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Fit for ventures: how exercise participation fuels entrepreneurial entry–a dual lens of social and psychological capital

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  • Chen, Danni
  • Gong, Le
  • He, Zhonghui

Abstract

As entrepreneurship activity is a key engine for economic growth, understanding its individual-level drivers is of paramount importance. Drawing on the Social Cognitive Theory, this study investigates the relationship between exercise participation and entrepreneurial entry, by analyzing multi-wave cross-sectional data (2017, 2018, 2021) from the China General Social Survey, with the Probit estimation. The result reveals a significant positive role of exercise participation in boosting entrepreneurial entry, which is further validated by estimation of alternative models, instrumental variable estimation, and datasets from other cultural contexts. Mechanism analysis shows that the relationship is mediated by factors related to social capital (relations with friends) and psychological capital (resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism). Moreover, the effect of exercise participation on entrepreneurial entry is less pronounced in areas with a higher level of digital inclusive finance, suggesting that there is a substitutive effect of exercise participation and digital inclusive finance on entrepreneurial entry. Our findings advance understanding of antecedents of entrepreneurship and offer insights for policy makers to leverage exercise programs to spur economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Danni & Gong, Le & He, Zhonghui, 2026. "Fit for ventures: how exercise participation fuels entrepreneurial entry–a dual lens of social and psychological capital," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:88:y:2026:i:c:s1544612325023530
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.109104
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