Obsessed to succeed: The media depiction of entrepreneurial passion

Entrepreneurship serves as a significant catalyst for economic progress in nations globally ( Audretsch et al., 2006 ). Intrinsic to this dynamic process is entrepreneurial passion, a concept frequently discussed in academic and popular discourse alike. This paper delves into how entrepreneurial passion is depicted in the public sphere, examining the nuances, implications, and potential distortions within these portrayals. We thematically analyse 454 media articles published between 2008 and 2025 in two reputable entrepreneurial magazines. The analysis finds that the media definition of entrepreneurial passion is always aligning with the defining features of obsessive passion (i.e., internal pressure, obsession with outcomes, lack of work-life balance). The main themes were revolving around depicting entrepreneurial passion as “fire from within”, “sole catalyst for success”, “panacea for everything”. Additionally, we find a major tendency for “glamorization of entrepreneurial path” and “omission of hardship”, which promote an unhealthy model of entrepreneurship as well as an oversimplified path to success. Such persistent mismatch between how EP as a phenomenon is experienced in practice and how academic discourse conceptualises it creates an epistemic split that is alarming to the scholarly knowledge regarding EP, turning it into abstract artefacts detached from reality rather than practical and context-sensitive phenomenon. We propose an iterative framework that reorients EP research toward context and values. A phronetic perspective that moves beyond methodological refinements to offer a deeper philosophical foundation for understanding how entrepreneurial passion is constructed and enacted in practice. • Media constructions of entrepreneurial passion align with obsessive passion traits. • Prevailing themes frame passion as an internal fire and sole success driver. • Portrayals glamorize the entrepreneurial path and systematically omit hardship. • This mismatch fosters epistemic splits between practice and academic discourse. • We propose a phronetic framework to ground entrepreneurial passion research in context.