Exploring the Psychological Capital in Entrepreneurship: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of Vietnamese Undergraduates’ Lived Experiences

Exploring the Psychological Capital in Entrepreneurship: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of Vietnamese Undergraduates’ Lived Experiences | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Exploring the Psychological Capital in Entrepreneurship: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of Vietnamese Undergraduates’ Lived Experiences Van-Son Huynh, Thien-Vu Giang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8201682/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 12 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Entrepreneurship Education → Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Entrepreneurship among university students in emerging economies is increasingly viewed not only as an economic activity but also as a psychological process of identity formation and resilience. This study explores how Vietnamese undergraduate students experience and construct psychological capital in their entrepreneurial journeys. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, the research adopts an interpretative phenomenological design to uncover the lived meanings of hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 student entrepreneurs from diverse disciplines who had initiated start-up projects while studying. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis to identify recurring experiential themes. Findings reveal that psychological capital operates as a dynamic psychological resource shaped by self-reflection, cultural values, and social relationships. Hope was constructed as moral aspiration and future vision; self-efficacy as belief-in-action amid uncertainty; resilience as growth through hardship and social support; and optimism as meaning-making in the face of failure. Collectively, these dimensions illustrate psychological capital as a culturally embedded process of agency, rooted in the collectivist ethos and moral reasoning of Vietnamese youth. The study extends current psychological capital research by moving beyond measurement toward experiential understanding, emphasizing the interplay between psychological strengths, cultural context, and entrepreneurial identity. Implications for entrepreneurship education and psychological interventions are discussed. collective culture entrepreneurship interpretative phenomenological analysi lived experience psychological capital Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 12 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Entrepreneurship Education → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 22 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 29 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 25 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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