Peculiarity of Hybrid Entrepreneurs – Revisiting Lazear’s Theory of Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore and elaborate the concept of hybrid entrepreneurship, i.e., a simultaneous mix of self-employment (entrepreneurship) and salary employment. Lazear’s theory of entrepreneurship is assessed in terms whether it can explain the phenomenon of being a hybrid entrepreneur. The hypothesis is that the probability of linking a salary job with one’s own business increases with the variety and level of education gained, the broadness of professional and management experience but also the level of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The hypotheses are tested with multivariate logistic regression, using survey data gathered from 1600 entrepreneurs. In light of the results, Lazear’s theory cannot be unambiguously extended to the case of hybrid entrepreneurs. Although the probability of being a hybrid entrepreneur increases with broader professional and managerial experience, at the same time it diminishes as the level and diversity of education increase. The results suggest that hybrid entrepreneurs are an importantly discrete population and therefore need to be treated separately. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Solo self-employment, entrepreneurial subjectivity and the security–precarity continuum: Evidence from private tutors in the supplementary education industry

“…The multiple routes into tutoring demonstrate that we need to avoid framing entry into entrepreneurship in oppositional terms as push and pull factors co-exist in dynamic labour markets and intersect to shape the complex decision-making strategies of individuals moving into solo self-employment. Finally, the multitude of boundary crossings which saw teachers move into tutoring, student tutors planning a move into teaching and numerous people combining paid employment in schools (and elsewhere) with self-employed tutoring highlights the importance of hybridity (Bögenhold, 2019;Kurczewska et al, 2020). Entrepreneurship and paid employment do not simply stand in binary opposition to one another, and economic researchers must therefore do more to explore the hybrid nature of entrepreneurship, recognising its two-way relations between, and combination with, the shifting world of paid employment.…”

Experiential learning theory and hybrid entrepreneurship: factors influencing the transition to full-time entrepreneurship

“…As one establishes entrepreneurial competencies throughout the hybrid phase, their selfefficacy in their ability to successfully establish and maintain their venture is affected. The concept of self-efficacy is well developed in psychology literature and was successfully transferred to the entrepreneurship literature (Kurczewska et al, 2020). An individual's belief that (s)he is able to produce a positive outcome, or self-efficacy, has been studied as a determining factor of entrepreneurial intentions, opportunity, intuition and success (Markman et al, 2002;Barakat et al, 2014;Fietze and Boyd, 2017;Kurczewska et al, 2020).…”

“…Research has identified that a link exists between having high entrepreneurial self-efficacy and deciding to enter entrepreneurship (Zhao et al, 2005;Kurczewska et al, 2020). Barakat et al (2014, p. 457) define entrepreneurial self-efficacy as "an individual's own belief about his/ her skills and abilities linked to entrepreneurial activity".…”

“…Folta et al (2010, p. 253) suggest that hybrid entrepreneurship offers "less confident" individuals the ability to evaluate their entrepreneurial commitment, with Raffiee and Feng (2014) reinforcing this notion. Kurczewska et al (2020) introduced and tested self-efficacy in a hybrid entrepreneurship context, identifying two opposing notions of hybrid entrepreneurs' self-efficacy. The first is that hybrid entrepreneurs may have high levels of self-efficacy as they see themselves as being competent and able to establish their own venture while maintaining salaried employment.…”

Are jacks-of-all-trades successful entrepreneurs? Revisiting Lazear's theory of entrepreneurship

“…As we are interested in what makes individuals successful in setting up and running a business, we look closer at one of the most recognised theories of career choice and entrepreneurship (Hsieh et al, 2017;Kurczewska et al, 2020) offered by Lazear (2005) and confirmed in many other empirical studies (for example, Tegtmeier et al, 2016;Astebro and Thompson, 2011;Backes-Gellner and Moog, 2013;Hartog et al, 2010;Stuetzer et al, 2013;Wagner, 2003, Wagner, 2006. His theory explains individual selection into entrepreneurship.…”