Från grundare till arbetsgivare : En kvalitativ studie om grundares upplevda risk vid den första anställningen

Sammanfattning

Background: The first hiring decision is widely recognised as a pivotal step in the development of early-stage firms. For solo entrepreneurs and small company founders, bringing in a first employee marks a transition from an individually dependent operation to an organisation where work and responsibility are shared with another person. Despite its significance, the decision is rarely straightforward. Founders must commit to a long-term obligation under conditions where future revenues, organisational capacity and the sustainability of the employment relationship remain uncertain. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyse how risk in the first hiring decision is experienced and managed by founders in a Swedish context. Method: The study adopts a qualitative research design based on six semi-structured interviews with founders of Swedish service firms who had made their first hire, were facing the decision, or had actively chosen not to employ. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Result: Four risk dimensions emerged from the empirical material: economic, organisational, relational and institutional. The economic risk was the most prominent and was experienced not only as a business concern but as a personal one, as founders described their private and business finances as inseparable. The organisational risk centred on relinquishing control over a venture that had not yet developed defined boundaries or routines. The relational risk was dominated by concerns about trust, and all respondents recruited exclusively through personal networks. The institutional risk was the least prominent but reinforced other dimensions, including among founders with limited knowledge of employment legislation. All respondents navigated intermediate solutions, such as internships, consultancy arrangements or commission-based pay, before or instead of formal employment.