PERTANIKA
Journal of Quality of Life Studies
Conceptual Article
From entrepreneurship to quality of life: A capability-based conceptual framework
Ahmad Firdause Md Fadzila, Mahwish Jamilb
a
Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu, Malaysia
b
Department of Business Administration, University of South Asia, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract
Entrepreneurship spurs significant economic contributions in terms of economic growth, innovation, and job opportunities and has been increasingly linked to broader outcomes of wellbeing and quality of life. However, how entrepreneurship contributes to such outcomes has remained theoretically underexplored. Although entrepreneurship bolsters autonomy, income, and personal fulfilment, it poses financial uncertainties, work pressure, and psychological strain. Therefore, a clearer conceptual explanation on how entrepreneurship improves wellbeing and quality of life, and under what contextual conditions such improvement is likely to occur, is imperative. The framework argues that entrepreneurship contributes to quality of life only when entrepreneurial income, resources, and opportunities are converted into real freedoms, agency, and valued functionings. Through entrepreneurship, generated income, financial security, and improved living standards may enhance economic wellbeing, which can then support capability expansion when these resources are converted into opportunities, agency, and freedom to pursue valued ways of living, ultimately contributing to improved quality-of-life outcomes. In this framework, the entrepreneurial ecosystem serves as a contextual environment that shapes the extent to which entrepreneurial activities are translated into sustainable economic benefits and capability development. Through this integrative framework, the study advances the entrepreneurship and QoL literature by explaining entrepreneurship as a conditional capability-enhancing process that links economic wellbeing, expanded opportunities, and multidimensional quality-of-life outcomes.
Keywords: entrepreneurship, economic well-being, capability approach, quality of life, entrepreneurial ecosystem
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
Cite As (APA)
Md Fadzil, A. F., & Jamil, M. (2026). From entrepreneurship to quality of life: A capability-based conceptual framework. Pertanika Journal of Quality of Life Studies, 1(1), Article e008.
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