Highly passionate CEOs are often motivated to pursue corporate entrepreneurship. However, the exogenous crises cause unpredictable challenges and opportunities for CEOs and their firms. Taking the COVID-19 pandemic as a representative crisis, this study investigates the impact of CEO passion on corporate entrepreneurship and examines the moderating role of crisis strength (i.e., criticality and disruption) in this relationship. Using multi-source data from 492 firms in China, our findings reveal that CEO passion is positively related to corporate entrepreneurship. Moreover, crisis criticality strengthens the relationship between CEO passion and corporate entrepreneurship, while crisis disruption weakens this relationship. These findings offer insights into the contingency relationship between CEO passion and corporate entrepreneurship and provide practical implications for firms seeking entrepreneurial activities in times of crisis.
AdomakoS.AhsanM. (2022). Entrepreneurial passion and SMEs’ performance: Moderating effects of financial resource availability and resource flexibility. Journal of Business Research, 144, 122–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.02.002
2.
AikenL. S.WestS. G.RenoR. R. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage.
3.
Al-ShammariM.RasheedA. A.BanerjeeS. N. (2022). Are all narcissistic CEOs socially responsible? An empirical investigation of an inverted U-shaped relationship between CEO narcissism and corporate social responsibility. Group & Organization Management, 47(3), 612–646. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011211040665
4.
AryeeS.WalumbwaF. O.MondejarR.ChuC. W. (2015). Accounting for the influence of overall justice on job performance: Integrating self-determination and social exchange theories. Journal of Management Studies, 52(2), 231–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12067
5.
Attah-BoakyeR.AdamsK.Hernandez-PerdomoE.YuH.JohanssonJ. (2023). Resource Re-orchestration and firm survival in crisis periods: The role of business models of technology MNEs during COVID-19. Technovation, 125, 102769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2023.102769
6.
AvolioB. J.YammarinoF. J. (2013). Reflections, closing thoughts, and future directions. In AvolioB. J.YammarinoF. J. (Eds.), Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead (2nd ed., pp. 449–470). Emerald Group Publishing.
7.
BagozziR. P.EdwardsJ. R. (1998). A general approach for representing constructs in organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 1(1), 45–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/109442819800100104
BaronR. A.TangJ. (2011). The role of entrepreneurs in firm-level innovation: Joint effects of positive affect, creativity, and environmental dynamism. Journal of Business Venturing, 26(1), 49–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.06.002
10.
BaumJ. R.LockeE. A. (2004). The relationship of entrepreneurial traits, skill, and motivation to subsequent venture growth. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(4), 587–598. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.4.587
11.
BelghitarY.MoroA.RadićN. (2022). When the rainy day is the worst hurricane ever: The effects of governmental policies on SMEs during COVID-19. Small Business Economics, 58(2), 943–961. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00510-8
12.
BiniariM. G. (2012). The emotional embeddedness of corporate entrepreneurship: The case of envy. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 36(1), 141–170. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00437.x
13.
BooneC.LokshinB.GuenterH.BelderbosR. (2019). Top management team nationality diversity, corporate entrepreneurship, and innovation in multinational firms. Strategic Management Journal, 40(2), 277–302. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2976
14.
BuylT.BooneC.WadeJ. B. (2019). CEO narcissism, risk-taking, and resilience: An empirical analysis in US commercial banks. Journal of Management, 45(4), 1372–1400. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206317699521
15.
ByrneO.ShepherdD. A. (2015). Different strokes for different folks: Entrepreneurial narratives of emotion, cognition, and making sense of business failure. Entrepreneurship theory and Practice, 39(2), 375–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12046
16.
CaiW.GuJ.WuJ. (2023). How CEO passion promotes firm innovation: The mediating role of top management Team (TMT) creativity and the moderating role of organizational culture. Current Psychology, 42(9), 6963–6979. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02030-w
17.
CaiW.WuJ.GuJ. (2021). From CEO passion to exploratory and exploitative innovation: The moderating roles of market and technological turbulence. Management Decision, 59(6), 1363–1385. https://doi.org/10.1108/md-02-2020-0233
18.
CardonM. S.GregoireD. A.StevensC. E.PatelP. C. (2013). Measuring entrepreneurial passion: Conceptual foundations and scale validation. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(3), 373–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.03.003
19.
CardonM. S.KirkC. P. (2015). Entrepreneurial passion as mediator of the self–efficacy to persistence relationship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(5), 1027–1050. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12089
20.
CardonM. S.WincentJ.SinghJ.DrnovsekM. (2009). The nature and experience of entrepreneurial passion. Academy of Management Review, 34(3), 511–532. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.40633190
21.
ChaudharyS.KarwasaraA.GuptaV. K.MarinoL.BatraS. (2025). CEO humility, corporate entrepreneurship, and the moderating influence of discretionary forces in the task environment. Group & Organization Management, 50(1), 289–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011231183193
22.
ChenC. J.LinB. W.LinY. H.HsiaoY. C. (2016). Ownership structure, independent board members and innovation performance: A contingency perspective. Journal of Business Research, 69(9), 3371–3379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.02.007
23.
ChenJ.NadkarniS. (2017). It’s about time! CEOs’ temporal dispositions, temporal leadership, and corporate entrepreneurship. Administrative Science Quarterly, 62(1), 31–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839216663504
24.
ChenJ.SimsekZ.LiaoY.KwanH. K. (2022). CEO self-monitoring and corporate entrepreneurship: A moderated mediation model of the CEO-TMT interface. Journal of Management, 48(8), 2197–2222. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063211048436
25.
ChenS.BuM.WuS.LiangX. (2015). How does TMT attention to innovation of Chinese firms influence firm innovation activities? A study on the moderating role of corporate governance. Journal of Business Research, 68(5), 1127–1135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.11.002
26.
ChenY.WangY.NevoS.Benitez-AmadoJ.KouG. (2015). IT capabilities and product innovation performance: The roles of corporate entrepreneurship and competitive intensity. Information & Management, 52(6), 643–657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2015.05.003
27.
ChoT. S.HambrickD. C. (2006). Attention as the mediator between top management team characteristics and strategic change: The case of airline deregulation. Organization Science, 17(4), 453–469. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1060.0192
28.
ClaussT.BreierM.KrausS.DurstS.MahtoR. V. (2022). Temporary business model innovation–SMEs’ innovation response to the Covid-19 crisis. R&D Management, 52(2), 294–312. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12498
29.
CrickJ. M.CrickD. (2020). Coopetition and COVID-19: Collaborative business-to-business marketing strategies in a pandemic crisis. Industrial Marketing Management, 88, 206–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.05.016
30.
DarN.UsmanM.ChengJ.GhaniU. (2023). Social undermining at the workplace: How religious faith encourages employees who are aware of their social undermining behaviors to express more guilt and perform better. Journal of Business Ethics, 187(2), 371–383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05284-x
31.
Delgado-GarcíaJ. B.De La Fuente-SabatéJ. M. (2010). How do CEO emotions matter? Impact of CEO affective traits on strategic and performance conformity in the Spanish banking industry. Strategic Management Journal, 31(5), 562–574.
DrnovsekM.CardonM. S.PatelP. C. (2016). Direct and indirect effects of passion on growing technology ventures. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 10(2), 194–213. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1213
34.
FischerT.LeidingerJ. (2014). Testing patent value indicators on directly observed patent value—An empirical analysis of Ocean Tomo patent auctions. Research Policy, 43(3), 519–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2013.07.013
35.
FoleyC. F.KerrW. R. (2013). Ethnic innovation and US multinational firm activity. Management Science, 59(7), 1529–1544. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1120.1684
FunkoI. S.VlačićB.DabićM. (2023). Corporate entrepreneurship in public sector: A systematic literature review and research agenda. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 8(2), Article 100343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2023.100343
39.
GeorgeJ. M.DaneE. (2016). Affect, emotion, and decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, 47–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.06.004
40.
GhobadianA.HanT.ZhangX.O'ReganN.TroiseC.BrescianiS.NarayananV. (2022). COVID-19 pandemic: The interplay between firm disruption and managerial attention focus. British Journal of Management, 33(1), 390–409. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12556
41.
GionesF.BremA.PollackJ. M.MichaelisT. L.KlyverK.BrinckmannJ. (2020). Revising entrepreneurial action in response to exogenous shocks: Considering the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 14, Article e186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2020.e00186
42.
GongQ.LiuD.ChenX. P.JiangC.ChenG. (2024). The fire to inspire: A multilevel and multimethod investigation of how and when CEO passion for organizational development impacts employee creativity. Journal of Management Studies, 61(8), 3594–3626. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.13019
43.
GrözingerA.WolffS.RufP. J.MoogP. (2022). The power of shared positivity: Organizational psychological capital and firm performance during exogenous crises. Small Business Economics, 58(2), 689–716. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00506-4
44.
HambrickD. C.CannellaA. A.Jr. (2004). CEOs who have COOs: Contingency analysis of an unexplored structural form. Strategic Management Journal, 25(10), 959–979. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.407
45.
HayesA. F. (2018). Partial, conditional, and moderated moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation. Communication Monographs, 85(1), 4–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2017.1352100
46.
HeaveyC.SimsekZ.RocheF.KellyA. (2009). Decision comprehensiveness and corporate entrepreneurship: The moderating role of managerial uncertainty preferences and environmental dynamism. Journal of Management Studies, 46(8), 1289–1314. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2009.00858.x
47.
HoP. H.HuangC. W.LinC. Y.YenJ. F. (2016). CEO overconfidence and financial crisis: Evidence from bank lending and leverage. Journal of Financial Economics, 120(1), 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2015.04.007
48.
HoV. T.AstakhovaM. N. (2020). The passion bug: How and when do leaders inspire work passion?Journal of Organizational Behavior, 41(5), 424–444. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2443
49.
HoV. T.PollackJ. M. (2014). Passion isn't always a good thing: Examining entrepreneurs' network centrality and financial performance with a dualistic model of passion. Journal of Management Studies, 51(3), 433–459. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12062
HuoM. L.JiangZ. (2023). Work-role overload, work-life conflict, and perceived career plateau: The moderating role of emotional stability. Human Resource Management, 62(6), 867–882. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22167
52.
IrelandR. D.CovinJ. G.KuratkoD. F. (2009). Conceptualizing corporate entrepreneurship strategy. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(1), 19–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2008.00279.x
53.
JiaN.HuangK. G.Man ZhangC. (2019). Public governance, corporate governance, and firm innovation: An examination of state-owned enterprises. Academy of Management Journal, 62(1), 220–247. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.0543
54.
JosephJ.WilsonA. J. (2018). The growth of the firm: An attention-based view. Strategic Management Journal, 39(6), 1779–1800. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2715
55.
KammerlanderN.BurgerD.FustA.FueglistallerU. (2015). Exploration and exploitation in established small and medium-sized enterprises: The effect of CEOs' regulatory focus. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(4), 582–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2014.09.004
56.
KellermannsF. W.EddlestonK. A. (2006). Corporate entrepreneurship in family firms: A family perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(6), 809–830. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2006.00153.x
57.
KlyverK.NielsenS. L. (2021). Which crisis strategies are (expectedly) effective among SMEs during COVID-19?Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 16, Article e273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2021.e00273
58.
KönigA.Graf-VlachyL.BundyJ.LittleL. M. (2020). A blessing and a curse: How CEOs’ trait empathy affects their management of organizational crises. Academy of Management Review, 45(1), 130–153.
KumarP.ZaheerA. (2019). Ego-network stability and innovation in alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 62(3), 691–716. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.0819
62.
KuratkoD. F.HornsbyJ. S.McKelvieA. (2023). Entrepreneurial mindset in corporate entrepreneurship: Forms, impediments, and actions for research. Journal of Small Business Management, 61(1), 132–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1907585
63.
LarteyT.KesseK.DansoA. (2020). CEO extraversion and capital structure decisions: The role of firm dynamics, product market competition, and financial crisis. Journal of Financial Research, 43(4), 847–893. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.12227
64.
LiJ. J.ChenX. P.KothaS.FisherG. (2017). Catching fire and spreading it: A glimpse into displayed entrepreneurial passion in crowdfunding campaigns. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(7), 1075–1090. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000217
65.
LiM. Y.MakinoS.LuoL.JiangC. (2024). Entrepreneurial passion and organizational innovation: The moderating effects of events and the competence to exploit events. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 41(2), 549–582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-022-09853-6
66.
LiangH.SarafN.HuQ.XueY. (2007). Assimilation of enterprise systems: The effect of institutional pressures and the mediating role of top management. MIS Quarterly, 31(1), 59–87. https://doi.org/10.2307/25148781
67.
LiuD.ChenY.LiN. (2021). Tackling the negative impact of COVID-19 on work engagement and taking charge: A multi-study investigation of frontline health workers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(2), 185–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000866
68.
LuuN.NguyenH. (2021). Entrepreneurial passion and a firm's innovation strategies. Journal of Small Business Management, 59(4), 794–818. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2020.1729026
69.
MarcelJ. J. (2009). Why top management team characteristics matter when employing a chief operating officer: A strategic contingency perspective. Strategic Management Journal, 30(6), 647–658. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.763
70.
Martín-RojasR.Garrido-MorenoA.García-MoralesV. J. (2023). Social media use, corporate entrepreneurship and organizational resilience: A recipe for SMEs success in a Post-Covid scenario. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 190, Article 122421.
71.
MillerD. (1983). The correlates of entrepreneurship in three types of firms. Management Science, 29(7), 770–791. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.29.7.770
72.
MiocevicD. (2022). Don’t get too emotional: How regulatory focus can condition the influence of top managers’ negative emotions on SME responses to economic crisis. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 40(2), 130–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426211020654
73.
MonehinD.Diers-LawsonA. (2022). Pragmatic optimism, crisis leadership, and contingency theory: A view from the C-suite. Public Relations Review, 48(4), Article 102224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102224
74.
MorgesonF. P. (2005). The external leadership of self-managing teams: Intervening in the context of novel and disruptive events. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(3), 497–508. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.3.497
75.
MorgesonF. P.DeRueD. S. (2006). Event criticality, urgency, and duration: Understanding how events disrupt teams and influence team leader intervention. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(3), 271–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.02.006
76.
MorgesonF. P.MitchellT. R.LiuD. (2015). Event system theory: An event-oriented approach to the organizational sciences. Academy of Management Review, 40(4), 515–537. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2012.0099
77.
MuellerB. A.WolfeM. T.SyedI. (2017). Passion and grit: An exploration of the pathways leading to venture success. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(3), 260–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.02.001
78.
NewmanA.ObschonkaM.MoellerJ.ChandanG. G. (2021). Entrepreneurial passion: A review, synthesis, and agenda for future research. Applied Psychology, 70(2), 816–860. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12236
79.
NikiforouA.LioukasS.ChatzopoulouE. C.VoudourisI. (2023). When there is a crisis, there is an opportunity? SMEs’ capabilities for durability and opportunity confidence. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 29(5), 1053–1074. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-11-2021-0939
OcasioW.LaamanenT.VaaraE. (2018). Communication and attention dynamics: An attention-based view of strategic change. Strategic Management Journal, 39(1), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2702
82.
PatelP. C.CooperD. (2014). The harder they fall, the faster they rise: Approach and avoidance focus in narcissistic CEOs. Strategic Management Journal, 35(10), 1528–1540. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2162
83.
PiermartiniR.RubínováS. (2021). How much do global value chains boost innovation?Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue Canadienne D’économique, 54(2), 892–922. https://doi.org/10.1111/caje.12512
84.
RadfardA.PistilliL.PaccagniniA. (2024). How top management team social status impacts innovation. R&D Management, 54(1), 137–160. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12647
85.
SaadM.GuermatC.BrodieL. (2015). National innovation and knowledge performance: the role of higher education teaching and training. Studies in Higher Education, 40(7), 1194–1209. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.881344
86.
SajkoM.BooneC.BuylT. (2021). CEO greed, corporate social responsibility, and organizational resilience to systemic shocks. Journal of Management, 47(4), 957–992. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320902528
87.
SchoofsL.ClaeysA. S. (2021). Communicating sadness: The impact of emotional crisis communication on the organizational post-crisis reputation. Journal of Business Research, 130, 271–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.03.020
88.
SharmaG. D.KrausS.LiguoriE.BamelU. K.ChopraR. (2024). Entrepreneurial challenges of COVID-19: Re-thinking entrepreneurship after the crisis. Journal of Small Business Management, 62(2), 824–846. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2022.2089676
89.
SongQ.GuoP.FuR.CookeF. L.ChenY. (2023). Does human resource system strength help employees act proactively? The roles of crisis strength and work engagement. Human Resource Management, 62(2), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22145
StreseS.KellerM.FlattenT. C.BrettelM. (2018). CEOs' passion for inventing and radical innovations in SMEs: The moderating effect of shared vision. Journal of Small Business Management, 56(3), 435–452. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12264
92.
StuartT.WangY. (2016). Who cooks the books in China, and does it pay? Evidence from private, high-technology firms. Strategic Management Journal, 37(13), 2658–2676. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2466
93.
SuZ.YangJ.WangQ. (2020). The effects of top management team heterogeneity and shared vision on entrepreneurial bricolage in new ventures: An attention-based view. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 69(4), 1262–1275. https://doi.org/10.1109/tem.2020.2984628
94.
TandonA.ChaudharyS.NijjerS.VilamováŠ.TekelasF.KaurP. (2024). Challenges in sustainability transitions in B2B firms and the role of corporate entrepreneurship in responding to crises created by the pandemic. Industrial Marketing Management, 118, 93–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.01.019
95.
TangG.YuB.ChenY.WeiL. (2019). Unpacking the mechanism linking market orientation and corporate entrepreneurship: The mediating role of human resource management strength. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 36(3), 593–614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-019-09645-5
96.
UrbanoD.TurroA.WrightM.ZahraS. (2022). Corporate entrepreneurship: A systematic literature review and future research agenda. Small Business Economics, 59(4), 1541–1565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00590-6
97.
VallerandR. J.BlanchardC.MageauG. A.KoestnerR.RatelleC.LéonardM.GagnéM.MarsolaisJ. (2003). Les passions de l'âme: On obsessive and harmonious passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(4), 756–767. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.756
98.
VanheesR.SchepersJ.VandekerkhofP.MichielsA. (2023). The effect of CEO entrepreneurial passion on family firm entrepreneurial orientation: Does generational stage matter?Management Decision, 61(7), 1912–1931. https://doi.org/10.1108/md-07-2022-0944
99.
WeiL.LingY. (2015). CEO characteristics and corporate entrepreneurship in transition economies: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research, 68(6), 1157–1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.11.010
100.
WenzelM.StanskeS.LiebermanM. B. (2020). Strategic responses to crisis. Strategic Management Journal, 41(7/18), 3161.
101.
WilliamsL. J.HartmanN.CavazotteF. (2010). Method variance and marker variables: A review and comprehensive CFA marker technique. Organizational Research Methods, 13(3), 477–514. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428110366036
102.
YuanW.BaoY.OlsonB. J. (2017). CEOs’ ambivalent interpretations, organizational market capabilities, and corporate entrepreneurship as responses to strategic issues. Journal of World Business, 52(2), 312–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2016.12.009
103.
ZahraS. A. (1995). Corporate entrepreneurship and company performance: The case of management lever- aged buyouts. Journal of Business Venturing, 10(3), 225–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-9026(94)00024-o
104.
ZahraS. A.CovinJ. G. (1995). Contextual influences on the corporate entrepreneurship-performance relationship: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Business Venturing, 10(1), 43–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-9026(94)00004-e
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
