Differences between self-employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity
Background. The number of self-employed (people who work “for themselves”) is growing in Russia, while there are various forms of self-employment, depending on the specifics of their professional activities. The question of whether the self-employed people’s activity can be considered entrepreneuria...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Russian |
| Published: |
The Publishing House of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Теоретическая и экспериментальная психология |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://tepsyj.ru/en/articles/article/31338/ |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849710241170587648 |
|---|---|
| author | Maria A. Cheremenskaia Ekaterina A. Alekseevskaya Svetlana N. Novikova Olga V. Bogacheva |
| author_facet | Maria A. Cheremenskaia Ekaterina A. Alekseevskaya Svetlana N. Novikova Olga V. Bogacheva |
| author_sort | Maria A. Cheremenskaia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. The number of self-employed (people who work “for themselves”) is growing in Russia, while there are various forms of self-employment, depending on the specifics of their professional activities. The question of whether the self-employed people’s activity can be considered entrepreneurial is important both for empirical research and for practitioners developing various support measures for this population group.
Objectives. The study had its purpose to identify the differences between self-employed people (project creators, freelancers, contract self-employed) and entrepreneurs in the representations of their professional activity.
Study participants. 46 entrepreneurs (mean age = 42 years, SD = 8, 66% — women) and 150 self-employed individuals (mean age = 38 years, SD = 10, 75% — women), engaged in activities primarily in Moscow and the Moscow region.
Methods. Data collection was carried out through online survey. The study implemented the Methodology for Researching Professional Identity (Schneider, 2007); methods of comparative and frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and one-way analysis of variance.
Results. Analysis of the self-employed people’s activity allows for classifying this group of population based on the nature of their activities: project creators, freelancers, contract self-employed individuals. A comparative analysis of the data obtained from representatives of these groups, as well as entrepreneurs, demonstrated that in the representations of their professional activities, project creators and freelancers have the semantic cores of “competence” and “independence”, while contract self-employed do not have the core of “independence”. In terms of professional ambitions (the “entrepreneurial” factor), contract self-employed individuals differ from entrepreneurs (MD = –0.810, p < 0.001), project creators (MD = –0.890, p = 0.004), and freelancers (MD = –0.635, p = 0.003).
Conclusions. Project creators' representations of professional activity most closely resemble those of entrepreneurs, and their activities are most similar to entrepreneurial work. Freelancers' representations also share similarities with those of entrepreneurs, but freelancing only partially reflects entrepreneurship. Contract self-employed individuals' representations significantly differ from those of entrepreneurs, and their activity cannot be classified as entrepreneurial.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c1fa2d964f4842b99c21f8f54f49455e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2073-0861 2782-5396 |
| language | Russian |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | The Publishing House of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Теоретическая и экспериментальная психология |
| spelling | doaj-art-c1fa2d964f4842b99c21f8f54f49455e2025-08-20T03:14:58ZrusThe Publishing House of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific InstitutionТеоретическая и экспериментальная психология2073-08612782-53962025-06-0118215917510.11621/TEP-25-17Differences between self-employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity Maria A. Cheremenskaia 0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9441-1350Ekaterina A. Alekseevskaya 1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9441-1350Svetlana N. Novikova 2https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5327-1881Olga V. Bogacheva3https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9710-1353Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation; Institute of Continuing Professional Education of the Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, Moscow, Russian FederationInstitute of Continuing Professional Education of the Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, Moscow, Russian Federation“My Job” Employment Center, Moscow, Russian Federation“My Job” Employment Center, Moscow, Russian FederationBackground. The number of self-employed (people who work “for themselves”) is growing in Russia, while there are various forms of self-employment, depending on the specifics of their professional activities. The question of whether the self-employed people’s activity can be considered entrepreneurial is important both for empirical research and for practitioners developing various support measures for this population group. Objectives. The study had its purpose to identify the differences between self-employed people (project creators, freelancers, contract self-employed) and entrepreneurs in the representations of their professional activity. Study participants. 46 entrepreneurs (mean age = 42 years, SD = 8, 66% — women) and 150 self-employed individuals (mean age = 38 years, SD = 10, 75% — women), engaged in activities primarily in Moscow and the Moscow region. Methods. Data collection was carried out through online survey. The study implemented the Methodology for Researching Professional Identity (Schneider, 2007); methods of comparative and frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and one-way analysis of variance. Results. Analysis of the self-employed people’s activity allows for classifying this group of population based on the nature of their activities: project creators, freelancers, contract self-employed individuals. A comparative analysis of the data obtained from representatives of these groups, as well as entrepreneurs, demonstrated that in the representations of their professional activities, project creators and freelancers have the semantic cores of “competence” and “independence”, while contract self-employed do not have the core of “independence”. In terms of professional ambitions (the “entrepreneurial” factor), contract self-employed individuals differ from entrepreneurs (MD = –0.810, p < 0.001), project creators (MD = –0.890, p = 0.004), and freelancers (MD = –0.635, p = 0.003). Conclusions. Project creators' representations of professional activity most closely resemble those of entrepreneurs, and their activities are most similar to entrepreneurial work. Freelancers' representations also share similarities with those of entrepreneurs, but freelancing only partially reflects entrepreneurship. Contract self-employed individuals' representations significantly differ from those of entrepreneurs, and their activity cannot be classified as entrepreneurial. https://tepsyj.ru/en/articles/article/31338/self-employmentprofessional activityprofessional identityentrepreneur |
| spellingShingle | Maria A. Cheremenskaia Ekaterina A. Alekseevskaya Svetlana N. Novikova Olga V. Bogacheva Differences between self-employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity Теоретическая и экспериментальная психология self-employment professional activity professional identity entrepreneur |
| title | Differences between self-employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity |
| title_full | Differences between self-employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity |
| title_fullStr | Differences between self-employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Differences between self-employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity |
| title_short | Differences between self-employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity |
| title_sort | differences between self employed and entrepreneurs in representations of their professional activity |
| topic | self-employment professional activity professional identity entrepreneur |
| url | https://tepsyj.ru/en/articles/article/31338/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariaacheremenskaia differencesbetweenselfemployedandentrepreneursinrepresentationsoftheirprofessionalactivity AT ekaterinaaalekseevskaya differencesbetweenselfemployedandentrepreneursinrepresentationsoftheirprofessionalactivity AT svetlanannovikova differencesbetweenselfemployedandentrepreneursinrepresentationsoftheirprofessionalactivity AT olgavbogacheva differencesbetweenselfemployedandentrepreneursinrepresentationsoftheirprofessionalactivity |