COVID-19 and entrepreneurship entry and exit: Opportunity amidst adversity

Vladimir Otrachshenko, Olga Popova, Milena Nikolova and Elena Tyurina

Technology in Society, 2022, vol. 71, issue C

Abstract: We theoretically and empirically examine how acquiring new skills and increased financial worries influenced entrepreneurship entry and exit intentions during the pandemic. To that end, we analyze primary individual-level survey data we collected in the aftermath of the COVID-19's first wave in Russia, which has had one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates globally. Our results show that acquiring new skills during the pandemic helped owners keep their existing businesses and encouraged start-ups in sectors other than information technology (IT). For IT start-ups, having previous experience matters more than new skills. While the pandemic-driven financial worries are associated with business closure intentions, they also inspire new business start-ups, highlighting the pandemic's creative destruction power. Furthermore, preferences for formal employment and remote work also matter for entrepreneurial intentions. Our findings enhance the understanding of entrepreneurship formation and closure in a time of adversity and suggest that implementing entrepreneurship training and upskilling policies during recurring waves of the COVID-19 pandemic can be an important policy tool for innovative small business development.

Keywords: Business entry; Information technology (IT); Business closure; COVID-19; Entrepreneurship intentions; Self-employment; Russia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J24 L26 P20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Working Paper: COVID-19 and Entrepreneurship Entry and Exit: Opportunity Amidst Adversity (2022)
Working Paper: COVID-19 and entrepreneurship entry and exit: Opportunity amidst adversity (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:teinso:v:71:y:2022:i:c:s0160791x22002342

DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.102093

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