far less is known about how entrepreneurial passion comes about. In this study, the authors are interested in the emergence of entrepreneurial passion, and how competences and social network are associated with entrepreneurial passion. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The authors investigate whether entrepreneurial passion emerges out of socialisation, entrepreneurial experience or various combinations thereof. The authors tested the hypotheses on a data set of entrepreneurs who started their businesses with government financial support (n=1150).

The findings show that within a social environment, perceived emotional support is positively associated with entrepreneurial passion. Moreover, entrepreneurs’ task-related competence moderates this relationship positively. By investigating the emergence of entrepreneurial passion, the authors contribute to prior passion literature, which has mainly focused on its consequences.

The findings demonstrate both how entrepreneurial passion is associated with and how perceived emotional support can stem from unexpected sources, such as from a government-based start-up grant. For entrepreneurs, an increased awareness of passion’s emergence could better encourage them in their entrepreneurial endeavours. To people who are engaged in promoting entrepreneurship, our findings emphasise the symbolic and emotional aspects of instruments intended to support entrepreneurship.

It is unclear how nascent entrepreneurs make decisions during the venture creation process. The purpose of this paper is to investigate decision-making logics and their transformation over time among student entrepreneurs who aim to create new business ventures in the higher education setting.

The study employs the mixed methods approach through the use of survey and observation data. The longitudinal survey data comprise three surveys collected via an internet-aided tool. The constructs of causation and effectuation are measured using previously tested scales (Chandler et al., 2011). Non-participant observation data were collected during the course, focussing on the venture creation processes of four different start-ups, and were analysed thematically.

The findings show three transformation patterns – doubts in how to proceed, unwillingness to proceed, and unsatisfactory team dynamics – that led individuals towards a coping decision-making logic in which no causation or effectuation is emphasised. The findings illustrate that, despite this stage of decision-making logic, the learning process continues: Even if no new business venture is launched, entrepreneurship education can still generate learning outcomes that improve students’ understanding of entrepreneurship as well as understanding of themselves as entrepreneurs.

This study brings the theories of causation and effectuation into the teaching of entrepreneurship. Of particular value to scholars is the fact that the study generates new understanding of the decision-making logics during new venture creation. Accordingly, this study sheds new light on the transformation and complementarity of the decision-making logic of an individual as new ventures emerge in an educational context reflecting the real-life start-up context.

The purpose of this paper is to respond to the call by McMullen and Dimov (2013) for a clearer understanding of entrepreneurial journeys by investigating the entrepreneurial capitals and micro-processes of seven young early stage entrepreneurs who all exited their businesses within 3 years of start-up.

The authors analysed empirical data from concurrent in-depth interviews which generated rich longitudinal case studies. Theory-building then led to a proposed “Longitudinal Dynamic Process Framework” of entrepreneurial goals, processes and capitals.

The framework builds on prior studies by integrating entrepreneurial processes and decisions into two feedback loops based on continuous review and learning. It thereby enhances understanding of the dynamics of new business development and unfolds the early stage ventures entrepreneurs' business exits.

The findings are based on a small purposive sample. However, the main implication for research and theory is showing how the entrepreneurial capitals are dynamic and influenced by entrepreneurs' environment, and also separating entrepreneurs' personal issues from their business issues.

The findings challenge some assumptions of policymakers and offer new insights for practitioners and early stage entrepreneurs. These include having more realistic case-studies of the entrepreneurial journey, recognizing the need to be agile and tenacious to cope with challenges, understanding how capitals can interact in complementary ways and that entrepreneurial processes can be used to leverage them at appropriate stages of the start-ups.

The concurrent longitudinal analysis and theory-building complements extant cross-sectional studies by identifying and analysing the detailed processes of actual business start-ups and exits. The proposed framework thereby adds coherence to earlier studies and helps to explain early stage entrepreneurial development, transformation of capitals and business exit.

This paper aims to investigate the relationships between student creativity, various opportunity search strategies, and the viability of business ideas developed during an entrepreneurship education module.

The paper sets out hypotheses on the associations between individual creativity, opportunity search strategies and the viability of business ideas generated. A group of 117 students provided the sample data by participating in pre‐programme and post‐programme surveys. Explorative factor analysis was employed to examine latent variables, and factor structures were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modelling was then used to test the resulting hypotheses.

The results show that creativity is not directly associated with the viability of the business idea. Creativity does, however, strengthen the creative opportunity search strategies and the use of opportunity identification strategies based on knowledge acquisition. Accordingly, the influence of creativity on the viability of the business idea is fully mediated by those opportunity search strategies that are creative and based on knowledge acquisition. They both have a positive effect on the perceived viability of the business idea.

The study illustrates the co‐existence of art and science in the process of recognising entrepreneurial opportunity, which involves individual action and reflection in order for a viable business idea to be developed.

Although creativity is perceived as a valuable element of the generation of business ideas, it has to be accompanied by opportunity search activities in order to generate viable business ideas. The findings emphasise the role of creative behaviour in devising the business idea and also of incorporating creative thinking into business planning.

The paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of how individual creativity affects the viability of business ideas as well as the way in which students search for business opportunities.

Existing research focuses on the role of planning in successful transfers of family business. From a bounded emotionality perspective, this paper aims to investigate the transfer of business processes and the underlying reasons for delayed or unplanned transfers despite the feasible succession plans.

A follow‐up case study in six small family firms was carried out between 2001 and 2008. The research material was collected primarily in interviews with firm representatives in 2001 and 2008. Further information was obtained through participant observation, and background data on the firms were also used.

The analysis enhances understanding of business‐transfer processes in the context of subjective limitations and relational feelings. Any divergence from the original conditions in the transfer plan may delay the process but the delays are tolerated by putting the transfer on hold in the daily activities and focusing on business routines instead. The results emphasise how individuals' goals and values change over time, and how decisions are weighed up from various identity positions questioning the basic assumptions and decisions set out in the plan. Despite the delays, however, transfers of business or the firm are not easily abandoned.

The results suggest that linear, goal‐oriented planning may not be sufficient for executing successful transfers, but further longitudinal research is needed to corroborate these qualitative findings.

The paper makes use of the bounded emotionality approach, which allows the analysis of both the rational and emotional aspects involved, and helps to explain delays or unplanned transfers.

This paper aims to address the impact of a person's motivation to study entrepreneurship on their subsequent levels of performance in terms of the generation of business ideas, while taking into account the effect of student team behaviour.

The paper hypothesises that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as team behaviour influence the learning outcome and that team behaviour moderates the relationship between motivation and learning outcomes. A survey was used to generate data. A total of 117 students, who participated in pre‐programme, and post‐programme surveys, provided the sample data. First, explorative factor analyses were employed to examine the latent variables. Second, hierarchical lineal regression analyses were carried out to test the proposed hypotheses.

It was found that intrinsic motivation has a negative effect on the learning outcome while extrinsic motivation had a positive one. However, the team (and in particular the resources that become available) positively moderates the relationship between the intrinsic motivation and the outcomes.

The paper contributes to the evaluation and research practices of different entrepreneurship education initiatives. The data are derived solely from business students, a factor that may cause bias in the results. In addition, the paper relied on self‐assessed perceptions of learning outcomes, since the stakeholder evaluations were team‐level measurements.

Students on entrepreneurship education programmes have different forms of motivation for studying entrepreneurship, and those tend to affect their satisfaction with the outcome of their studies. Using teams on an entrepreneurship course seems to generate more positive outcomes for students with both low and high intrinsic motivation, but particularly among the latter group. Ultimately, the results suggest the need for greater flexibility in course design.

The paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of how entrepreneurial learning outcomes are affected by student motivation and team behaviour. It makes an original contribution in distinguishing between an extrinsic and an intrinsic motivation to study entrepreneurship, and highlights the effect on learning outcomes of resources acquired through team behaviour. It also illustrates an opportunity to study the impact of entrepreneurship education, particularly when the creation of a new venture is not an immediate objective of the course.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of household spending on physical recreation and the structural distribution of spending over the years 1985-2012 in Finland linked to various contextual factors including education level, income and area of residence.

The study uses Statistics Finland’s consumption research data in a quantitative analysis toward adding a new dimension to research on Finns’ physical recreation spending.

Findings show that the amount of money spent on physical recreation equipment and services has grown steadily. Finns’ spending on physical recreation continues to be relatively conservative relative to income, though there are notable differences between population groups. The link between education level and physical recreation remains strong. The largest difference between education levels is between those having completed basic level education and those with higher education degrees. Household type also explains a great deal of the difference in amount spent on physical recreation. According to the results, physical recreation spending is central to the leisure activities of highly educated family units.

Research on the stratification of consumption habits in Finnish society has not yet addressed physical recreation spending. Furthermore, research on income spent on such activity by various population groups at different times has not been carried out. This paper provides research on both of these themes.