Happy and Proactive? The Role of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well–Being in Business Owners’ Personal Initiative

Abstract

This two–year study with 122 business owners examined the link between affective well–being and task–oriented as well as relationship–oriented personal initiative (PI). We tested two complementary models explaining the link between well–being and PI: (1) broaden–and–build theory and (2) self–regulation as limited resource approach. In line with current research on well–being, we differentiated between hedonic and eudaimonic well–being using life satisfaction and vigor as indicators. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that only vigor predicted both forms of PI. Our results support the self–regulation approach and indicate that eudaimonic well–being is the relevant affective well–being dimension for proactive behavior.