Abstract
This paper challenges the conventional belief that entrepreneurship is an unstable career path. Using longitudinal matched employer–employee data from Denmark, the analysis reveals that a transition to entrepreneurship decreases individual's employment turnover tendency. Three explanations are identified and empirically explored: (i) job matching, (ii) labour market value, and (iii) personal commitment. Entrepreneurs appear to be more productive and thus better matched compared to wageworkers. However, they also appear to be locked in entrepreneurship because of their anticipated lower value in the labour market and because of their personal attachment to the venture. The counter-intuitive finding – entrepreneurship yields greater employment stability – only holds with respect to subsequent transitions to wagework and not for new venture founding. The results have implications for our understanding of entrepreneurial entry and labour market dynamics.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 162-177 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Business Venturing |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 21 Jan 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- Employment turnover
- Entrepreneurship
- Job matching
- Labour market value
- Personal commitment
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Virgilio Failla
- Management - Lecturer (Assistant Professor)
- Strategy & Organisation
- Centre for Research in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Bath - Co-Director
- Innovation Bridge
Person: Research & Teaching, Core staff