Should I stay or should I go? The impact of entrepreneurs’ loneliness on business exit intentions through entrepreneurial passion

Loneliness is a serious source of suffering for entrepreneurs. Although the negative impact of loneliness on entrepreneurs' well-being has been studied, the mechanism through which loneliness affects entrepreneurial outcomes is less known. In this research, instead of examining the negative consequences of loneliness as related to well-being, we focus on its impact on entrepreneurs' business exit intentions. In particular, we identify entrepreneurial passion as one mediating mechanism through which entrepreneurs' loneliness influences business exit intentions. One time-lagged survey using a sample of entrepreneurs from the United Kingdom and an additional survey using a sample of Indonesian entrepreneurs show that high levels of entrepreneurs' loneliness increase their business exit intentions through reducing entrepreneurial passion. Our findings advance research on entrepreneurs' loneliness by identifying a new mechanism and extending its impact from entrepreneurs’ well-being-related outcomes to a business-related outcome.