Successful entrepreneurs are commonly characterized as those who have mastered the art of learning to learn, and put it into practice, in dynamic environments of change and uncertainty (Young, 2007). Entrepreneurs of micro and small companies face the success of their activity differently when compared to entrepreneurs of large companies. This may be due to the fact that micro and small entrepreneurs establish a bond, a psychological involvement with their company. In this way, psychological resources can be seen as explanatory factors of entrepreneurial success, in particular, in micro and small companies (Gorgievski et al., 2011). There is a consensus (e.g., Wach et al., 2018) that entrepreneurial success is not just financial, but can include, for example, personal fulfilment. An optimistic entrepreneur creatively and more accurately explores business opportunities and believes they have a greater ability to control (Krueger, 2007). Psychological resources can be seen as precursors or maintainers of entrepreneurship. Hence, individuals who have higher psychological resources tend to perform higher as they use these resources to overcome obstacles (Hobfoll, 2002). For instance, the successive economic crises that countries are going through lead the individual to recognize that the ‘profit’ factor is not the main motivator/precursor for de decision-making to become an entrepreneur (Katz, 1992; Amit et al., 2001). According to Baluku et al. (2018), to some extent, business success results from psychological resources or states that entrepreneurs invest in their work.

Optimism and resilience together as individual psychological skills can produce higher levels of coping, as allow the individual a “positive assessment of circumstances and probability of success based on motivated effort and perseverance” (Luthans et al., 2007a, p. 550). According to Hmieleski and Carr (2008), this use of optimism and psychological resilience is positively related to entrepreneurial performance and, in addition, supports the efforts applied in entrepreneurship (Baron et al., 2016).

As important as studying entrepreneurial success according to an economic parameter is the study of subjective success, that is, the focus on associated psychological processes and resources (Baluku et al., 2018). Hence, according to Patel and Thatcher (2014), psychological attributes can be a key resource to preserve and achieve entrepreneurial success. There is no doubt that optimism increases motivation and direction towards a certain goal, and psychological resilience allows individuals to plan alternative pathways to achieve goals and adapt to the adversities of the entrepreneurial process. Being spiritual does not imply practicing a religion, however, individuals can equally have a strong spiritual value system, an “inner experience to connect with a higher power” (Amin Mohamed et al., 2004, 106). Spirituality involves a high level of cognitive processes (Mubarak et al., 2014), and integrates the entrepreneur’s moral, social and religious values in driving the success of his business (Kolsome, 2010), especially in women (Borquist and de Bruin, 2019). For instance, spiritual mindset is an important guide and strategy of entrepreneurial orientation and leadership among women (Borquist and de Bruin, 2019; Latukismo et al., 2021).

According to Waters et al. (2021), positive psychology factors proved to have a leading role in personal strengthening through adversity, namely intrapersonal variables such as optimism (Prati and Pietrantoni, 2009). The perspective of positive psychology focuses on the real and potential capabilities of individuals, which allows us to understand how they deal with adversity and grow in times of crisis (Waters et al., 2021). Optimism is understood as a prerequisite during hard times (Al Issa, 2021), and can stimulate a desired behavior in order to promote entrepreneurial success, aiding in risk management. Optimism relates to a flexible set of adaptive strategies, and is considered a predictor of an individual’s ability to manage and cope with the adversities of a potential traumatic event (Benight and Bandura, 2004), like a pandemic. Zoellner and Marcker (2006) suggest that accepting situations considered unchanged and reassessing a crisis event in a positive light allows for personal growth. Previous works (e.g., Holland and Shepherd 2013; Cardon and Kirk 2015) reinforce the idea that optimism is one of the factors that most encourage entrepreneurs. According to Storey (2011) “key empirical regularities among new and small firms are explained more insightfully by elevating the role of chance and combining it with the optimism of the business owner” (p. 317), driving the persistence to persevere in a business (Brown and Marshall, 2001).

Psychological resilience is, the flexible capacity to bounce back from negative experiences and adapt to the changing demands of stressful scenarios (Lazarus, 1993). According to Davidsson and Gordon (2016), entrepreneurs will be more successful if they are resilient. For instance, a cross-sectional study carried out with workers in Canada found that resilience is one of the factors that is positively related to prosperity at work (Pacheco et al., 2020). Resilient individuals are better able to remain optimistic (Mak et al., 2011), due to positive emotions are the foundation of psychological resilience. At the cognitive level, resilient people better assess threats (Fletcher and Sarkar, 2013), and tend to engage in activities with a future perspective (Masten, 2001). Entrepreneurs can profit from this resource, as the ability to interpret (positive) and respond to the stressful event can dictate the success of their venture (Duchek, 2017).

Several health studies show that there is a relationship between this and religious indices, such as attendance at worship places, and a self-assessment of religiosity and spirituality (Pargament, 1997; Koenig et al., 2001). Starting from the premise that people are able to cope with traumatic events (e.g., illness) through religion or spirituality, it is remarkable and imperative to test its effect also on growth after a moment of crisis, such as the pandemic, in relation to its entrepreneurial career. The study conducted by Prati and Pietrantoni (2009) revealed that spirituality moderately predicted positive changes after a crisis event, concluding that it provides a sense of community (Pargament et al., 2004), and personal beliefs drive the process of meaning/fulfilment and coping (Cadell et al., 2003).

Spirituality presupposes a connection to a superior force capable of helping the person to overcome daily difficulties and negative circumstances. It is an experiential process whose characteristics include relation with nature or with one or more spiritual forces, in the search for meaning and the purpose of ‘things’ (social phenomena and issues, in the Durkheimian sense). Inserted in a specific sociocultural context - which implies behaviours, experiences, interpersonal relationships and the search for values -, it may or may not include participation or formal religious activity, that is, an institutionalized relation with a certain religion, religious movement or religious denomination (church). It has been attributed a greater importance to the individual’s spirituality, especially with regard to resilient strategies in the face of adverse situations, in the way it interferes in the level of disease/health, and in learning (Rodrigues, 2007), but also, at the present time, in more and better capacity to initiate and develop an entrepreneurial activity. For instance, several studies point to another facet of spirituality, as a coping strategy to face stressful business situations (e.g., Herriott et al., 2009). Or also as an intrinsic drive and motivation for people to find meaning in their work (Giacalone and Jurkiewicz, 2003).

If we think of spirituality as a capital (like human or social capital), it can be defined, according to Liu (2015), as the power and influence arising from an individual spiritual belief and practice. That is, spiritual capital is based on individual capacities created by the application of intrinsic spiritual values. Based on the idea that spiritual capital is the search for meaning with a view to the development of human potential, it is based on this capacity that an individual chooses their personal and professional guidelines (Zohar, 2010). According to Middlebrooks and Noghiu (2010) this practice emphasizes the post-capitalist economy, based on values over capitalist culture/profit maximization. Currently, it is clear that this philosophy increasingly influences and motivates entrepreneurs.

In Silicon Valley, where world-renowned start-ups are located, there is a church called Vive, which offers tranquillity in a hyperconnected world, arguing that the “start-up of Jesus was the manger.” Entrepreneurs at companies such as Tesla, Lyft, “settle the score” between technology and their relationship with it, reconnecting with the full life and preparing to be leaders of extraordinary lives. Recently, the literature has pointed out (e.g., Lari, 2012; Mubarak et al., 2014) that spirituality affects entrepreneurial motivation and perseverance in this process, what will dictate the success of the enterprises. This internal dimension can increase well-being and quality of life, as well as commitment and productivity (Karakas, 2010) and, consequently, entrepreneurial success (Pio, 2010). In addition, Zsolnai (2019) proposes the idea of a “spiritually informed economy,” which aims to integrate both material and immaterial aspects, that is, the different goals and objectives, including the spiritual ones.

To explore the changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, we collected data generated by a survey of the entrepreneurs of micro and small Portuguese firms. We followed the European definition of micro enterprise (less than 10 workers) and small enterprise (less than 50 workers). Among the 28 countries of the union, the vast majority (93%) of SMEs are micro, while another 5.9% are small companies. Portugal is in second place with the aforementioned 99.3% (more specifically around 1.2 million micro-enterprises). These values correspond to around 30% of GDP and 40% of employment.

The data collection process started with an email invitation to participate in an online survey. The target was the entrepreneur (the owner) because of their desirable capacity to provide data on firm-related as well as personal-oriented questions. We received 233 responses from a universe of 800 emails sent (response rate 12.44%). Regarding nationality, the random sample is composed of a majority of Portuguese entrepreneurs, 5.6% Brazilians and 0.4% Colombians, with age varying between 24 and 73, and average age of 43 years (SD = 11.01). We can consider that this is an equitable sample in terms of gender, with 47.2% males and 52.8% females, and more than half (64.5%) have higher education. With regard to the business sector, 14.2% are dedicated to restaurant and hotels, 13.7% to health and wellness services, 10.7% are dedicated to food retail, 10.3% to services, 9.4% to the tourism sector and 9.0% to craftsmanship. The remainder concerns areas such as energy and sustainability, commerce, technology and information, fashion/textile, agriculture, among others. 52.4% of respondents attested to having opened their business for more than 5 years, and 9.4% for less than a year - which means that these businesses were opened during the pandemic. Most companies are located in the central region of Portugal (41.6%) and in the Lisbon metropolitan area (28.3%). When we focus on the spirituality dimension, 60.1% of the respondents consider themselves a spiritual person, and, although 54.5% do not follow a religious system, 65.7% believe that spirituality is a strategy to cope a crisis, like the one we are currently experiencing. The detailed description of the sample is reported in Table 1.

Subjective Entrepreneurial Success (SES, α = 0.79) was measured through the homonymous scale developed by Dej et al. (2009). This scale is composed by 24-item (Likert-point scale 1 – strongly disagree and 5 – strongly agree). Using this scale, it is possible to evaluate: (i) the importance of entrepreneurial success criteria; (ii) their level of achievement; and (iii) the mismatch between importance and achievement of success criteria. Subjective entrepreneurial success can be understood as the assessment that entrepreneurs make regarding how they perform their activities, considering personal values, in relation to their own goals (Gorgievski et al., 2011).

Psychological Resilience (PsyResil, α = 0.81) and Optimism (Opt, α = 0.91) scales were extracted from the Entrepreneurial Orientation Questionnaire (Sánchez-García, 2010). Psychological Resilience (9 items) can be considered as an ability to cope with adversities and recovering from adverse experiences, a set of continuous behaviors, formed by the fusion of the following personal behavioral characteristics: flexibility, high motivation, perseverance, and optimism. This fact gives an entrepreneur with discernment the ability to adopt the application of different strategies to deal with a challenge until it is overcome (Margaça et al., 2020). We measure PsyResil by asking entrepreneurs, for instance, “I think I can grow positively when facing difficult situations.” Regarding Optimism (10 items), this variable frames the level of agreement in which a person believes that their future holds positive outcomes, or that there is a positive side of every experience. An item example is: “No matter how bad things can go, I always find something positive.”

Intrinsic Spirituality (ISpirit, α = 0.95): We used the modified six-item Intrinsic Spirituality Scale (Hodge, 2003) that measures the degree to which spirituality functions as an individual’s master motive, for theistic and non-theistic populations, both within and outside of religious frameworks. The scale uses a sentence completion format to measure various attributes associated with spirituality. That is, an incomplete sentence fragment is provided, followed directly below by two phrases that are linked to a scale ranging from 0 to 10. The range provides with a continuum on which to reply, with 0 corresponding to absence or zero amount of the attribute, while 10 corresponds to the maximum amount of the attribute (e.g., In terms of the questions I have about life, my spirituality answers; 0 – no questions and 10 – absolutely all my questions). The sentence completion format measures various attributes associated with spirituality; that is, an incomplete sentence fragment is provided, followed directly below by two phrases that are linked to a scale ranging from 0 to 10. The range provides with a continuum on which to reply, with 0 corresponding to absence or zero amount of the attribute, while 10 corresponds to the maximum amount of the attribute (Hodge, 2003).

Control variables: To control for other factors that may influence main hypothesized relationships, we used several control variables drawn from the extant literature. Specifically, we controlled for if the person considers spirituality as a resource to cope with crisis (dichotomous variable), business sector, and age of the business. Spirituality has been viewed, in several areas, as a coping resource and entrepreneurship is beginning to be an exception. Several studies have highlighted the position and key role of spirituality in business success (e.g., Grine et al., 2015). Experience in a particular business sector increases the chances of success in obtaining profits and in the survival of the company (Van Praag, 1997). In the same way, Bilan et al. (2020) find that the duration of business activities increases the chances of entrepreneurial success.

This study contributes to the recent stream of studies on expanding the scope of entrepreneurial success (Gorgievski et al., 2011; Duchek, 2017; Bilan et al., 2020; Al Issa, 2021). Our theoretical contribution lies in the investigation of psychological outcomes including optimism, psychological resilience and spirituality, which allow us to highlight that they are a key determinant to entrepreneurial success of micro and small businesses, and have demonstrated that entrepreneurial success includes measurement of psychological resources (Hmieleski and Carr, 2008; Peterson et al., 2011; Duchek, 2017). In this way, this study also contributes to a deep understanding through which spiritual values can play a leading role when dealing with a context of crisis among micro and small business owners. Our findings demonstrate that psychological resources significantly contribute to the success of micro and small companies. More precisely, considering that entrepreneurial success is dynamic, it is important to assess this fluctuation of psychological states, which can determine and direct behavior in a scenario of uncertainty and challenges (Juhdi and Hamid, 2015). Our study also advances the literature on the gender differences in this context (De Simone et al., 2021). Hence, the contribution offered to the literature concerns both the understanding of what psychological resources used for both male and female to achieve entrepreneurial success while dealing with the pandemic.

Our findings offer several valuable insights into micro and small entrepreneurs. First, we believe our work has interesting implications also for researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers, whom should adopt a more global perspective on entrepreneurial success. Second, the findings suggest that psychological resources and spirituality can be integrative and incorporated into new or existing programs designed to provide entrepreneurs with information on coping skills and how to engage in positive reorientation and reappraisal. Furthermore, the insights of our study point to the importance of focusing on the non-economic side of entrepreneurial success and offer a relevant contribution to business training, mentoring and counselling. In particular, entrepreneurs must be supported in developing their psychological resources. It is important that these important actors in society know how to apply them in the processes adjacent to their entrepreneurial activity, allowing them to develop their psychological capital (Luthans et al., 2007b) and, consequently, to entrepreneurial success. Finally, by illustrating the differential effects of spirituality, psychological resilience and optimism in the entrepreneurial context, we caution against adopting a purely economic perspective of business success to the detriment of an idiosyncratic view of the entrepreneur.