Work-family conflict, entrepreneurial regret, and entrepreneurial outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aims to propose a clarification on how female entrepreneurs cognitively process their work-family conflict (WFC) experiences during the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, with implications related to their attitudes toward their current entrepreneurial activities. It does so by using social cognitive theory as an overarching theoretical perspective. Our hypothesis sheds light on regretful thinking (also known as entrepreneurial regret) as a cognitive mechanism that elucidates how WFC may affect female entrepreneurs’ outcomes, such as exit intention and work satisfaction. We further proposed family support as a boundary condition that may help female entrepreneurs to better respond to WFC. We develop and administer a questionnaire survey and analyze data from 346 female entrepreneurs in Japan. The results of our analysis, which is performed using the bootstrapping method to clarify the significance of the moderated mediation mechanism, support our hypotheses. Our results demonstrate that WFC leads to higher exit intention and lower work satisfaction through entrepreneurial regret. Notably, these experiences become stronger when WFC is coupled with low family support. Finally, we discuss the important implications of our findings for researchers and practitioners and highlight opportunities for future research.