Time to say goodbye? Exploring the entrepreneurial transition to retirement

Abstract

This study presents the experiences of entrepreneurs who are approaching the end of their careers and what society defines as working life. This topic is a significant gap in the literature and existing terms used to describe retirement do not accurately capture the retirement considerations of entrepreneurs. A series of two interviews were conducted with fifteen entrepreneurs, all of whom are within five years of the state defined retirement age. Analysis of the data from the 30 interviews supports the identification of four types of entrepreneurial approach to retirement. Each of the four types will approach retirement differently, depending on their experience as an entrepreneur and factors external to business such as financial and family circumstances. The recognition that there are distinctive aspects to the retirement decisions of entrepreneurs, challenges our established theoretical understanding of the end of working life, creating a multitude of research questions that form an important research agenda within entrepreneurship.