The Interactive Effect of Psychological Capital and Gender on Employee Turnover and Promotion Within Entrepreneurial Ventures

1 online resource (89 pages) : PDF

2021

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Entrepreneurship is drives economic growth and innovation. While research largely focuses on the role of the individual entrepreneur, new venture success also depends on the ability for the entrepreneur to attract and retain employees. The purpose of this study investigates if an applicant expressed Psychological Capital (PsyCap) level could have an impact on employee turnover and/or promotion events within the environment of a new entrepreneurial venture, and how this relationship is moderated by employee gender. This study consists of 174 hired employees over a six-year period of initial growth from a young digital-oriented new venture firm. All behavioral and demographic data was provided to further the research and understanding of how employee PsyCap measurement can help optimize hiring and retaining top talent. Overall, this study's findings offer opportunity to advance the knowledge of PsyCap and the longer-term positive impact it can have on employees within entrepreneurial ventures, and the importance of being exposed to the PsyCap individual measurement as early in the hiring or onboarding timeframe as possible. This study brings three main contributions to the literature. First, this dissertation adds to the minimal stream of research that currently exists at the intersection of human resources and entrepreneurship. Second, this study expands current PsyCap literature by leveraging its usability to understanding entrepreneurial employees. The third contribution comes in expanding the potential use of content text analysis during the hiring process for new ventures.

doctoral dissertations

Organizational behavior
Psychology
Entrepreneurship

D.B.A.

Entreprenuership
Hope
Optimism
Psycap
Resilience
Self-Efficacy

Business Administration

Pieper, Torsten
Webb, Justin

Stanley, Laura
Ames Stuart, Jennifer

Thesis (D.B.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2021.

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Tuders_uncc_0694D_12703

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:2107