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Exploring the relationship between entrepreneurial failure and conflict between work and family from the conservation of resources perspective

Xiaoyu Yu (School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China)
Xiaotong Meng (School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China)
Gang Cao (School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China)
Yingya Jia (School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China)

International Journal of Conflict Management

ISSN: 1044-4068

Article publication date: 8 May 2020

Issue publication date: 4 June 2020

539

Abstract

Purpose

Conflict between work and family is a significant issue for entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of entrepreneurial failure on both family–work conflict (FWC) and work–family conflict (WFC) and the moderating role of perceived control of time and organizational slack based on conservation of resources (COR) theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a questionnaire to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial failure, FWC/WFC, perceived control of time and organizational slack. Data were collected from the Chinese context in 2018 and as a result received 318 valid questionnaires, obtaining a response rate of 63.6 per cent.

Findings

The study finds that entrepreneurial failure has a significant relationship with FWC but a nonsignificant relationship with WFC and that perceived control of time and organizational slack moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial failure and FWC/WFC.

Originality/value

This study aligns the field of family–work (work–family) conflict and entrepreneurial failure. It addresses a research gap in the conflict literature by introducing one form of resource loss: entrepreneurial failure as a source of conflict between work and family based on COR theory and the work–home resources model. The study also enriches the literature on the social cost of entrepreneurial failure by exploring the crossover effect of entrepreneurial failure on conflicts in the family domain. Furthermore, the study advances the understanding of managing conflict between work and family after entrepreneurial failure.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors thank guest editors Renhuai Liu, Richard Posthuma, Steven Si, Dean Tjosvold and Song Lin for their provocative comments and thoughtful guidance and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback. They benefited considerably from the special issue workshop held in Shanghai, China. The research is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (71972126, 71772117, 71902112) and Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (2019-01-07-00-09-E00078).

Citation

Yu, X., Meng, X., Cao, G. and Jia, Y. (2020), "Exploring the relationship between entrepreneurial failure and conflict between work and family from the conservation of resources perspective", International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 417-440. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-09-2019-0157

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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