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Personal strain and ethical standards of the self-employed

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  • De Clercq, Dirk
  • Dakhli, Mourad

Abstract

Using strain theory to examine the relationship between sources of personal strain and ethical standards, we study how variations in the self-employed's household income, educational level, associational membership, and trust in institutions link to the extent to which they maintain high ethical standards. We test our hypotheses using data from 3716 self-employed persons across 39 countries. The self-employed's ethical standards relate positively to their household income and trust in institutions but negatively to their educational level and associational membership. A supplementary exploratory analysis provides further insights into how broader cultural and institutional contexts in which the self-employed are embedded might influence the relationship between sources of personal strain and ethical standards.

Suggested Citation

  • De Clercq, Dirk & Dakhli, Mourad, 2009. "Personal strain and ethical standards of the self-employed," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 477-490, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:24:y:2009:i:5:p:477-490
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bruno S. Frey, 2010. "Withering Academia?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3209, CESifo.
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    5. Junzhe Ji & Pavlos Dimitratos & Qingan Huang & Taoyong Su, 2019. "Everyday-Life Business Deviance Among Chinese SME Owners," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 1179-1194, April.
    6. Muafi, 2015. "ANTECEDENT COUNTERPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR: SMEs CASES," Polish Journal of Management Studies, Czestochowa Technical University, Department of Management, vol. 12(2), pages 114-121, December.
    7. Harris, Jared D. & Sapienza, Harry J. & Bowie, Norman E., 2009. "Ethics and entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 407-418, September.
    8. Harvey, James S., Jr., 2009. "Is the Just Man a Happy Man? An Empirical Study of the Relationship Between Ethics and Subjective Well-Being," Working Papers 92617, University of Missouri Columbia, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    9. Muethel, Miriam & Hoegl, Martin, 2013. "Shared leadership effectiveness in independent professional teams," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 423-432.
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