Social Networks and Entrepreneurial Passion: Selection or Contagion?

Entrepreneurial passion is contagious such that social interaction leads to passion convergence. However, do entrepreneurs also select whom they interact with based on passion similarity? The complex interdependencies between social networks and passion remain undertheorized and empirically puzzling. Using a stochastic actor-oriented model (SIENA) and four waves of panel data, we test hypotheses about the co-evolution of social networks and entrepreneurial passion during a 5-months university-based acceleration program. We find that entrepreneurs select social network ties based on similar levels of passion for founding and inventing but that only passion for founding is socially contagious. We discuss theoretical, empirical, and practical implications.