When owner, family, and community roles intertwine: Examining entrepreneurs’ persistence decisions and the gender effect

Entrepreneurs play multiple roles in their daily lives, and these roles can influence their decisions. Yet we know little about how entrepreneurs respond to simultaneous influences from different domains. We examine how entrepreneurs’ persistence decisions are jointly influenced by owner role pressure, family role pressure, and community role pressure and whether female and male entrepreneurs make decisions differently. Results indicate that owner role pressure interacts with family role pressure to influence persistence decisions. Further, female entrepreneurs are influenced more by owner role pressure, but interestingly, male entrepreneurs are influenced more by community role pressure. Our research suggests that entrepreneurs should be aware of the role pressure driving their persistence with underperforming ventures. Educators and support organizations can direct entrepreneurs’ attention to the multiple roles they play in life and increase their awareness of how persistence decisions can be jointly influenced by those roles and the gender differences in the decisions.