Why Peer Support Matters: Entrepreneurial Stressors, Emotional Exhaustion, and Growth Intentions of Women Entrepreneurs

Neneh Brownhilder Ngek ()
Additional contact information
Neneh Brownhilder Ngek: University of the Free State Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Business Management, 205 Nelson Mandela Dr, 9301, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa

Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 2024, vol. 14, issue 3, 985-1019

Abstract: This article builds on the stressor-strain-outcome framework to explain how entrepreneurial stressors (stressor) and emotional exhaustion (strain) hinder the growth intentions of women entrepreneurs (outcome). A stress-buffering hypothesis is also used to explain how peer support can buffer the entrepreneurial stressor – emotional exhaustion – growth intention relationship. Using a sample of 300 South African women entrepreneurs, our evidence demonstrates that in addition to a significant direct effect on growth intentions, entrepreneurial stressors also contribute to an increase in emotional exhaustion. This, in turn, hinders the growth intentions of women entrepreneurs. We argue that peer support plays a vital buffering role by significantly reducing the effect of entrepreneurial stressors on emotional exhaustion, shielding women entrepreneurs from the adverse effects of entrepreneurial stressors upon venture growth intentions. Finally, implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Keywords: women entrepreneurs; entrepreneurial stressors; emotional exhaustion; growth intention; peer support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2021-0501 (text/html)
For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpj:erjour:v:14:y:2024:i:3:p:985-1019:n:1010

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/erj/html

DOI: 10.1515/erj-2021-0501

Access Statistics for this article

Entrepreneurship Research Journal is currently edited by Chandra S. Mishra and Ramona K. Zachary

More articles in Entrepreneurship Research Journal from De Gruyter
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().