Exploring Psychological Factors that Engage, Disengage, and Re-Engage Entrepreneurs

Abstract This research explores the psychological factors that engage, disengage, and re-engage entrepreneurs after they have previously failed in their ventures. Employing a qualitative approach, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs who were currently involved in their ventures (engaged), those who had started but failed (disengaged), and those who had restarted after failing in their previous ventures (re-engaged) in England. The results of the thematic analysis using NVivo revealed that the ambidextrous role of need for power significantly influenced entrepreneurs’ engagement and disengagement in their entrepreneurial ventures. Conversely, the need for achievement emerged as critical for entrepreneurs to re-engage in their ventures. The research findings offer the missing pieces of the puzzle, investigating factors that engage, disengage, and re-engage entrepreneurs in their ventures. Based on these insights, the authors propose a theoretical model that illustrates how entrepreneurs’ decisions to engage, disengage, and re-engage with ventures are ultimately driven by their core psychological needs.