Unpacking the interplay between psychological capital and wellbeing in entrepreneurs: the mediating role of burnout through conservation of resources theory.

INTRODUCTION

Despite growing research on exploring positive psychological aspects of entrepreneurs' well-being, insufficient studies exist in the context of entrepreneurs in Sindh, Pakistan. The role of burnout as a mediator in the relationship between PsyCap and psychological well-being (PWB), from the perspective of the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, is underexplored.

METHODS

This study has adopted quantitative methods and a survey technique was used to gather cross-sectional data from entrepreneurs of Sindh Province, Pakistan. A questionnaire from past relevant studies has been used to collect responses from a sample of 309 respondents through a simple random sampling technique. The data were analyzed through Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in Smart-PLS version 4.

RESULTS

The results show that PsyCap correlates positively to PWB and negatively to burnout, in a significant way. In addition, findings also reveal that burnout mediates the interplay between PsyCap and PWB.

DISCUSSION

These research outcomes suggest that increased burnout results in lower positive psychological aspects that lead to the lower psychological well-being of entrepreneurs; however, increased PsyCap (hope, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy) buffers the burnout and maintains the entrepreneurs' flourishing and healthy psychological well-being. Hence, the present study outcomes empirically validate COR theory in the context of entrepreneurship.