Frontiers of Entrepreneurship
Research
1997 Edition
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MOTIVES, USE PATTERNS AND EFFECTS OF CONTINGENT
RESOURCE USE IN ENTREPRENEURIAL FIRMS
Sharon F. Matusik, University of Washington
INTRODUCTION
EXISTING
RESEARCH ON CONTINGENT WORK
RESEARCH QUESTION
RESEARCH METHODS
AND FINDINGS
Sample
Analysis
Entrepreneurial Firm
Motives
Entrepreneurial
Firm Use Patterns
Non–Entrepreneurial
Firm Motives
Non–entrepreneurial
Firm Use Patterns
Synthesis
of Motives and Use Patterns
FIGURE 1:
Summary of Motives and Use Patterns
Outcomes
IMPLICATIONS
FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
REFERENCES
ABSTRACT
The contingent workforce is an increasingly integral part of the world of work, affecting firms' abilities to accumulate knowledge, create value, and establish competitive advantage. This study examines the motives, use patterns, and outcomes of contingent work in entrepreneurial and non–entrepreneurial firms in the prepackaged software industry. The findings indicate that contingent work is used in significantly different ways across these two kinds of firms. Flexibility and speed of acquiring skills are particularly important to entrepreneurial firms. The implications of these findings for firms looking for an expedient means of accumulating valuable external knowledge are discussed.
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