The Effect of Psychological Hardiness on the Work Passion of New Entrepreneurs Through the Mediating Role of Organizational Communication

An important factor in improving the entrepreneurial process is work enthusiasm among entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial enthusiasm is an intense and fully conscious positive feeling that creates and strengthens the lived experience of engaging in entrepreneurial activity. Psychological toughness and intra-organizational communication are of vital importance in cultivating entrepreneurs' work enthusiasm. Because toughness causes continuity and sustainability of activity, and communication also creates a conscious flow of information. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of psychological toughness on work enthusiasm with the mediating role of organizational communication. The statistical population consisted of entrepreneurs located in the Fars Science and Technology Park in Shiraz. The statistical sample was estimated at 183 people and sampling was carried out using the available method. Data were collected based on the standard psychological toughness questionnaires of Kubasa et al., work enthusiasm of Schoeffley, and organizational communication of Joblen and Putnam. Hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modeling method and Smart PLS 4 software. The results showed that psychological toughness increases work enthusiasm and organizational communication also has a mediating role in this model. The coefficient of the effect of the psychological toughness variable on enthusiasm is 0.29, communication on work enthusiasm is 0.57, and toughness on communication is 0.77. Given the positive effect of work enthusiasm on entrepreneurship, the set of psychological characteristics related to toughness keeps the entrepreneur immune despite being exposed to stressors. As a result, tough entrepreneurs have a high ability to cope with stressors. Effective communication also causes enthusiasm, dedication, and attraction of people in the organization and, as a result, work enthusiasm. Creating a suitable platform for transparent communication by the founders of a small business by disseminating accurate information about the vision, goals, and expectations will increase the effectiveness of organizational communication. Toughness also has a direct positive effect on organizational communication. Lack of self-confidence is a major barrier to communication and comes in many forms, such as shyness, awkwardness, discomfort, etc. Conversely, stubbornness can facilitate communication. In fact, stubbornness creates a specific inner attitude that affects the way people deal with various life issues.