A Fire that Warms or Burns? A Mixed-methods Investigation of the Effects of Entrepreneurs’ Passion for their Business on Thriving and Mediating Mechanisms

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Degree type
Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP)
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Psychology
Subject
entrepreneurs, relationships, harmonious passion, obsessive passion, dualistic model of passion, relationship support, perceived responsiveness, destructive relationship behaviors, constructive relationship behaviors, reparative behaviors, positive psychology
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2025
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Madill, Cameron
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Abstract

This capstone examined how an entrepreneur’s passion for their business may impact their life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and subjective business success, along with relationship processes as possible mediators. Study 1 was a qualitative study (n=24) of couples who were interviewed where at least one was an entrepreneur. Two coders reviewed the results and found statistically significant positive correlations between relationship satisfaction and harmonious passion (HP), self-regulation during conflict, and perceived partner support; a negative correlation between obsessive passion (OP) and relationship satisfaction was also found. Study 2 was a quantitative study (n=391) of entrepreneurs that explored their relationship with their business (as a harmonious or obsessive passion) as the key predictor variable, life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and subjective business success as outcome variables, and perceived partner responsiveness, destructive conflict behaviors, and reparative behaviors after conflict as possible mediators. Regression analysis found that HP positively predicted all three outcome variables and OP predicted greater subjective business success. Path analysis found that HP indirectly predicted greater relationship satisfaction through perceived partner responsiveness, OP indirectly predicted lower relationship satisfaction through destructive conflict behaviors, and that HP predicted greater life satisfaction both directly as well as indirectly via perceived partner responsiveness. These results suggest that while both types of passion may promote business success, they have diverging implications for interpersonal and personal well-being.

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Lemay, Edward
Date of degree
2025
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