Socio-cognitive traits and hybrid entrepreneurship: the moderating role of labor institutions

This study explores how socio-cognitive traits shape the decision to pursue hybrid versus full-time entrepreneurship in diverse institutional contexts. Building on Social Cognitive Career Theory and institutional economics, we analyze the roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and fear of failure and how labor freedom moderates their effects. Using multilevel logistic regression on a cross-national dataset of 60,773 individuals from 64 countries over a 5-year study period (2019–2023), we found that lower self-efficacy and higher fear of failure are associated with a greater likelihood of hybrid entrepreneurship. These effects vary according to labor market flexibility. Our results highlight how individual traits and institutional conditions jointly shape entrepreneurial pathways.