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Hybrid Entrepreneurship

Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907; and EMLYON Business School, 69132 Ecully Cedex, France
Entrepreneurship Research Centre, EMLYON Business School, 69132 Ecully Cedex, France; and Research Institute of Industrial Economics, SE-102 15 Stockholm, Sweden
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group, Imperial College Business School, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom; and Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Creation, Stockholm School of Economics, SE-113 83 Stockholm, Sweden
foltat{at}purdue.edu
delmar{at}em-lyon.com
k.wennberg{at}imperial.ac.uk

In contrast to previous efforts to model an individual's movement from wage work into entrepreneurship, we consider that individuals might transition incrementally by retaining their wage job while entering into self-employment. We show that these hybrid entrepreneurs represent a significant share of all entrepreneurial activity. Theoretical arguments are proposed to suggest why hybrid entrants are distinct from self-employment entrants, and why hybrid entry may facilitate subsequent entry into full self-employment. We demonstrate that there are significant theoretical and empirical consequences for this group and our understanding of self-employment entry and labor market dynamics. Using matched employee–employer data over eight years, we test the model on a population of Swedish wage earners in the knowledge-intensive sector.

Key Words: self-employment; entrepreneurship; entry; real options; learning
History: Received: March 25, 2009; accepted: September 9, 2009.