The role of freelancers in entrepreneurship and small business

Freelance solo self-employed have played a transformative role in economies over the last two decades. They have grown in number in the labour market in most developed economies and enabled firms to use new business and workforce models. In this special issue, we present a selection of research which explains and provides new insights into this phenomenon. The research unearths new findings showing that freelance solo self-employed are increasingly highly educated and play a key role in driving innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation. How this interplays across dependent and independent self-employed in terms of well-being, earnings and enablement of women’s work-life objectives are then explored. The problems in labour market segments involving the informal economy as well as the problem of ‘false self-employment’ of masked employees are also explored. In sum, the papers highlight both the importance and diversity amongst the freelance workforce and the purposes for which they are engaged by firms.