Managing the Entrepreneurial Workforce: Retention, Burnout, and the Employee Lens

Dean A. Shepherd () and Holger Patzelt ()
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Dean A. Shepherd: University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business
Holger Patzelt: Technical University of Munich, School of Management

Chapter 8 in The Entrepreneurial Compass, 2026, pp 61-66 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Shifting to the employee perspective, this chapter examines how human resources serve as both a source of advantage and a point of failure. Employees often experience reality shock when pre-entry expectations collide with the volatility of a young venture, leading to increased turnover intent over time. This intent is moderated by prior start-up experience and the venture’s growth rate. The authors discuss the contagion of passion, noting that while passion for inventing improves employee commitment and goal clarity, passion for founding can inadvertently signal the entrepreneur’s premature exit and reduce employee commitment. The scaling phase introduces the “scaling toll,” characterized by high employee burnout and low job satisfaction, even as the entrepreneur may experience the opposite. Finally, the chapter addresses project termination, emphasizing the need to manage entrepreneurial grief through parting ceremonies and redemption narratives that redeploy human capital with new insights.

Keywords: Burnout; Entrepreneurial Passion; Entrepreneurial Workforce; Mentorship; Project Termination; Reality Shock; Turnover Intent (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-36429-6_8

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-36429-6_8

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