星空传媒

Participation in election campaigns and similar political activities can have a positive impact on the entrepreneurial and business aspirations of individuals by increasing their access to social capital, expanding networking opportunities, fostering collaboration and cultivating mentorship possibilities.

That鈥檚 among the findings of a recent study conducted by two entrepreneurship faculty members in the 星空传媒 College of Business with the assistance of one of their graduate students.

For the study, B.B. Penny-Darden and Lane Perry, who both serve as assistant professors of entrepreneurship, and graduate student Shawn Smallwood examined how political engagement, particularly through structured campaign experiences, can function as a developmental training ground for entrepreneurial preparation.

Their research investigates how political motivations can serve as a psychological forerunner to perceived behavioral control (or PBC), which is considered a driving factor leading to entrepreneurial behavior. The study examines how ideological and civic activities can influence small business formation, particularly among politically motivated individuals who are entering the world of business creation through nontraditional or values-driven pathways.

鈥淭his paper was prompted by my prior research, particularly an interest in how political and entrepreneurial domains intersect and shape individual agency,鈥� Darden said. 鈥淥ur team was fortunate to collaborate with Dr. Perry, whose extensive expertise in entrepreneurial ecosystems and venture creation meaningfully strengthened the theoretical framing of this work. We were also excited to work with our graduate student Shawn Smallwood, as he brings insights from his military and entrepreneurial background.鈥�

The researchers published their findings in an article titled 鈥淓xamining the Political Training Grounds: Campaign Experience on Entrepreneur鈥檚 Self-Evaluation and Perceived Behavioral Control鈥� accepted for publication by the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development.

鈥淎t its core, this study seeks to better understand how politically motivated individuals may use the political arena as a developmental training ground for entrepreneurship,鈥� Darden said. 鈥淐onsider, for example, individuals who run for political office. Over time, their ability to articulate who they are, what they stand for and why they are capable matures and becomes increasingly refined. As candidates repeatedly justify their qualifications to constituents, their belief in their own capabilities appears to strengthen as well.鈥�

In their study, Darden and Perry attempt to capture this process through core self-evaluation and examine how it translates into perceived behavioral control, regarded as a central psychological precursor to entrepreneurial action.

鈥淚t is like an inert energy that can be activated by an external catalyst, an opportunity, a challenge or a triggering event,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淚t becomes a source of motivation, whereby individuals act 鈥� or are more likely to act 鈥� when they believe they have both the capability to execute and the control to take the next step.鈥�

In entrepreneurial terms, this reflects confidence paired with a trust in one鈥檚 own effectiveness, he said.

Among the insights that emerged from the study is a decided difference between the impact on entrepreneurial readiness of various types of political engagement.

The researchers said that they discovered in their study that the level of an individual鈥檚 entrepreneurial readiness resulting from political activities varies depending on whether those activities are activist in nature (that is, seeking change through conventional or legal means) or more radical (operating outside the norm and using more disruptive tactics).

鈥淎ctivist political intentions indirectly enhance entrepreneurial readiness. Activist intentions positively influence core self-evaluation, which in turn increases perceived behavioral control for venture creation. In essence, feeling empowered in civic or political life strengthens self-belief, which then heightens confidence in one鈥檚 ability to successfully launch a venture,鈥� Darden said.

On the other hand, more radical political intentions can undermine self-evaluation, reduce perceived behavioral control and weaken confidence in entrepreneurial contexts, the researchers said.

鈥淐ampaign experience fundamentally alters this relationship for radicals,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淧articipation in political campaigns 鈥� whether running for office or working on one 鈥� attenuates the negative effects of radical intentions on self-evaluation. Campaign experience helps convert ideological intensity into a more grounded sense of capability, effectively transforming conviction into usable agency.鈥�

The study also indicates that political campaigns can function almost like informal entrepreneurial boot camps, the professors said.

鈥淐ampaigns provide mastery experiences, repeated feedback, social validation and access to networks 鈥� all of which build the psychological raw materials necessary for venture creation,鈥� Darden said. 鈥淚n doing so, they cultivate the 鈥榠nert energy鈥� that can later be catalyzed by entrepreneurial opportunity.鈥�

For their study, Darden and Perry collected cross-sectional survey data from 354 politically engaged adults in the United States. Respondents included members of both major political parties who had self-identified as politically active with some level of engagement in political events with the past year and who had expressed entrepreneurial aspirations.

Approximately 45 percent of responses came from women and 55 percent from men. The average age of respondents was 36.3 years old, and 48 percent of participants held a college degree.

The researchers then conducted regression-based mediation and moderation analyses of survey results using a popular statistical modeling software program.

The researchers say they believe that the project contributes to the growing recognition of ideologically motivated entrepreneurship by integrating political psychology with entrepreneurial cognition.

鈥淚t challenges conventional market-based narratives by demonstrating how civic and identity-driven experiences, such as activism and political campaigning, shape entrepreneurial self-identity,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淥ur findings offer a novel perspective on how small business formation can emerge from values-driven, inclusive and nontraditional pathways, particularly among politically engaged individuals.鈥�

The findings also contribute to a growing recognition that entrepreneurship can emerge from ideologically motivated pathways, rather than solely from economic opportunity or market rationality, the researchers say.

鈥淚ndividuals embedded in activist and radical communities often pursue entrepreneurship not to maximize profit but to extend their political values, engage in systems change or creatively build alternatives to dominant institutional structures. This challenges traditional narratives of entrepreneurial behavior, which typically frame behavior as a function of resource access or personal ambition,鈥� Darden said.

鈥淚nstead, our results suggest that political identity, when reinforced through civic participation, can serve as a foundation for entrepreneurial ability development, especially when individuals perceive (or begin to see) themselves as capable agents of change,鈥� he said.

The professors believe future research could explore other civic domains that may similarly cultivate entrepreneurial capacity, such as military service, firefighting or emergency response fields where leadership, resilience and rapid decision-making are important characteristics that also translate into the business world.