European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Engaged entrepreneurship research in Europe

Mental Health, Interdisciplinary Perspectives, and Psychological Dynamics in Entrepreneurship Special Interest Group

Acronym: MIND-ENT SIG

Short content and objectives

Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as a driver of innovation and economic growth, yet the human dimension, particularly health and psychological well-being, remains underexplored in mainstream research. This SIG aims to create a dedicated forum for scholars investigating how physical and mental health, broader well-being, and psychological processes influence entrepreneurial decision-making, behavior, and performance outcomes. It also addresses how entrepreneurial ecosystems can foster sustainable well-being for founders, employees, and other stakeholders.

The SIG offers six distinct yet interconnected themes:

1. Health, well-being and performance in entrepreneurship

The first theme on health, well-being and performance will focus on entrepreneurs’ individual functioning and outcomes. The related sub-topics concern how entrepreneurs feel, function, sustain, and perform from a health perspective. It will include:

  • Mental and physical health and well-being connected with performance
  • Aspects of ill-being in entrepreneurship
  • Different types of stressors and their impact; coping strategies
  • Recovery from stress / burnout
  • Reflective learning and self-care
  • Emotional and cognitive micro-foundations (as they relate to well-being and functioning).

2. Psychological and theoretical foundations of entrepreneurial behavior

The second theme on theoretical and psychological foundations will focus on applying the science of psychology to the field of entrepreneurship accurately. This theme will aim at bringing theory-driven, mechanism-oriented contributions explaining why entrepreneurs think, feel, and behave as they do. It will include:

  • Application of psychological theories to entrepreneurship to solve entrepreneurial paradoxes
  • Emotional and cognitive micro-foundations (conceptual/theoretical side)
  • Methodological pluralism (as a foundation for psychological exploration).

3. Social and relational contexts of entrepreneurial health

The third theme will address the influence of people around entrepreneur. It will address an eco-systemic perspective on interpersonal systems, role expectations, and the work environment shape health and performance of entrepreneurs. This theme will include:

  • Wider social contexts: family and employees and their impact on the entrepreneur’s health and well-being
  • Comparisons with other high-stress occupational contexts, e.g. surgeons, professional sportsmen
  • Variation within and specifics of the entrepreneurial occupation (industries, types, etc., when conditioned by socio-contextual factors.

4. Interdisciplinary and clinical perspectives

The fourth theme on interdisciplinary and clinical perspectives will capture medically and scientifically diverse approaches to understanding entrepreneurial health, well-being, and performance, including:

  • Neurodiversity
  • Childhood adversities
  • Interdisciplinarity: clinical psychology, neuroscience, psychiatry, medicine
  • Therapeutic interventions and their effectiveness
  • Recovery processes (clinical perspective).

5. Stress, coping, interventions, and practice-oriented solutions

The fifth theme will focus on actionable tools and applied impact, therefore aiming to support entrepreneurs, educators, policymakers, accelerators, and practitioners directly with tailored toolkits. The theme will include:

  • Therapeutic interventions and their effectiveness (applied view)
  • Reflective learning, self-care (as practices/interventions)
  • Raising awareness of health and well-being issues in entrepreneurship
  • Coping strategies (applied/practical angle).

6. Education, training, and pedagogical innovations

The sixth theme on education and training will focus on knowledge transfer and professional development to create space for curriculum innovations, including:

  • Pedagogical implications
  • New course development (for entrepreneurs, educators, mentors)
  • Raising awareness (education/outreach dimension).

Planned activities

 

Leadership and membership

Co-chair: Inna Majoor-Kozlinska (University of Groningen; RISEBA University of Applied Sciences)

Inna is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) and Associate Professor at RISEBA University of Applied Sciences (Latvia). Her research currently focuses on entrepreneurial education and identity, health and well-being of entrepreneurs as well as broader societal impacts of  entrepreneurial activity. Inna’s work has been published in the Journal of Small Business Management, Industry and Higher Education, and Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, among others. In November 2025, she joined the ECSB Board. (i.kozlinska@rug.nl)

Co-chair: Sanna Ilonen (University of Turku)

Sanna is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Turku, Finland. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship education in higher education, intrapreneurship and the well-being and ill-being of entrepreneurs. She serves on the editorial review board of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, and has published her research in journals including the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Industry & Higher Education and Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. (sanna.ilonen@utu.fi)

Co-chair: Martina Battisti (Grenoble Ecole de Management)

Martina is Senior Professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management, France. Her research is at the intersection of entrepreneurship and psychology with a particular focus on emotional and cognitive microfoundations of entrepreneurial behavior as well as drivers and outcomes of entrepreneurial wellbeing and health. She serves on the board of ECSB and is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and of the International Small Business Journal. She also severs on the Editorial Review Board of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, amongst other journals. (martina.battisti@grenoble-em.com)

The MIND-ENT SIG Committee

Same as above.

Current MIND-ENT SIG members

The list of current SIG members is maintained by the SIG chair and will be sent to all SIG members.

How to become a member of the MIND-ENT SIG?

Mental Health, Interdisciplinary Perspectives, and Psychological Dynamics in Entrepreneurship (MIND-ENT SIG) of the ECSB welcomes both ECSB members and non-members. Joining the future activities of the SIG requires a valid ECSB membership. If you do not have a valid membership, you have 9 months to register as an ECSB member. This can be done at https://ecsb.org/join-ecsb/. You can also join the ECSB by attending the RENT or 3E conferences.

If you are interested in being a member of the MIND-ENT SIG please fill in the online form via the link below:

Online form to join the MIND-ENT SIG