Antecedents and Consequences of Entrepreneurial Careers: Integrate Micro and Macro Perspectives

This symposium focuses on the antecedents and consequences of an entrepreneurial career. Underlying this focus is the view that entrepreneurship is a career step along a career path as opposed to a final destination (Burton et al., 2016). Four studies in this symposium examine key issues relevant to different stages of an entrepreneurial career, including the pre-entry learning processes that shape entrepreneurial entry decisions and the type of venture founded, the impact of entrepreneurial experience on entrepreneurs’ personality and skillsets, and former entrepreneurs’ behaviors (e.g., turnover) and performance implications (e.g., innovation) in post- entrepreneurship wage employment. Implications for theory and practice will be discussed. Following the paper presentations, Scott Seibert and Aleksandra (Olenka) Kacperczyk, two distinguished experts on entrepreneurship and careers representing different theoretical traditions (micro and macro, respectively), will serve as our discussants to offer theoretical and practical suggestions, identify promising research opportunities, and stimulate an interactive group discussion. The Entrepreneurial Pre-Entry Process: Evidence from the Informal Economy Presenter: SHELTER SELORM TEYI; Copenhagen Business School Presenter: Marcus Møller Larsen; Copenhagen Business School Presenter: Vera Rocha; Copenhagen Business School Rethinking the personality-entrepreneurship link: Can entrepreneurship change your personality? Presenter: Leigh Mellish; UNSW Sydney Presenter: Siran Zhan; U. of New South Wales Presenter: Amirali Minbashian; UNSW Business School, Australia Prior entrepreneurial experience and voluntary turnover in subsequent wage employment Presenter: Siran Zhan; U. of New South Wales Presenter: Liwen Zhang; U. of Macau Presenter: Yu Wu; UNSW Sydney Hiring Entrepreneurs for Innovation Presenter: Louise Lindbjerg; PhD Student Presenter: Theodor Lucian Vladasel; U. Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona GSE