Knocking on Heaven’s Door? Entrepreneurship, Firm Growth, and Health Risks
Journal
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
ISSN
1042-2587
Date Issued
2024
Author(s)
Jukka Partanen
Aino Tenhiälä
Markus Jokela
Daniel A. Lerner
Alexander McKelvie
Type
journal-article
URL Institutional Repository
Abstract
We examine the physical health consequences to entrepreneurs of firm growth and decline. Using register-based panel data (2000–2021), we find that entrepreneurs and hired CEOs are, on average, healthier and live longer than individuals from a socio-economically similar random sample from the general population. However, our findings also reveal that entrepreneurs are more likely to fall ill during their tenure and die younger than hired CEOs. Importantly, our findings demonstrate that both cumulative exposure to growth and episodic, rapid declines in sales and in the number of employees are equally taxing for entrepreneurs and hired CEOs.
Subjects
ceo
;
decline
;
entrepreneurship
;
health
;
high growth
;
mortality
;
panel data
;
stress