Entrepreneurial passion for founding as a mediator of the career anchors to entrepreneurial behavior relationship

• Published date: 01 February 2022
• Author: Haroon A. A. Saif
• Date: 01 February 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2408

ACADEMIC PAPER

Entrepreneurial passion for founding as a mediator of the

career anchors to entrepreneurial behavior relationship

Haroon A. A. Saif

School of Management, University of Science

and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei, China

Correspondence

Haroon A. A. Saif, School of Management,

University of Science and Technology of China

(USTC), Hefei, China.

Email: horoonma@mail.ustc.edu.cn

Due to its importance in economic growth, interest in entrepreneurial behavior

(EB) is expanding swiftly.in this study, we examine the role of career anchors in

predicting entrepreneurial behavior as well as the mediation role of entrepreneurial

passion for founding (EPF) in this relationship. Build on Schein's, Career dynamics:

Matching individual and organizational needs, 1978 and Schein's, Career anchors: Dis-

covering your real values, 1990 career anchor theory we propose that (Technical, Gen-

eral managerial, Autonomy, Entrepreneurial Creativity, Pure challenge and Sense of

Service) anchors relate positively to the EPF and this passion positively mediates the

relationship between these types of anchors and EB. on the other hand, we propose

that lifestyle anchor (LSA), as well as security anchors (SA) negatively, relate to EPF

negatively mediates the relationship between LSA, SA and EB build on data collected

from 444 potential entrepreneurs by using a dependable questionnaire; we found

support for our hypotheses, for example, we found that people with entrepreneurial

creativity anchor tend to have higher EPF which motivates them to engage in entre-

preneurial activities, On the other hand, people with a lifestyle anchor tend to care

more about their families and careers balance which affects their EPF and subse-

quently EB. These findings significantly contribute to EB and career anchors litera-

ture. The implications of this study are discussed.

1|INTRODUCTION

Entrepreneurial behavior (EB) is indeed a very influential factor in the

growth of businesses because the emergence of new business results

from the activities or behavior of entrepreneurs (Gartner, Carter, &

Reynolds, 2010). Due to its importance many scholars studied what

leads to such behavior. Previous studies have shown that most of the

EB significant predictors rely on situational factors (Lévesque &

Minniti, 2006). Furthermore, EB mostly results from cultural standards

and financial restrictions which mainly rely on the situational circum-

stances of a society (Lévesque & Minniti, 2006; Reynolds, Camp, &

Hay, 2002). In this study, we examine career anchors as predictors of

EB because they have not been studied as predictors of EB before.

This study is one of the first studies to our knowledge that explores

the role of career anchors in driving EB and the mediation role of

entrepreneurial passion for founding (EPF).

Investigating the role of career anchors in predicting EB and the

mediation effect of EPF in this pathway is very important because

career anchors influence career choices for individuals; they are criti-

cal factors that lead individuals to choose a particular career as indi-

viduals prefer to stick to their underlying inner profession orientations

within the organizational context (Wechtler, Koveshnikov, &

Dejoux, 2017). This means that individual behavior is influenced by a

certain individual's type of career anchors. Therefore career anchors

help to determine the type of career an individual chooses; type of

anchor dictates type of career choice; for example people with entre-

preneurial creativity anchor are strongly inclined to create or design

new products services or set up their own new business; On the other

hand, Security/stability anchored people have a high inclination for

stability in their careers, they prefer predictability so they can have a

steady and consistent future, and it is very important for them to feel

safe and secure in their careers (Costigan, Gurbuz, & Sigri, 2018;

Received: 20 February 2020 Accepted: 14 August 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2408

J Public Affairs. 2022;22:e2408. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1of14

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2408