FBA SEMINAR SERIES

There’s no going back? A time-sensitive theory on the influence of entrepreneurial experience on voluntary turnover in subsequent wage employment

Dr. Siran ZHAN, Senior Lecturer, The University of New South Wales (UNSW)

 

Date:          19 October 2022 (Wednesday)
Time:         10:30am – 11:30am
Venue:       Online via Zoom
Host:          Prof. Kraivin CHINTAKANANDA, Assistant Professor in Management
Zoom link:  https://umac.zoom.us/j/97879374046

 

Abstract

Despite the prevalent assumption that former entrepreneurs are undesirable employees due to their lack of job commitment, little research has empirically verified this stereotype. With a growing population of former entrepreneurs in the workforce, it is more important than ever to understand whether and which former entrepreneurs are more likely to quit their post-entrepreneurship employment. We used a sample of nationally representative 20-year data from Australia to examine how prior entrepreneurial experience at different career timing relates to voluntary turnover and its critical antecedents (desirability of quitting indicated by job satisfaction and ease of quitting indicated by alternative employment and new business prospects). Our results revealed that employees with entrepreneurial experience in their second most recent job spell exhibited higher quitting risk whereas employees with entrepreneurial experience in their most recent job spell did not. Moreover, ease of quitting factors underlay the higher voluntary turnover risk among employees with earlier (but not recent) entrepreneurial experience while desirability of quitting factor did not appear to play a role. These findings highlight the important role of career timing in the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and post-entrepreneurship employment behaviors. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Speaker

Dr. Siran Zhan is a senior lecturer (assistant professor) at the School of Management and Governance at UNSW Business School. She obtained her PhD from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. In her first line of research, she utilizes a psychological lens to advance theories about the social (e.g., culture) and individual (e.g., identity, cognition, and emotions) determinants of creative and entrepreneurial performance. In her second line of research, she studies entrepreneurial careers to uncover career implications of entrepreneurial experimentation for individuals and talent utilization implications for organizations. Her research has appeared in premier management, entrepreneurship, and psychology journals, and she has been recognized with best paper awards at the Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Exchange Conference. She currently serves on the editorial board of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and Management Organization Review.

All are welcome!