Emotion and Entrepreneurial Cognition

Abstract

In this chapter, we point out that entrepreneurship has often been depicted as an ``emotional rollercoaster'' with multiple, and sometimes extreme, ups and downs, and psychologists have long established that these emotional experiences impact individuals' cognitions. How do emotions, both positive and negative, impact entrepreneurs' opportunity recognition? How do emotions, displayed by supervisors, impact employees' entrepreneurial motivation? Further, given that the failure of entrepreneurial projects is known to often cause substantial negative emotions, how do these emotions impact team members' learning and organizational commitment? And how do these effects depend on the organizational environment and individual coping behaviors and self-compassion? In this chapter, we explore the above questions to shed more light on the role of emotions for entrepreneurial cognition.