Raging fire or regulated flames? Why entrepreneurs’ passion stays balanced or becomes excessive

Passion is a powerful work and career motivator, particularly for entrepreneurs, who navigate uncertainty and sustain effort over long periods. Yet, how passion changes over time remains insufficiently understood. Why do some entrepreneurs sustain or deepen their passion, whereas others experience decline or excess? Entrepreneurs may be equally passionate and encounter similar competence-related experiences yet differ markedly in how their passion evolves. Existing theories cannot fully explain this heterogeneity. This research develops a conditional change model that integrates competence experiences (satisfaction or frustration), initial passion levels, and passion type (harmonious or obsessive) to explain why passion sometimes intensifies and sometimes diminishes. Across two studies—a repeated-measures study of 209 entrepreneurs (1,172 lagged observations over 7 weeks) and a randomized between-subjects experiment with 190 entrepreneurs—we identify two opposing mechanisms: a harmonizing mechanism that buffers the effects of competence experiences on harmonious passion, and an amplifying mechanism that strengthens their effects on obsessive passion.