Who Chooses to Become an Entrepreneur? The Jacks-of-All-Trades in Social and Human Capital

University of Zurich Institute for Strategy and Business Economics Working Paper No. 76

37 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2008

See all articles by Uschi Backes-Gellner

Uschi Backes-Gellner

University of Zurich - Institute for Business Administration; Swiss Leading House

Petra M. Moog

University of Zurich - Department of Business Administration (IBW); University of Siegen - Dept. of Entrepreneurship and Business Sucession

Date Written: February 2008

Abstract

This paper studies the willingness to become an entrepreneur depending on an individual's composition of human and social capital. Our theoretical analysis is an application and extension of Lazear's (2005) jack-of-all-trades theory. Our primary implication is that it is not individuals with a higher level of human or social capital but rather individuals with a more balanced portfolio of human and social capital that are more willing than others to become entrepreneurs. We use survey data from a sample of more than 2000 German students to test this hypothesis and find that the jacks-of-all-trades, i.e. the more balanced individuals are more likely to become entrepreneurs. On the other hand, the masters-in-one, i.e. the specialists, are better off being an employee and rightly prefer to be so.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Jack-of-all-trades theory, Social capital

JEL Classification: M5, J4, J24

Suggested Citation

Backes-Gellner, Uschi and Moog, Petra M. and Moog, Petra M., Who Chooses to Become an Entrepreneur? The Jacks-of-All-Trades in Social and Human Capital (February 2008). University of Zurich Institute for Strategy and Business Economics Working Paper No. 76, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1091089 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1091089

Uschi Backes-Gellner (Contact Author)

University of Zurich - Institute for Business Administration ( email )

Plattenstrasse 14
8032 Zurich
Switzerland
+41 44 6344281 (Phone)
+41 44 6344370 (Fax)

Swiss Leading House ( email )

Plattenstrasse 14
Zurich, 8032
Switzerland

Petra M. Moog

University of Zurich - Department of Business Administration (IBW) ( email )

Hottingerstrasse 10
Plattenstrasse 14
Zurich, 8032
Switzerland

University of Siegen - Dept. of Entrepreneurship and Business Sucession ( email )

Hölderlinstraße 3, HA 4106
Siegen, 57068
Germany

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