Entrepreneurs can create a better tomorrow: The relationship between entrepreneurial grit, nonfinancial success, and societal impact

Figures & data

Figure 1. Summary of hypotheses.

Table 1. Sample composition.

Respondent characteristics	Percentage	Firm characteristics	Percentage
Age (in years) Average	46–52	Firm size (employees) 0–5	37
SD	1.48	6–10	22
		11–20	16
Gender		21–50	13
Male	80	>50	12
Female	20	Founding team size Single founder	43
Education Preuniversity degree	18	Founding team	57
University degree	82	Industry Services	33
Position Cofounder	83	Retail Administrative services IT & TelCo	15 14 13
C-Level (“Geschäftsführer”)	17	Others	25
Entrepreneurial experience (years) Less than 10	37
More than 10	63

n = 1,398.

Source. Authors’ calculations.

Table 2. Survey items.

Entrepreneurial Grit (Duckworth et al., 2007)
Consistency of Interests
(1) I rarely set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.
(2) I have rarely been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.
(3) New ideas and new projects rarely distract me from previous ones.
(4) I do not have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.
Perseverance of Effort
(5) I finish whatever I begin.
(6) Setbacks don’t discourage me.
(7) I am a hard worker.
(8) I am diligent.
Nonfinancial Success (Wach et al., 2017)
Personal Fulfilment
(1) Personal work flexibility
(2) Own decision-making
(3) Personal development
(4) Work-life balance (for example, free time)
Workplace Relationships
(1) Employee satisfaction
(2) Supportive firm culture
(3) Social responsibility for employees
(4) Strong employee relationships
(5) Employee loyalty
Societal Impact (Wach et al., 2017)
(1) Firm social contribution
(2) Environmentally friendly firm (for example, recycling)
(3) Social recognition (for example, good firm reputation)
(4) Social responsibility in the local region
Anxiety (K. Lee & Ashton, 2018)
(1) I sometimes can’t help worrying about little things.
(2) I worry more than most people do.

Table 3. Descriptive statistics.

Variable	Mean	SD
(1) Personal fulfillment	6.03	0.87
(2) Workplace relations	5.67	0.95
(3) Societal impact	5.04	1.12
(4) Grit	5.22	0.90
(5) Passion attainment	5.72	1.20
(6) Anxiety	3.82	1.83
(7) Entrepreneur self-efficacy	6.45	0.89
(8) Environmental dynamism	3.95	1.40
(9) Firm age (founding year)	2013	3.46
(10) Firm size	5.83	2.61
(11) Industry	6.49	2.92
(12) Covid impact	3.64	1.70
(13) Age	5.04	1.48
(14) Gender	1.84	0.45
(15) Entr. experience	8.58	3.19
(16) Working time	51.08	17.58
(17) Cofounder status	1.17	0.37

n = 1,398.

Source. Authors’ calculations.

Table 4. Pairwise Pearson correlations.

Constructs	(1)	(2)	(3)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)	(12)	(13)	(14)	(15)	(16)	(17)	(18)	(19)	(20)	(21)	(22)
(1) Personal fulfillment	1.00
(2) Workplace relations	0.55*	1.00
(3) Societal impact	0.34*	0.41*	1.00
(4) Grit	0.19*	0.21*	0.20*	1.00
(5) Passion attainment	0.18*	0.20*	0.18*	0.30*	1.00
(6) Anxiety	−0.11*	−0.10*	−0.09*	−0.03	−0.09*	1.00
(7) Entrepreneur self-efficacy	0.24*	0.20*	0.14*	0.12*	0.19*	−0.17*	1.00
(8) Environmental dynamism	0.02	0.04	0.02	−0.04	−0.02	0.07*	0.00	1.00
(9) Firm age	0.08*	0.10*	−0.05*	−0.02	−0.01	0.04	0.05*	0.02	1.00
(10) Firm size	−0.07*	−0.01	0.13*	0.02	0.00	0.02	−0.08*	0.06*	−0.24*	1.00
(11) Industry	0.07*	0.04	0.07*	0.00	0.01	0.01	−0.04	0.05*	0.06*	−0.02	1.00
(12) Covid impact	0.05	0.06*	0.04	0.00	0.02	−0.03	0.04	−0.01	−0.04	0.04	−0.14*	1.00
(13) Age	0.02	−0.04	0.06*	0.03	0.02	−0.15*	0.03	0.02	−0.26*	−0.07*	0.00	−0.04	1.00
(14) Gender	−0.11*	−0.08*	−0.14*	−0.10*	−0.06*	−0.10*	0.08*	0.06*	−0.01	−0.03	−0.11*	0.00	0.05*	1.00
(15) Entrepreneur experience	−0.03	−0.02	0.09*	0.02	0.05	−0.12*	0.14*	0.06*	−0.39*	0.06*	0.00	0.00	0.50*	0.07*	1.00
(16) Working time	−0.01	−0.02	0.00	0.11*	0.08*	0.05	0.09*	0.10*	0.00	0.14*	−0.03	0.02	−0.05	0.09*	0.03	1.00

Significance level is p < 10% for all correlations marked with an asterisk.

Figure 2. Results of structural equation model.

Table 5. Hierarchical regression results (personal fulfilment).

Independent variables	Model 1	Model 2	Model 3
Individual-level control variables
Age	0.04**	0.03*	0.03*
Gender	−0.24***	−0.22***	−0.22***
Entrepreneurial experience	−0.02**	−0.02**	−0.02**
Entrepreneurial self-efficacy	0.21***	0.20***	0.20***
Passion attainment	0.09***	0.07***	0.07***
Worktime	0.00	−0.00	−0.00
Firm-level control variables
Firm size	−0.01	−0.01	−0.01
Firm age	0.01*	0.01*	0.01*
Industry	0.02***	0.02***	0.02***
Environmental dynamism	0.03*	0.03*	0.03*
Covid impact	0.03**	0.03**	0.03**
Direct effect
Entrepreneurial grit		0.13***	0.22***
Moderating effect
Anxiety			−0.02*
Adjusted R-square	0.12***	0.13***	0.14***

n = 1,398.

Standardized coefficients are shown.

***p < .01; **p < .05; *p < .10.

Source. Authors’ illustration.

Table 6. Hierarchical regression results (workplace relations).

Independent variables	Model 1	Model 2	Model 3
Individual-level control variables
Age	−0.01	−0.02	−0.02
Gender	−0.17***	−0.14***	−0.14***
Entrepreneurial experience	0.00	0.00	0.00
Entrepreneurial self-efficacy	0.17***	0.16***	0.16***
Passion attainment	0.13***	0.09***	0.09***
Worktime	0.00	−0.00	−0.00
Firm-level control variables
Firm size	0.01	0.01	0.01
Firm age	0.02***	0.03***	0.02***
Industry	0.00	−0.02	−0.00
Environmental dynamism	0.02	0.03	0.03
Covid impact	0.03**	0.03**	0.03**
Direct effect
Entrepreneurial grit		0.17***	0.28***
Moderating effect
Anxiety			−0.03*
Adjusted R-square	0.11***	0.14***	0.14***

n = 1,398.

Standardized coefficients are shown.

***p < .01; **p < .05; *p < .10.

Source. Authors’ illustration.

Table 7. Hierarchical regression results (societal impact).

Independent variables	Model 1	Model 2	Model 3
Individual-level control variables
Age	0.02	0.02	0.02
Gender	−0.31***	−0.28***	−0.28***
Entrepreneurial experience	0.01	0.01	0.02
Entrepreneurial self-efficacy	0.16***	0.14***	0.14***
Passion attainment	0.12***	0.09***	0.09***
Worktime	−0.00	−0.00*	−0.00*
Firm-level control variables
Firm size	0.05***	0.05***	0.05*
Firm age	0.00	0.00	0.00
Industry	−0.17	−0.18	−0.17
Environmental dynamism	0.04*	0.04*	0.04*
Covid impact	0.02	0.02	0.02
Direct effect
Entrepreneurial grit		0.18***	0.27***
Moderating effect
Anxiety			−0.02
Adjusted R-square	0.12***	0.13***	0.14***

n = 1,398.

Standardized coefficients are shown.

***p < .01; **p < .05; *p < .10.

Source. Authors’ illustration.

Figure 3. Moderation chart (H3a).

Figure 4. Moderation chart (H3b).

Figure 5. Moderation chart (H3c).

Duckworth, A., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087–1101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Wach, D., Gorgievski, M., & Wegge, J. J. (2017). Entrepreneurs’ subjective assessment of success: Development of a multifaceted measure. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2017(1), 15063. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2017.15063abstract

 Google Scholar

Lee, K., & Ashton, M. C. (2018). Psychometric Properties of the HEXACO-100. Assessment, 25(5), 543–556. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191116659134

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar