A systematic review of the entrepreneurship literature on fear published up to 2014 highlights several key characteristics. First, the predominant focus in research examining the emotion of fear in entrepreneurship is on the specific concept of fear of failure. However, this literature shows a lack of precision in the conceptualization and operationalization of this construct. The impact of the experience of fear on individual cognition and behaviour can be beneficial as well as detrimental. Despite this dualistic nature, to date, fear is examined as only a barrier to entrepreneurial behaviour. This review reveals a clear dichotomy in the literature, with significantly more focus on fear as a trait that distinguishes between people than as a temporary state that is commonly experienced by many people. Defining fear of failure as a context‐specific phenomenon, this paper explains the importance of focusing on the temporary cognitive and emotional experience of fear and use conceptual observations as a platform to develop an agenda for future research.

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Fear of failure both inhibits and motivates entrepreneurial behavior and therefore represents a rich opportunity for better understanding entrepreneurial motivation. Although considerable attention has been given to the study of fear of failure in entrepreneurship, scholars in this field have investigated this construct from distinct disciplinary perspectives. These perspectives use definitions and measures of fear of failure that are potentially in conflict and are characterized by a static approach, thereby limiting the validity of existing findings about the relationship between fear of failure and entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to delineate more precisely the nature of fear of failure within the entrepreneurial setting. Using an exploratory and inductive qualitative research design, we frame this construct in terms of socially situated cognition by adopting an approach that captures a combination of cognition, affect and action as it relates to the challenging, uncertain, and risk-laden experience of entrepreneurship. In so doing, we provide a unified perspective of fear of failure in entrepreneurship in order to facilitate progress in understanding its impact on entrepreneurial action and outcomes.

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