Can prosocial motivation harm entrepreneurs' subjective well-being?

Kibler Ewald; Wincent Joakim; Kautonen Teemu; Cacciotti Gabriella; Obschonka Martin

摘要

Entrepreneurship research on prosocial motivation has outlined its positive impact on well-being, but still little is known about its power, which may have deleterious personal consequences under certain conditions. In this study, we ask whether prosocial motivation can harm entrepreneurs' subjective well-being when they run a commercial venture. Embedded within a contingency perspective informed by self-determination theory, we build on longitudinal survey data to explain the effect of prosocial motivation on entrepreneurs' overall life satisfaction. Our analysis demonstrates that prosocial motivation has a negative effect on entrepreneurs' life satisfaction due to increased levels of stress. However, our findings show that the negative effect of prosocial motivation dissipates when perceived autonomy at work is high compared to when it is low. Overall, our research raises questions on the role of prosocial motivation for entrepreneurs' subjective well-being and, in particular, discusses its potential dark side in the context of commercial entrepreneurship.Executive summary: Can there be a dark side in helping others? If so, how can we better understand under what conditions it emerges? Entrepreneurship research conventionally presents prosocial motivation as a positive driver for social venture creation and entrepreneurs' well-being. However, we have little knowledge about the consequences of prosocial motivation when we move outside the social entrepreneurship context. When prosocially motivated entrepreneurs lead a commercial venture, they face the difficult task of balancing the desire to help others with the financial requirements of the business. The challenge of simultaneously accomplishing commercial and prosocial goals can result in a stressful experience that is detrimental to the entrepreneur's well-being. In this study, we ask whether and under what circumstances prosocial motivation can harm entrepreneurs' well-being.Embedded in a contingency perspective informed by self-determination theory, this article expands our knowledge on the effects of prosocial motivation in the context of commercial entrepreneurship. We draw from original longitudinal survey data on 186 entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom to demonstrate that prosocial motivation causes entrepreneurs stress and through that stress has a negative effect on their life satisfaction. We also show that the negative effect of prosocial motivation diminishes when the degree of autonomy entrepreneurs perceive in the pursuit of daily work tasks is high. To explore the uniqueness of the entrepreneurial context, we run a comparative analysis with a sample of 544 employees. This analysis confirms that stress fully mediates the negative relationship between prosocial motivation and subjective well-being, but for employees, this negative effect disappears when their level of intrinsic motivation-the desire to expend effort based on enjoyment of the work itself-is high.Building on our findings, we generate several important contributions. First, we help develop an understanding of the dark side of prosocial motivation by demonstrating that under certain circumstances, the desire to help others can be detrimental to entrepreneurs' subjective well-being. Second, we expand knowledge about the link between prosocial motivation and well-being by considering the boundary conditions (perceived autonomy and intrinsic motivation) that influence the dynamics of their relationship. Third, we set the stage for further investigations that aim to clarify the relationship between motivation and perceived autonomy and its effect on personal outcomes across different work domains.The key insight of the study is that prosocial motivation creates a dilemma for entrepreneurs when operating a commercial business such that the desire to help others outside the context of immediate work tasks can harm their personal well-being. We also find that the perception of autonomy is key for commercial entrepreneurs to be able to realize their prosocial motivation without creating stressful situations. Extending our understanding of the conditions that shape the relationship between prosocial motivation and well-being among entrepreneurs would help in developing a more holistic notion of prosocial business venturing, one that includes the role of both commercial and social enterprising activities in contributing to personal and societal well-being.

机译：对女性激励的创业研究已经概述了对福祉的积极影响，但仍然对其权力知之甚少，这可能在某些条件下具有有害的个人后果。在这项研究中，我们询问口语动机是否可以损害企业家的主观福祉，当时运营商业企业。在自决理论上通知的应急观点内嵌入在纵向调查数据上，以解释对企业家的全体激励造型的影响。我们的分析表明，由于压力水平增加，对女性运动员的生活满意度具有负面影响。然而，我们的研究结果表明，当在工作中的自治时，女性激励激励消散的负面影响与它较低时。总体而言，我们的研究提出了关于对企业家主观福祉的女性动机的作用的问题，特别是在商业创业的背景下讨论其潜在的黑暗面.Exec use摘要：帮助他人有黑暗的一面吗？如果是这样，我们如何更好地了解它的突然条件？企业家研究常规提出了作为社会风险创造和企业家福祉的积极司机的女性激励。但是，当我们在社会创业环境外，我们几乎没有了解女性激励的后果。当主动激励的企业家领导商业企业时，他们面临艰巨的任务，达到帮助他人的财务要求的愿望。同时实现商业和口语目标的挑战可能导致压力经历，这对企业家的福祉有害。在这项研究中，我们询问了对自我决定理论所了解的应急角度来危害企业家的危害企业家的幸存者的幸存者，这方面讨论了我们对商业创业背景下的口语动机影响的知识。我们从英国186名企业家汲取原始纵向调查数据，以证明口语动机导致企业家压力，并通过这种压力对他们的生活满意度产生负面影响。我们还表明，当在追求日常工作任务时感知的自治企业家的程度很高，女性运动的负面影响减少。为了探索创业背景的独特性，我们与544名员工的样本进行比较分析。这种分析证实，压力充分地调解了口语动机和主观福祉之间的负面关系，但对于员工，当他们的内在动机水平 - 基于享受工作本身的努力消失，这种负面影响就会消失 - 很高。在我们的调查结果上建立，我们产生了几个重要的贡献。首先，我们通过证明在某些情况下，帮助对口语动机的黑暗面的了解，帮助他人的愿望对企业家的主观福祉有害。其次，通过考虑影响其关系动态的边界条件（感知自主性和内在动机），扩大了对女性激励和幸福之间的联系的知识。第三，我们设定了进一步调查的阶段，旨在澄清动机与感知自主权之间的关系及其对不同工作领域的个人成果的影响。研究的主要洞察力是在经营商业时对企业家产生困境。业务使渴望在立即工作任务的背景下帮助别人可能会损害他们的个人福祉。我们还发现，对自主权的看法是商业企业家能够实现他们的女性激励而不产生压力情况的关键。延长了对塑造了口语动机与福祉之间关系的条件，将有助于制定更加全面的女性企业冒险的概念，其中包括商业和社会进取的活动在促进个人和社会方面的作用福利。

Can prosocial motivation harm entrepreneurs' subjective well-being?

摘要

著录项

相似文献

相关主题

期刊订阅