The Influence of Behavioral Intention on the Entrepreneurial Passion and Organizational Commitment of Women Entrepreneurs: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

In Mexico, women entrepreneurs represent a significant portion of the population that contributes economically to the country. Few studies describe the challenges they face in creating and maintaining businesses, such as access to resources and the motivations that influence their intention and commitment to entrepreneurship, given that it is considered a predominantly male activity. To describe this behavioral intention that precedes entrepreneurship, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) is used as a theoretical framework. However, unlike previous applications of TRA in entrepreneurship research—which predominantly treat intention as a static predictor of the decision to start a business—we broaden the framework by conceptualizing behavioral intention as a continuous motivational force that sustains entrepreneurial passion and deepens organizational commitment in the entrepreneurial process. In doing so, the study addresses a gap in the literature: TRA has been criticized for neglecting the psychological mechanisms that underpin entrepreneurial behavior once the business has been launched. Based on in-depth interviews with ten women entrepreneurs in Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico), the findings show that entrepreneurial intention does not dissolve once the business is created: it re-emerges as entrepreneurial passion during the uncertain early stages of the venture and, as the business incorporates employees and customers, crystallizes into organizational commitment, which in turn feeds back into and reinforces entrepreneurial passion. These findings are synthesized into an integrative, sequential model—intention, behavior, passion, and commitment—that offers a novel processual account of women’s entrepreneurship beyond the moment of business creation.