Competitiveness, Core Self-evaluation and Obsessive Passion: A Study on Entrepreneurs in the Board Game Industry

Though popular press promotes the idea that all entrepreneurs are highly competitive, research on the individual competitiveness of entrepreneurs is scarce. This study examines the multifaceted motivations that drive individuals to engage in competition. In doing so, the links between entrepreneurs’ general trait competitiveness and competitive attitudes (i.e., hypercompetition, personal development, and competition avoidance) are investigated, with these links moderated by their core self-evaluations and obsessive passion. The study contributes to the multidimensional nature of the competitiveness and individual entrepreneurship literature by finding that it is not merely the level of general trait competitiveness that influences an entrepreneur’s attitude towards competing; rather, their obsessive passion for their venture can lead to more unhealthy, neurotic forms of competition. Implications for these relationships are discussed.