Unpacking the joint roles of energetic, motivational and recovery mechanisms in entrepreneurs' health and performance

Purpose The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of the specific mechanisms by which entrepreneurs regulate their health and maintain a desired level of performance under the high demands of the entrepreneurial environment. We investigate how entrepreneurs manage and restore their physiological and psychological resources, which are crucial for their successful performance, yet potentially damaging to their health. Design/methodology/approach This study combines two data sources: daily self-reports collected via the experience sampling method and daily biometric data from Oura rings, capturing physiological health indicators. The dataset includes 591 daily observations from 60 entrepreneurs. Using multilevel generalized structural equation modeling, we test a model linking daily motivational processes (entrepreneurial self-efficacy and persistence), energetic strain (emotional conflict and work stress) and recovery (sleep quality and quantity) to entrepreneurs' ill-being and work-related performance. Findings Emotional conflict increased daily work stress, which in turn heightened entrepreneurs' ill-being, representing an energetic strain pathway. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy, a motivational resource, not only reduced ill-being directly but also fed into this energetic pathway by lowering work stress, and further enhanced persistence that boosted daily work performance. Sleep buffered the effect of emotional conflict on stress, helping entrepreneurs resist interpersonal strain. Exploratory tests of curvilinear effects showed that ill-being rose sharply under very high stress, while persistence's protective effect weakened at very high levels. These results reveal the fluid interplay of motivational, energetic and recovery mechanisms shaping daily health and performance. Originality/value Our theorizing and empirical study provide a dynamic perspective on how entrepreneurs regulate self-efficacy and emotional conflict through motivational, energetic and recovery processes. These processes shape their daily stress experience and persistence, which in turn influence their health and work-related performance. We highlight the unique ways entrepreneurs restore depleted resources, especially through their sleep, offering novel insights into how entrepreneurial work differs from traditional employment in terms of resource regulation and self-care.