Entrepreneuring mothers’ identity work and motivation from the perspective of possible selves

This study examines how mothers who engage in entrepreneurship negotiate their evolving identities, highlighting the role of multi-domain possible selves in shaping their experiences. We examine twenty-nine biographical narratives of entrepreneuring mothers, drawing on theories of gender and entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial identity and the concept of possible selves. Thematic categories of hoped, feared and ought selves are employed as an organizing frame, to examine the inter-relationships between gendered social expectations, individual self-conceptions and entrepreneurial motivations that enable motherhood to serve as both a catalyst and constraint to entrepreneurial endeavour. We introduce the concept of Reflexive Accommodation to explain how mothers reconcile identity dissonance, leveraging entrepreneurship as a flexible, values-aligned pathway that integrates professional aspirations with maternal responsibilities. We highlight the role of narrative in making sense of these transitions and illustrate how conflicting ought selves can amplify feared selves, exerting powerful motivational influence. Our study extends current understanding of the recursive relationship between identity multiplicity, identity dissonance and entrepreneurial activities, challenging dominant assumptions about entrepreneurial orientation. By situating EI within whole-life identity projects in a liquid-modern context, we contribute to scholarship on gender and entrepreneurship by offering insights into the social situatedness of identity while emphasizing individual agency in entrepreneurial decision-making.