Tech-entrepreneurs’ psychological contracts with their institutional environment: Insights from Sweden

Constanze Eib and Linda Weidenstedt
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Constanze Eib: Department of Management and Organization, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden; Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden; Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden
Linda Weidenstedt: The Ratio Institute, Sweden; Department of Sociology, Stockholm University, Sweden

Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2025, vol. 46, issue 3, 786-808

Abstract: This qualitative interview study examines how high-tech entrepreneurs in Sweden ( N = 11) perceive their contextual prerequisites and the expectations they hold towards their broader social and institutional environment. Findings from a thematic analysis reveal that participants have implicit expectations towards society and the state that are not being met, leading to frustrations, perceptions of unfairness, and cynicism. Through the lens of psychological contract theory, we demonstrate how the contextual framework shapes expectations and experiences of entrepreneurs, contributing to both psychological contract theory and to the contextualization of entrepreneurship.

Keywords: entrepreneur; fairness; justice; psychological contract; Sweden; tech-entrepreneur (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:46:y:2025:i:3:p:786-808

DOI: 10.1177/0143831X251339070

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