‘I wish I had a regular job’: An exploratory study of entrepreneurial regret

Abstract In this exploratory study, we examined the extent to which practicing entrepreneurs regret entering entrepreneurship, the antecedents of regret, and the impact this has on their exit intentions. While business underperformance can stimulate regret, regretful thinking can also be stimulated by other variables related to well-being such as health and marital status. As expected, the findings indicate that entrepreneurs who were less satisfied with their business' performance experienced more intense regret. However, those entrepreneurs who had poorer health also experienced more intense regret. Additionally, married female and unmarried male entrepreneurs experienced more regret compared to their counterparts. Regretful thinking in turn increases exit intention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.