Recent developments in technology and shifting societal patterns threaten to upend norms surrounding the world of work. The present paper introduces the idea of an emerging entrepreneurial economy and describes how it is reshaping our understanding of work, provides a framework for understanding whether and why individuals with dark personality traits may be attracted to careers in this new occupational frontier. Specifically, we will discuss how dark traits shape interest in remote work, the gig economy, social media and podcasting careers, and occupations related to cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies, and crowdfunding. We also note how technologies enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) might contribute to uncertainty concerning how individuals with dark traits may function in these vocational contexts. We finish by making arguments for how future research can be improved in order to attain a more comprehensive understanding of dark personality in the entrepreneurial economy.
Recent technological advances have led to the emergence of autonomous consumer-facing retail technologies that perform mental and physical tasks on behalf of the consumer, such as artificial intelligence-enabled checkouts. However, despite substantial convenience benefits, consumers are reluctant to use these technologies, and empirical insights are lacking into the inhibitors of consumer adoption of autonomous retail technologies. Therefore, this research integrated consumer perceived risk theory and the motivation–opportunity–ability framework to develop and empirically test a model of consumer perceived risk of using autonomous retail technology (PR-ART). The findings of a field study revealed that the multidimensional and unique nature of consumer PR-ART is crucial in predicting consumer adoption. Furthermore, this research identified consumer-related (i.e., innovativeness, self-efficacy) and context-related (i.e., retailer trustworthiness) mitigators of PR-ART. These findings contribute to the research on consumer-facing technology and have important implications for retailers.