APA Citation
Cardon, M., Wincent, J., Singh, J., & Drnovsek, M. (2017). The Nature and Experience of Entrepreneurial Passion. *Academy of Management Review*, 34(3), 511-532.
Summary
This comprehensive review examines the psychological nature of entrepreneurial passion, focusing on how intense positive emotions toward meaningful activities can drive behavior while also creating vulnerabilities to exploitation. The authors explore how passionate individuals may sacrifice personal boundaries, ignore warning signs, and become targets for manipulative partners or business associates who exploit their emotional investment and dedication to their ventures.
Why This Matters for Survivors
Survivors often struggle with understanding how their passion and dedication were weaponized against them in abusive relationships. This research validates that passionate, driven individuals are particularly vulnerable to narcissistic exploitation, helping survivors recognize that their strengths—not weaknesses—made them targets for abuse.
What This Research Establishes
• Passionate individuals display intense emotional investment in meaningful activities, creating both drive for success and vulnerability to those who would exploit such dedication
• Entrepreneurial passion involves identity fusion where personal worth becomes intertwined with specific activities or goals, making manipulation through these areas particularly devastating
• Passionate people show increased risk-taking and optimism bias that can lead to ignoring warning signs when someone appears to share or support their passionate interests
• The same psychological traits that drive entrepreneurial success - persistence, emotional intensity, and deep commitment - can be systematically exploited by manipulative partners or associates
Why This Matters for Survivors
Understanding this research helps validate a crucial truth: you weren’t targeted because you were weak, but because you were passionate and driven. Narcissistic abusers are skilled at identifying individuals with deep emotional investments and intense dedication to meaningful pursuits. Your passion was a strength that was weaponized against you.
Many survivors struggle with shame about how they “fell for” manipulation, especially in professional or business contexts. This research shows that passionate individuals are systematically more vulnerable to exploitation precisely because of their positive qualities - their optimism, dedication, and willingness to invest deeply in relationships and ventures.
The identity fusion aspect of passion helps explain why abuse in these contexts feels so devastating. When someone exploits your deepest interests and goals, they’re not just harming a relationship - they’re attacking your core sense of self and purpose.
Recovery involves reclaiming your right to be passionate while developing protective strategies. Your intense dedication and emotional investment are gifts to be protected, not flaws to be eliminated. Learning to recognize and deflect those who would exploit these qualities is part of healing.
Clinical Implications
Therapists working with survivors should recognize that passionate, driven clients may have specific vulnerabilities that narcissistic abusers deliberately target. Traditional victim-blaming approaches that focus on “why they stayed” miss the sophisticated exploitation tactics used against passionate individuals.
Assessment should include exploring how the client’s passions, goals, and areas of deep investment were identified and exploited by the abuser. Understanding the specific ways passion was weaponized helps both therapist and client recognize the systematic nature of the abuse.
Treatment planning should address the identity fusion aspects of passionate pursuits. When abuse occurs in contexts related to deeply held interests or professional goals, survivors may experience profound identity disruption that requires specialized therapeutic attention.
Recovery work should focus on helping clients reclaim their passionate nature while developing discernment about who deserves access to their deepest investments. The goal is not to become less passionate, but to become more protective of that passion and better able to identify those who would exploit it.
How This Research Is Used in the Book
This research provides crucial insight into why certain individuals become repeated targets for narcissistic abuse across different life domains. Chapter 8 explores how narcissists identify and exploit passionate individuals, while Chapter 12 addresses the specific vulnerabilities created by deep emotional investment in meaningful pursuits.
“The research on entrepreneurial passion reveals a troubling truth: the same qualities that drive innovation, creativity, and meaningful contribution to the world also create specific vulnerabilities that narcissistic individuals learn to identify and exploit. Understanding this dynamic is crucial for both prevention and recovery, helping passionate individuals protect their gifts while pursuing their deepest purposes.”
Historical Context
This 2017 research emerged during a period of increased awareness about workplace narcissism and emotional manipulation in professional settings. As entrepreneurship became more culturally celebrated, researchers began examining the psychological vulnerabilities that could be exploited in business relationships, providing important insights into how passionate individuals become targets for sophisticated manipulation tactics.
Further Reading
• Babiak, P. & Hare, R. D. (2006). Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work - Examines manipulation tactics in professional environments
• Campbell, W. K. & Miller, J. D. (2011). The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder - Provides clinical context for exploitative behaviors
• Bursten, B. (1973). Some narcissistic personality types - Early clinical framework for understanding exploitative relationship patterns
About the Author
Melissa S. Cardon is Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at Pace University, specializing in entrepreneurial psychology and emotional regulation in high-stakes environments.
Joakim Wincent is Professor at Luleå University of Technology, focusing on entrepreneurial behavior and psychological resilience in business contexts.
Jagdip Singh is Professor of Marketing at Case Western Reserve University, researching emotional labor and psychological well-being in professional relationships.
Mateja Drnovsek is Professor at the University of Ljubljana, specializing in entrepreneurial cognition and decision-making under emotional influence.
Historical Context
Published during increased awareness of workplace narcissism and emotional manipulation in professional settings, this research provided crucial insights into how passionate individuals become vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Passionate individuals display intense emotional investment and dedication, qualities that narcissists exploit by mimicking shared interests and using the person's passion as leverage for manipulation and control.
The same traits that drive entrepreneurial success—optimism, persistence, emotional investment—can make individuals vulnerable to partners who exploit these qualities for personal gain.
Yes, abusers often identify and exploit their target's passions, using love-bombing tactics around shared interests before gradually undermining and controlling those same passionate pursuits.
Narcissists may present themselves as ideal business partners or romantic interests who share the entrepreneur's vision, then gradually extract resources, credit, and control while undermining the person's confidence.
Intense passion can create cognitive biases and emotional blind spots, making individuals more likely to rationalize concerning behaviors when they believe someone shares their deep interests and goals.
By maintaining clear boundaries, seeking independent validation of business or personal relationships, and recognizing that healthy partners support rather than exploit passionate pursuits.
No, passion is a strength that abusers deliberately target and exploit. The vulnerability comes from the exploitation, not from having passionate interests or goals.
Recovery involves recognizing that their passion was a strength that was exploited, gradually rebuilding trust in their judgment, and establishing protective boundaries around their interests and goals.