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Self-employment and eudaimonic well-being: Energized by meaning, enabled by societal legitimacy
Stephan,Ute Tavares,Susana Carvalho,Helena Ramalho,Joaquim Santos,Susana van Veldhoven,Marc
Stephan,Ute
Tavares,Susana
Carvalho,Helena
Ramalho,Joaquim
Santos,Susana
van Veldhoven,Marc
Abstract
This study investigates why and where self-employment is related to higher levels of eudaimonic well-being. We focus on meaningfulness as an important eudaimonic process and subjective vi- tality as a eudaimonic well-being outcome that is central to entrepreneurs' proactivity. Building on self-determination theory, we posit that self-employment, relative to wage-employment, is a more self-determined and volitional career choice, which enhances the experience of mean- ingfulness at work and perceptions of work autonomy. In a multi-level study of 22,002 in- dividuals and 16 European countries, meaningfulness at work mediates the relationship between self-employment and subjective vitality and explains this relationship better than work au- tonomy. We identify moderating effects of context: the societal legitimacy of entrepreneurship in a country affects the choice set of alternative career options that individuals can consider and thus shapes the experience of meaningfulness at work and work autonomy, and thereby in- directly subjective vitality. These findings expand our understanding of eudaimonic well-being, entrepreneurs' work, and the role of context in entrepreneurship and well-being research. They complement existing research on hedonic well-being of entrepreneurs and extend the scarce literature on their eudaimonic well-being.
Description
Funding Information: This work was partially supported by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation [ UID/GES/00315/2019 ].
Date
2020
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Keywords
AUTONOMY, Autonomy, CONTEXT, EGO-DEPLETION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, Entrepreneurship, Eudaimonic well-being, JOB-SATISFACTION, MODERATED MEDIATION, MOTIVATION, Meaningfulness at work, POSITIVE AFFECT, Self-employment, VITALITY, Vitality, WORK ENGAGEMENT, Well-being, SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
Citation
Stephan, U, Tavares, S, Carvalho, H, Ramalho, J, Santos, S & van Veldhoven, M 2020, 'Self-employment and eudaimonic well-being : Energized by meaning, enabled by societal legitimacy', Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 35, no. 6, 106047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2020.106047