Understanding the impact of well-being on entrepreneurship in the context of emerging economies

Purpose This paper aims to assess what happens to a willingness to take entrepreneurial action when people experience low or high subjective well-being (SWB) in 12 emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach The research uses principal component analysis (PCA) and logistic regressions with a data sample from the global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) for emerging economies. Findings The main results suggest that SWB, measured as satisfaction with life (SWL) and job satisfaction (JOBS), increases the probability of a person becoming an entrepreneur. Social implications The findings of this research suggest that designing and implementing public policies that seek to promote the well-being of individuals might foster their entrepreneurial activities in emerging economies. Originality/value The literature on entrepreneurship, which assesses its relationship with SWB is still scarce. Most of the academic work has been carried out for developed countries, mainly analysing how entrepreneurial activity affects SWB in self-employees or entrepreneurs. This manuscript analyses these elements in the opposite direction, contributing to an underdeveloped discussion on how well-being affects the decision to be an entrepreneur.