The option value in Jack-of-all-trades investment

Research Summary The Jack-of-all-trades model assumes there is demand in the economy not only for individuals who are generalists but also for those who are specialists, and that organizations need multiple skills to succeed. Thus, generalists have the option of acting as self-employed entrepreneurs while specialists must work for corporations. This model generates empirically testable hypotheses but also holds glaring deficiencies. One deficiency is the exclusion of risk, a deficiency questionable in any model explaining entrepreneurial activity. Adding risk to the model is straightforward, but necessitates the analysis of the option value for individual investments in generalist skills. We discuss how those novel additions change the predictions and applications of the model, and what that implies for the relevant literatures in entrepreneurial human capital, activity and theory assessment. Managerial Summary In this conceptual paper, we correct the original Jack-of-all-trades model of entrepreneurial activity for risk (and for uncertainties that can be captured as risk). Decision-makers in human skills investments can exploit that risk using an options approach. Our correction affects the original model's predictions in several ways, including increasing expected entrepreneurial activity in contexts of high volatility concerning the economic value of such activity. A new set of predictions based on contextual volatility is identified. The new results have implications for generalist skills investments, for when to hire specialists, and for the effects of weakest link employees. For potential entrepreneurs, we recommend understanding the value of options thinking in personal skills investments, as well as the effects on scale that tightly held generalist skills imply.

Automated summary

In this conceptual paper, the Jack-of-all-trades model of entrepreneurial activity is corrected to include risk, which affects the predictions in various ways, leading to increased entrepreneurial activity in high volatility economic contexts. A new set of predictions based on contextual volatility is identified, with implications for generalist skills investments, hiring specialists, and the effects of weakest link employees. For potential entrepreneurs, understanding the value of options thinking in personal skills investments and the implications of tightly held generalist skills on scale is recommended.