Keep on keeping on: A psychological approach to entrepreneurial persistence

Abstract

Persistence typifies the behavior of most successful entrepreneurs. Yet systematic theory about entrepreneurial persistence is lacking. This paper theorizes about psychological differences that lead some entrepreneurs to persist appropriately while others quit too soon or persist excessively. Building on self-regulation literature, we develop a theory of entrepreneurial persistence, called entrepreneurial psychological resource approach. Our paper makes two primary contributions to guide future research: a research model expanding upon the resource-based perspective in entrepreneurship research, and an evaluative component relating psychological resources to entrepreneurial persistence.