The entrepreneurial journey is a complex and challenging process, and many entrepreneurs experience venture distress, i.e., they realize that their venture is underperforming based on the threshold they had set for it. While it is generally acknowledged that distressed ventures should be exited, preferably as fast as possible, many entrepreneurs face difficulties in letting go of the venture they are often so committed to. Building on embeddedness and escalation of commitment, this study investigates under which conditions entrepreneurs are more or less likely to persist with their distressed venture. In particular, it assesses the impact of internal and external venture stakeholders on entrepreneurial persistence and the extent to which family factors mitigate these relationships. To do so, the study uses a sample of 231 entrepreneurs in Belgium who called upon help from a support agency for distressed ventures in 2016. We find that persistence is particularly strong for entrepreneurs of ventures with (more) employees and with lower levels of operating debts. As the venture’s level of operating debts increases, the probability of persistence decreases for entrepreneurs with no alternative family income and with dependents in the family household. We discuss implications for theory and practice.

Plain English Summary Entrepreneurs often persist with a distressed venture, especially when having (more) employees and lower operating debts. Yet, in the presence of increasing operating debts and dependents requiring household income, venture exit becomes more likely. Entrepreneurs’ persistence with their distressed ventures thus seems to be driven by their commitment toward venture stakeholders (such as employees and creditors), one the one hand, and their family household, on the other hand. These insights into when and why entrepreneurs in distress are more or less likely to persist enable business advisors and policy makers to better understand and support the needs of these entrepreneurs. In addition, this study advances academic knowledge on a highly prevalent yet understudied phenomenon in entrepreneurship, namely venture distress.

创业历程是一个复杂而具有挑战性的过程，许多企业家都经历了创业困境，即他们意识到，根据自己设定的门槛，他们的创业表现不佳。尽管通常认为应退出困境的合资企业，最好是尽快退出，但许多企业家在放弃他们通常如此承诺的合资企业时会遇到困难。基于承诺的嵌入性和升级性，本研究调查了企业家在何种条件下或多或少地坚持其陷入困境的创业的可能性。特别是，它评估了内部和外部风险承担者对企业家持之以恒的影响以及家庭因素减轻这些关系的程度。为此，该研究使用了比利时231名企业家的样本，这些企业家在2016年呼吁支持机构为陷入困境的企业提供帮助。我们发现，对于员工人数（更多），经营债务水平较低的企业而言，持久性尤其强。随着企业经营债务水平的增加，没有其他家庭收入且有家庭供养的企业家的持久性可能性降低。我们讨论对理论和实践的启示。没有其他家庭收入且有家庭供养的企业家的持久性可能性降低。我们讨论对理论和实践的启示。没有其他家庭收入且有家庭供养的企业家的持久性可能性降低。我们讨论对理论和实践的启示。

普通英语摘要企业家通常会陷入困境，尤其是在拥有（更多）员工和降低运营债务的情况下。然而，在经营债务增加以及需要家庭收入的受抚养人的存在下，企业退出风险的可能性更大。因此，企业家对陷入困境的企业的坚持似乎是由他们一方面对风险承担者（例如雇员和债权人）以及对他们的家庭的承诺所致。这些关于何时何地陷入困境的企业家或多或少会持续存在的见解使业务顾问和政策制定者能够更好地理解和支持这些企业家的需求。此外，这项研究提高了关于企业家精神中一种高度普遍但尚未被研究的现象（即风险困扰）的学术知识。