The divergent effects of autonomy and passion on persistence in new venture creation

We draw upon recent developments in the identity and motivation literatures to address an intriguing puzzle in entrepreneurial gestation: Are entrepreneurs who start their businesses for non-pecuniary reasons more likely to persist with their venturing efforts until the businesss profitable birth? Using the latest data from the second phase of Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED II), we found that two non-pecuniary motivations, autonomy and passion for work, have significant impacts on entrepreneurial persistence, albeit in opposite directions C the pursuit of autonomy impairs nascent entrepreneurs - venturing efforts, whereas passion-driven nascent entrepreneurs are likely to continue their venturing efforts. By untangling the different identity focuses of these two non-pecuniary motivations, we caution entrepreneurs against the over-idealized dream of pursuing autonomy through entrepreneurship.