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This book contributes to the ongoing discussion around so-called precarious or venture work, as the proportion of those employed by start-ups and thinly-capitalized firms continues to grow. Filling a gap in literature, the author explores the relationship between venture co-workers and examines how they cope with economic uncertainty, moving away from the previous focus on entrepreneurs and investors. Presenting empirical data from several life science start-ups in Sweden, this book illustrates the impact of institutional and regulatory changes in the finance industry, and demonstrates how these effects can ultimately reshape the meaning of employment.
This volume is the outcome of a long-standing professional engagement
I have maintained since the late 1990s, to study life science companies
and their activities and relations. More recently, I have published at least
two relevant books for this domain of research, Financing Life Science
Innovation (2015, Palgrave Macmillan) and the more theoretically ori
ented volume Precarious Professional Work (2017, Palgrave Macmillan).
This volume more explicitly addresses the question of why and on what
basis rational individuals embark on careers in small-scale life science
start-ups. This question is motivated by the empirically substantiated fact
that many life science ventures are bound to default, or eventually become
moribund as they end up in a state wherein they are starved of venture
capital. Furthermore, also in the early stages, when finance capital is less
pronounced than in the development phases, wherein for example, clini
cal trials and regulatory affair concerns put the venture under pressure to
attract larger stocks of venture capital, this line of work is not fully com-
pensated for the increased market risks the employee is exposed to in
comparison to a position with a regular employer (the issue of what in
fact a “regular employer” would mean these days can be left aside for the
moment). Apparently, what is referred to as venture work in this volume,
is quite simply defined as employment in venture-backed companies
(and by default, in many cases, thinly capitalized firms) is primarily justi
fied on grounds other than sheer calculated economic benefits. |
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