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Colleagues-

This may be of interest.....

-Melissa

Call for Papers

The Heart of Entrepreneurship:

What, how, when, and why affect influences entrepreneurship

Guest Editors: Melissa S. Cardon, Maw-Der Foo, Dean A. Shepherd, Johan Wiklund

Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, January 2012 Special Issue

            Affect is a key aspect of entrepreneurship.  Entrepreneurs experience a variety of emotions and feelings during the process of identifying, founding, developing, and exiting from their businesses.  Affect is a broad term encompassing moods, emotions, and feelings.  Affect can range from joy, hope, and passion on the positive end to fear, shame, and grief when things do not go well. Affect can be elicited by specific events, such as venture failure, in the case of emotions, or not linked to specific objects, in the case of moods.  It can also be dispositional, as some individuals tend to experience particular emotions, such as optimism or pessimism. 

            Fields such as psychology, sociology, organizational behavior, and positive organizational psychology have examined how affect influences job behaviors, cognitions, and outcomes.  However, comprehensive and systematic study of affect is just emerging in the field of entrepreneurship.

This special issue focuses on the heart of entrepreneurship, or on what, how, when, and why affect may influence entrepreneurs and/or their ventures.  Prior research has suggested that affect can influence cognitions such as those involved in opportunity recognition, decision-making, and goal-setting.  It can impact behaviors such as persistence in the current venture, timing of venture closure, and starting new ventures (or not) following a failed firm.  The affect an entrepreneur displays to others can also be important as it can impact employee attitudes and productivity as well as potential investor choices concerning whether or not to invest in the company. 

            Yet many questions about affect in entrepreneurship remain.  We encourage submission of papers that fall within the broad focus on affect in entrepreneurship.  A variety of questions and topics could be addressed in this area, including but not limited to the following:

• What affective states are most prominent in entrepreneurship?  Do they change with the different stages of the entrepreneurial process? 
• Should we be considering affect in general or focusing on specific discrete emotions such as pride, shame, joy, fear, and what are the tradeoffs?
• How do different types of affect (moods, emotions, feelings) interact in entrepreneurship?
• What are the antecedents of emotions in entrepreneurship? 
• What are the consequences of emotions in entrepreneurship? 
• When does affect enhance the entrepreneurial process?  When does it detract from it?
• What is it about the entrepreneurial context that makes being an entrepreneur such an emotional endeavor?
• Studies often focus on positive or negative emotions, but to what extent is the impact of emotions on entrepreneurial outcomes contingent on both of them?
• What is the interaction between affect and cognitions on entrepreneurial behaviors and/or outcomes?
• What are the affective influences on the entrepreneurs' behaviors such as the goals they set, persistence in implementing business plans, and focus of their efforts?
• How does affect influence the entrepreneurs' experiences, such as stress levels, excitement about their businesses, and perceptions of venture viability?
• Why are some and not others better able to generate (and use) affect?  Is this something that can be learned?  How?
• How does emotional intelligence or emotional regulation play a role?
• When and why are some types of affect associated with negative outcomes?  Why are some entrepreneurs better able to regulate their affect to benefit from the positives and minimize the negatives?
• What kinds of affect matter when companies are founded by teams rather than by individuals?  How do existing models of affect change when there is a founding team?
• Do the feelings entrepreneurs experience matter or only those they express/display to others, such as employees or investors? How do we account for the distinction between emotional experience and emotional display in our research?
• What are the effects of the entrepreneur's affect on individuals they interact with, such as the entrepreneurial team, potential investors, and advisory boards?
• What are the methodological challenges in studying affect in entrepreneurship and what suggestions are there to overcome these challenges?

We are open to and encourage a wide range of theories and methods to enhance our understanding of this topic.  Submissions should introduce new concepts/theory or extend and develop existing theory in a meaningful way.  We encourage submissions that integrate work from other fields such as psychology, economics, sociology, and others.  Conceptual and empirical papers are welcome.

Papers should be submitted through ET&P's manuscript central no later than January 10, 2010.  Further information on formatting and submission can be found on the ET&P website:  http://www.baylor.edu/business/ETP/

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice is a leading scholarly journal in the field of Entrepreneurship studies and the official journal of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). The journal's mission is to publish original conceptual and empirical papers that contribute to the advancement of the field of entrepreneurship.