Sweat for success: pathways between entrepreneurs’ physical exercise, grit, well-being and firm performance Open Access

There is considerable academic interest in the relationship between entrepreneurial well-being and firm performance, highlighting its importance for entrepreneurs (Rauch and Frese, 2007; Stephan et al., 2023; Wach et al., 2021). Firm performance has been acknowledged as a critical and central positive outcome of entrepreneurship (Autio and Rannikko, 2016, p. 664, Miroshnychenko et al., 2021; Ben-Hafaïedh and Hamelin, 2022), as it not only benefits the entrepreneur financially, but also has important effects on economic growth, job creation, and societal well-being (Coad et al., 2020). In parallel with the extensive research that has been conducted on the outcomes of firm performance, there has been a growing academic interest in the well-being of entrepreneurs. An extensive literature has explored various dimensions of entrepreneurial well-being, focussing in particular on the hedonic and eudaimonic aspects (Shir and Ryff, 2022; Pergelova et al., 2025; Nikolaev et al., 2023).

Although the previous literature on entrepreneurship unanimously agrees on the importance of understanding the mechanisms that enable entrepreneurs to maintain their well-being and the mechanisms that affect firm performance, research on their interrelationship remains remarkably limited. Furthermore, the importance of entrepreneurs' well-being to the development and growth of their firms has been overlooked. While previous research has identified entrepreneurs' well-being as an important outcome of entrepreneurship and as an indicator of subjective success for entrepreneurs (Patel et al., 2023; Ryff, 2019; Wiklund et al., 2019; Williamson et al., 2021; Xu and Jin, 2022; Shir and Ryff, 2022), its role in performance of entrepreneurial firms remains largely unexplored. This lack of research requires a shift in perspective, from viewing well-being solely as an outcome at an individual level to recognising its potential as a personal resource in the entrepreneurial process, as it can be conserved, invested in and used to achieve one's goals (Hobfoll, 2001).

Existing research provides evidence that physical exercise constitutes an important self-care behaviour for entrepreneurs, positively influencing their well-being (Williamson et al., 2021; Patzelt and Shepherd, 2011). Additionally, grit has been identified as a critical factor supporting entrepreneurs in achieving important entrepreneurial goals, including enhanced financial performance (Mueller et al., 2017). While the literature on the stress-recovery processes of entrepreneurs tends to agree that physical exercise is an important self-care behaviour (Wach et al., 2020; Sonnentag, 2018) that entrepreneurs can engage in, there remains a gap in understanding the specific mechanisms by which physical exercise, along with motivational factors such as grit, influences entrepreneurs' well-being and firm performance. To integrate the mechanisms that enable entrepreneurs to sustain their well-being and analyse how these mechanisms affect the financial performance of the firm, this study develops and empirically tests a conceptual model built upon two strands of literature on the micro-level determinants of entrepreneurial success. The first strand focuses on factors related to the entrepreneurial personality that influence firm performance (Rauch and Frese, 2007). The second strand focuses on the psychological and behavioural micro-processes through which entrepreneurs manage, conserve, and use their subjective well-being (or, conversely, manage experiences of ill-being), considering well-being as a central outcome of the entrepreneurial experience (Stephan, 2018). By integrating these perspectives, this study provides a more comprehensive view of entrepreneurial success, showing that psychological resources and personality traits influence firm performance and are interconnected through mechanisms like well-being. This study emphasises the reciprocal and multi-layered nature of success at the micro level, where the personal and professional domains of entrepreneurs are closely linked.

The study's first contribution extends the growing literature on entrepreneurial well-being by examining how and why entrepreneurs' subjective well-being influences firm's financial performance. While prior research frequently positions entrepreneurial well-being primarily as an outcome of entrepreneurial activities, this study shifts the perspective to highlight well-being as a critical personal resource that entrepreneurs actively leverage to enhance their firms' financial outcomes. By doing so, the study challenges and enrich the prevailing conceptualisations, emphasising the instrumental role of well-being beyond its intrinsic value. Specifically, building on recent research that has increasingly recognised well-being as a foundation for sustainable entrepreneurial success (Wiklund et al., 2019; Marshall et al., 2020; Stephan, 2018; Shir and Ryff, 2022), this study conceptualises well-being as an essential psychological resource. Through empirical testing based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 2001; Lanivich, 2015; Wood et al., 2021), the study underscores how maintaining well-being can directly affect entrepreneurs' ability to sustain financial performance by mitigating resource depletion. In doing so, the study challenges the current discourse on entrepreneurs' well-being by explicitly linking the resource-based view of well-being to financial outcomes, which encourages future research to further investigate the interplay.

Second, the study extends research on individual-level behaviours that build personal and organisational resources by identifying and elaborating on the motivational antecedents that lead entrepreneurs to accumulate and conserve personal resources based on COR theory. While COR theory traditionally emphasises that individuals are intrinsically motivated to acquire, protect and preserve valuable resources (Hobfoll, 1989), the current study extends this framework by arguing that specific behavioural practices, such as physical exercise and grit can initiate resource-building processes. Grit, defined as sustained perseverance and passion for long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2021), allows entrepreneurs to endure and navigate challenging and uncertain business environments, thereby facilitating the restoration and enhancement of vital psychological resources. Following COR theory, grit helps to recover resources by enabling individuals to persist in the face of setbacks and maintain goal-directed behaviour. Consequently, entrepreneurs with higher grit are better able to restore their personal resilience, maintain their well-being, and sustain the financial performance of their firms (Mueller et al., 2017; Frese et al., 1997; Drnovšek et al., 2024).

Third, the study responds to recent calls for more in-depth research on how recovery processes influence entrepreneurial outcomes (Williamson et al., 2021; Battisti et al., 2025; Bennett et al., 2025). Although entrepreneurship is widely recognized as professionally and personally rewarding (Nikolaev et al., 2020), constant “exposure to stressors may predispose entrepreneurs to psychological disorders and illness via physiological processes such as increased allostatic load” (Ryff, 2019, p. 646), ultimately leading to ill-being in entrepreneurs (Williamson et al., 2021; Shepherd et al., 2011). Given the increasing prevalence of ill-being among entrepreneurs, it is becoming increasingly important to uncover mechanisms by which entrepreneurs can effectively manage their well-being while ensuring strong firm performance. Evidence suggests that regular exercise is particularly important for the physical health of entrepreneurs (Puciato et al., 2023). Specifically, the study adds to the literature on entrepreneurship that seeks to understand how entrepreneurs maintain their physical health (Van Heghe et al., 2024).

This study draws on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory to examine how entrepreneurs' engagement in physical exercise relates to their grit, well-being, and ultimately, firm performance (Hobfoll, 2001). COR theory describes how individuals acquire, protect and replenish personal resources to maintain and strengthen their self. This is particularly relevant in the context of entrepreneurs, as the theory supports the idea that entrepreneurs strive to maintain resources and acquire new ones. Personal resources are defined as “characteristics, energies, or conditions that are valued by an individual” (Hobfoll, 1989), and entrepreneurs, like any other individual, accumulate resources to avoid future losses (Lanivich, 2015). The salience of resources to effective entrepreneurial behaviours and outcomes has long been acknowledged in entrepreneurship (Alvarez and Busenitz, 2001), and COR theory has been used to explain how psychological resources are related to entrepreneurs' work engagement (Laguna et al., 2017) and financial performance. However, to the best of current knowledge, research has not yet addressed the activities that entrepreneurs intentionally undertake to build and maintain their personal resources. This study aims to examine both the direct and indirect roles of physical exercise in fostering subjective well-being as a personal resource essential for sustaining long-term financial performance.

In entrepreneurship, grit is defined as an individual's persistent pursuit of long-term goals, characterised by sustained effort, passion, perseverance, and resilience despite setbacks and failures (Duckworth et al., 2007). Importantly, grit is not merely a fixed trait but can be cultivated through deliberate and proactive action (Tough, 2012). Entrepreneurs often operate in an uncertain and resource-constrained environment where grit is particularly valuable when it comes to overcoming challenges and making progress towards ambitious business goals. Persistence of effort and consistency of interest, the core dimensions of grit, are critical motivational components that directly influence entrepreneurial behaviour (Hagger and Chatzisarantis, 2016). Grit enhances entrepreneurs' capacity to navigate the inherently uncertain and challenging nature of entrepreneurship, characterised by frequent setbacks and obstacles. There is growing evidence that grit is a powerful motivational construct that enables entrepreneurs to maintain an unwavering commitment to their goals even in the face of adversity (Casali et al., 2023). An entrepreneur's grit has been associated with important outcomes such as venture creation, entrepreneurial sustainability, innovation and long-term resilience (Mueller et al., 2017). Therefore, grit is conceptually different from related constructs. In contrast to resilience, which reflects the ability to bounce back from short-term adversity, grit involves sustained effort and passion for long-term goals. It also goes beyond mere persistence in that it involves a long-term commitment fuelled by enduring passion. While passion is a component of grit, it lacks the enduring perseverance in overcoming obstacles that defines grit as a whole.

In entrepreneurship, well-being is defined as the cognitive and emotional evaluation of an entrepreneur's overall life satisfaction, fulfilment and happiness (Ryan and Deci, 2001). It encompasses the way entrepreneurs perceive and emotionally respond to their personal and professional experiences, and it is closely linked to the fulfilment of basic psychological needs of entrepreneurs, namely competence, relatedness and autonomy, which are essential for thriving in an entrepreneurial environment. Well-being is recognised as a remarkable outcome of entrepreneurship as it generally helps entrepreneurs to cope with stress and failure (Wiklund et al., 2019; Shir and Ryff, 2022; Stephan et al., 2023). For entrepreneurs in particular, well-being is expressed through job satisfaction, life satisfaction and subjective vitality. Job satisfaction represents the fulfilment and positive attitude of entrepreneurs towards their professional roles, tasks and performance, while life satisfaction goes beyond the professional context and captures the sense of satisfaction that entrepreneurs derive from their personal goals, relationships and life choices. Subjective vitality refers to entrepreneurs' experience of energy, enthusiasm and aliveness because their basic psychological needs are being met, and reflects their overall capacity for physical and mental vitality in their professional and personal lives (Dolan et al., 2008). Together, these components contribute to an entrepreneur's subjective well-being as the “experience of satisfaction, positive affect, infrequent negative affect, and psychological functioning associated with developing, starting, growing, and operating an entrepreneurial venture” (Wiklund et al., 2019, p. 579).

In establishing the link between grit and well-being, this study considers grit as a motivational mechanism that helps entrepreneurs to continuously pursue meaningful goals through persistent endeavour. This continuous striving is closely related to basic psychological needs such as commitment, meaning and self-actualisation (Von Culin et al., 2014). According to self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000), the satisfaction of these intrinsic needs is of fundamental importance for the well-being of the entrepreneur. As grit entails a sustained focus on long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007), it leads to important outcomes such as well-being and firm performance, both of which are recognised indicators of entrepreneurial success.

Physical exercise is defined as “a subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive and has as a final or an intermediate objective the improvement of physical fitness” (Caspersen et al., 1985, p. 128). There is a well-established consensus among academics and practitioners that physical exercise improves individuals' physiological and psychological well-being. The positive physiological effects of physical exercise are related to the release of critical neurotransmitters (e.g. endorphins, serotonin and dopamine) that regulate pain, emotions, pleasure, and stress (Boecker et al., 2008; Wipfli et al., 2011) during and after the exercise. Physical exercise helps to mitigate the effects of depression and anxiety by facilitating the release of opioid peptide secretions in the brain (Dishman and O'Connor, 2009) and contributes to subjective well-being (Demerouti et al., 2009; Sonnentag and Fritz, 2015). Numerous research studies in the field of health psychology have emphasised the direct and indirect influence of physical exercise, regardless of its intensity (light vs. moderate vs. vigorous), on cognitive processes related to physical and mental well-being (Buecker et al., 2021, for a review). These insights are particularly important for entrepreneurs as they face numerous job-specific challenges, such as a high workload and long working hours under uncertainty and resource constraints (Williamson et al., 2021; Shepherd et al., 2011). Restoration of the physiological and psychological resources depleted by entrepreneurship is essential and can be facilitated by self-care mechanisms, notably physical exercise (Williamson et al., 2021). Although occupational health research broadly recognises the importance of physical exercise for healthy living, personal well-being, and career success, there remains limited empirical evidence regarding its direct and indirect linear and/or curvilinear impacts on entrepreneurs' work-related outcomes.

The central idea proposed in the model, supported by the Conservation of Resources (COR) framework, is that engaging in physical exercise enhances entrepreneurs' grit, enabling sustained focus on achieving important long-term outcomes, such as subjective well-being and firm performance. This study specifically explores both the direct relationship between the intensity of entrepreneurs' physical exercise and their subjective well-being, as well as the indirect effects mediated through grit. According to the model, entrepreneurs who successfully achieve key subjective outcomes, like personal well-being, are more likely to maintain and improve their firms' financial performance. The conceptual model is presented in Figure 1.

To support the direct relationship between the entrepreneur's well-being and firm performance, the study draws on the theoretical premises of COR theory and proposes that the entrepreneur's well-being acts as a key entrepreneurial resource that facilitates firm-level outcomes. This argument is supported by previous findings on the positive role of well-being in the development of stable personal resources (Marshall et al., 2020) and organisation-level outcomes as positive signals about one's current efforts increase motivation and engagement throughout the entrepreneurial process (Foo et al., 2009). Furthermore, entrepreneurs who achieve satisfactory levels of well-being are more likely to rate their work-related efforts positively, which also provides motivational energy to recognise emerging opportunities and pursue firm-level goals, such as sales growth (Schindehutte et al., 2006; Dijkhuizen et al., 2018). Drawing from this evidence, it can be argued that there is a positive association between the entrepreneur's perception of well-being and firm's financial performance.

Grit is not only about enduring adversity in the pursuit of entrepreneurial goals, but also about actively seeking out experiences that are engaging and meaningful (Von Culin et al., 2014), thereby increasing an individual's life satisfaction and vitality (Vainio and Daukantaitė, 2016). Entrepreneurs known for their grit often align their endeavours with their values and long-term goals, which fosters a deep sense of purpose and connection to their work. Favour commitment and meaning over immediate pleasure (Von Culin et al., 2014) suggests that grit can contribute significantly to an entrepreneur's subjective well-being. A meta-analysis confirmed that there is a significant correlation between overall grit and subjective well-being, highlighting that grit explains a unique variance in subjective well-being, even after accounting for personality-level variables such as the Big Five (Hou et al., 2022). Further support comes from research on regular individuals who are not entrepreneurs, which shows that individuals with higher levels of grit report better subjective well-being (Kwon, 2021).

Physical exercise requires setting long-term goals and working towards them (Caspersen et al., 1985, p. 128), which is also an important aspect of grit. By overcoming the physical and mental challenges associated with exercise, entrepreneurs develop an attitude of perseverance and determination, which is important not only physically but also mentally. In a seminal paper, Goldsby et al. (2005) investigated how maintaining a physical exercise regimen in the form of running and weightlifting supported goal attainment in small business owners. Finally, there is also neurobiological evidence for the positive effect of physical exercise on grit. They show that moderate to vigorous exercise effectively modulates activity in the dmPFC, a key region of the brain associated with grit (Myers et al., 2016). In addition, activity in this brain region is also activated by low-intensity exercise, such as walking (Mirelman et al., 2014). Therefore, evidence from neuroscience supports the direct relationship between high-intensity and low-intensity physical activity and grit (Dunston et al., 2022), as physical exercise increases mental resilience, self-discipline, and the ability to cope with challenges, which eventually promotes the development of grit (Warburton et al., 2006). Based on the above, the following hypotheses are proposed:

Previous research has shown that physical exercise in general enhances an individual's well-being due to its physiological and mental effects (Scully et al., 1998; Edwards, 2002). From a physiological perspective, physical exercise is associated with a variety of positive health outcomes, including improved cardiovascular health and respiratory function, weight management, and increased muscle strength (Sjøgaard et al., 2021). From a mental perspective, physical exercise has a stress-reducing effect, as it lowers levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline (Sutton et al., 1969), which influences subjectively perceived well-being (Tesch-Roemer et al., 2008). Furthermore, physical exercise provides individuals with the opportunity to engage in a focussed and mindful activity that allows them to change their focus and detach from work (Sonnentag, 2018). In terms of the intensity of physical exercise, high-intensity exercise has been shown to have a significant positive effect on mental health (Peluso and De Andrade, 2005) by reducing stress hormones in the body and producing endorphins. Endorphins trigger the “runner's high” and the positive sense of fulfilment normally associated with exercise (Leuenberger, 2006). Entrepreneurship researchers concur by pointing out that entrepreneurs who engage in physical exercise are likely to experience adaptive outcomes, such as increased well-being, due to the associated experience of positive affect (Rodrigues et al., 2021). This leads to the following hypotheses:

While regular physical exercise is generally beneficial for health and well-being, there is evidence that excessive physical exercise can have detrimental effects (Meeusen et al., 2013). This means that well-being improves with increasing physical exercise, especially if it is moderate-to-vigorous, up to a certain point, after which further increases can lead to negative outcomes. For entrepreneurs, moderate-to-vigorous overtraining can deplete mental and physical resources and lead to physical and mental fatigue, which can impair decision-making, reduce productivity and negatively impact wellbeing.

Based on the direct relationships between the key variables described above, the conceptual model suggests that grit mediates the relationship between physical exercise and the entrepreneur's well-being. Overall, this effect is due to the motivational role of grit, which acts as a mediator of motivation and resilience that entrepreneurs build and develop through physical exercise to meet the challenges of growing ventures (Baum and Locke, 2004) while simultaneously maintaining their well-being. When entrepreneurs invest their time in physical exercise, they can expect positive outcomes in the form of a replenished stock of physical, cognitive, and mental resources to persevere through difficulties and remain focused on long-term goals. This motivational resilience fostered by physical exercise leads to sustained effort and continued interest in long-term goals, which is the essence of grit. This positive reinforcement not only enhances the entrepreneur's grit, but also their well-being, as success in the pursuit of long-term goals leads to further well-being. However, if entrepreneurs do not invest time and effort in physical exercise, the existing stock of physiological and mental resources will be depleted. This is likely to have a short-term impact on the entrepreneur's grit, but not on well-being. If this imbalance persists, the entrepreneur's grit is likely to decline, ultimately impacting their perceived well-being. Overall, the direct effect of grit on subjective well-being does not provide a complete picture of how grit acts as an important motivational mechanism that contributes to the entrepreneur's accumulation of cognitive and affective resources, such as well-being. Based on existing evidence suggesting that physical exercise strengthens entrepreneurs' grit to pursue their long-term goals despite challenges (Mueller et al., 2017), the following hypotheses are proposed:

This study employed a multi-source, temporally lagged research design, combining subjective self-reports and objective financial data measured at distinct time points. Although all subjective data were collected in a single wave, the temporal separation between predictor and outcome variables allows for a more credible interpretation of directional relationships. Specifically, psychological and behavioural predictors were measured in 2021 with a survey, while firm performance outcomes (revenue growth) were drawn from the 2022–2023 period from firms' income statements. Such research time frame reflects the following rationale: (1) psychological and behavioural factors exert delayed effects on firm growth, thus they are measured in 2021, while firm growth in 2022–2023; (2) the temporal lag helps mitigate concerns about reverse causality; (3) post-2021 data offer more stable growth indicators due to pandemic recovery; and (4) the design strengthens the validity through clear temporal ordering of variables.

To gather subjective data from entrepreneurs, this study followed Dillman et al.'s (2009) Tailored Design Method. The authors developed an online survey based on validated measurement scales, translated and back-translated them, pilot-tested the survey, and administered it through the QuestionPro platform. The sampling frame was developed in 2021 by compiling a database of 1,344 small firm owners from the Slovenian official business register. Inclusion criteria for the random sample included private firms (limited liability companies and sole proprietorships) with 5–49 employees, led by (co)owners serving as the firm's key decision-makers. The survey was distributed via email between January and March 2021 with three reminders. A total of 275 responses were received, yielding a 21% response rate. After removing incomplete responses and cases for which objective financial data from 2022 and 2023 were unavailable (as retrieved from the national firm register), the final sample consisted of 203 firms. Of the respondents, 37% were female. The average owner had 25 years of work experience and was 49 years old.

Intensity of physical exercise was assessed using the revised Morgenstern physical activity questionnaire (PAQ-M) developed and validated by Rubenstein et al. (2011). Respondents were asked how many hours per week they engaged in light recreational physical exercise (such as leisurely walking, bowling), moderate recreational physical exercise (such as brisk walking, yoga, volleyball, badminton, shooting baskets), and vigorous recreational physical exercise (such as running, cycling, hill-hiking, skiing, doing push-ups, and engaging in aerobics classes and exercise-machine workouts). Respondents used a 6-point Likert scale to indicate the frequency of such exercises (1 = no practice, 6 = more than 10 h per week on average). For parsimony and due to the vast research on moderate-to-vigorous exercise, in the analysis of the data, the authors joined the moderate and vigorous intensities and compared them to light physical exercise.

Grit was measured with the two-dimensional grit scale (Duckworth and Quinn, 2009), which assesses consistency of interest and perseverance of effort and proposes combining both dimensions into one overall grit assessment. Respondents evaluated their agreement with eight items on a 5-point Likert scale. The items “Setbacks don't discourage me” due to low item loading on the perseverance of effort factor were excluded. Although theoretically central, this item may capture short-term emotional resilience rather than stable behavioural perseverance. Because participants rated how they “usually” focus on their work, responses could have reflected recent discouraging experiences, leading to higher situational variability. This finding suggests that grit may encompass both trait-like persistence and more state-like emotional recovery processes, which could vary across time and context. Cronbach's alpha for the seven-item scale was 0.783.

Entrepreneur's well-being was assessed with a compound of the Subjective Vitality scale (Ryan and Frederick, 1997), life satisfaction (Su et al., 2016), and satisfaction with entrepreneurial career (Spector, 1985) (from the latter, one item was excluded due to poor factor loading: “I sometimes feel that being an entrepreneur is meaningless”). Entrepreneurs rated items using a 5-point agreement scale. Cronbach's alpha of the 13 items was 0.887.

Firm performance was measured using firm objective data from the national business register (AJPES), a central public database of all business entities to which they report annual financial results. Based on previous research on entrepreneurship that measured firm performance by revenue growth (Chandler et al., 2009), the authors computed percentage change in revenues from 2022 to 2023 and subtracted the average percentage change in revenue for the industry in the same years. The measure of firm performance was the mean of the industry-adjusted percentage change in sales.

Respondents were asked to report their gender as well as height and weight to calculate the body mass index, which were a control variable. In addition, the authors controlled for respondents' years of job experience. As a firm-level control, respondents were asked to evaluate whether the main industry in which they operated was technology-based or not. Past firm performance from 2019 to 2020 was also controlled for, measured in terms of revenue growth and calculated in the same manner as firm performance from 2022 to 2023. Table 1 provides correlations among the investigated variables and their descriptive statistics. All measurement scales' items are presented in Table A1 in the  Appendix.

IBM SPSS 25.0 and IBM AMOS 20.0 software were used for the empirical analyses. The measurement models were first examined through confirmatory factor analysis to establish model fit. Mediation analyses were then conducted using the bias-corrected bootstrapping method with 5,000 bootstrap samples at a 95% bias-corrected confidence level. The fit of the model was appropriate: χ² = 25.288, df = 26, p-value = 0.973, CFI = 1,000, RMSEA = 0.000 (90% low and high confidence interval: 0.000–0.075), and SRMR = 0.0465.

The hypotheses were tested using the bootstrapping method for mediation analysis to examine the direct, indirect and total effects between physical exercise, grit, entrepreneur's well-being and firm performance. The results are shown in Table 2. Hypothesis H1 states that the entrepreneur's well-being has a positive influence on firm performance. The results in Table 2 show that there is indeed a significant positive effect of subjective well-being on firm performance (β = 0.191, p = 0.005). Hypothesis H2 investigated the relationship between entrepreneur's grit and her/his well-being. As shown in Table 2, the two factors have a significant and positive relationship (β = 0.245, p < 0.001). In the next two hypotheses, the authors assumed that the intensity of physical exercise, measured as moderate to vigorous (H3a) and light (H3b), is positively associated with entrepreneur's grit. The results show that moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise is related to grit (β = 0.168, p = 0.024). These results confirm Hypotheses H3a. The analysis of light physical exercise revealed no statistically significant association with grit, providing no support for Hypothesis H3b. It was also proposed that physical exercise would be positively related to an entrepreneur's well-being through moderate-to-vigorous (H4a) and light (H4b) physical exercise, with curvilinear effects expected between moderate-to-vigorous exercise and well-being (H4a’). The results in Table 2 confirm Hypothesis H4a that moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise is positively related to well-being (β = 0.171, p = 0.015), but do not confirm that light physical exercise is significantly related to well-being (β = 0.038, p = 0.597). The results also revealed a curvilinear effect of moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise on well-being (β = −0.466, p = 0.030), confirming Hypothesis H4a’ and showing the side effect of extended engagement in physical exercise on well-being, when entrepreneurs practice moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise for more than 10 h per week. However, as the number of respondents engaging in more than 10 h of weekly exercise was small, this part of the curve should be interpreted as exploratory. This result is depicted in Figure 2.

Finally, mediation effects were tested by decomposing the total effects into direct and indirect components to determine whether grit mediates the positive relationship between an entrepreneur's physical exercise (i.e., moderate-to-vigorous and light physical exercise) and well-being (H5a and H5b). In terms of indirect effects, the results reported in Table 2 show that moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise has an indirect positive relationship with well-being (β = 0.041, lower bound confidence index = 0.005, upper bound confidence index = 0.098; p = 0.027), but also a significant direct one (β = 0.171, lower bound confidence index = 0.034, upper bound confidence index = 0.303; p = 0.015)). Therefore, there are grounds to conclude that there is a partial mediation effect of entrepreneur's grit on the relationship between moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise and firm performance, confirming hypothesis H5a; however, this effect cannot be claimed for light physical exercise, thus hypothesis H5b cannot be accepted. An examination of the control variables revealed that past firm performance is related to well-being (β = 0.122), though at a significance level of p = 0.062. No other control variable showed a significant relationship with variables investigated in the model. See Figure 3 for an integrative summary of the findings.

To assess the robustness of our SEM model given its partial reliance on self-reported data, we conducted several sensitivity analyses in AMOS. First, alternative model specifications (e.g., removing grit) yielded similar fit and significant pathways, suggesting model stability. Second, a common latent factor test revealed no substantial changes in path coefficients, indicating low susceptibility to common method bias. So did the marker variable test using the perceived safety scale by (Fruhen et al., 2019). Finally, bootstrapped confidence intervals reinforced the statistical robustness of the key mediation effects.

This study connects two strands of literature on the antecedents of entrepreneurial success by linking the literature on personality determinants of firm performance with the literature on individual determinants of entrepreneurial well-being. The authors show that personality traits such as grit not only contribute directly to entrepreneurial success, but also influence how entrepreneurs maintain their subjective well-being. These findings are consistent with previous research linking grit to persistence and performance, but they add new insights by identifying physical exercise as a modifiable behavioural precursor of grit.

In describing the antecedents of entrepreneurs' well-being, the authors hypothesise and provide empirical evidence that moderate to vigorous physical exercise is significantly related to an entrepreneur's well-being and is partially mediated by the entrepreneur's grit. The effects of light exercise on enhancing an entrepreneur's grit or well-being are not significant. These findings challenge previous assumptions in the health and wellness literature that even low-intensity exercise makes a significant contribution to psychological well-being (Biddle et al., 2019) suggesting that for high-achieving populations such as entrepreneurs, a certain level of intensity may be required to activate psychological benefits. This may be because light exercise provides only mild physiological activation and limited affective change, which may not be sufficient to offset the high cognitive and emotional demands of entrepreneurship. In contrast, moderate-to-vigorous exercise likely induces stronger neurophysiological responses (e.g., endorphin release, reduced cortisol levels), which is necessary for fostering grit and restoring well-being in demanding contexts. Using lagged financial data, the results support the main hypotheses that an entrepreneur's well-being can be enhanced by physical exercise and that well-being has a positive effect on firm financial performance.

This study is one of the first to empirically investigate the relationships between physical exercise, grit, well-being and financial performance, using a mediation model to test their interplay. The robustness of the study's empirical findings is due to the fact that the authors use a multi-source data set that combines both self-reported data from entrepreneurs and objective financial data from their firms over a two-year period. This temporal separation improves the interpretability of the model's directional paths and helps to dispel concerns about reverse causality, particularly the notion that entrepreneurs who feel better about themselves may also be more financially successful. By using firm-specific measures of grit, well-being and financial performance, the authors respond to early claims in this area (Markman and Baron, 2003; Foo et al., 2009) for models that examine how entrepreneurs' personality differences determine firm-level outcomes. In particular, by using data from multiple sources, the study addresses the usual limitations of previous research related to single-source data sets and the risks associated with common methodological biases (Mueller et al., 2017).

The first contribution of this study adds to the growing literature on well-being and firm performance in entrepreneurship (Parasuraman et al., 1996; Patel et al., 2023; Uy et al., 2017; Wach et al., 2016; Wiklund et al., 2019; Shir and Ryff, 2022). In contrast to existing studies that have focused on personality-related determinants that include some form of cognition (e.g., creativity, improvisation, learning) as determinants of firm performance (Hmieleski et al., 2013), the study fills the conceptual gap to examine micro-processes of entrepreneurs through which they develop and maintain their personal resources to attain important subjective and objective outcomes in entrepreneurship. Specifically, the study conceptualises an interplay of direct and indirect mechanisms between the entrepreneur's physical exercise, grit, well-being, and firm performance, which contrasts with prior research in which physical exercise has typically been treated as a control variable. This adds a novel dimension to existing research that characterises entrepreneurship as a uniquely demanding work context, marked by high uncertainty, emotional strain, and significant personal financial risk (Shepherd et al., 2009; Uy et al., 2013). By identifying physical exercise as a behavioural contributor to grit, the study offers a new perspective on how entrepreneurs can build it through lifestyle choices.

The second contribution of the study is the application of COR theory to entrepreneurship by identifying and explaining the motivational antecedents for the accumulation and conservation of resources by entrepreneurs. Although one of the key premises of the COR theory is that people are intrinsically motivated to protect and acquire resources, specific mechanisms relevant to entrepreneurs have yet to be identified. While Lanivich (2015) introduced the resource-induced coping heuristic to apply COR theory to entrepreneurship, this study extends their work by specifying the mechanisms by which entrepreneurs acquire, protect, and develop their resource reserves. In identifying these mechanisms, the study emphasises the importance of “grit” – an entrepreneur's persistence and enduring interest in long-term goals – which can be strengthened and built through moderate to vigorous physical exercise. Physical exercise helps entrepreneurs become grittier, which has a positive impact on building a reservoir of personal resources to sustain the financial performance of their business. This supports new research findings on the transfer of skills from sport to entrepreneurship. In particular, Hindle et al. (2021) show that athletic skills, especially discipline, perseverance and goal-orientation, can be effectively transformed into entrepreneurial skills. Our findings contribute to this line of research by demonstrating that habitual physical exercise can enhance grit, extending the scope of previous research beyond competitive or professional sports. This is consistent with recent findings showing that physical fitness contributes to stress resilience and overall self-efficacy, both of which are critical components of entrepreneurial perseverance and coping (Neumann et al., 2022). This opens promising avenues for future research on how entrepreneurs can utilise various personal resources to support and maintain their well-being in the face of business demands. As firms grow and their demands increase, the likelihood of team conflict also increase (Lazar et al., 2020). Integrating physical exercise into team routines can be a practical way to strengthen social bonds, improve collective grit, and increase resilience to setbacks, which fosters a healthier and more cohesive entrepreneurial environment (Gordon et al., 2021).

The third contribution is to the emerging and rapidly growing body of evidence in entrepreneurship on the vital role of recovery processes for entrepreneurs for their longevity and success (Williamson et al., 2021; Stephan et al., 2023; Van Heghe et al., 2024). This contribution is in line with the wider recovery literature (Sonnentag and Fritz, 2015), which emphasises the importance of low-input and psychologically disengaging activities, such as rest, relaxation and exercise in maintaining long-term well-being and preventing resource depletion. The contribution of the study is to challenge the traditional notion that the demands of growing organisations inevitably lead to negative consequences for entrepreneurs, including negative health impacts and potentially declining performance and growth (Wolfe and Patel, 2020). In doing so, the authors extend the work of Goldsby et al. (2005) on how different types of physical fitness influence the intrinsic and extrinsic goal attainment of entrepreneurs. By demonstrating that physical exercise is directly related to entrepreneurs' grit and indirectly related to financial performance, the authors extend the literature on the individual determinants of firm outcomes (Foo et al., 2009) in conceptualising and empirically testing how micro-processes under the entrepreneur's control influence his/her success. With these findings, the study opens several avenues for further research, such as investigating entrepreneurs' self-care behaviour, which has a positive impact on their well-being, as well as other important resources of entrepreneurs, such as sleep regimen. This is an important contribution given the alarming evidence of the prevalence of inflammatory, metabolic, and cardiovascular problems among entrepreneurs (Wolfe and Patel, 2020). One of the possible directions of future research could include experimental studies of entrepreneurs' sleep patterns, as physical exercise has been shown to have a positive effect on sleep behaviour and can help regulate sleep cycles (Driver and Taylor, 2000).

Based on the findings of this study, the authors recommend that entrepreneurs incorporate a healthy amount of physical exercise into their daily routine. Physical exercise promotes their mental well-being by inducing positive emotions that have been shown to be an important source of personal strength for entrepreneurs (Baron et al., 2016), and thus physical exercise can serve as a regulatory mechanism for work–life balance, which is critical for growing businesses. However, to achieve positive spillover effects of physical exercise in terms of improved grit and well-being, one must engage in moderate-to-vigorous exercise. In this sense, it is suggested that entrepreneurs motivate members of their teams to assign themselves a place where they can engage in physical exercise or team sports together, as such activities could promote team spirit and other positive spillover effects from sport to entrepreneurship, such as less team conflict, entrepreneurial thinking and effective handling of failure. The results of the study emphasise that almost any type of physical exercise that is at least moderate in intensity is beneficial, as long as the entrepreneur makes time for it and does not overtrain.

The authors acknowledge several research limitations. The study focuses on a relatively homogeneous group of entrepreneurs, excluding minority groups such as those at the “base of the pyramid” (Chatterjee et al., 2022). These groups face unique socio-economic, cultural, and structural barriers that may shape their access to physical exercise, personal resources, and entrepreneurial opportunities differently. As a result, their exercise patterns and well-being outcomes may diverge from those in mainstream contexts, limiting the generalisability of the findings. Future research should explore these underrepresented groups to understand context-specific constraints (e.g., limited safe spaces for exercise, cultural norms, stigma, or resource scarcity). Such work could enrich theories of entrepreneurial recovery and inform more inclusive policy development. Second, while this study examined the effects of entrepreneurs' physical exercise on grit, well-being, and firm performance, the performance assessment (revenue growth) was limited to two years (2022–2023). Future research could explore longer-term outcomes. Third, although a lagged design was used (i.e. predictors in 2021 and outcomes in later years) psychological variables like well-being and grit were measured only once, limiting the ability to track changes over time. Longitudinal or diary-based studies could better capture fluctuations in entrepreneurs' physical and psychological states and their impact on decisions and outcomes. Experimental designs could also compare different exercise types or intensities. Including variables like mindfulness, sleep duration, or circadian rhythms may further enrich understanding of entrepreneurial well-being. Wearable technologies offer opportunities to collect real-time biometric and behavioural data, enabling method triangulation and improving measurement validity. Another limitation is the study's geographic focus: data were collected in a small European country, which may limit generalisability. However, the country's open economy and cohesive institutions provided a strong setting for studying firm-level behaviour with minimal macro-level noise. The findings may also apply to similar small, export-oriented economies. Future studies should test the model in more diverse national contexts. Finally, concerns about reverse causality were addressed by controlling for past firm performance (2019–2020 revenue growth). This allowed for consideration of whether prior business success influenced entrepreneurs' physical activity, grit, or well-being. The analysis showed no significant link, supporting the proposed direction of influence, where exercise, grit, and well-being predict later performance. However, as with all non-experimental research, causal claims should be made cautiously, and future studies should use longitudinal or intervention-based designs.

The study contributes to the entrepreneurial literature by integrating research on entrepreneurial personality and the micro-processes that influence well-being and firm performance. By linking personality-related success factors to micro-processes, the authors show that entrepreneurs who engage in moderate to vigorous physical exercise increase their grit and subjective well-being. However, exceeding the optimal intensity of exercise can negate these benefits and emphasises the importance of balance. This study emphasises that subjective well-being is not only a result of entrepreneurship, but also an important resource for long-term financial performance. The results of the study have practical implications for entrepreneurs as they need to take a holistic approach to personal recovery that combines both physiological and psychological recovery mechanisms.