Title: Demystifying the factors influencing the fear of failure towards entrepreneurial behaviour: comparative insights between pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 period

Authors: Md. Noor Un Nabi; Mohammad Awal Hossen; Fatema Tuj Zohora; Md. Nur Alam; S.M. Misbauddin

Addresses: Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh ' Department of Management, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore-7408, Bangladesh ' Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh ' Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh ' Department of Management, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore-7408, Bangladesh

Abstract: This paper focuses on finding the factors of fear of failure (FoF) that influence aversive behaviour towards entrepreneurship in the pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 periods. The study has used a deductive research design to portray the structural relationship between FoF and avoidance behaviour toward entrepreneurship. We took the responses using the developed FoF scale and entrepreneurship avoidance behaviour from the 330 university students of Bangladesh in early 2020 and after the COVID-19 situation in early 2023. The findings highlight that during the pandemic, all the factors of FoF reinforce aversive consequences that influence students' avoidance behaviour. In the post-COVID-19 period, the FoF factors have more detrimental effects on entrepreneurial behaviour than in the pre-COVID-19 period. The research findings have implications for academics and policymakers in devising remedial factors to minimise fear and engage students in entrepreneurship during adverse situations.

Keywords: fear of failure; FoF; university students; entrepreneurship; avoidance behaviour; aversive consequences; COVID-19.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEV.2024.144211

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2024 Vol.16 No.4, pp.417 - 438

Received: 14 Nov 2023
Accepted: 25 Sep 2024
Published online: 31 Jan 2025 *

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