Work

Understanding Entrepreneurial Commitment: A Test of Side-Bet Theory

Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on entrepreneurial commitment by providing a first empirical investigation of Howard Becker’s side-bet theory in the context of nascent entrepreneurship. We investigate how different forms of commitment relate to both entrepreneurial behavior and various side-bet categories: satisfying conditions, non-work concerns, others’ expectations, impersonal bureaucratic arrangements, perceived lack of alternatives, individual adjustments to social positions, and self-presentation concerns. We collected data from a representative sample (n = 242) of individuals granted with the French national student-entrepreneur status (NSES). Results froms hierarchical linear regressions reveal different patterns of side bets associated with entrepreneurial commitment, depending on its nature (value-based or exchange-based) and on its focus (the project or the profession). Our study (1) extends side-bet theory to the field of entrepreneurship and (2) improves understanding of factors associated with commitment during the volitional phase of the entrepreneurial process.
Source: M n gement
Language: English
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4402983157
FWCI: 0.453
Cites:
Cited by: 1
Related to: 10