Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

7-1-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Management

First Advisor

Wanrong Hou

Second Advisor

Sibin Wu

Third Advisor

Yejun Zhang

Abstract

The phenomenon known as the 'Great Resignation' witnessed a record number of employee resignations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports indicate that approximately 32% of those who resigned during this period transitioned to entrepreneurship. This thesis explores the relationship between resignation and entrepreneurial actions through the lens of creativity. It expands the typology of resignation beyond a simple dichotomy of voluntary and involuntary into four categories: Genius group (voluntarily resigns with high creativity), Traditional group (voluntarily resigns with low creativity), Forced group (involuntarily resigns with high creativity), and Trapped group (involuntarily resigns with low creativity). Previous research suggests that resignation, whether voluntary or involuntary, can either facilitate or hinder entrepreneurial activities, rendering this relationship ambiguous. Drawing on Shapero and Sokol's Entrepreneurial Event Model (SEE), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study investigates anticipated regret and dormant tie reactivation as boundary conditions influencing the relationship between resignation and entrepreneurial intentions, resignation and entrepreneurial actions, and the gap between entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial actions. This study surveyed 781 American adults who had resignation experience since the COVID-19 pandemic using the MTurk platform. Data analysis was conducted using SAS software and Process Macro 4.3.1. The data results indicate that Genius group exhibit significantly higher entrepreneurial intentions compared to Traditional and Trapped groups. Entrepreneurial intentions positively impact on entrepreneurial actions, acting as a mediator between resignation and entrepreneurial actions. Anticipated regret strengthens the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions in Traditional group and Trapped group but weakens the relationship between entrepreneurial actions in Forced group compared to Genius group. Dormant tie reactivation strengthens the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions in Forced group but weakens the relationship between entrepreneurial actions in Traditional group compared to Genius group. Moreover, Dormant tie reactivation weakens the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial actions. Finally, forced group are more likely to engage in entrepreneurial actions compared to Genius group. The contributions of this dissertation extend to the following aspects. Firstly, the study integrates previous research on resignation and entrepreneurship, expanding the dimensions of resignation through the lens of creativity. Secondly, through an interdisciplinary literature review and integrating social cognitive career theory, regret regulation theory, and theory of planned behavior, the study incorporates anticipated regret and dormant tie reactivation as moderating factors into its research framework. The aim is to clarify the relationship between resignation and entrepreneurial intentions and actions under the context of the "Great Resignation," thereby enriching the scarce research on the link between entrepreneurial intentions and actions.

Comments

Copyright 2024 Shuaijun Zhang. https://proquest.com/docview/3098419613

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