Entrepreneurial Motives, Working Conditions, Burn-Out Symptoms and Firm Performance

The balance of empirical evidence suggests that owning and running a business impacts on the health-related quality of life of entrepreneurs. However, prior research into health-related issues around entrepreneurship does neither account for the heterogeneity of motives of entrepreneurs, nor for the performance effect of health-related issues among different types of entrepreneurs. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to compare the relationship between working conditions and the emergence of burn-out symptoms among different types of entrepreneurs, and to examine the nuanced impact of burn-out on their firm’s performance. Our analysis of 168 entrepreneurs reveals that working conditions are significantly correlated with the development of burn-out symptoms. Burn-out, specifically emotional exhaustion and reduced professional efficacy, is related to the firm’s operational performance. In addition, we find first indications of differences regarding the researched antecedents and consequences among specific types of entrepreneurs. Our research contributes to both entrepreneurship theory and practice. First, the principal contribution of our study is a nuanced analysis of triggering factors and economic consequences of entrepreneurs’ burn-out symptoms by distinguishing between different types of entrepreneurs on the basis of their start-up motives. Second, the results of this study make a strong contribution to research on entrepreneurial success factors, in which health-related issues such as burn-out have received limited attention so far. Practically, identifying triggering factors for burn-out symptoms allows focusing efforts more effectively and efficiently on the development of sustainable prevention strategies.