Entrepreneurial Comeback from Failure: Uncovering the Antecedents of Re-Entry Intentions in International Entrepreneurship

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Management, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of New Business Creation, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Abstract

With the growing expansion of entrepreneurial activities at the international level, business failure has become an inevitable yet influential phenomenon with profound economic, psychological, and social consequences. However, failure can also serve as an opportunity for learning and growth, particularly when learning mechanisms are effectively activated. Accordingly, this study aims to identify and analyze the antecedents of re-entry intention into international entrepreneurship after failure. The research employed a quantitative–quantitative mixed approach. In the first stage, 20 potential criteria affecting re-entry intention were extracted from the literature and expert opinions and prioritized using the Best–Worst Method (BWM), based on evaluations from 15 international entrepreneurship experts and practitioners. In the second stage, the 10 most significant criteria were structured and analyzed through Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to examine the interrelationships and hierarchical dynamics among them. The findings reveal that among the four main categories—cognitive, individual, organizational, and institutional factors—the components of entrepreneurial alertness, learning from failure, fear of failure, entrepreneurial orientation, national culture, entrepreneurial ecosystem, prior experience, entrepreneurial identity, networks, managerial team, and family were identified as the most influential. The ISM results classified these components into five hierarchical levels, offering a comprehensive view of their interconnections. At the fifth level, the fundamental factors of entrepreneurial ecosystem and prior experience act as key enablers that provide the foundation for other components. The fourth level includes entrepreneurial identity and learning from failure, which emerge under the influence of the foundational factors and prepare the ground for higher-level constructs. Networks, positioned at the third level, serve as mediating and facilitating elements between individual and environmental dimensions. At the second level, national culture and managerial team function as contextual social and organizational factors that shape motivation and re-entry tendencies. Finally, entrepreneurial alertness, fear of failure, and entrepreneurial orientation appear at the first level, representing the ultimate outcomes of the interactions among all preceding factors. Overall, the hierarchical structure highlights that developing a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem and fostering early entrepreneurial experiences can gradually lead to the emergence of other key components influencing re-entry into entrepreneurship. The findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of post-failure entrepreneurial behavior and offer practical insights for policymakers and support institutions in designing retraining, counseling, and empowerment programs for failed entrepreneurs seeking to reengage in entrepreneurial activities.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Education and Management of Entrepreneurship
Volume 4, Issue 4 - Serial Number 13
January 2026
Pages 97-116

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  • Receive Date: 28 July 2025
  • Revise Date: 24 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 24 November 2025

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