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This study investigates why and where self-employment is related to higher levels of eudaimonic well-being. We focus on meaningfulness as an important eudaimonic process and subjective vitality as a eudaimonic well-being outcome that is central to entrepreneurs' proactivity. Building on self-determination theory, we posit that self-employment, relative to wage-employment, is a more self-determined and volitional career choice, which enhances the experience of meaningfulness at work and perceptions of work autonomy. In a multi-level study of 22,002 individuals and 16 European countries, meaningfulness at work mediates the relationship between self-employment and subjective vitality and explains this relationship better than work autonomy. We identify moderating effects of context: the societal legitimacy of entrepreneurship in a country affects the choice set of alternative career options that individuals can consider and thus shapes the experience of meaningfulness at work and work autonomy, and thereby indirectly subjective vitality. These findings expand our understanding of eudaimonic well-being, entrepreneurs' work, and the role of context in entrepreneurship and well-being research. They complement existing research on hedonic well-being of entrepreneurs and extend the scarce literature on their eudaimonic well-being.

This study presents a theoretical model regarding the entrepreneurial potential construct, and the main psychosocial aspects that contribute towards an individual's preparedness to engage in activities typically associated with entrepreneurship. The general question addressed in this study is: How to explain the entrepreneurial potential construct theoretically, and how to assess it empirically? This study seeks to contribute by creating an instrument (the EPAI -Entrepreneurial Potential Assessment Inventory) that can be used to measure the entrepreneurial potential construct. In this paper we present four studies on its empirical validation. The results suggest reliable scale characteristics, convergent and discriminant validity. The EPAI can be used by an entrepreneur for self-assessment, for training, and for professional development.

We integrate literatures on entrepreneurial passion, shared emotions, and group identities to extend a conceptual model of team entrepreneurial passion (TEP). We delineate mono-focal, complete, and incomplete poly-focal TEP, and examine how each type and focus of TEP is related to team performance. We test our hypotheses with 73 new venture teams. Results reveal that TEP occurs in 61 teams in our sample (23 mono-focal, 26 complete poly-focal, 12 incomplete poly-focal). In terms of focus, TEP for inventing and developing are positively related to team performance. Concerning type, mono-focal and complete poly-focal TEP are the most beneficial for team performance.

We analyze the effects of the program Cognitive Entrepreneurial Training in Opportunity Recognition on the accurate assessment of prototypical viability of business opportunities. The training integrates the principles of experiential learning and is designed to reach students across campus. We also investigate the moderating role of entrepreneurial passion on opportunity recognition learning. We use a quasi‐experimental design with pre‐test, post‐test in two European universities. The results demonstrate that the training has positive significant effects on the accurate identification of business opportunities' prototypical viability. Intense positive feelings about entrepreneurship moderate the learning process. We provide insights into entrepreneurship education practice across campus.

Empowerment is an important but understudied phenomenonExperiential Learning in entrepreneurship education. We integrate literatures on empowerment theory and experiential learning to propose a conceptual model of empowerment‐based entrepreneurship education. The concept of entrepreneurial empowerment is introduced as a cognitive state characterized by meaning, competence, self‐determination, and impact toward entrepreneurial activities. The model proposes that empowerment has a mediating role in the relationship between experiential learning approaches in a poverty context and the acquisition of learning outcomes. The model is illustrated using an entrepreneurship and adversity program that supports local low‐income individuals in starting and growing their ventures.

The aim of this study is to analyze the role of individual characteristics and social norms as variables that explain early-stage entrepreneurial activity before and during the European crisis. We used the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Adult Population Survey data from Southern European countries (Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal) and Northern European countries (Sweden, Norway and Finland) in 2007, 2010. We performed logistic regression analysis to identify the role of individual characteristics (self-efficacy, perceptions of opportunities, role model and