Passion

A growing body of research shows that self-identity is an important predictor of behavioral intentions. Although Sparks and Shepherd suggested that self-identity should influence intentions through attitudes, they discovered that green consumers' identity was an independent predictor of intentions to purchase organic products. It was argued that entrepreneurial identity was a good determinant of intentionality. Early literature also indicates a positive relationship between entrepreneurial self-identity and entrepreneurial intentions. Recently, Ndofirepi found that entrepreneurial self-identity had a direct statistically significant effect on entrepreneurial intention. Because the construct 'entrepreneurial leadership identity" has not been examined in the RRR women entrepreneurship context, the first research question explored in this paper is: What is the relationship between the Entrepreneurial Leader Identity of Australian RRR women entrepreneurs and their venture growth intentions? Even though it has not been tested, it could be argued that the Entrepreneurial Leader Identity of women entrepreneurs in the RRR context is likely to be positively related to venture growth intention. The first hypothesis tested is:

Identity theory acknowledges that taking into account other people's perspectives and reactions to oneself can significantly impact one's motivation and self-construal. When considering the theory of identity, past researchers have examined the relationship between identity and passion in the context of entrepreneurship and found that entrepreneurial identity is positively associated with harmonic entrepreneurial passion. Although entrepreneurship scholars have explored the linkage between identity and passion from various perspectives, there is still more to explore. Surprisingly, literature on EP has mainly overlooked other identities in entrepreneurship, such as the leader identity of entrepreneurs, even though Entrepreneurial Leader Identity has the potential to be associated with EP. Nevertheless, researchers have found a close relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneurial passion. For example, when studying women entrepreneurs, Dean and Ford found that entrepreneurial leadership is associated with passion. Because there is an absence of research examining these issues within the RRR women entrepreneurship context, these arguments are indicative of a potential positive relationship between Entrepreneurial Leader Identity and entrepreneurial passion. Therefore, our second research question examined in this paper is: Is there a positive relationship between the Entrepreneurial Leader Identity of Australian RRR women entrepreneurs and their EP. The following hypothesis will inform this research question.

There are some empirical evidence that EP has a favorable impact on entrepreneurial behavior and performance. A study conducted in Australia found that EP has a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurial success. EP has been shown to be a key motivator of entrepreneurial behavior because having intense good feelings have been linked to identities. Recent research, for example, has shown that EP is directly related to a wide range of entrepreneurial outcomes, including venture growth and performance, access to finance, and entrepreneurial persistence.

Despite substantial advances in understanding the nature and impact of EP, one of the key concerns remains unanswered: whether EP is related to venture growth intention. Given its importance in the entrepreneurial process, it is critical to understand how EP relates to entrepreneurial growth intention. There is strong evidence that passion and growth intention could be associated, as scholars have demonstrated that EP is associated with entrepreneurial intention. Some researchers have examined the relationship between EP and entrepreneurial intention and found that there was empirical evidence to support this notion. Moreover, researchers have found that EP and entrepreneurial intention have an indirect positive relationship. In other research domains, researchers have found a positive relationship between passion and intention. For example, the passion for speed has a positive impact on speeding behavioral intention, and customers' passion has been linked to their behavioral intention. Our third research question, therefore asks: What is the relationship between the EP of RRR women entrepreneurs and their venture growth intention? The following hypothesis will inform this research question.