Access to resources and entrepreneurial well-being: A self-efficacy approach

• Published in: Journal of business research Vol. 120; pp. 203 - 212
• Main Authors: Marshall, David R., Meek, William R., Swab, R. Gabrielle, Markin, Erik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.11.2020; Elsevier B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Businesspeople; Entrepreneurial persistence; Entrepreneurship; Mediation; Psychological aspects; Self-efficacy; Well-being; Well-being; Entrepreneurial persistence; Entrepreneurship; Self-efficacy
• ISSN: 0148-2963; 1873-7978
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.015

•We examine the well-being of entrepreneurs during the new business development stage.•We employ an experimental-vignette study of 258 subjects to test a serial mediation model.•Accessibility of resources leads to entrepreneurial well-being through an entrepreneurial self-efficacy mechanism.•Increased entrepreneurial well-being triggers increased persistence with startup activities. In this study, we examine an important predictor and outcome associated with well-being for entrepreneurs: access to resources and persistence. Drawing on social-cognitive theory, we contend that access to resources helps people feel confidence in abilities to be successful entrepreneurs, resulting in greater well-being during venture development. We push the model further by hypothesizing that well-being is positively related to persistence in venture creation activities. Employing an experimental, vignette-based approach, we test the model by asking 258 subjects to consider how prospective entrepreneurs respond to varying contexts of resource accessibility (low vs. high) in terms of their self-efficacy, well-being, and persistence. Results of serial mediator regression analysis support the hypothesized model such that greater access to resources is associated with higher levels of multiple indicators of well-being such as happiness, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being through a self-efficacy mechanism. We also find that entrepreneurial persistence increases through this mechanism.