Self-leadership: a cognitive resource for entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship lies at the intersection of the individual and opportunity. Entrepreneurs must negotiate among their personal resources and life demands as they develop their ventures. However, there is little research on how entrepreneurial work context affects the individual and how entrepreneurs use their personal, social and family resources to cope with entrepreneurial demands. This paper proposes a moderated mediation model in which self-leadership is presented as a cognitive resource that moderates the effects of entrepreneurial demands and resources in order to reduce entrepreneurial exhaustion and increase engagement thus leading to fewer exit intentions and more growth intentions. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.