ISSN 0253-2778

CN 34-1054/N

Open AccessOpen Access JUSTC Management 22 November 2022

Entrepreneurial motivation and well-being: A moderated mediation model of entrepreneurial commitment and perceived progress

Cite this:
https://doi.org/10.52396/JUSTC-2022-0064
More Information
  • Author Bio:

    Qingxiong Weng is a Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China. He received his Ph.D. degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He focuses on career development, organizational behavior, and entrepreneurship

    Shuqian Wang is a master student. Her research interests focus on innovation and entrepreneurship human resource management

  • Corresponding author: E-mail: wsq27126@mail.ustc.edu.cn
  • Received Date: 11 April 2022
  • Accepted Date: 31 May 2022
  • Available Online: 22 November 2022
  • According to self-regulation theory, we explored the relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial well-being. We developed a moderated mediation model of entrepreneurial commitment linking entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial well-being. Using a sample of 209 entrepreneurs in different industries, we found that entrepreneurial motivation was positively related to entrepreneurial well-being and that this relationship was mediated by entrepreneurial commitment. We further found that the effect of entrepreneurial motivation on entrepreneurial commitment was contingent on the perceived entrepreneurial process. Finally, theoretical and practical implications were discussed for entrepreneurs to take appropriate self-management measures.
    This is the hypothesis test result of this study.
    According to self-regulation theory, we explored the relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial well-being. We developed a moderated mediation model of entrepreneurial commitment linking entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial well-being. Using a sample of 209 entrepreneurs in different industries, we found that entrepreneurial motivation was positively related to entrepreneurial well-being and that this relationship was mediated by entrepreneurial commitment. We further found that the effect of entrepreneurial motivation on entrepreneurial commitment was contingent on the perceived entrepreneurial process. Finally, theoretical and practical implications were discussed for entrepreneurs to take appropriate self-management measures.
    • This study explains the relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial well-being.
    • With self-regulation theory as the framework, this study explains the positive effects of entrepreneurs’ subjective initiative on entrepreneurial well-being in the hope to further academic thinking. The results show that the indirect effect of entrepreneurial motivation on entrepreneurial well-being through mediating variable is negatively moderated by entrepreneurial perceived progress.
    • The research results have certain guiding significance for enterprise talent management. Entrepreneurs should strive to promote the establishment of reasonable and complex goals, encourage self-regulation and improve well-being.

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  • [1]
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    [2]
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    [3]
    Naudé W, Amorós J E, Cristi O. “Surfeiting, the appetite may sicken”: Entrepreneurship and happiness. Small Business Economics, 2014, 42 (3): 523–540. doi: 10.1007/s11187-013-9492-x
    [4]
    Lange T. Job satisfaction and self-employment: autonomy or personality? Small Business Economics, 2012, 38 (2): 165–177. doi: 10.1007/s11187-009-9249-8
    [5]
    Bradley D E, Roberts J A. Self-employment and job satisfaction: Investigating the role of self-efficacy, depression, and seniority. Journal of Small Business Management, 2004, 42 (1): 37–58. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-627X.2004.00096.x
    [6]
    Uy M A, Foo M, Song Z. Joint effects of prior start-up experience and coping strategies on entrepreneurs’ psychological well-being. Journal of Business Venturing, 2013, 28 (5): 583–597. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.04.003
    [7]
    Shepherd D A, Cardon M S. Negative emotional reactions to project failure and the self-compassion to learn from the experience. Journal of Management Studies, 2010, 46 (6): 923–949. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2009.00821.x
    [8]
    Sun Z H, Zhou L. Research on the relationship between work well-being, work life quality and work performance. Statistics and Decision, 2009 (11): 92–94.
    [9]
    Aldwin C M, Revenson T A. Does coping help? A reexamination of the relation between coping and mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1987, 53 (2): 337–348. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.53.2.337
    [10]
    Carree M A, Verheul I. What makes entrepreneurs happy? Determinants of satisfaction among founders. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2011, 13 (2): 371–387. doi: 10.1007/s10902-011-9269-3
    [11]
    Uy M A, Sun S, Foo M D. Affect spin, entrepreneurs’ well-being, and venture goal progress: The moderating role of goal orientation. Journal of Business Venturing, 2017, 32 (4): 443–460. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.12.001
    [12]
    Baron R A. Behavioral and cognitive factors in entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs as the active element in new venture creation. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 2007, 1: 167–182. doi: 10.1002/sej.12
    [13]
    Kobasa S C. Commitment and coping in stress resistance among lawyers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1982, 42 (4): 707–717. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.42.4.707
    [14]
    Bandura A. Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 1999, 3 (3): 193–209. doi: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0303_3
    [15]
    Ramdass D, Zimmerman B J. Developing self-regulation skills: The important role of homework. Journal of Advanced Academics, 2011, 22 (2): 194–218. doi: 10.1177/1932202X1102200202
    [16]
    Tang J. Environmental munificence for entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial alertness and commitment. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 2008, 14 (3): 128–151. doi: 10.1108/13552550810874664
    [17]
    Robichaud Y, Mcgraw E, Roger A. Toward the development of a measuring instrument for entrepreneurial motivation. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 2001, 6 (2): 189–201.
    [18]
    Johan W, Boris N, Nadav S, et al. Entrepreneurship and well-being: Past, present, and future. Journal of Business Venturing, 2019, 34 (4): 579–588. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2019.01.002
    [19]
    Bandura A, Locke E A. Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2003, 88 (1): 87–99. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.1.87
    [20]
    Easterlin R A, Angelescu L. Happiness and growth the world over: Time series evidence on the happiness-income paradox. IZA Discussion Paper, 2009: 4060. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.1369806
    [21]
    Bauer I, Wrosch C. Making up for lost opportunities: The protective role of downward social comparisons for coping with regrets across adulthood. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2011, 37 (2): 215–228. doi: 10.1177/0146167210393256
    [22]
    Blanton H, Stapel D A. Unconscious and spontaneous and complex: The three selves model of social comparison assimilation and contrast. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2008, 94 (6): 1018–1032. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.94.6.1018
    [23]
    Baum J R, Locke E A, Smith K G. A multidimensional model of venture growth. Academy of Management Journal, 2001, 44 (2): 292–303. doi: 10.2307/3069456
    [24]
    Zhang K J, Lei J S. The research on the entrepreneurial motivation of university students based on the achievement goal theory. Studies in Science of Science, 2012, 30 (8): 1221–1227. doi: 10.16192/j.cnki.1003-2053.2012.08.014
    [25]
    Carsrud A, Brännback M. Entrepreneurial motivations: What do we still need to know? Journal of Small Business Management, 2011, 49 (1): 9–26. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-627X.2010.00312.x
    [26]
    Cassar G. Money, money, money? A longitudinal investigation of entrepreneur career reasons, growth preferences and achieved growth. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 2007, 19 (1): 89–107. doi: 10.1080/08985620601002246
    [27]
    Segal G, Borgia D, Schoenfeld J. The motivation to become an entrepreneur. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, 2005, 11 (1): 42–57. doi: 10.1108/13552550510580834
    [28]
    Leon S, Kelly G S. Deciding on an entrepreneurial career: A test of the pull and push hypotheses using the panel study of entrepreneurial dynamics data. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2007, 31 (5): 733–752. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00197.x
    [29]
    Lucy L. Unemployment and new business formation. International Small Business Journal, 1997, 15 (3): 78–82. doi: 10.1177/0266242697153005
    [30]
    Kuratko D F, Hornsby J S, Naffziger D W. An examination of owner’s goals in sustaining entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management, 1997, 35 (1): 24–33.
    [31]
    Duan J Y, Wang P, Zhu Y L. Entrepreneurial motivation research: Conceptual structure, influencing factors and theoretical model. Advances in Psychological Science, 2012, 20 (5): 698–704. doi: 10.3724/sp.j.1042.2012.00698
    [32]
    Ryff C. The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1995, 69 (4): 719–727. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719
    [33]
    Diener E, Oishi S, Tay L. Advances in subjective well-being research. Nature Human Behavior, 2018, 2 (4): 253–260. doi: 10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6
    [34]
    Diener E, Lucas R E, Scollon C N. Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being. Social Science Electronic Publishing, 2006, 61 (40): 305–314. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.305
    [35]
    Diener E. Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 2000, 55 (1): 34–43. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.34
    [36]
    Stel A V, Thurik R, Carree M. The effect of entrepreneurship on national economic growth: An empirical analysis using the GEM data base. Zoetermeer, Netherlands: EIM Business and Policy Research, 2014: Scales Research Reports N200320.
    [37]
    Carree M A, Thurik A R. The impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth. In: Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003: 437–471.
    [38]
    Schjoedt L. Entrepreneurial job characteristics: An examination of their effect on entrepreneurial satisfaction. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2009, 33 (3): 619–644. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00319.x
    [39]
    Ryan R M, Deci E L. On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 2001, 52 (1): 141–166. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141
    [40]
    Cheng J Q, Luo J L, Li S W, et al. Entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneur's subjective well-being: The moderating effect of social norm. Scientific and Technological Progress and Countermeasures, 2020, 37 (6): 46–52. doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2019090841
    [41]
    Su X H, Zhou Y, Yang S N. Where does entrepreneur well-beings come from? The moderating role of male chauvinism and perceived fairness. Research on Financial and Economic Issues, 2019, 431 (10): 130–137. doi: 10.19654/j.cnki.cjwtyj.2019.10.016
    [42]
    Chen J A, Tao Y, Chen R. A review of frontier research of entrepreneurial commitment and future prospects. Foreign Economics & Management, 2014, 36 (6): 24–31.
    [43]
    Bruyat C, Julien P A. Defining the field of research in entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 2001, 16 (2): 165–180. doi: 10.1016/S0883-9026(99)00043-9
    [44]
    Fayolle A, Basso O, Tornikoski E T. Entrepreneurial commitment and new venture creation: A conceptual exploration. In: Handbook of Research on New Venture Creation. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011: 160–182.
    [45]
    Erikson T. Entrepreneurial capital: The emerging venture’s most important asset and competitive advantage. Journal of Business Venturing, 2002, 17 (3): 275–290. doi: 10.1016/S0883-9026(00)00062-8
    [46]
    Meyer J P, Stanley D J, Herscovitch L, et al. Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2002, 61 (1): 20–52. doi: 10.1006/jvbe.2001.1842
    [47]
    Brunstein J C. Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1993, 65 (5): 1061–1070. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.1061
    [48]
    Shir N, Nikolaev B N, Wincent J. Entrepreneurship and well-being: The role of psychological autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Journal of Business Venturing, 2019, 34 (5): 105875. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.05.002
  • 加载中

Catalog

    Figure  1.  Theoretical model.

    Figure  2.  Interaction of entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial perceived progress on entrepreneurial commitment.

    [1]
    Wei J, Quan Y H. Entrepreneurial motivation, entrepreneurial environment and entrepreneurial happiness: An empirical study on “second generation entrepreneurs”. Journal of Management, 2014, 11 (9): 1349–1357. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-884x.2014.09.012
    [2]
    Yu X Y, Meng X T, Cai L, et al. Entrepreneurship and well-being: A literature review and prospects. Foreign Economics & Management, 2018, 40 (8): 30–44. doi: 10.16538/j.cnki.fem.2018.08.003
    [3]
    Naudé W, Amorós J E, Cristi O. “Surfeiting, the appetite may sicken”: Entrepreneurship and happiness. Small Business Economics, 2014, 42 (3): 523–540. doi: 10.1007/s11187-013-9492-x
    [4]
    Lange T. Job satisfaction and self-employment: autonomy or personality? Small Business Economics, 2012, 38 (2): 165–177. doi: 10.1007/s11187-009-9249-8
    [5]
    Bradley D E, Roberts J A. Self-employment and job satisfaction: Investigating the role of self-efficacy, depression, and seniority. Journal of Small Business Management, 2004, 42 (1): 37–58. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-627X.2004.00096.x
    [6]
    Uy M A, Foo M, Song Z. Joint effects of prior start-up experience and coping strategies on entrepreneurs’ psychological well-being. Journal of Business Venturing, 2013, 28 (5): 583–597. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.04.003
    [7]
    Shepherd D A, Cardon M S. Negative emotional reactions to project failure and the self-compassion to learn from the experience. Journal of Management Studies, 2010, 46 (6): 923–949. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2009.00821.x
    [8]
    Sun Z H, Zhou L. Research on the relationship between work well-being, work life quality and work performance. Statistics and Decision, 2009 (11): 92–94.
    [9]
    Aldwin C M, Revenson T A. Does coping help? A reexamination of the relation between coping and mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1987, 53 (2): 337–348. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.53.2.337
    [10]
    Carree M A, Verheul I. What makes entrepreneurs happy? Determinants of satisfaction among founders. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2011, 13 (2): 371–387. doi: 10.1007/s10902-011-9269-3
    [11]
    Uy M A, Sun S, Foo M D. Affect spin, entrepreneurs’ well-being, and venture goal progress: The moderating role of goal orientation. Journal of Business Venturing, 2017, 32 (4): 443–460. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.12.001
    [12]
    Baron R A. Behavioral and cognitive factors in entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs as the active element in new venture creation. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 2007, 1: 167–182. doi: 10.1002/sej.12
    [13]
    Kobasa S C. Commitment and coping in stress resistance among lawyers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1982, 42 (4): 707–717. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.42.4.707
    [14]
    Bandura A. Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 1999, 3 (3): 193–209. doi: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0303_3
    [15]
    Ramdass D, Zimmerman B J. Developing self-regulation skills: The important role of homework. Journal of Advanced Academics, 2011, 22 (2): 194–218. doi: 10.1177/1932202X1102200202
    [16]
    Tang J. Environmental munificence for entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial alertness and commitment. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 2008, 14 (3): 128–151. doi: 10.1108/13552550810874664
    [17]
    Robichaud Y, Mcgraw E, Roger A. Toward the development of a measuring instrument for entrepreneurial motivation. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 2001, 6 (2): 189–201.
    [18]
    Johan W, Boris N, Nadav S, et al. Entrepreneurship and well-being: Past, present, and future. Journal of Business Venturing, 2019, 34 (4): 579–588. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2019.01.002
    [19]
    Bandura A, Locke E A. Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2003, 88 (1): 87–99. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.1.87
    [20]
    Easterlin R A, Angelescu L. Happiness and growth the world over: Time series evidence on the happiness-income paradox. IZA Discussion Paper, 2009: 4060. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.1369806
    [21]
    Bauer I, Wrosch C. Making up for lost opportunities: The protective role of downward social comparisons for coping with regrets across adulthood. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2011, 37 (2): 215–228. doi: 10.1177/0146167210393256
    [22]
    Blanton H, Stapel D A. Unconscious and spontaneous and complex: The three selves model of social comparison assimilation and contrast. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2008, 94 (6): 1018–1032. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.94.6.1018
    [23]
    Baum J R, Locke E A, Smith K G. A multidimensional model of venture growth. Academy of Management Journal, 2001, 44 (2): 292–303. doi: 10.2307/3069456
    [24]
    Zhang K J, Lei J S. The research on the entrepreneurial motivation of university students based on the achievement goal theory. Studies in Science of Science, 2012, 30 (8): 1221–1227. doi: 10.16192/j.cnki.1003-2053.2012.08.014
    [25]
    Carsrud A, Brännback M. Entrepreneurial motivations: What do we still need to know? Journal of Small Business Management, 2011, 49 (1): 9–26. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-627X.2010.00312.x
    [26]
    Cassar G. Money, money, money? A longitudinal investigation of entrepreneur career reasons, growth preferences and achieved growth. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 2007, 19 (1): 89–107. doi: 10.1080/08985620601002246
    [27]
    Segal G, Borgia D, Schoenfeld J. The motivation to become an entrepreneur. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, 2005, 11 (1): 42–57. doi: 10.1108/13552550510580834
    [28]
    Leon S, Kelly G S. Deciding on an entrepreneurial career: A test of the pull and push hypotheses using the panel study of entrepreneurial dynamics data. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2007, 31 (5): 733–752. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00197.x
    [29]
    Lucy L. Unemployment and new business formation. International Small Business Journal, 1997, 15 (3): 78–82. doi: 10.1177/0266242697153005
    [30]
    Kuratko D F, Hornsby J S, Naffziger D W. An examination of owner’s goals in sustaining entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management, 1997, 35 (1): 24–33.
    [31]
    Duan J Y, Wang P, Zhu Y L. Entrepreneurial motivation research: Conceptual structure, influencing factors and theoretical model. Advances in Psychological Science, 2012, 20 (5): 698–704. doi: 10.3724/sp.j.1042.2012.00698
    [32]
    Ryff C. The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1995, 69 (4): 719–727. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719
    [33]
    Diener E, Oishi S, Tay L. Advances in subjective well-being research. Nature Human Behavior, 2018, 2 (4): 253–260. doi: 10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6
    [34]
    Diener E, Lucas R E, Scollon C N. Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being. Social Science Electronic Publishing, 2006, 61 (40): 305–314. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.305
    [35]
    Diener E. Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 2000, 55 (1): 34–43. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.34
    [36]
    Stel A V, Thurik R, Carree M. The effect of entrepreneurship on national economic growth: An empirical analysis using the GEM data base. Zoetermeer, Netherlands: EIM Business and Policy Research, 2014: Scales Research Reports N200320.
    [37]
    Carree M A, Thurik A R. The impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth. In: Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003: 437–471.
    [38]
    Schjoedt L. Entrepreneurial job characteristics: An examination of their effect on entrepreneurial satisfaction. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2009, 33 (3): 619–644. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00319.x
    [39]
    Ryan R M, Deci E L. On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 2001, 52 (1): 141–166. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141
    [40]
    Cheng J Q, Luo J L, Li S W, et al. Entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneur's subjective well-being: The moderating effect of social norm. Scientific and Technological Progress and Countermeasures, 2020, 37 (6): 46–52. doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2019090841
    [41]
    Su X H, Zhou Y, Yang S N. Where does entrepreneur well-beings come from? The moderating role of male chauvinism and perceived fairness. Research on Financial and Economic Issues, 2019, 431 (10): 130–137. doi: 10.19654/j.cnki.cjwtyj.2019.10.016
    [42]
    Chen J A, Tao Y, Chen R. A review of frontier research of entrepreneurial commitment and future prospects. Foreign Economics & Management, 2014, 36 (6): 24–31.
    [43]
    Bruyat C, Julien P A. Defining the field of research in entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 2001, 16 (2): 165–180. doi: 10.1016/S0883-9026(99)00043-9
    [44]
    Fayolle A, Basso O, Tornikoski E T. Entrepreneurial commitment and new venture creation: A conceptual exploration. In: Handbook of Research on New Venture Creation. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011: 160–182.
    [45]
    Erikson T. Entrepreneurial capital: The emerging venture’s most important asset and competitive advantage. Journal of Business Venturing, 2002, 17 (3): 275–290. doi: 10.1016/S0883-9026(00)00062-8
    [46]
    Meyer J P, Stanley D J, Herscovitch L, et al. Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2002, 61 (1): 20–52. doi: 10.1006/jvbe.2001.1842
    [47]
    Brunstein J C. Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1993, 65 (5): 1061–1070. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.1061
    [48]
    Shir N, Nikolaev B N, Wincent J. Entrepreneurship and well-being: The role of psychological autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Journal of Business Venturing, 2019, 34 (5): 105875. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.05.002

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