Trading wage jobs for dreams: the interplay between entry modes into self-employment and the duration of subsequent self-employment stints
- Resource Type
- Journal
- Authors
- Lindelid, Lidia Kritskaya; Nair, Sujith
- Source
- International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 2024, Vol. 30, Issue 11, pp. 120-139.
- Subject
- research-article
Research paper
cat-STGY
Strategy
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial skills
Entrepreneurship
Self-employment
Entrepreneurial commitment
Serial entrepreneurs
Learning
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1355-2554
PurposeWage employees enter self-employment either directly or in a staged manner and may subsequently undertake multiple stints at self-employment. Extant research on the relationship between entry modes and the persistence and outcomes of self-employment is inconclusive. This study investigates the relationship between wage employees’ initial mode of entry into self-employment and the duration of the subsequent first two stints of self-employment.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a matched longitudinal sample of 9,550 employees who became majority owners of incorporated firms from 2005 to 2016.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that the initial mode of entry into self-employment matters for the first two stints at self-employment. Staged entry into self-employment was associated with a shorter first stint and became insignificant for the second stint. Staged entry into self-employment was positively related to the odds of becoming self-employed for the second time in the same firm.Originality/valueUsing a comprehensive and reliable dataset, the paper shifts focus from the aggregated onward journey of novice entrepreneurs (survival as the outcome) to the duration of their self-employment stints. By doing so, the paper offers insights into the process of becoming self-employed and the patterns associated with success/failure in entrepreneurship associated with self-employment duration.