Table 2.
Variables and definitions of the Enquête Nationale COVID-19 of 2020
| Variable | Definition | Item | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent variable | |||
| Burnout | Respondent’s emotional exhaustion (Burnout measure short version, BMS-10), adapted from Malach-Pines (2005) | “When you think about your work overall, how often do you feel the following?” (1) “Tired,” (2) “Disappointed with people,” (3) “Hopeless,” (4) “Trapped,” (5) “Helpless,” (6) “Depressed,” (7) “Physically weak/lickly,” (8) “Worthless/like a failure,” (9) “Difficulties sleeping,” (10) “I’ve had it” | 1 = never to 7 = always |
| Independent variables | |||
| Risk of COVID-19 infection | Respondent’s risk of contracting COVID-19, adapted from Jeleva (2005). | “In your opinion, how likely could you be infected with this coronavirus in the next three months?” and “In your opinion, how likely could you become seriously ill if you become infected with this coronavirus in the next three months?” | From 0 to 100% |
| Effect of lockdown change in life satisfaction | Difference between the respondent’s life satisfaction before and after COVID-19 | From −10 to +10 | |
| Risk of bankruptcy | Bankruptcy risk of the respondent’s business, adapted from Bah and Gaillon (2016) | “When you are thinking about your company right now, what is your probability of filing for bankruptcy at the end of this crisis?” | From 0 to 100% |
| Controls: individual characteristics | |||
| Age | Categorical variable that captures the respondent’s age | “What is your age?” | 1 = 30 or less, 2 = 30 to 39, 3 = 40 to 49, 4 = 50 to 59, 5 = 60 or more |
| Female | Dummy variable that captures the respondent’s gender | “Are you female or male?” | 1 = female, 0 = male |
| Education | Categorical variable that captures the respondent’s highest level of education | “What is your highest level of education?” | 1 = none/self-taught, 2 = professional studies certificate, 3 = baccalaureate, 4 = undergraduate degrees, 5 = postgraduate degree or higher |
| Entrepreneurship experience | Categorical variable that captures the entrepreneurship experience via the years of business ownership | “How long have you been an entrepreneur and/or business owner?” | 1 = less than 3 years, 2 = 3 to 5 years, 3 = 5 to 10 years, 4 = 10 years to 20 years, 5 = more than 20 years |
| Workload | Categorical variable that captures the respondent workload (hours per week) | “How many hours did you work in the previous week?” | 1 = less than 40 h, 2 = 40 to 50 h, 3 = 50 to 60 h, 4 = 60 to 70 h, 5 = more than 70 h |
| Ownership stake | Captures the respondent’s ownership stake in their current business | “What percentage of the company’s capital do you own? | From 0 to 100% |
| Loneliness | Categorical variable that captures the respondent’s feeling of loneliness | “In the past month, in your job position as a business owner, did you feel …?” | 1 = very surrounded, 2 = somewhat surrounded, 3 = neither lonely nor surrounded, 4 = somewhat lonely, 5 = very lonely |
| Life satisfaction (pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19) | Categorical variable that captures the respondent life satisfaction prior to the COVID-19-induced confinement | “Overall, were you satisfied with the life you led before confinement?” “Overall, are you satisfied with the life you lead during confinement?” | 1 = totally dissatisfied to 10 = totally satisfied |
| Controls: business characteristics | |||
| Employees | Categorical variable that captures the number of employees in the company | “What is your company’s workforce, including yourself?” | 1 = 0 employees, 2 = 1 to 4 employees, 3 = 5 to 9 employees, 4 = 10 to 20 employees, 5 = 20 to 49 employees, 6 = more than 60 employees |
| Growth of turnover (pre-COVID-19) | Categorical variable that captures the growth turnover of the respondent’s business before the COVID-19 pandemic | “Until February 2020, your growth turnover was …?” | 1 = declining heavily (more than - 25%), 2 = declining (−5 to −25%), 3 = stable (± 5%), 4 = growing (from 5 to 25%), 5 = growing heavily (more than 25%) |
| Opportunity | Dummy variable that captures the respondent is an opportunity entrepreneur. | “Did you found your business because you wanted to seize an opportunity or because you had no other choice”? | 1 = seize an opportunity, 0 = otherwise |
| Necessity | Dummy variable that captures the respondent is a necessity entrepreneur. | “Did you found your business because you wanted to seize an opportunity or because you had no other choice”? | 1 = no choice without "..." 0 = otherwise |
Note: The questionnaire was developed and conducted in French. The French version of the questionnaire is available from the authors upon request. Data was collected from April 15 to April 21, 2020, via an online survey