Collective pro-social venturing: The role of emotions

A critical, yet under-explored challenge for collective pro-social ventures is to manage members’ pro-social motivation and active venture engagement. Based on an inductive-abductive, multiple-case analysis of community enterprises, we find that entrepreneurs’ inclusive practices to resolve organizational tensions sustain members’ needed emotional connectivity with the pro-social venture. Theorizing on a cognitive-emotive model of pro-social venture development, we develop propositions on (1) how pro-social motivation, engagement and activism unfold in a collective venturing context and (2) how entrepreneurs’ management of internal process, benefit and impact tensions strengthens the emotional attachment and long-term affective loyalty between members and the pro-social venture.