Are perseverance and self-efficacy costless? Assessing entrepreneurs' regretful thinking

Abstract

New business formation is a formidable and daunting task, which may require personal perseverance and self-efficacy. If this is indeed the case, will entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs differ on such attributes? Also, if high levels of perseverance and self-efficacy help entrepreneurs to overcome setbacks, snags, and obstacles, do these positive attributes co-occur with significant personal costs, such as the tendency to experience regretful thinking? This study uses a random sample of 217 patent inventors in the medical industry (surgery devices) to address these questions. Results indicate that entrepreneurs score significantly higher on self-efficacy and on two distinct aspects of perseverance—perceived control over adversity and perceived responsibility regarding outcome of adversity—than did non-entrepreneurs. Also, although entrepreneurs report the same number of regrets, their regrets are stronger and are qualitatively different from those reported by non-entrepreneurs. These findings suggest that perseverance and self-efficacy do indeed co-occur with regretful thinking. Finally, post hoc analysis reveals that the higher the overall perseverance scores of patent inventors, the higher their annual earnings. We conclude by examining the implications for theory, researcher, and practice. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.