Telfer Research Seminar Series - Ting Xu
Entrepreneurial Spawning from Remote Work
Deadline: April 25, 2025,
***M.Sc. Students, these seminars can count towards the six mandatory Research Seminars Series required for your program (MGT 6191/ MGT 6991 / MHS 6991) (4 seminars for MSc Project-based students).***
Ting Xu, PhD
Using a novel firm-level measure of remote work created from big data on Internet activity, we show that firms with higher levels of remote work during the pandemic are more likely to see their employees subsequently becoming entrepreneurs. This holds both unconditionally and relative to other types of job turnovers. We establish causality using instrumental variables and a panel event study. The marginal created businesses are of higher quality than the average new firm. The effect is not driven by employee selection, preference change, or forced turnover. Rather, remote work increases spawning by providing the time and downside protection needed for entrepreneurial experimentation.
About the Speaker
Ting Xu is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management. He was
