Between the devil and the deep blue see: the role of situated optimism
The Covid-19 pandemic had unprecedented repercussions on many companies. The aim of this article is to study the influence of situated optimism on the entrepreneur’s ability to overcome stress in times of crisis. Especially, when s/he is stuck between the devil (financial problems resulting from crisis measures) and the deep blue sea (financing obstacles). The research method adopted is a cross-sectional quantitative study on 677 SME managers and self-employed. The use of the partial least squares (PLS) structural equation method revealed the mediating effect of situated optimism on stress induced by financial problems. The financial issues encountered during the pandemic have been a source of stress for many entrepreneurs. The results show that in this context of crisis, situated optimism is a psychological resource that should not be neglected to enable them to cope with perceived stress.