Gig work as a predictor of entrepreneurial intention: the moderating effects of societal descriptive norms

Purpose This study examines the relationship between gig work and entrepreneurial intention across different countries to determine when gig workers are most likely to be interested in starting their own businesses. It further explores the moderating effects of three country-level descriptive norms (i.e., cultural practices) that feature prominently in the entrepreneurship literature – institutional collectivism, performance orientation and uncertainty avoidance. Design/methodology/approach This study uses logistic regression and multi-level modelling on cross-sectional data from 30,923 individuals across 16 countries. Its unique combined dataset is drawn from the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Adult Population Survey (GEM-APS), Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) study and 2018 World Bank Development Indicators. Findings The authors find that gig work participation positively predicts entrepreneurial intentions for individuals across different countries. This gig work-entrepreneurial intention relationship is further moderated by institutional collectivism. Practical implications This study offers practical insights to gig platform companies and policymakers interested in boosting entrepreneurship. It confirms that, globally, gig workers are motivated to start their own businesses. Furthermore, it identifies the types of institutional contexts where entrepreneurship training and broader policies that support gig workers could promote new venture creation. Originality/value This is the first multi-country, multi-level study examining the link between gig work and entrepreneurship, highlighting how informal institutional contexts shape the gig work-entrepreneurial intention relationship. Rather than viewing gig work as mere employment, it is framed as a career event that influences workers’ entrepreneurial cognition, which is further shaped by their institutional contexts.