On the foundation of self-determination and career construction perspectives, this paper aims to examine the mechanism that underlies the effects of career shocks (CSs) on entrepreneurial intention and the moderating effect of previous entrepreneurial experience in the indirect relationship.
A quantitative approach was adopted. The authors based the analyses on a sample of 301 teaching and nonteaching staff recruited from 25 higher institutions of learning in Nigeria through a self-administered survey.
The findings revealed that negative CSs are a more effective determinant of both entrepreneurial self-efficacy and occupational engagement than positive CSs. The results also show that entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediates the effects of CSs on entrepreneurial intention, while previous entrepreneurial experience moderates this indirect effect.
The study provides insight into the influence of CSs and the mechanism that underlies its effect on entrepreneurial intention, as well as the interaction effect of previous entrepreneurial experience. However, future researchers are admonished to examine the indirect effect of CSs on entrepreneurial intention through occupational engagement. The authors also suggest further investigation of other possible adaptable outcomes of occupational engagement since the study shows that it is not effective in stimulating entrepreneurial intention.
The findings present policymakers and higher education organizations with guidelines on how to mitigate the negative impact of CSs on organizational productivity. The authors also suggest the basis upon which trade-offs on certain recruitment policies that could be set by higher education organizations could be based depending on their priorities.
The authors integrated the career construction and entrepreneurship perspectives, pushed the boundaries and contributed to the debate that CSs can trigger the transition from paid employment to entrepreneurship by investigating the underlying mechanisms as well as the boundary conditions that influence the process.
