Tourism entrepreneurs' perception of quality of life: An explorative study

This article analyzes entrepreneurs' perception of their quality of life (QOL) as well as their entrepreneurial activities. For smaller businesses in particular, business growth is not only a management decision; small business entrepreneurs' QOL considerations play an important role when planning the future of their firm. This holds true for many businesses in the tourism industry, where we find a large number of small and family-owned businesses. Based on a literature review, the authors develop a qualitative study that aims at investigating the role of QOL perception for tourism businesses' growth. Within this industry, the authors identify lifestyle entrepreneurial behaviors, and highlight how QOL perceptions are interrelated with individuals' perception of entrepreneurship in tourism. It can be stated that the motives and the level of these entrepreneurs' growth orientation seem to be highly congruent to the definition of lifestyle entrepreneurs. They clearly perceive the need for a balance between enterprise growth and a good work-life relationship (QOL), and they tend to put a stronger emphasis on QOL. The majority of entrepreneurs are much more driven to pursue the perfect balance between entrepreneurship and QOL.