Unpacking the relationship between sense of place and entrepreneurs’ well-being

Abstract

This exploratory study develops an understanding of how the hitherto under-investigated psychological dimension of place affects entrepreneurs’ well-being. The analysis focuses on eudaimonic well-being, which describes individuals’ psychological functioning and fulfillment of their best potentials and is relatively underexplored compared to hedonic well-being (happiness). Based on prior work in environmental psychology, the study proposes that entrepreneurs’ sense of place—their psychological bond with the local setting of their entrepreneurial activities—is an important component influencing their well-being. The empirical analysis of two waves of original survey data from entrepreneurs located in an urban and a rural region of Finland shows that the sense of place is positively associated with several dimensions of eudaimonic well-being. This study extends the literature by shifting the focus from place as a passive container for entrepreneurs’ activities to its role as an active source of entrepreneurial well-being.