Will the COVID-19 Pandemic Hinder Your Entrepreneurial Footsteps? The Effect of Uncertainty

Abstract

Although scholars believe that entrepreneurial persistence may be weakened under the impact of COVID-19, this hypothesis has not been tested, and the underlying mechanism is unknown. Using environmental uncertainty as an entry point, we test this hypothesis based on Lazarus' appraisal theory (1991) and a two-wave survey of Chinese SME entrepreneurs. The results show that the sharp rise in environmental uncertainty during the epidemic prompted entrepreneurs to evaluate it as a threat and generate fear of failure, which in turn had a negative impact on entrepreneurial persistence. Psychological resilience modulates these relationships and can reduce the threatening assessment level of environmental uncertainty, thereby alleviating the negative emotions that will weaken entrepreneurial persistence and improving the possibility of entrepreneurial persistence. Implications for theory and research are provided.