THEORETICAL WELL-BEING PERSPECTIVES OF ENTREPRENEURS
Abstract
The world is changing at a fast pace, and it will continue to change faster. This swift change is leading to a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous (VUCA) environment. VUCA environment is one of the primary sources of stress for entrepreneurs and individuals both personally and in organizational contexts. Stress, if not handled, can have serious consequences. There is growing interest in entrepreneur well-being to address the challenges of stress. This paper attempts to structure the scholarly knowledge available on entrepreneur well-being: what type of stress entrepreneurs experience, what frameworks available to assess well-being, what factors contribute to better well-being, and the leanings that can help entrepreneurs. Two approaches, the hedonic and the eudaimonic, are the most referenced frameworks to assess well-being. Empirical studies indicate that the following have a significant positive impact on well-being: intrinsic goals (vs. extrinsic); autonomous motivation (vs. controlled); opportunistic entrepreneurs (vs. necessity); problem-based coping (vs. emotion-based); courage; PsyCap (self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resiliency); association with peer entrepreneur groups; and spiritual orientation. Entrepreneur development programs can use the learnings to ensure coverage of psychological aspects also along with economic factors.