An Exploratory study of the Influence of Psychological Capital on Indian Entrepreneurs in Developing Crisis Intervention Strategies amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of psychological capital on entrepreneurs in developing crisis intervention strategies to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Psychological Capital (PsyCap) is a multidimensional construct of positive psychology that includes the psychological capacities of Hope, Efficacy, Resilience and Optimism. This research examined (a) how the construct of psychological capital influenced entrepreneurs, and (b) how this causality between entrepreneurs’ psychological capital and formulating crisis intervention strategies enabled them to navigate through the pandemic by adopting response and recovery strategies on an individual level and on an organizational level. A Multiple Case Study design was incorporated into this study to provide extensive explanations of the influence of PsyCap by assessing the causation of PsyCap on entrepreneurs across several industries. The findings of the study suggested that psychological capital can play a positive role on entrepreneurs that facilitated in building capabilities for survival of the firm by (a) analysing the challenges and executing intervention plans, (b) integrating employee wellbeing and innovation strategies, and (c) enduring the crisis and leading out successfully. Furthermore, this research contributes to the extant literature of entrepreneurship and positive organizational behaviour by providing empirical evidence depicting the multifaceted characteristics of psychological capital.