Enabling and Deterring Factors of Entrepreneurial Coaching: Start-up Entrepreneur's Perceptions

The aim of this paper is to enhance the understanding of coaching effectiveness for start-up entrepreneurs by examining which characteristics of key success factors are linked to the perception of positive outcomes. Given the difficulty in scrutinizing what occurs within the coaching relationship, we implement a qualitative design, in which we conducted interviews with 10 start-up entrepreneurs who received coaching support within incubators and accelerators in order to capture their perceptions of the coaching experience. Overall, our findings highlight the existence of enabling factors that allow start-up entrepreneurs to perceive the benefits derived from coaching, namely the coach’s authentic attitude, the informal nature of the coaching relationship, and the personality of the start-up entrepreneur. At the same time, we identify deterring factors related to startup entrepreneurs' perception of coaching effectiveness. These factors stem both from the absence of an organizational culture that adequately values coaching within incubators and accelerators, and from entrepreneurs' limited understanding of what coaching entails compared to other types of interventions.These deterring factors undermine the entrepreneur’s personal development, which is considered a crucial outcome for start-up growth. This paper contributes to the scholarly debate by presenting one of the first attempts to integrate enabling factors, deterring factors, and coaching outcomes, revealing significant interactions among these dimensions. Furthermore, it provides deeper insights into the coach’s attitude and the nature of the coaching relationship, showing how they can be correlated with benefits for start-up entrepreneurs.