Both globally and within France, the Covid-19 crisis has created substantial and diverse challenges for population health, children’s education, social interactions and the economy, specifically as it relates to small businesses owned and operated by entrepreneurs. Concerning this last point, small businesses – representing 99.9% of companies in France (https://www.economie.gouv.fr/cedef/chiffres-cles-des-pme) – have been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. Small businesses in B2C industries have been particularly affected, specifically those that are “store-based” and can no longer welcome customers into their stores due to administrative closures, lockdowns, curfews and subsequent hygiene constraints. The small businesses that today are either closed or in real difficulty are mainly hotels, restaurants, bars and fitness centers. Some are totally independent establishments, while others are chain-affiliated (e.g., to a franchise chain or a cooperative chain). All these businesses are very important to the French economy in terms of dynamism, sales, employment, etc. In this project, we focus on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on hotels, restaurants, bars and fitness centers, specifically in terms of entrepreneurial fear of failure, i.e., a “negative affective reaction based in cognitive appraisals of the potential for failure in the uncertain and ambiguous context of entrepreneurship” (Cacciotti et al., 2020, p. 1). Our main research objective is to better understand and assess this entrepreneurial fear of failure in terms of dimensions (e.g., cognition, affect), antecedents (personal, business, institutional characteristics) and consequences (negative and positive) in the specific context of the Covid-19 crisis. We will build on the nascent literature on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on entrepreneurs (e.g., Pantano et al., 2020; Papadopoulos et al., 2020), the literature on crisis management in the entrepreneurial context (e.g., Doern, 2014; Herbane, 2010), the literature stream that has focused on crisis management in the tourism sector (e.g., Paraskevas and Altinay, 2013) and the literature on entrepreneurial fear of failure (e.g., Cacciotti et al., 2016; Cacciotti et al., 2020; Cacciotti and Hayton, 2015). A more detailed literature review during the first month of the project will allow us to design the articulation of several theories and their extensions, among which are achievement motivation theory (McClelland, 1961), cognitive appraisal theory (Lazarus, 1966), the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 1998) and coping theory (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). [Task 1] To answer this research objective, the data has to be collected quickly (before the end of summer 2021), while most of these entrepreneurs’ small businesses are totally (e.g., fitness centers) or partly closed (e.g., restaurants), or with low levels of activity (e.g., hotels). This research project is based on two empirical studies conducted in the French market (one qualitative [Task 2], the other quantitative [Task 3]). It will contribute to the research and practice [Task 4]. The research team, led by Dr. Rozenn Perrigot, includes eight researchers from three different research centers: the Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM UMR CNRS 6211) – research center jointly supported by the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the University of Rennes 1 and the University of Caen Normandy; the Institute for Research in Organizational Management (IRGO EA 4190) – University of Bordeaux; and the Institute for Research in Management and Economics (IREGE EA 2426).