Entrepreneurship and Well-being: Towards Developing a Novel Conceptual Framework for Entrepreneurial Sustainability in Organisations

Abstract

We explore, in conceptual terms, the relationship between well-being and entrepreneurial organisations. We pay attention to existing entrepreneurial organisations where a defined culture may have evolved over time. Interest in well-being has gained accelerated momentum in policy circles, management boards and among researchers, and studies in entrepreneurship abound celebrating innovation and the value of entrepreneurial growth. Yet, we do not appear to know much (beyond anecdotal insights) about high-impact driven entrepreneurial firms, their visionary high-octane fuelled leaders and the essential well-being of their creative employees and associates. We believe there is a difference between successful organisations and entrepreneurial organisations that achieve success, and that the well-being in these different types of organisations finds a different form of purchase in their unique environments. Moreover, not all entrepreneurial organisations are able to sustain their entrepreneurial competitive advantage. One possible reason for such instability is the well-being (or its deficit) in these organisations. We, therefore, argue that obtaining critical insights into the relationship between well-being and entrepreneurial organisations is essential. To this end, we navigate the literature on entrepreneurial firms and well-being and come up with some critical propositions for future research which could offer new insights into sustainable entrepreneurship which embraces the well-being of both the entrepreneurs and the employees who work with them.

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