Stress Processes: An Essential Ingredient in the Entrepreneurial Process

Abstract

The entrepreneurial process is associated with high uncertainty, and uncertainty is a major source of stress. Therefore, a core aim of entrepreneurs is to reduce uncertainty to allow the entrepreneurial process to unfold. However, entrepreneurship scholars have insufficiently addressed stress processes that may be associated with this uncertainty. We argue that uncertainty is the concept connecting both the entrepreneurial and stress processes. We discuss the links between these two processes in terms of (1) opportunity recognition, (2) opportunity exploitation, and (3) associated outcomes. We then illustrate how future research should incorporate the interaction between the two processes using a morphological box and discuss how such research would change the way we specify entrepreneurial process models and study entrepreneurial behavior.