Event-generated Affect : Implications for Small Business and High Growth Ventures Goals

Resent research in entrepreneurship argues that the experiential processing of events impacts affect, which in turn influence judgment and decision states. However, founders with different founding goals may self-select into different founding trajectories that provide them with different experiences and therefore different affective reactions. Further, research also suggests that different experiential processing may carry action-oriented appraisal dimensions that act as implicit perceptual lenses for interpreting subsequent experiences. Hence, drawing from both experience and cognitive appraisal research streams, we develop a model that explores how different types of venture goals—small business vs. high growth –venture influences the relationship between event-generated affect and formation of entrepreneurial intention. We also provide research and practical implications.