During the 24th Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation (G-Forum), the paper „Adopting stress management interventions in micro- and small-sized enterprises – How the perceptions and attitudes of managers matter“ was awarded with the Family Business and Mittelstand Research Award 2020. The EQUA foundation funds the price money of 1.000€. The paper is a joint project by Johanna Kuske, Florian B. Zapkau (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), and Christian Schwens. It investigates how to activate entrepreneurs from micro and small enterprises to adopt stress management interventions. The inductive analysis of 24 interviews shows that entrepreneurs do not only consider feasibility aspects (Can we afford this? Does the intervention fit our team?). In addition, it is also important how they feel and think about stress at the workplace (Do I assume responsibility as an employer? Am I aware of the risks of stress?) and external providers (Do I trusts external providers?) as well as whether they see a need for formal interventions (Are the measures in place sufficient? Do I believe in an added value?). Future research and practitioners need to consider these aspects when working with entrepreneurs from micro and small enterprises to reduce stress at the workplace.

The study is part of the project Pragmatikk and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (www.pragmatikk.de).