When does mental well-being matter for entrepreneurial income? The role of external objective resources from social contexts
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2027
Author(s)
Abstract
Entrepreneurs’ mental well-being has increasingly captured the attention of both scholars and the broader public. Building on self-efficacy theory and conservation of resources (COR) theory, we examine how entrepreneurs’ mental well-being influences their income. We theorize that while mental well-being positively influences entrepreneurial income, this baseline relationship is moderated by the external objective resources entrepreneurs access through their social contexts. Using a rich longitudinal dataset of 1,013 entrepreneurs in Germany between 2002 and 2015, we find that entrepreneurs’ mental well-being is positively associated with their income. This relationship is weaker for entrepreneurs with access to external objective resources, specifically those with a high-earning spouse or prior state support, and stronger for those who have experienced resource loss through divorce. We also complement our analysis of the archival database with a randomized online experiment to test our underlying argument for the interaction effect between mental well-being and external objective resources on self-efficacy. Our findings offer new insights into how entrepreneurs’ mental well-being, COR, and self-efficacy jointly shape their work-related outcomes.
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Volume
Forthcoming
Subject(s)
Division(s)
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
When does mental well-being matter for entrepreneurial income The role of external objective resources from social contexts.pdf
Type
Main Article
Size
2.82 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
f622a0720340b731c67aac720ec02eea