IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2016

Communicating Entrepreneurial Passion: Personal Passion vs. Perceived Passion in Venture Pitches

Kristen Lucas University of Louisville ; Sharon A. Kerrick Bellarmine University ; Jenna Haugen University of Louisville ; Cole J. Crider

Abstract

Research problem: Entrepreneurial passion has been shown to play an important role in venture success and, therefore, in investors' funding decisions. However, it is unknown whether the passion entrepreneurs personally feel or experience can be accurately assessed by investors during a venture pitch. Research questions: (1) To what extent does entrepreneurs' personal passion align with investors' perceived passion? (2) To what cues do investors attend when assessing entrepreneurs' passion? Literature review: Integrating theory and research in entrepreneurship communication and entrepreneurial passion within the context of venture pitching, we explain that during venture pitches, investors make judgments about entrepreneurs' passion that have consequences for their investment decisions. However, they can attend to only those cues that entrepreneurs outwardly display. As a result, they may not be assessing the passion entrepreneurs personally feel or experience. Methodology: We used a sequential explanatory mixed methods research design. For our data collection, we surveyed 40 student entrepreneurs, videorecorded their venture pitches, and facilitated focus groups with 16 investors who viewed the videos and ranked, rated, and discussed their perceptions of entrepreneurs' passion. We conducted statistical analyses to assess the extent to which entrepreneurs' personal passion and investors' perceived passion aligned. We then performed an inductive analysis of critical cases to identify specific cues that investors attributed to passion or lack thereof. Results and conclusions: We revealed a large misalignment between entrepreneurs' personal passion and investors' perceived passion. Our critical case analysis demonstrated that entrepreneurs' weak or strong presentation skills led investors either to underestimate or overestimate, respectively, perceptions of entrepreneurs' passion. We suggest that entrepreneurs should develop specific presentation skills and rhetorical strategies for displaying their passion; at the same time, investors should be wary of attending too closely to presentation skills when assessing passion.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2016-12-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2016.2607818
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation context

Cited by in this index (13)

  1. Adavi et al. (2025)
    “Proud to Be the Enabler”: Closed System Ideology in the Origin Stories of Indi…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Pellegrini et al. (2024)
    Constructing Entrepreneurial Opportunities: The Argumentative Structure of Earl…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Burks et al. (2024)
    Entrepreneurial Mindsets & Rhetorical Canons: Enhancing Business Communication …
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  4. DeJeu (2023)
    The Topoi of Small Business Entrepreneurship
    Written Communication
  5. Sabaj et al. (2023)
    “The Basis of Aaaalll of Our Program!” The Start-Up Chile Playbook as Metagenre
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Show all 13 →
  1. Gogan et al. (2022)
    Emotion, Rhetoric, and Entrepreneurial Experience: A Survey of Start-Up Communi…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Margherita et al. (2021)
    Elevator Pitch Assessment Model: A Systematization of Dimensions in Technology …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Fraiberg (2021)
    Introduction to Special Issue on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Communication …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Zhang et al. (2021)
    The Construction of Interpersonal Meanings in the iPhone 1 Product Launch Prese…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Spinuzzi et al. (2020)
    Go or No Go: Learning to Persuade in an Early-Stage Student Entrepreneurship Program
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  6. Williams et al. (2020)
    Toward a heuristic for teaching the visual rhetoric of pitch decks: a pedagogic…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  7. Spinuzzi et al. (2018)
    Articulating Problems and Markets: A Translation Analysis of Entrepreneurs’ Eme…
    Written Communication
  8. Spinuzzi (2017)
    Introduction to Special Issue on the Rhetoric of Entrepreneurship: Theories, Me…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (45) · 5 in this index

  1. 10.1037/a0032573
     ↗
  2. creswell (2013)
    Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design Choosing among Five Approaches
  3. 10.1016/j.hrmr.2008.04.001
     ↗
  4. 10.1111/etap.12089
     ↗
  5. 10.1177/0149206311433855
     ↗
Show all 45 →
  1. 10.1016/S0883-9026(97)00008-6
     ↗
  2. creswell (2007)
    Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research
  3. 10.2307/30040623
     ↗
  4. van osnabrugge (1998)
    The financing of entrepreneurial firms in the UK: A comparison of business angel and ven…
  5. 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.03.003
     ↗
  6. Lucas et al. (2015)
    The Competency Pivot: Introducing a Revised Approach to the Business Communicat…
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  7. 10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.756
     ↗
  8. 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00531.x
     ↗
  9. 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00538.x
     ↗
  10. 10.3905/jpe.2007.699057
     ↗
  11. Spinuzzi et al. (2015)
    Remaking the Pitch: Reuse Strategies in Entrepreneurs’ Pitch Decks
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  12. Spinuzzi et al. (2014)
    Making the Pitch: Examining Dialogue and Revisions in Entrepreneurs' Pitch Decks
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  13. 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00539.x
     ↗
  14. 10.1177/002194360203900103
     ↗
  15. 10.1002/smj.188
     ↗
  16. 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.01002.x
     ↗
  17. 10.5465/AMJ.2009.36462018
     ↗
  18. 10.1016/0883-9026(85)90011-4
     ↗
  19. 10.1080/13691060802151945
     ↗
  20. sudek (2006)
    Angel investment criteria
    J Small Business Strategy
  21. Galbraith et al. (2014)
    The Impact of Presentation Form, Entrepreneurial Passion, and Perceived Prepare…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  22. 10.1177/0001839215597270
     ↗
  23. cardon (2009)
    The impact of perceived entrepreneurial passion on angel investing
    Frontiers Entrep Res
  24. 10.5465/AMR.2009.40633190
     ↗
  25. 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2011.11.003
     ↗
  26. 10.1177/0266242604042377
     ↗
  27. 10.1080/00335637909383470
     ↗
  28. 10.3905/jpe.2003.320037
     ↗
  29. 10.5465/AMJ.2007.27169488
     ↗
  30. 10.1177/1077800410383121
     ↗
  31. 10.2189/asqu.52.1.70
     ↗
  32. marom (2014)
    Are the life and death of a young start-up indeed in the power of the tongue? Lessons fr…
    SSRN Electron J
  33. 10.4135/9781412984287
     ↗
  34. Spartz et al. (2015)
    Writing Entrepreneurs: A Survey of Attitudes, Habits, Skills, and Genres
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  35. baron (1999)
    The role of social skills in entrepreneurs' success: Evidence from videotapes of entrepr…
    Frontiers of Entrepreneurship
  36. 10.1037/0021-9010.89.4.587
     ↗
  37. lucas (0)
    Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS)
    SAGE Encyclopedia Commun Res Meth
  38. 10.1080/1369106022000024950
     ↗
  39. tracy (2013)
    Qualitative Research Methods Collecting Evidence Crafting Analysis Communicating Impact
  40. 10.1080/1369106022000024969
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 52 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related articles

  1. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2013
    Rhetorical Appeals of Professional Designers in Decision-Making Sessions ↗
    Erin Friess
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument collaborative writing empirical research qualitative research book reviews
  2. Writing and Pedagogy Jun 2026
    A Pedagogy for Writing Enjoyment: Inspiration From Free-Time Author Schools for Children ↗
    Stine Heger
    rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy teacher development collaborative writing empirical research qualitative research
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication May 2026
    The User Experience of Virtual Reality for Longitudinal Writing: A Diary Study of Immersive Graduate Dissertation Composing Experience ↗
    Jason Tham; Rich Shivener; Niveditha Pookkottuvariam; Sarah Riddick
    rhetorical criticism graduate education technical communication archival research empirical research qualitative research
  4. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Sep 2025
    Professionalizing Researchers: Mapping and Visualizing Doctoral Engineering Student Identity Development Through User-Experience (UX) Methods ↗
    Jason Tham; Diego A. Polanco-Lahoz; Madison Hanson; Jennifer Cross; Mario Beruvides
    curriculum design graduate education collaborative writing assessment empirical research qualitative research book reviews
  5. Communication Design Quarterly Sep 2024
    Review of "Embodied Environmental Risk in Technical Communication by Samuel Stinson and Mary Le Rouge," Stinson, S., & Le Rouge, M. (Eds.). (2022). Embodied Environmental Risk in Technical Communication. Routledge. ↗
    David Reamer
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis technical communication qualitative research race and writing body and rhetoric book reviews