From barriers to barring: Why emotion matters for entrepreneurial development

Abstract

We offer a critique of conventional approaches to entrepreneurial barriers and point to the neglect of social and emotional processes in their operation. Drawing from qualitative interviews with 25 entrepreneurs in Russia, we suggest that power rituals between entrepreneurs and state officials may impair entrepreneurial motivation. Our main contribution lies in conceptualizing barriers not simply as objective obstacles but as processes of barring, and in exploring how these might emerge. We elaborate a model of the social nature of barriers and the mediating role played by emotions. We discuss the implications of barring for entrepreneurial action more broadly.

Entrepreneurship in a Context of Pending Retirement: The Lived Experience of Older Entrepreneurs

“…Entrepreneurs are not isolated individuals but must be understood, instead, as embedded within networks of interrelationships, of business, personal and emotional concerns that shape their scope for action and their business decisions (Clarke and Holt, 2010;Doern and Goss, 2013;Jayawarna et al, 2013). For example, while Kautonen (2008, p.10) perceives 'the removal of family obligations at an older age' (our emphasis), through Edward and Thomas we see a change in family obligations and relationships rather than their removal.…”

“…Gaining an appreciation of the everyday lived experience of entrepreneurship, including its attendant ups and downs, professional challenges and personal conflicts is an important step in moving beyond simplistic visions of heroic entrepreneurs (Down, 2006) and appreciating the range of influences impacting upon entrepreneurs and the choices they make (Baron, 2000;Cardon et al, 2012;Doern and Goss, 2013;Jayawarna et al, 2013;Shepherd, 2003). From the detailed accounts of what it is like to be an older entrepreneur in the context of pending retirement, professionally and personally, we explore the complex interactions of their motivations, life-work and interpersonal relationships and relationships with their respective business.…”

“…Although financial motivations might represent significant and tangible drivers of older peoples' entrepreneurial ventures, a range of emotional drivers as well as socio-emotional barriers also appear to be at work (Cardon et al, 2012;Doern and Goss, 2013), many of which appear heightened in the emotional context of pending retirement. The size of the financial and emotional stakes mean that the consequences of conceding failure are potentially traumatic from a personal as well as a financial perspective (Shepherd, 2003) at a time when the entrepreneur might have few options for recovering either position (Hinz and Jungbauer-Gans, 1999;Kibler et al, 2011).…”

The influence of anticipated regret on business start-up behaviour

“…Recent research argues that entrepreneurship is an emotional journey (Baron, 2008;Cardon et al, 2012;Doern and Goss, 2013;Shepherd et al, 2014), suggesting that emotions might be one factor contributing to a plan being turned into action or not as the case may be. Specifically, emotions exert strong effects on behaviour in environments that are uncertain and characterized by high task complexity (Baron, 2008;Delgado-García et al, 2015); which is a condition typical of new venture creation (Dalborg and Wincent, 2015).…”

Contexts of enterprise policy-making – an institutional perspective

“…We discuss these issues in the case of post-socialist countries because the deep process of institutional and social transformation these countries have undergone, has implications for the extent of entrepreneurship development and the forms of entrepreneurial behaviour that have emerged (Kolodko 2000;Manolova, Eunni, and Gyoshev 2008;Smallbone and Welter 2009;Doern and Goss 2013). Post-socialist governments faced the challenge of adapting their role and behaviour in the society to the requirements of a market economy in order to create conducive environments for enterprise activity (Smallbone and Welter 2010;Smallbone, Welter, and Ateljevic 2014).…”