Is it contagious? The effect of fear of failure on employee satisfaction

IF 10.5 1区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Journal of Business Research Pub Date : 2024-11-21 DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115059

Sarah-Alena Rössig , Corinna Vera Hedwig Schmidt , Lisa Schrewentigges , Steffen Strese

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Fear of failure is a negative emotion among entrepreneurs at all stages of the entrepreneurial journey. However, prior research focuses on entrepreneurs in the aspiration stage or individual-level outcomes. Drawing on emotional contagion theory, we suggest that entrepreneurs’ fear of failure is transmitted to their employees, influencing their work experience. We use an exploratory mixed-method design combining survey and secondary data for the quantitative analysis (study I) and conducted interviews with entrepreneurs for the qualitative analysis (study II). We find that the entrepreneur’s fear of failure is negatively related to employee satisfaction. A context characterized by low participativeness in strategic decision-making or an entrepreneur’s low internal locus of control strengthens the negative relationship. Our research sheds light on the emotional contagion processes in entrepreneurship and extends the theory of emotional contagion by introducing participative strategic decision-making as a team environment and entrepreneurs’ locus of control as an individual trait.

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来源期刊

Journal of Business Research BUSINESS-

CiteScore

20.30

自引率

10.60%

发文量

956

期刊介绍： The Journal of Business Research aims to publish research that is rigorous, relevant, and potentially impactful. It examines a wide variety of business decision contexts, processes, and activities, developing insights that are meaningful for theory, practice, and/or society at large. The research is intended to generate meaningful debates in academia and practice, that are thought provoking and have the potential to make a difference to conceptual thinking and/or practice. The Journal is published for a broad range of stakeholders, including scholars, researchers, executives, and policy makers. It aids the application of its research to practical situations and theoretical findings to the reality of the business world as well as to society. The Journal is abstracted and indexed in several databases, including Social Sciences Citation Index, ANBAR, Current Contents, Management Contents, Management Literature in Brief, PsycINFO, Information Service, RePEc, Academic Journal Guide, ABI/Inform, INSPEC, etc.