Forming the Entrepreneurial Passion Republic: Sense-Making, Wayfinding, and the Co-Construction of Entrepreneurial Identity and Entrepreneurial Passion in Postgraduate Entrepreneurship Education

This study investigates how postgraduate entrepreneurship education programs (PEEPs) shape the concurrent development of entrepreneurial identity (EI) and entrepreneurial passion (EP). Employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), we examine the lived experiences of twelve students in the UK and Malaysia. We theorize the Entrepreneurial Passion Republic (EPR) as a bounded socio‑cognitive context in which a recursive cycle of sense‑making and wayfinding—scaffolded by program rituals and community norms—satisfies SDT needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) and co‑constructs EI and EP. Four themes trace the journey from cognitive disruption to an internalized, prosocial entrepreneurial purpose. The study contributes to a novel integrative model of EPR for understanding entrepreneurial learning and offers practical insights for designing PEEPs that intentionally foster sense-making and wayfinding.