ENHANCING ENTREPRENEURIAL CREATIVITY THROUGH POSITIVE EMOTION COACHING: A PRE–POST STUDY WITH BOOTSTRAPPED MEDIATION VIA POSITIVE AFFECT

Abstract

This study examined whether participation in a six-session Positive Emotion Coaching (PEC) program was associated with increases in entrepreneurial creativity and whether positive affect statistically accounted for this association. Using a pre–post design, 80 early-stage entrepreneurs completed the PANAS Positive Affect subscale and an Entrepreneurial Creativity Scale one week before and one week after the program. The pre–post change was significant for both variables: positive affect (d = 1.04) and entrepreneurial creativity (d = 0.90). Change scores were positively correlated (r = .58). The bootstrapped mediation results (5,000 resamples) indicated a significant indirect pathway through positive affect (B = 2.52, 95% CI [1.68, 3.62]); the remaining direct effect suggests partial mediation. The findings from outcome shows that growth in positive affect may contribute to creativity improvements associated with PEC participation among early-stage entrepreneurs.