The Emotional Experience of Entrepreneurs Participating in the Gobi Challenge and Its Impact on Business Decision-Making

With the advent of economic globalization and technological advancements, entrepreneurship has become a significant economic activity worldwide. In recent years, the Chinese government has actively promoted innovative entrepreneurship, encouraging young people to start their own businesses. Within this business climate, the Gobi Challenge emerged. This competition, held in a unique geographical setting, presents a series of challenges to its participants, urging them to find solutions through innovation and exploration. The Gobi Challenge has attracted many entrepreneurs who embody the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, becoming an important platform for them to exchange ideas and sharpen their entrepreneurial zeal.Despite the significant role of the Gobi Challenge in fostering innovation and development among entrepreneurs, research on the operational characteristics of these entrepreneurial participants remains limited. Exploring these characteristics can shed light on their performance in innovation and team collaboration, offering valuable insights for other entrepreneurial ventures. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as Social Identity Theory and Self-Categorization Theory, this study investigates the entrepreneurial characteristics of participants in the Gobi Challenge using surveys and interviews, identifying value alignment, emotional experience, and full event engagement as key elements of the participants' experience. Through in-depth grounded theory analysis and the establishment of a Linear Regression Model, the research indicates that participation in the Gobi Challenge significantly enhances entrepreneurs' willingness to start new ventures and their inclination to engage in sports-related industries, while also promoting a shift towards more innovative, team-oriented, and competitive operational and decision-making traits. These findings not only provide empirical evidence of the impact of extreme challenge events like the Gobi Challenge on entrepreneurial behavior and psychological attitudes but also highlight the importance of shared challenges in fostering team cohesion and stimulating entrepreneurial drive. For entrepreneurs and organizations, participating in such activities may be an effective strategy to enhance team building and personal career development. Furthermore, this study opens new avenues for future research into how challenge events affect individual psychological processes and behaviors, providing a scientific basis for designing more effective team development and personal growth strategies. Keywords: Goyou group; An entrepreneur; Management characteristics; Decision characteristics