Answering research calls for better contextualisation of entrepreneurial behaviour, we examine the cultural contexts in which individuals with entrepreneurial values (Schwartz’s self-enhancement- and openness-to-change values) are most likely to be entrepreneurs. Culture is assessed through Schwartz’s cultural dimensions of mastery and egalitarianism. The results of multilevel logistic regressions with more than 35,000 respondents nested in 28 European countries support the hypotheses that individual values are more important for explaining entrepreneurship in non-entrepreneurial cultures (low in mastery and egalitarianism). Our results indicate that mastery compensates for openness-to-change, whereas egalitarianism reduces the impact of both self-enhancement and openness-to-change values.

PurposePostmaterialist values (autonomy, self‐expression, fulfilment of personal goals) have been shown to predict entrepreneurship at the country level. This paper aims to expand previous research by testing the relationship between postmaterialism and entrepreneurship at the individual level across 39 countries.Design/methodology/approachIn a series of multilevel models, with individuals nested within countries, the paper tests whether individuals’ postmaterialist values predict the probability of becoming an entrepreneur after controlling for income level, age, gender and education level. To do this, Inglehart's 12‐item Postmaterialism‐index was used. Data was taken from the 1999‐2004 database of the World Value Survey on approximately forty‐five thousand subjects from 39 countries. Models with random intercepts and random slopes were calculated.FindingsThis paper presents evidence on three issues: postmaterialism decreases a person's likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur; the effect of postmaterialism on entrepreneurship varies across countries; and this effect is more negative in countries with high levels of entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsTheoretical: individuals with materialist values are more likely to be entrepreneurs than postmaterialist individuals. This finding provides support to the hypothesis that entrepreneurs are basically economically driven people. Practical: The efficacy of public policies to promote entrepreneurial activity could be overshadowed by more deeply‐rooted cultural orientations, postmaterialism in this case.Originality/valueThe relationship between postmaterialism and entrepreneurship has been studied previously using countries as the unit of analysis; this paper's main contribution is that it expands this line of research to the individual level of analysis.

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Purpose In line with conservation of resources theory and signaling theory, the purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and test a multiple mediation model in which telecommuting affects engagement via perceived supervisor goal support and goal progress. Design/methodology/approach A three-phase longitudinal study carried out over ten months was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Individuals who worked in organizations that offer telecommuting were more engaged than those who worked in organizations that did not offer telecommuting. Furthermore, telecommuting availability was not only directly but also indirectly related to engagement via perceived supervisor goal support and goal progress. Engagement in general decreased over time. However, individuals who attained their personal work goals were able to maintain high levels of engagement. Research limitations/implications Giving employees the option to telecommute could increase employee engagement. This study is correlational in nature and relied on self-report data. Originality/value This is the first study examining the effects of telecommuting on engagement over a period of ten months. It is also the first study to use perceived supervisor goal support and goal progress as explanatory variables to the teleworking and engagement relationship.

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