Sustainable Careers: Social capital in Transitions Between Wage-Employment and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

In this paper, I develop a conceptual framework that incorporates career transitions between employment and entrepreneurship within the conceptualization of sustainable careers. The framework explores the role of social capital in sustaining and constraining careers that span different forms of work. I argue that career transitions within corporate employment reflect a different mode of organizing, and subsequently different principles of valuation and evaluation than those of entrepreneurship. I propose that career transitions between wage employment and entrepreneurship traverse separate modes of organizing and develop propositions that outline the role of social capital in assisting career moves across divergent principles of valuation and evaluation. While past research has shown the importance of weak ties in supporting career transitions between employment positions, I postulate that both strong and weak ties have a role to play in ensuring the sustainability of career transitions between employment and entrepreneurship.