Does individual resilience influence entrepreneurial success?

The purpose of this paper is to explore if a well-accepted conceptualization of individual level resilience can be used to predict entrepreneurial success, thus offering the field an operationalization of resilience in entrepreneurs. Whilst many accept the importance of entrepreneurial resilience, it remains largely a metaphor applied to any aspect of entrepreneurship, from individual level to business to system level resilience. We explore resilience in a sample of 215 founding entrepreneurs and use regression analysis to examine the relationship between resilience and entrepreneurial success as indicated by individual level variables, and between resilience and entrepreneurial success as indicated by business performance variables. We find resilience in entrepreneurs comprises hardiness and persistence; that entrepreneurs are more resilient than other populations; and that resilience does predict entrepreneurial success. The results offer a parsimonious scale for use in future research into the resilience of entrepreneurs, the indicators of which could provide useful guidance in the development of resilience education and training for entrepreneurs. This research responds to recognition that the term resilience has multiple meanings and is a metaphor needing additional conceptualisation for the context in which it is used. These findings suggest that individual level resilience in entrepreneurs can be conceptualised as hardiness and persistence, and operationalized by the items in the CD-RISC 10-item scale.