Essays on Entrepreneurial Well-Being: Burnout, Resilience, and Cognitive Antecedents

This doctoral thesis investigates entrepreneurial well-being by examining its psychological, cognitive, and institutional determinants, with particular attention to burnout, resilience, and mental health. While entrepreneurship is often associated with innovation, autonomy, and personal fulfillment, it also exposes individuals to high levels of stress, uncertainty, and workload, which may undermine their well-being and business sustainability. Despite growing scholarly interest, research on entrepreneurial mental health remains fragmented across disciplines and levels of analysis. Adopting a cumulative dissertation format, this thesis comprises five interconnected studies that collectively provide an integrative perspective on entrepreneurial well-being. Using a combination of quantitative analyses, systematic literature reviews, and cross-country evidence, the research explores entrepreneurial well-being across different contexts, ranging from acute crises to chronic strain, and from individual-level cognitive mechanisms to institutional frameworks. Overall, the thesis advances entrepreneurship and well-being research by integrating psychological, organizational, and institutional perspectives. It contributes theoretically by clarifying key constructs and mechanisms underlying entrepreneurial mental health, and practically by offering evidence-based implications for entrepreneurs, educators, and policymakers aimed at fostering sustainable entrepreneurship and healthier entrepreneurial ecosystems.