Topic: When passion is not enough: The importance of construal variability for entrepreneurial success

Speaker: Prof. Russell E. Johnson Michigan State University

Time: March 9, 2025, 9:30

Venue: EMS 216

Abstract:

Delivering an effective pitch is a challenging endeavor for passionate entrepreneurs. While entrepreneurial passion encompasses both an affective component—intense positive feelings toward entrepreneurial pursuits—and a conative component—meaningful self-identification with those pursuits—these motivational energies need to be channeled in appropriate ways to sell ideas effectively. Entrepreneurial pitching presents a distinct context where entrepreneurs must navigate competing demands, such as balancing desirability and feasibility, communicating both abstract and concrete ideas, and addressing both long- and short-term goals. Drawing from construal level theory, we propose construal variability—or individual differences in construal level fluctuations over time—as a cognitive construct that equips entrepreneurs with the capability to better manage the complex demands of pitching. Consistent with our central thesis, results from a multiwave field study involving an actual pitch competition demonstrated that construal variability strengthened the positive relationship of entrepreneurial passion with independent ratings of pitch performance. Importantly, the utility of construal variability, entrepreneurial passion, and their interaction remained even after controlling for other established predictors of pitch effectiveness, including cognitive ability, the Big Five personality traits, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and locus of control. I conclude the talk by discussing the implications of construal variability for OB and HR research more broadly.

Guest Bio:

Russell E. Johnson is a Professor of Management at the Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Akron in 2006. His research focuses on self-regulation, motivation, justice, self-concept, and leadership-based processes that underlie work attitudes and behaviors, whether deliberate or automatic in nature. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles in numerous academic journals, including the Academy of Management Annals, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Organizational Research Methods, Organization Science, Personnel Psychology, and Psychological Bulletin. He has served as an Associate Editor for the Academy of Management Review and the Journal of Applied Psychology. In 2013, Dr. Johnson received the "Distinguished Early Career Contributions-Science Award" from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and in 2018, he was awarded the "Cummings Scholarly Achievement Award" by the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management.