Abstract
Entrepreneurs operate in an uncertain, novel, and unpredictable setting. Such circumstances make them experience stressors in their day-to-day life. This paper studies two unexplored yet critical stressors in the daily life of entrepreneurs- [1] time pressure, [2] situational constraints, and their appraisal. Further, we draw upon the transactional stress theory to depict how individual differences among entrepreneurs drive them to experience these stressors as both challenges and hindrances. Specifically, this research also finds that prevention-focused entrepreneurs may view time pressure as less hindering. We find these results by employing experience sampling methodology and analyzing multilevel data from daily surveys spread across 16 days from 42 entrepreneurs leading to 517 observations. Our study joins the current and scant literature on entrepreneurial stressors and takes the current conversation forward, thereby making important contributions to entrepreneurship theory and practice.