When connection backfires: How social connection, self-efficacy, and indebtedness shape entrepreneurial burnout among...

Social connection is increasingly recognized in management and entrepreneurship as a means to mitigate entrepreneurial burnout by addressing resource constraints. However, its impact remains debated, necessitating further exploration of its mechanisms and boundary conditions. As social-cognitive constructs, self-efficacy-defined as individuals' belief in their ability to achieve goals-and indebtedness, referring to the emotional obligation felt after receiving support may serve as key mediators in the social connection-entrepreneurial burnout relationship, helping to clarify existing inconsistencies. This study develops and tests a model in which social connection influences entrepreneurial burnout through two psychological pathways: self-efficacy and indebtedness. Furthermore, it should be noted that culture, being a typical informal institution, is a crucial internal factor influencing economic behavior. Therefore, in this study, the intensity of entrepreneurs' Confucian traditional golden-mean thinking, a cultural belief system emphasizing balance, harmony, and moderation, is regarded as the moderating variable. Using a 10-week experience sampling study of 59 entrepreneurs, mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation analyses were conducted. Results reveal that social connection intensifies entrepreneurial burnout, further analysis indicates that social connection alleviate entrepreneurial burnout by enhancing the entrepreneur's self-efficacy, but at the same time, they exacerbate entrepreneurial burnout by strengthening the indebtedness. Additionally, the analysis indicates that Confucian traditional golden-mean thinking negatively moderates the relationship between social connection and self-efficacy, weakening its positive impact. These findings underscore the importance of considering psychological perception in future research on social connection and entrepreneurial burnout.