The 5th International Conference on Modern Management based on Big Data (MMBD2024)

Abstract: This study focuses on age and digital exposure as factors driving individuals to be (1) employees or entrepreneurs, (2) full-time or part-time, or (3) opportunity or necessity entrepreneurs. It extends occupational choice models, relying on a utility maximization framework, to entrepreneur types incorporating age and digital exposure effects. Using 132 months of Current Population Survey data and multilevel modelling with individuals’ fixed effects and metropolitan area random effects, the study finds that (1) workers with low- and high- digital exposure are more likely to become entrepreneurs than peers with medium digital exposure, mirroring digitization’s “push” and “pull” mechanisms on entrepreneurship; (2) age strengthens digitization’s “pull” mechanism to be entrepreneurs (versus employees) and opportunity (versus necessity) entrepreneurs; (3) digital exposure has a weak marginal potential to increase workers’ odds to be part-time (versus full-time) entrepreneurs. The study also notes the importance of location and concludes with discussion and implications.

Biography: Dr. Ting Zhang is an esteemed Associate Professor at the Merrick School of Business, where she also serves as the Associate Director of the Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore. Her academic excellence was recently recognized with the prestigious University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award in Scholarship/Research in 2023 and the President’s Award for the University of Baltimore faculty members in 2024. Dr. Zhang occupies the Harry Y. Wright Chair since 2020 and has been honored with the T. Rowe Price Excellence in Teaching Award four times.
Dr. Zhang's academic contributions encompass a wide array of areas. She is a distinguished Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellow at the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), Chair of the North America Regional Science Council, President of the Northeast Regional Science Association, and an appointed member of the Maryland Governor’s Office of Equal Pay Commission.
As an accomplished author with multiple published books and numerous journal articles, Dr. Zhang’s scholarly interests are rooted in human capital, employment dynamics, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. As a Principal Investigator, Dr. Zhang has successfully secured grants over $10 million USD from renowned agencies and institutions including the US Department of Labor, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Education, Social Security Administration, Gates Foundation, Kauffman Foundation, Abell Foundation, Maryland Department of Labor, Maryland Department of Disability, and Maryland Department of Human Services.
Dr. Zhang's global impact is evident through her keynote speeches at prestigious events such as the Uddevalla Symposium in Europe, the annual meeting of the Leadership in Motion in Sweden, national medical device conference, and at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, UMBC, as well as invited talks at Cambridge University, Harvard University, Tsinghua University, and UIUC. Her insights and discussions at significant platforms like the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, the House Committee on Small Businesses, the US National Press Club, USDOL, Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation, and the Anne E. Casey Foundation have been instrumental in shaping policy discussions.
In the editorial realm, Dr. Zhang serves as an editorial board member for esteemed journals such as Small Business Economics and has acted as a guest editor for journals including Entrepreneurship & Regional Development and Review of Regional Research. Additionally, she holds an associate editorship at the Journal of Urban Management.
Dr. Zhang’s impactful research has garnered attention from mainstream media outlets such as Forbes, Time, Bloomberg Businessweek, Academic Times, Market Watch, Epoch Times, Baltimore Sun, among others, showcasing the relevance and significance of her scholarly endeavors.