Entrepreneurial Identity and Job Satisfaction: Unpacking the Parallel and Serial Mediating Roles of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being

Abstract

Based on the theory of identity and the multidimensional well-being approaches, this paper discusses the effect of entrepreneurial identity on job satisfaction in terms of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. We test a parallel and a serial mediation model with the use of the survey data of 500 Pakistani entrepreneurs in manufacturing, service, and retail industries with the help of structural equation modeling. The findings have shown that entrepreneurial identity is a positive predictor of direct and indirect job satisfaction. This relationship is mediated by hedonic well-being (positive affective experience) and eudaimonic well-being (meaning, growth and self-realization). Additionally, the evidence shows a positive chain of events in which the identity of the entrepreneur contributes to the growth of hedonic well-being that further contributes to the growth of eudaimonic well-being, which in turn leads to growth in job satisfaction. This paper enhances the understanding of entrepreneurship issues by combining identity theory with multidimensional well-being theories to explain the psychological processes involved in the development of entrepreneurial work attitudes. The results add to the growing body of literature on entrepreneurial well-being and emphasise the key role of identity in maintaining satisfaction in the context of uncertain venture.