The deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective

The aim of this thesis is to explore employment relations in young, growth-oriented, technology-driven (high-tech) start-ups. It takes a closer look at the exchange relationship between founders and their first employees in this specific context. At its core, the research is interested in employees...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: David Achtzehn
Format: Default Thesis
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2134/19628
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id rr-article-9496709
record_format Figshare
spelling rr-article-94967092015-01-01T00:00:00Z The deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective David Achtzehn (7197101) Other commerce, management, tourism and services not elsewhere classified Employment relationship Psychological contract Employment deal Start-ups Entrepreneurship Motivation Employee Business and Management not elsewhere classified The aim of this thesis is to explore employment relations in young, growth-oriented, technology-driven (high-tech) start-ups. It takes a closer look at the exchange relationship between founders and their first employees in this specific context. At its core, the research is interested in employees motivation to work for a growth-oriented start-up and their understanding of the employment deal. The study uses the psychological contract as an analytical framework to gain deeper insights into individuals perceptions of this deal. The research is embedded within an interpretivist paradigm and includes eight case studies involving growth-oriented high-tech start-ups in Berlin and London. For each case, in-depth interviews with three full-time employees as well as the founder(s) were conducted. The findings of this thesis demonstrate that the employment deal in growth-oriented start-ups is a short-term, faith-driven contract, which differs substantially from the current understanding of the psychological contract. In contrast to the long-term or open-ended contract often offered by larger, more established organisations, this deal has a defined expiration date . Moreover, the findings challenge the current understandings on remuneration, relationship building and power dynamics within growth-oriented start-ups and add to the literature by offering a re-conceptualisation of the psychological contract. This thesis helps to inform prospective employees about the advantages and challenges of joining a start-up and encourages entrepreneurs to further tailor their management and compensation strategies. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z Text Thesis 2134/19628 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/The_deal_employment_relations_in_growth-oriented_high-tech_start-ups_an_employee_perspective/9496709 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
institution Loughborough University
collection Figshare
topic Other commerce, management, tourism and services not elsewhere classified
Employment relationship
Psychological contract
Employment deal
Start-ups
Entrepreneurship
Motivation
Employee
Business and Management not elsewhere classified
spellingShingle Other commerce, management, tourism and services not elsewhere classified
Employment relationship
Psychological contract
Employment deal
Start-ups
Entrepreneurship
Motivation
Employee
Business and Management not elsewhere classified
David Achtzehn
The deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective
description The aim of this thesis is to explore employment relations in young, growth-oriented, technology-driven (high-tech) start-ups. It takes a closer look at the exchange relationship between founders and their first employees in this specific context. At its core, the research is interested in employees motivation to work for a growth-oriented start-up and their understanding of the employment deal. The study uses the psychological contract as an analytical framework to gain deeper insights into individuals perceptions of this deal. The research is embedded within an interpretivist paradigm and includes eight case studies involving growth-oriented high-tech start-ups in Berlin and London. For each case, in-depth interviews with three full-time employees as well as the founder(s) were conducted. The findings of this thesis demonstrate that the employment deal in growth-oriented start-ups is a short-term, faith-driven contract, which differs substantially from the current understanding of the psychological contract. In contrast to the long-term or open-ended contract often offered by larger, more established organisations, this deal has a defined expiration date . Moreover, the findings challenge the current understandings on remuneration, relationship building and power dynamics within growth-oriented start-ups and add to the literature by offering a re-conceptualisation of the psychological contract. This thesis helps to inform prospective employees about the advantages and challenges of joining a start-up and encourages entrepreneurs to further tailor their management and compensation strategies.
format Default
Thesis
author David Achtzehn
author_facet David Achtzehn
author_sort David Achtzehn (7197101)
title The deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective
title_short The deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective
title_full The deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective
title_fullStr The deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective
title_full_unstemmed The deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective
title_sort deal: employment relations in growth-oriented, high-tech start-ups: an employee perspective
publishDate 2015
url https://hdl.handle.net/2134/19628
_version_ 1797466624445382656