Frederik Riar

2021

The fear of failure (FoF) is an emotion that can be determining in the decisions taken by entrepreneurs. Prior research investigating entrepreneurial FoF evolved from asking subjects of different entrepreneurial commitment levels about hypothetical future situations. But few studies intend to cover these experienced fears across time and analyze how this negative feeling derived from failures or threatens to failure can affect entrepreneurs during their entrepreneurial adventure. To cover the lack on these themes, this thesis describes though an interpretive research single case the experienced FoF of an individual since he was a potential entrepreneur till the actual situation, where the study subject exited the entrepreneurial path. To analyze the described experience, the concepts of FoF and business failure are reconceptualized and a framework using the current literature about the topic is created. Results illustrate the continuity of some aspects of this emotional and cognitive experience for the study subject, even when exiting the entrepreneurial path and in a particular case, with a linkage on past employment experiences of failure. Furthermore, the results emphasize the role of having family on charge or receiving familiar and work colleagues' support on the experience of FoF, being these factors not related yet with the entrepreneurial FoF literature.