How can entrepreneurial obstacles improve entrepreneurs’ psychological well-being? The role of emotional ambivalence

ABSTRACT

Entrepreneurial obstacles present both threats to survival and opportunities for learning. By integrating the double-edged nature of obstacles into the evaluative space model of emotion, this study examines the effects of entrepreneurial obstacles on entrepreneurs’ emotional ambivalence and their psychological well-being. Through survey among 324 new ventures in China, we find that although entrepreneurial obstacle is directly detrimental to psychological well-being, it can also trigger entrepreneurs’ emotional ambivalence which has a U-shaped relationship with psychological well-being. Moreover, demand uncertainty increases entrepreneurs’ ambivalent emotional response to entrepreneurial obstacles. This study identifies a self-healing path between entrepreneurial obstacles and entrepreneurs’ psychological well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• demand uncertainty
• emotional ambivalence
• entrepreneurs
• entrepreneurial obstacles
• psychological well-being

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Our thanks go to National Natural Science Foundation of China (71972151, 72272119), Soft Science Project of Shaanxi (2024ZC-YBXM-034), and Natural Science Cultivation Project of Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology (X20220036).

Notes on contributors

Wenwei Zhang

Dr. Zhang Wenwei is an Assistant Professor at the school of management, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, China. His research interests include entrepreneurship cognition and social network. He has papers published in International Small Business Journal, Asia Pacific Business Review, Management Decision.

Yu Gao

Dr. Gao Yu is a Professor at School of Economics and Finance, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. His research interests include innovation management, entrepreneurship studies, institutional theory, and social network research. His research has been published in Long Range Planning, Journal of Business Research, International Business Review, Industrial Marketing Management, Asia Pacific Business Review, and other Journals.

Wenhong Zhao

Dr. Zhao Wenhong is a Professor at the School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. Her research interests include entrepreneurship, innovation and strategic management. She has published work examining the impact of network ties on resource acquisition, the benefits of learning from entrepreneurship failure, and experiential learning and transformation of entrepreneurial ability of serial entrepreneurs. Her research studies have been published in Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Journal of Small Business Management, International Small Business Journal, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Omega.

Xiaoming Sun

Dr. Sun Xiaoming is an Associate Professor at the school of management, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, China. He is interested in research on social network, strategy and innovation. He has published papers in Research Policy, European Journal of Innovation Management, Journal of Cleaner Production.