| Entrepreneurship research has, to date, focused on passion in terms of a passion for activities related to the entrepreneurial process ("entrepreneurial passion"), including the identification of new venture opportunities, the founding of new ventures, and new venture development. In the three essays of my dissertation, I expand the conception of passion in entrepreneurship research to include entrepreneurs who engage in entrepreneurial activities not out of entrepreneurial passion, but out of a passion for the domain of their venture and product or service it provides ("domain passion")---whether that domain be robotics, cycling, computer programming, or fashion, for example. In my first essay, I begin with domain passion pursued in one's leisure time as a hobby, developing a dynamic model of hobby monetization. I explicate the mechanisms by which monetization of domain passion as a hobby-related venture can (1) bolster or (2) erode domain passion. In my second essay, I demonstrate the importance of founder domain passion and entrepreneurial passion to startup investors, finding that both are important in investors' decision-making in addition to domain and entrepreneurial experience and openness/receptivity to feedback. The appeal of entrepreneurial passion to startup investors was further elevated when accompanied by domain experience, and both passions become even more appealing when investors perceived the founder to be highly open and receptive to feedback. In my third and final essay, I consider the role of entrepreneurial education in addition to arts education in enabling arts alumni to professionally pursue their domain passion---their passion for their art. I find that entrepreneurship education increases the value of arts education in enabling not only the attainment of professional work related to one's art, but also intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction in doing so. |
