A Dynamic Model of Employees’ Transition to Entrepreneur: A Cognitive Mapping Approach

Abstract

Employees’ transition to an entrepreneurial career has been explained by two major driving forces: push and pull factors. The push-pull dichotomy, however, has been the center of debate on whether the classification is incomplete and ambiguous. Until this debate is resolved, the dynamic and fluid nature of the influencing factors and their relationships remains unclear. The purpose of this research is to discuss the legitimacy of the push-pull dichotomy in explaining the motivations and processes of employees’ transition to an entrepreneurial career. To achieve this, a cognitive mapping approach to synthesize the factors from the extant empirical studies was employed. Analysis of 26 articles revealed that categories of push and pull factors in prior research are neither mutually exclusive nor clearly separate. Our dynamic model of employees’ transition to an entrepreneurial career illustrates the reciprocal, compounding, and counter-effective influence of factors. This research sheds light on the dynamic interrelationship among factors affecting employees’ transition to an entrepreneurial career.