Understanding Fear of Failure in Entrepreneurship: A Cognitive Process Framework

James Hayton (), Gabriella Cacciotti (), Andreas Giazitzoglu (), J. Robert Mitchell () and Chris Ainge ()
Additional contact information
James Hayton: Warwick University Business School
Gabriella Cacciotti: Warwick University Business School
Andreas Giazitzoglu: Newcastle University
J. Robert Mitchell: Ivey Business School, Canada
Chris Ainge: Ivey Business School, Canada

No 3, Research Papers from Enterprise Research Centre

Abstract: There is a broadly held assumption within the entrepreneurship literature that fear of failure is always and only an inhibitor of entrepreneurial behavior. However, anecdotal evidence and psychological theory suggest that this assumption is flawed. If fear stimulates greater striving in some cases or situations, then perhaps it can be a friend as much as a foe. The motivating value of fear may have consequences for the reactions, decisions, health and well-being of the entrepreneur. Unfortunately, a lack of rigorous conceptualization of the construct is a barrier to understanding such consequences. We present a grounded theoretic framework of the antecedents, moderators and consequences of fear of failure with significant implications for theory and future research.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; fear of failure; psychology; motivation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2013-05-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-cse, nep-ent and nep-hpe
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:enr:rpaper:0003

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