The gig economy paradox: Student beliefs about side hustle as opportunity and barrier to entrepreneurship
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53088/jmdb.v6i1.2682Keywords:
Gig Economy, Student Entrepreneurship, Mixed-Methods, Psychological Stress, Social SupportAbstract
This study examined how student beliefs constructed side hustle as simultaneous opportunity and barrier to entrepreneurship. A sequential mixed-methods design was employed, involving thematic analysis of 30 students through interviews and focus group discussions, followed by regression analysis testing grade point average, working hours, and business type as stress predictors among 100 Indonesian student entrepreneurs using Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Conventional structural predictors explained only a limited proportion of variance, with the regression model accounting for 5.6% of the total variance. Grade point average, working hours, and business type yielded null effects on psychological distress. Qualitative findings revealed psychosocial dominance: passion-driven motivation decoupled hours from distress, romantic partners functioned as primary buffer over peer networks, and "entrepreneur mindset" enabled resilience through stigma rejection. Academic performance remained high with mean grade point average of 3.62. The findings demonstrated that psychological resources overrode tangible depletion in collectivist contexts, requiring universities to reframe side hustle as experiential learning asset through credit recognition and resilience programs to cultivate entrepreneurial pipeline.
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