Gig Work as a Productivity Catalyst: Pathways from Experience and Networks to Entrepreneurship
Keywords:
Gig work productivity catalyst experimental learning entrepreneurship gig economyAbstract
The rapid rise of the gig economy is reshaping labor markets, generating both opportunities and vulnerabilities for workers while opening new trajectories toward entrepreneurship. The reasons and difficulties impacting the career choices of Indonesian students working part-time as digital gig workers are examined in this study, which also looks at how their experiences affect career choices in a changing labor market. This study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze data in order to determine how entrepreneurial intention is impacted by network development, experience learning, and gig economy involvement. The findings highlight that economic drivers such as wages and flexibility are central to workers’ entry into gig work, while structural challenges, including limited social protection, gendered vulnerabilities, and safety risks, continue to constrain equitable participation. At the same time, gig work offers experiential learning and expanded networking opportunities, which are shown to strengthen entrepreneurial intentions. By enabling workers to build skills, social capital, and adaptive strategies, gig platforms can become incubators for future entrepreneurial ventures. However, this potential is mediated by precarity, unequal access, and systemic hazards that require policy interventions and platform accountability. The findings contribute to debates on the dual role of gig work, emphasizing the need for holistic frameworks that integrate economic incentives, social protections, gender equity, and sustainable practices. Gig work’s ripple effects may serve as an important driver for entrepreneurial dynamism and productivity development in the future of work.
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