Later-life entrepreneurship: Work reorientation, personal development and eudaimonic well-being

For mature-aged individuals, entrepreneurship can offer a renewed sense of purpose, autonomy and personal growth, but these benefits are not guaranteed. While research has examined why individuals pursue entrepreneurship in later life, less is understood about how these aspirations unfold through entrepreneurial engagement. Drawing on narrative interviews with 27 Australian entrepreneurs aged 50 and above, this study examines how entrepreneurial experiences shape personal development and eudaimonic well-being. Findings show that entry was frequently preceded by work reorientation, as accumulated occupational experience and changing priorities reshaped expectations of work. Entrepreneurial engagement provided opportunities for learning, reinvention and meaningful contribution, although well-being depended on relational and structural conditions. Integrating socioemotional selectivity theory and self-determination theory, the study advances three contributions: conceptualizing entrepreneurial entry as later-life work reorientation; explaining how engagement challenges and reshapes accumulated capabilities and professional self-understandings; and demonstrating the contingent relationship between entrepreneurial development and eudaimonic well-being.