Date of Award
5-12-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Information Science & Technology
Advisor(s)
Ingrid Erickson
Keywords
Docpreneurs;Hybrid entrepreneurship
Abstract
A rising number of professionals around the world are engaging in hybrid entrepreneurship, the phenomenon in which employees simultaneously start a venture while maintaining a full-time wage job. Motivations for hybrid entrepreneurship include income supplementation, non-monetary benefits, and a means by which to transition to full-time entrepreneurship, however little else is known about the nuanced motivations and practices of hybrid entrepreneurs. This dissertation addresses this gap in understanding via a multi-method qualitative study of docpreneurs, i.e. medical doctors who engage in hybrid entrepreneurship, in Ghana. Data was collected using surveys, semi-structured interviews, and vignettes from 40 participants. Through an inductive analysis of these data, I find 5 main motivational factors for docpreneurs, prominent among which is the desire to supplement waged income. Situating this motivation within the broader professional and social context in Ghana, I discover that docpreneurs view their current professional outlook as constrained and perceive hybrid entrepreneurship as a means to secure a desired future in lieu of a dismal one. To unpack the practices of docpreneurs, I introduce two novel notions: hybridity episodes and hybridity moves. While hybridity episodes denote the temporal bracketing of hybrid entrepreneurship, hybridity moves capture the enactments that hybrid entrepreneurs undertake to make hybridity tenable. Put together, my findings not only develop a grounded depiction of hybrid entrepreneurship and its related practices, but also develop a theoretical understanding of hybrid entrepreneurship as a relational, dynamic, and emancipatory phenomenon. On the ground, these insights should enable practicing and latent hybrid entrepreneurs to reflect on their practices, organizations to develop policies to manage their employees who are hybrid entrepreneurs, and policymakers who seek to address brain drain in countries like Ghana.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Asante-Agyei, Charis, "MAKING HYBRIDITY HAPPEN: HYBRID ENTREPRENEURSHIP MOTIVATIONS AND PRACTICES AMONG DOCPRENEURS IN GHANA" (2024). Dissertations - ALL. 1972.
https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1972
