LAUSR

Abstract Resilience is the individual’s ability to cope with, adapt to and recover from stressful or traumatic experiences. It is considered crucial in various fields, and particularly in entrepreneurship. In the current study, we sought to deepen our understanding of the role of an individual’s resilience in moderating the interaction between government support and family support to predict entrepreneurial-related outcomes. Specifically, using self-determination theory (SDT) and the social support perspective, we proposed that a positive beneficial three-way interaction effect, stated as resilience*government support*family support, would enhance the level of single mothers’ entrepreneurial interest and readiness for entrepreneurial challenge. Data collected from 519 Malaysian single mothers in Malaysia’s East Coast region were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics software. The results showed that resilience moderated government support and family support interaction to predict both entrepreneurial interest and readiness for entrepreneurial challenge. Although both types of support were viewed as important, they were more effective for individuals who were highly resilient than for those who were not. These findings support the important role of resilience as ‘a moderator of the moderator’ and of government support as an external source of motivation, with both complementing the positive beneficial outcomes of family support.