In this study, we ask how work values impact different forms of labor market participation of young adults across Europe. We define work values as individuals’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to work and the value of work as the importance or centrality of work in individuals’ lives. We use data gathered from young adults in eleven European countries in the CUPESSE project to investigate the role of the two sets of values regarding employment and self-employment. We then replicate our analysis on a larger sample using data from the European Social Survey (ESS). Our findings suggest a high importance of nonpecuniary benefits for self-employment. Analyses based on both CUPESSE and ESS datasets clearly showed the high, positive impact that independence and creativity have on self-employment. We also show that extrinsic values, such as job security, are more important for employees than they are for the self-employed. Additionally, we find that the value of work in life does not differ between the employed and the self-employed. In sum, these findings suggest that values related to self-employment are not rooted in a general value of work, as Max Weber postulated in his Protestant Work Ethic nearly one hundred years ago, as much as in the aim to achieve personal satisfaction.
ArveyRichard D.HarpazItzhakLiaoHui. 2004. Work centrality and post-award work behavior of lottery winners. Journal of Psychology138 (5): 404–20.
4.
BalMatthijs P.KooijDorien. 2011. The relations between work centrality, psychological contracts, and job attitudes: The influence of age. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology20 (4): 497–523.
5.
BardiAnatSchwartzShalom H.2003. Values and behavior: Strength and structure of relations. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin29 (10): 1207–20.
6.
BenzMatthiasFreyBruno S.2008. The value of doing what you like: Evidence from the self-employed in 23 countries. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization68 (3): 445–55.
7.
BurkeAndrew E.FitzRoyFelix R.NolanMichael A.2002. Self-employment wealth and job creation: The roles of gender, non-pecuniary motivation and entrepreneurial ability. Small Business Economics19 (3): 255–70.
8.
CardonMelissa S.PatelPankaj C.2015. Is stress worth it? Stress-related health and wealth trade-offs for entrepreneurs. Applied Psychology64 (2): 379–420.
9.
CarifioJamesPerlaRocco J.2007. Ten common misunderstandings, misconceptions, persistent myths and urban legends about Likert scales and Likert response formats and their antidotes. Journal of Social Sciences3 (3): 106–16.
10.
CarsrudAlanBrännbackMalin. 2011. Entrepreneurial motivations: What do we still need to know?Journal of Small Business Management49 (1): 9–26.
11.
CarterNancy M.GartnerWilliam B.ShaverKelly G.GatewoodElizabeth J.2003. The career reasons of nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing18 (1): 13–39.
12.
CoginJulie. 2012. Are generational differences in work values fact or fiction? Multi-country evidence and implications. International Journal of Human Resource Management23 (11): 2268–94.
13.
CortinaJose M.1993. What is coefficient Alpha? An examination of theory and applications. Journal of Applied Psychology78 (1): 98–104.
14.
DebusMarcTosunJaleMaxeinerMarcel. 2017. Support for policies on entrepreneurship and self-employment among parties and coalition governments. Politics & Policy45 (3): 338–71.
15.
DiefendorffJames M.BrownDouglas J.KaminAllen M.LordRobert G.2002. Examining the roles of job involvement and work centrality in predicting organizational citizenship behaviors and job performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior23 (1): 93–108.
16.
DoseJennifer J.1997. Work values: An integrative framework and illustrative application to organizational socialization. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology70 (3): 219–40.
17.
DouglasEvan J.ShepherdDean A.2000. Entrepreneurship as a utility maximizing response. Journal of Business Venturing15 (3): 231–51.
18.
DvouletýOndrejLukešMartin. 2016. Review of empirical studies on self- employment out of unemployment: Do self-employment policies make a positive impact?International Review of Entrepreneurship14 (3): 361–76.
19.
EdelmanLinda F.BrushCandida G.ManolovaTatiana S.GreenePatricia G.2010. Start-up motivations and growth intentions of minority nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Small Business Management48 (2): 174–96.
20.
FayolleAlainLiñánFranciscoMorianoJuan A.2014. Beyond entrepreneurial intentions: Values and motivations in entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal10 (4): 679–89.
21.
FeldmannManuelLukešMartinUhlanerLorraine. 2018. Have it made or make it yourself: Why do young Europeans enter their family’s business or strive to found their own? Paper presented at the European Academy of Management Conference, Reykjavik.
22.
FurnhamAdrian F.1990. A content, correlational, and factor analytic study of seven questionnaire measures of the protestant work ethic. Human Relations43 (4): 383–99.
23.
GagnéMarylèneDeciEdward L.2005. Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior26 (4): 331–62.
24.
GallieDuncan. 2019. Research on work values in a changing economic and social context. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (this volume).
25.
GlassAmy. 2007. Understanding generational differences for competitive success. Industrial and Commercial Training39 (2): 98–103.
26.
GorgievskiMarjan J.AscalonM. EvelinaStephanUte. 2011. Small business owners’ success criteria, a values approach to personal differences. Journal of Small Business Management49 (2): 207–32.
27.
HamiltonBarton H.2000. Does entrepreneurship pay? An empirical analysis of the returns to self-employment. Journal of Political Economy108 (3): 604–31.
28.
HemingwayChristine A.2005. Personal values as a catalyst for corporate social entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Ethics60 (3): 233–49.
29.
HesselsJolandavan GelderenMarcoThurikRoy. 2008. Entrepreneurial aspirations, motivations, and their drivers. Small Business Economics31 (3): 323–39.
30.
HundleyGreg. 2001. Why and when are the self-employed more satisfied with their work?Industrial Relations40 (2): 293–316.
31.
HyytinenAriRuuskanenOlli-Pekka. 2007. Time use of the self-employed. Kyklos60 (1): 105–22.
32.
JaénInmaculadaLiñánFrancisco. 2013. Work values in a changing economic environment: The role of entrepreneurial capital. International Journal of Manpower34 (8): 939–60.
33.
ManyikaJamesLundSusanBughinJacquesRobinsonKelseyMischkeJanMahajanDeepa. 2016. Independent work: Choice, necessity, and the gig economy. McKinsey Global Institute Report. Available from https://www.mckinsey.com.
34.
MartinCarolyn A.2005. From high maintenance to high productivity: What managers need to know about Generation Y. Industrial and Commercial Training37 (1): 39–44.
35.
MillerMichael J.WoehrDavid J.HudspethNatasha. 2002. The meaning and measurement of work ethic: Construction and initial validation of a multidimensional inventory. Journal of Vocational Behavior60 (3): 451–89.
36.
ParryEmmaUrwinPeter. 2011. Generational differences in work values: A review of theory and evidence. International Journal of Management Reviews13 (1): 79–96.
37.
PaullayIrina M.AlligerGeorge M.Stone-RomeroEugene F.1994. Construct validation of two instruments designed to measure job involvement and work centrality. Journal of Applied Psychology79 (2): 224–28.
38.
RauchAndreasFreseMichael. 2007. Let’s put the person back into entrepreneurship research: A meta-analysis on the relationship between business owners’ personality traits, business creation, and success. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology16 (4): 353–85.
39.
RosMariaSchwartzShalom H.SurkissShoshana. 1999. Basic individual values, work values, and the meaning of work. Applied Psychology48 (1): 49–71.
40.
RyanRichard M.DeciEdward L.2000. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist55 (1): 68–78.
41.
SarfatiHedva. 2013. Coping with the unemployment crisis in Europe. International Labour Review152 (1): 145–56.
42.
SchjoedtLeon. 2009. Entrepreneurial job characteristics: An examination of their effect on entrepreneurial satisfaction. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice33 (3): 619–44.
ShawSueFairhurstDavid. 2008. Engaging a new generation of graduates. Education + Training50 (5): 366–78.
45.
SkedingerPer. 2010. Employment protection legislation: Evolution, effects, winners and losers. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
46.
SmolaKaren WeySuttonCharlotte D.2002. Generational differences: Revisiting generational work values for the new millennium. Journal of Organizational Behavior23 (4): 363–82.
47.
StephanUteHartMarkDrewsCord-Christian. 2015. Understanding motivations for entrepreneurship: A review of recent research evidence. Birmingham, UK: Enterprise Research Centre.
48.
TosunJ.ArcoJ.CasertaM.CemalcilarZ.FreitagM.HörischF.JensenC.KittelB.LittvayL.LukešM.MaloneyW.et al. 2018. Perceived economic self-sufficiency: A country-and generation-comparative approach. European Political Science.
49.
TwengeJean M.CampbellStacy M.HoffmanBrian J.LanceCharles E.2010. Generational differences in work values: Leisure and extrinsic values increasing, social and intrinsic values decreasing. Journal of Management36 (5): 1117–42.
50.
TyszkaTadeuszCieślikJerzyDomuratArturMackoAnna. 2011. Motivation, self-efficacy, and risk attitudes among entrepreneurs during transition to a market economy. Journal of Socio-Economics40 (2): 124–31.
51.
van GelderenMarco. 2016. Entrepreneurial autonomy and its dynamics. Applied Psychology65 (3): 541–67.
52.
van PraagC. MirjamVerslootPeter H.2007. What is the value of entrepreneurship? A review of recent research. Small Business Economics29 (4): 351–82.
53.
VegettiFedericoAdăscăliţeiDragoş. 2017. The impact of the economic crisis on latent and early entrepreneurship in Europe. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal13 (4): 1289–1314.
54.
WeberMax. 1905. Die Protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus. Archiv Für Sozialwissenschaft Und Sozialpolitik20, 21 (1, 1): 1–54, 1–110.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
