Date of Award
7-24-2018
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Philosophy (MPHIL)
Discipline
Business
Department
Management
First Advisor
Prof. CHEN Tingting
Second Advisor
Prof. WONG Shiu-ho, Alfred
Abstract
Hybrid entrepreneurial is phenomenal but remains under-studied in the management literature. This paper investigated the joint influence of hybrid entrepreneurs’ trait regulatory focus and wage work to entrepreneurial work enrichment (WE enrichment) on their entrepreneurial engagement and the subsequent proficient, adaptive, and proactive performance in entrepreneurial work. I first interviewed 16 hybrid entrepreneurs to obtain the understanding of their reasons for being in hybrid entrepreneurship, their regulatory focus tendencies, and the resources they transfer from wage work to entrepreneurial work. To validate the measurement scales of promotion and prevention focus, I conducted a pilot study among 66 hybrid entrepreneurs. Then, I conducted a multi-source questionnaire survey among 329 hybrid entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial partners in Ghana. The final sample included 272 completed and matched responses. I used structural equation modeling of Mplus 7.4 to test the hypothesized model. Results of the questionnaire survey provided strong support to my hypothesized model. Promotion focus and prevention focus had positive and negative relationships with these three types of entrepreneurial performance, respectively. I also found that the opposite relationships of promotion focus and prevention focus with these three types of entrepreneurial performance were mediated by entrepreneurial engagement. Furthermore, hybrid entrepreneurs work across the wage-work and entrepreneurial roles, and I found that WE enrichment played a moderating role. Specifically, WE enrichment strengthened the positive relationship between promotion focus and entrepreneurial engagement as well as the positive indirect relationships between promotion focus and the three types of entrepreneurial performance through entrepreneurial engagement. In contrast, WE enrichment weakened the negative relationship between prevention focus and entrepreneurial engagement as well as the negative indirect relationships between prevention focus and the three types of entrepreneurial performance through entrepreneurial engagement. This research sheds light on how personality traits and dual-work context affect hybrid entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial processes and performance outcomes. Thus, I provide theoretical implications for the literature of hybrid entrepreneurial and dual work roles. Further, this research offers important practical implications for hybrid entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial partners, as well as investors.
Keywords
Hybrid entrepreneurship, regulatory focus, entrepreneurial engagement, crossrole enrichment
Language
English
Copyright
The copyright of this thesis is owned by its author. Any reproduction, adaptation, distribution or dissemination of this thesis without express authorization is strictly prohibited.
Recommended Citation
Asante, E. A. (2018). Dual work roles: The joint effect of hybrid entrepreneurs’ regulatory focus and wage work to entrepreneurial work enrichment on entrepreneurial performance (Master's thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from https://commons.ln.edu.hk/otd/34