Love of Work or Love and Work: Does a Business Owner's Compulsion to Work Pay Off?

A business owner's compulsion to work is a condition that can have jarring effects on business-owning families. A compulsion to work has been defined as a component of workaholism. A random sample of 478 small business owners in the United States were classified as "compulsive" and "non-compulsive" owners using cluster analysis. A probit regression was used to determine the characteristics associated with being a compulsive owner. The probability of being a compulsive owner was lower for female owners, was higher as the number of children in the house increased, and was inversely related to family-business functioning. Further analysis found that compulsive owners did not have higher business incomes than non-compulsive owners. Thus, a compulsion to work did not appear to pay off for small business owners. We contribute to the literature by identifying factors associated with compulsive owner tendencies and if those tendencies lead to higher business income.