The Mediating Effect of Financial Motives in the Association between Entrepreneurial Experience and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Japan

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and subjective well-being. Using an original survey on subjective well-being, entrepreneurial experience, level of wealth (inferred from observed variables of income, cash, and assets), and personal attributes of 10,001 individuals in Japan, we examine the factors that mediate the association between entrepreneurial experience and subjective well-being. We measure entrepreneurial experience as an individual’s experience in funding, owning, and running a corporation. We consider the mediating effect of the level of wealth on subjective well-being because entrepreneurial well-being is associate with wealth derived from income, cash, and assets. Our results provide no significant evidence that individuals with entrepreneurial experience have higher subjective well-being. However, we find a positive indirect effect of entrepreneurial experience on subjective well-being through wealth and a negative indirect effect through debt. The findings of this study indicate the importance of considering the mediating effect of financial motives in entrepreneurial well-being.