Self-exploitation or successful entrepreneurship? The effects of personal capital on variable outcomes from self-employment

Abstract

Purpose -To understand whether the personal capital of the entrepreneur positively or negatively affects outcomes from self-employment. Design/methodology/approach -Data from the UK's longitudinal household surveys (BHPS, UKLHS) between 1991 and 2014 were analysed. Relationships between age, education, health and family status and income earned and hours worked were tested. Findings -Entrepreneurs with higher levels of personal capital enjoyed higher incomes. However, those with lower levels of personal capital were more likely to have negative returns from self-employment, and so experience it as 'self-exploitation'. Research implications -A basis for understanding different outcomes from selfemployment was developed and tested. Practical implications -Specific characteristics of continuing and new entrepreneurs were identified that are positively associated with beneficial outcomes from selfemployment. Originality/value -(1) Positive and negative outcomes from self-employment are explained; (2) The notion of personal capital is developed as an explanatory framework for variable outcomes from self-employment.

Classifying coping among entrepreneurs: is it about time?

“…Developing the personal capital to cope effectively with the negative aspects of self-employment is advantageous for entrepreneurs’ health and well-being (Atherton et al , 2018). In addition, entrepreneurs who are better able to cope with stress run businesses with longer life spans (Drnovšek et al , 2010) and thus have a competitive advantage over others (Dijkhuizen et al , 2016).…”

Platform couriers' self‐exploitation: The case study of Glovo

“…Self-exploitation has been under the spotlight of a number of studies across the various social sciences disciplines. Among others, it has been associated with academics (Brienza, 2016), artists and creative workers (McRobbie, 2016), car factory workers (Morris & Hinz, 2018), care workers (Baines, 2016), (micro-)entrepreneurs (Atherton et al, 2018), farmers (Ekers et al, 2016), journalists (Morini et al, 2014), truck drivers (López-Calle, 2016) and video game developers (Wright, 2015). Regardless of individual occupational particularities, selfexploitation is understood as a socioeconomic device employed by workers to increase their labour market competitiveness by depreciating their labour power.…”

Measuring performance differentials across entrepreneurship types

“…The phenomenon of dependent self-employed workers reflects a general trend towards increasing labor market flexibility (Eichhorst et al, 2013 ), to which the growth of the gig economy , typified by online platforms and isolated independent workers, is severely contributing (Stewart & Stanford, 2017 ). Dependent self-employed workers are often considered precarious as they tend to do similar work as normal employees but they do not enjoy social security protection in the same way as employees do (Muehlberger & Bertolini, 2008 ; Quinlan, 2012 ; Atherton et al, 2018 ). They also tend to fall outside the scope of collective bargaining and trade union representation (Quinlan & Johnstone, 2009 ).…”