Our paper in the Journal of Business Venturing Insights explores why self-employed individuals in the United States tend to report worse physical well-being compared to traditional wage employees. The self-employed make up a significant portion of the workforce in the U.S., and this study aims to uncover a potential explanation for their poorer health outcomes. The authors propose that self-employed individuals prioritize their business resources over personal healthcare needs, leading to health-related resourcefulness behaviors that could negatively affect their well-being.
Health resourcefulness behaviors and their prevalence in the self-employed
Resourcefulness, in this context, is broadly defined as the ability to creatively use available resources to achieve goals, particularly in the context of new venture creation. Entrepreneurs often focus their resources on their ventures, and this study suggests that the self-employed may prioritize venture resources, thus resulting in accommodating personal health resources by being resourceful to save money on healthcare. This could lead to poorer health outcomes for self-employed individuals.
Our study introduces the concept of health resourcefulness behaviors, which are actions taken to reduce the burden (i.e., cost) of accessing and affording healthcare resources. It’s suggested that self-employed individuals engage in these behaviors more than traditional employees for several reasons. These include individualistic cultural values, the benefits of self-employment, the demanding nature of entrepreneurship, the need for resourcefulness in self-employment, and the relative importance of business-related resources compared to personal ones for entrepreneurs.
Antecedents and moderators of health resourcefulness behaviors
We used data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in 2015, which is a valuable source of health information in the U.S. The research involved measuring health resourcefulness behaviors, healthcare affordability concerns, healthcare access concerns, employment status (self-employed or traditional employee), age, and various control variables. The data was analyzed using moderated OLS regression.
We find that concerns about healthcare affordability and access are common among all working adults in the U.S. However, the self-employed face additional challenges in terms of choosing and paying for health insurance, along with the difficulty of managing a new venture, thus further exacerbating their concerns. At a high level, healthcare in the U.S. is costly and lacks universal coverage, forcing individuals to make decisions about their healthcare that might lead to resourcefulness behaviors.
Further, our study highlights that age moderates the relationship between healthcare concerns and health resourcefulness behaviors among the self-employed. Younger self-employed individuals are more likely to focus on affordability concerns due to lower income and higher debt, while older self-employed individuals may face access challenges, such as difficulty finding doctors or limited health coverage due to pre-existing health conditions.
Discussion
This research sheds light on the connection between resourcefulness and health outcomes, suggesting that resourceful behaviors may harm personal health, particularly among the self-employed. Our study underscores the need for additional research to explore why self-employed individuals make choices that could negatively impact their health, and how long until these choices impact one’s health. It also suggests that resourcefulness in entrepreneurship may have a “dark side” that has not been adequately addressed in the literature.
As the study focused on self-employed individuals in the U.S., future research could compare their health behaviors with those in countries with different healthcare systems. Additionally, the study suggests that other factors, such as health insurance availability and quality, should be considered as potential antecedents of health resourcefulness behaviors in the self-employed.
In summary, this study provides insights into why self-employed individuals in the U.S. tend to report poorer physical health outcomes than traditional employees. It highlights the role of resourcefulness in their health-related decision-making and suggests that self-employment may have a negative influence on personal well-being. Future research should further explore the relationship between resourcefulness and health in the context of entrepreneurship.
Read the full paper here to find out more: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352673423000616
Author bio
Timothy L. Michaelis is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Northern Illinois University. His research focuses on the psychology of entrepreneurship and the role of resourcefulness behaviors in new venture creation.
Jon C. Carr is the Jenkins Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship at North Carolina State University. Dr. Carr’s research is focused on three general domains within the field of management – entrepreneurship, family business, and organizational behavior – and the interface between these general areas.
Alexander McKelvie is Interim Dean at the Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University. His research deals with questions regarding two main areas: how and why firms grow and how do entrepreneurs make decisions with an emphasis on factors such as opportunities, dealing with uncertainty, effectuation, failure, and addiction.
April Spivack is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Management, & Organisation at Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland. Her research has examined the entrepreneurial experience, from the entrepreneur’s perspective. This includes considerations of the emotional, cognitive, and physiological affects of being an entrepreneur, with attention to health and issues of work-life “balance.”
Michael P. Lerman is Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, Debbie & Jerry Ivy College of Business. His research focuses on entrepreneur stress, coping, & well-being. This also includes research related to new venture teams, team conflict, and expertise in qualitative research methods.
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