Entrepreneurial Resilience: A Case Study on University Students

Abstract

Entrepreneurial resilience refers to the capacity to face, overcome and project oneself after suffering life events with a negative impact. Emerging adulthood and the characteristics of university life facilitate the occurrence of stressful situations that can affect well-being. The aim of this phenomenological research is to explore the strategic components of entrepreneurial resilience and how young university students have shaped their entrepreneurial resilience after experiencing negative life events. The present research is a multiple case study that was developed through a mixed methodology. The methodological sequence was quantitative and qualitative, with priority given to the qualitative phase of the research. Ten university students with high levels of resilience were interviewed. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicate that resilience is built through intrapersonal and exopersonal processes. These processes make up a set of strategic dimensions related to entrepreneurial behaviour that are used for the construction of personal projects.