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Act or Wait-and-See? Adversity, Agility, and Entrepreneur Wellbeing across Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Ute Stephan

    (King‘s College London, TU Dresden - Technische Universität Dresden = Dresden University of Technology, King’s Business School, King’s College London)

  • Przemysław Zbierowski

    (King‘s College London, University of Economics in Katowice, King’s Business School, King’s College London)

  • Ana Pérez-Luño

    (UPO - Universidad Pablo de Olavide [Sevilla])

  • Dominika Wach

    (TU Dresden - Technische Universität Dresden = Dresden University of Technology)

  • Johan Wiklund

    (Whitman School of Management - Syracuse University, Syracuse University)

  • Marisleidy Alba Cabañas

    (Business School, Konrad Lorenz University)

  • Edgard Barki

    (FGV-EAESP - Fundação Getúlio Vargas - Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo = Fundação Getulio Vargas’s Sao Paulo School of Business Administration - FGV - Fundacao Getulio Vargas [Rio de Janeiro])

  • Alexandre Benzari

    (Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School)

  • Claudia Bernhard-Oettel

    (Stockholm University)

  • Janet A Boekhorst

    (University of Waterloo [Waterloo])

  • Arobindu Dash

    (Leuphana University of Lüneburg)

  • Adnan Efendic

    (School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo)

  • Constanze Eib

    (Uppsala University)

  • Pierre-Jean Hanard

    (King’s Business School, King’s College London, King‘s College London)

  • Tatiana Iakovleva

    (UiS Business School [University of Stavanger] - University of Stavanger)

  • Satoshi Kawakatsu

    (Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University)

  • Saddam Khalid

    (School of Economics and Management, University of Hyogo)

  • Michael Leatherbee

    (UC - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)

  • Jun Li

    (University of Huddersfield)

  • Sharon K Parker

    (Centre for Transformative Work Design, Curtin University)

  • Jingjing Qu

    (Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (Entreprise))

  • Francesco Rosati

    (DTU - Danmarks Tekniske Universitet = Technical University of Denmark)

  • Sreevas Sahasranamam

    (University of Strathclyde [Glasgow], Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship - University of Strathclyde [Glasgow])

  • Marcus a Y Salusse

    (Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa (Brazil) - Insper Institute of Education and Research)

  • Tomoki Sekiguchi

    (Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University)

  • Nicola Thomas

    (University of Liverpool)

  • Olivier Torrès

    (Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School, MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - UM - Université de Montpellier)

  • Mi Hoang Tran

    (Whitman School of Management - Syracuse University, Syracuse University)

  • M.K. Ward

    (Zipline.io (Entreprise))

  • Amanda Jasmine Williamson

    (Waikato Management School - Waikato University)

  • Muhammad Mohsin Zahid

    (Neuron Business and Development Solutions (Entreprise))

Abstract

How can entrepreneurs protect their wellbeing during a crisis? Does engaging agility (namely, opportunity agility and planning agility) in response to adversity help entrepreneurs safeguard their wellbeing? Activated by adversity, agility may function as a specific resilience mechanism enabling positive adaption to crisis. We studied 3162 entrepreneurs from 20 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that more severe national lockdowns enhanced firm-level adversity for entrepreneurs and diminished their wellbeing. Moreover, entrepreneurs who combined opportunity agility with planning agility experienced higher wellbeing but planning agility alone lowered wellbeing. Entrepreneur agility offers a new agentic perspective to research on entrepreneur wellbeing.

Suggested Citation

  • Ute Stephan & Przemysław Zbierowski & Ana Pérez-Luño & Dominika Wach & Johan Wiklund & Marisleidy Alba Cabañas & Edgard Barki & Alexandre Benzari & Claudia Bernhard-Oettel & Janet A Boekhorst & Arobin, 2023. "Act or Wait-and-See? Adversity, Agility, and Entrepreneur Wellbeing across Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Post-Print hal-04414075, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04414075
    DOI: 10.1177/10422587221104820
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04414075v1
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