Pick the right obsession!

Research Paper Title:

“Obsessive passion and the venture team: When co-founders join, and when they don't”

Authors:

Yingzhu Fu

Matthias Tietz (University of St.Gallen)

Frédéric Delmar (Emlyon Business School)

Background:

Have you ever wondered whether to join a team and considered your perceptions of an existing leading team member in your decision? Our investigation into how the obsessive passion of the founder entrepreneur influences the likelihood that others will join the venture team suggests that not all obsessive passions are perceived equal. The authors designed a conjoint experiment with 116 founder entrepreneurs making 928 decisions about joining a venture team (verified by another 59 entrepreneurs making 429 decisions) and found that displaying an obsessive passion for founding ventures still deters most potential co-founders. But showing obsessive passion for inventing or developing ventures makes them want to join. For potential co-founders with a similar obsessive passion for founding, the negative effect is reduced. This study enables founders to display their passions strategically, while potential team members would know which passions are likely to work positively for them. So the next time you want others to join your team, or consider joining a team yourself, give our paper a read first. You can learn more about how your own and the perceived obsessive passions of others influence your decisions.

Highlights:

• Perceived obsessive passion can have negative as well as a positive influence on co-founders’ decision

• Whether perceived obsessive passion is positive or negative depends on the associated activities

• Perceived obsessive passion for founding negatively influences co-founders’ decision to join the venture

• Perceived obsessive passion has a stronger positive influence on co-founders with a similar passion

Methodology:

• Number of Studies: 2 studies, 3 pilot tests

• Sample Description: The main sample provided 928 observations nested in 116 founder entrepreneurs who owned and operated at least one venture in the southeast region of China. These entrepreneurs have an average entrepreneurial experience of 7.46 years (s.d. 6.27) and 3.23 ventures (s.d. 4.75); 96 (83%) of them have co-founder experience and 103 (89%) have received invitations to join venture teams. A total of 89 (77%) participants are male. The average age is 38 years (s.d. 8.27). A total of 87 (75%) participants have an undergraduate or higher-level degree. The additional entrepreneur sample provided 472 observations nested in 59 entrepreneurs.

• Sample Size: 116, 59, 78, 109, 177 individuals

• Analytical Approach: The authors use a conjoint experiment’ technique requiring respondents to make a series of decisions based on a set of attributes from which the underlying structure of their decisions can be decomposed by means of hierarchical regression and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM)

Hypothesis:

1. Potential co-founders' likelihood of joining the venture team is positively associated with the perception of the founder's OP for inventing opportunities (supported)

2. Potential co-founders' likelihood of joining the venture team is positively associated with the perception of the founder's OP for developing ventures (supported)

3. Potential co-founders' likelihood of joining the venture team is negatively associated with the perception of the founder's OP for founding ventures (supported)

4. Perceived OP for founding ventures reduces the positive impact of perceived OP for inventing opportunities on potential co-founders' decisions to join the venture team (supported)

5. Perceived OP for founding ventures reduces the positive impact of perceived OP for developing ventures on potential co-founders' decisions to join the venture team (not supported)

6. Potential co-founders' own OP for inventing enhances the positive relationship between the co-founders' perception of the founder's OP for inventing opportunities and the decision to join the venture team (not supported)

7. Potential co-founders' own OP for developing enhances the positive relationship between the co-founders' perception of the founder's OP for developing ventures and the decision to join the venture team (not supported)

8. Potential co-founders' own OP for founding reduces the negative relationship between the co-founders' perception of the founder's OP for founding ventures and the decision to join the venture team (supported)

Results:

1. Potential co-founders were more likely to join when they perceived the founder to have an obsessive passion for developing ventures but were less likely to join when they perceived the founder to have an obsessive passion for founding ventures.

2. Perceived obsessive passion for founding ventures weakened the positive impact of obsessive passion for developing ventures.

3. The positive impact of perceived obsessive passion for inventing opportunities increases for potential co-founders with a similarly high obsessive passion for inventing.

Conclusion:

1. Perceived obsessive passion can have negative as well as positive influences on co-founders’ decision

2. Whether perceived obsessive passion is positive or negative depends on the associated activities

3. Perceived obsessive passion for founding negatively influences co-founders’ decision to join the venture

4. Perceived obsessive passion has a stronger positive influence on co-founders with a similar passion