Satisfaction with Life as an Entrepreneur: From Early Volition to Eudaimonia

Nadav Shir, Johan Wiklund, Srikant Manchiraju

Journal of Business Ethics · 2025 · Volume 199 · Issue 4

Abstract

This study explores how being satisfied with one’slife as an entrepreneuris a crucial ethical and psychological outcome of early volition and, subsequently, a vital resource in the development of a richer eudaimonic experience from entrepreneurship. We develop and test our predictions based on two independent datasets: American and Swedish business owners and early stage entrepreneurs. We argue and demonstrate that satisfaction withlife as an entrepreneurconveys a distinct state of entrepreneurial well-being and constitutes a crucial self-evaluation which mediates the effects of early volition in entrepreneurship on long-term eudaimonia. We contribute to the emerging conversations on entrepreneurship, business ethics, and well-being.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship, Eudaimonia, Entrepreneurial life satisfaction, Ethics, Volition, Freedom, Autonomy, Gender, Psychological well-being, Entrepreneurial well-being

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