The Mental Health of Entrepreneurs and the Ramifications on Business Success
Date
2024
Authors
Shahin, Amira
Editors
Advisors
Zhang, Stephen
Chiu, Chad
Chiu, Chad
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Thesis
Citation
Statement of Responsibility
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Abstract
This thesis examines the interplay between mental health and business performance among entrepreneurs, integrating findings from the Australian National Health Survey (NHS) and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. I investigate how entrepreneurial mental health impacts business income and profitability, considering factors like vigorous physical activity, biological sex, and social inclusion as moderating influences. Utilising instrumental variable analyses and fixed-effects regression models, I analyse data from over 862 solo entrepreneurs (NHS dataset) and 2,086 entrepreneurs (HILDA dataset) across an 18-year span. Furthermore, I will present two papers that have been submitted for review in respectable journals to answer my research questions. The findings from the NHS paper revealed that mental distress is associated with lower business income for Australian entrepreneurs. Notably, vigorous physical activity significantly buffered the negative relationship, suggesting that high intensity exercise may have a protective role against the cognitive declines linked to heightened distress. Additionally, findings from the HILDA paper validated these results, with entrepreneurs who have poor mental health tending to experience worse business profitability. Two moderating factors were identified to mitigate these effects, social inclusion, and gender. Female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs with strong community ties exhibited lesser declines in their business profitability. The findings emphasise the importance of addressing the mental health of entrepreneurs and highlights the benefits of physical and social resources in moderating psychological-related declines in business outcomes.
School/Discipline
Adelaide Business School
Dissertation Note
Thesis (MPhil) -- University of Adelaide, Adelaide Business School, 2024
Provenance
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