Regret and resignation among successful entrepreneurs: The role of family and resilience

More insight is needed into what triggers regret in successful entrepreneurs and what capabilities they need to cope with this. We drew on conservation of resources theory, developing a model linking work–family conflict to entrepreneurial exit intention via entrepreneurial regret at varying levels of family centrality and entrepreneurial resilience. Analysis of data from 328 Chinese entrepreneurs suggested that work–family conflict was positively associated with entrepreneurial exit intention, and that this relationship was mediated by entrepreneurial regret. Moreover, family centrality strengthened the relationship between work–family conflict and entrepreneurial regret, while entrepreneurial resilience weakened the relationship between entrepreneurial regret and entrepreneurial exit intention. This study fills a research gap on regret among successful entrepreneurs and provides a novel perspective on their exit decisions.