Making Sense of Employment in Entrepreneurial Firms: The Perspective of Joiners

Sammanfattning

Background. Employment in entrepreneurial firms has become an important theme in entrepreneurship research. These organizations operate under conditions of uncertainty, limited resources, and evolving structures, while still attracting people. Yet little is known about how individuals actually make sense of the opportunity to join them. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to understand how individuals, referred to as joiners, make sense of the process of joining entrepreneurial firms, focusing on how they interpret the uncertainty, evaluate trade-offs, and construct meaning around entrepreneurial employment. Methodology. The study is based on sensemaking theory and follows a qualitative multiple case study methodology. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 16 joiners and analyzed using an abductive approach, which allows for an iterative interaction between empirical data and existing theory. Conclusion. The findings reveal that joiners do not approach employment decisions as purely rational choices. They actively construct sensemaking around the process, drawing on prior experiences, identity, social interactions, and plausibility construction to make the decision feel actionable despite unresolved uncertainty. Joiners are not a homogeneous group, and their sensemaking is neither linear nor predictable. The study also highlights how founders, prior experiences, and social influences shape the way individuals interpret and give meaning to an entrepreneurial opportunity, with direct implications for how founders recruit and how individuals navigate consequential career choices under uncertainty.