RT Journal Article
T1 Measuring performance differentials across entrepreneurship types
A1 Stel, André van
A1 Barrientos Marín, Jorge
A1 Caçador Rodrigues, Leonel
A1 Millán Tapia, Ana María
A1 MIllán, José María
K1 Earnings
K1 Types of entrepreneurship
K1 Self-employment
K1 Performance
K1 European Working Conditions Survey
AB It is increasingly being recognized that different types of entrepreneurs exist with different performance levels and different contributions to the economy. Two common classifications of entrepreneurship types are based on professional status and start-up motive, where independent own-account workers are assumed to perform better than dependent self-employed and opportunity entrepreneurs are assumed to perform better than necessity entrepreneurs. However, these supposed performance differentials are seldomly tested or quantified. Using recent data drawn from the European Working Conditions Survey for the EU-28, we explore self-employment earnings (as an indicator of performance) across these different entrepreneurship types. Our results from OLS and multilevel linear regressions show that dependent self-employed workers are indeed observed to have significantly lower earnings than independent own-account workers, but the difference is only 10%, suggesting that the precarious nature of the dependent self-employed may be overstated in certain policy circles. Regarding start-up motive, our paper highlights the importance of distinguishing the group of entrepreneurs who simultaneously have both opportunity and necessity motives to start a business.
PB Springer
YR 2021
FD 2021-07
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/22116
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/22116
LA en
NO International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , vol 19, p. 981–1016
NO Departamento de Economía Financiera y Contabilidad
DS RIO
RD May 9, 2026