Will hope light the way? The interplay of hope, loneliness and extraversion in shaping entrepreneurs’ business exit intentions

Purpose The neglect of hope, a powerful yet under-researched psychological capital in entrepreneurship research, has left an obtrusive gap in understanding entrepreneurial behaviour. This study develops and tests a model showing that trait hope reduces entrepreneurs’ business exit intentions by alleviating their loneliness. It also shows how extraversion influences this relationship, highlighting when trait hope affects business exit. Design/methodology/approach We conducted two three-wave, time-lagged surveys with entrepreneurs in Indonesia (n = 227) and the United States (US) (n = 215). Findings Our findings reveal that entrepreneurs’ loneliness mediates the relationship between trait hope and business exit intentions in both countries. Extraversion further shapes this relationship, with stronger effects of trait hope on entrepreneurs’ loneliness and exit intentions generally observed among more extraverted entrepreneurs. Originality/value This research highlights trait hope as a psychologically potent yet dependent on entrepreneurs’ extraversion as an individual difference. We thereby contribute to hope research in the entrepreneurship context and the business exit literature. In addition, our study extends current research on entrepreneurs’ loneliness by identifying hope as a factor that can act as the source of “light” to combat loneliness in entrepreneurs.