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Moonlighting as a Mechanism for Employee Value Creation: A Conceptual Review and Research Agenda
Subject area: Management and Commerce · Area of research: Organizational Behavior
DOI: 10.64388/ire1724864
Abstract
Moonlighting, defined as the practice of holding one or more paid engagements in addition to a primary job, has traditionally been framed by organizations as a governance risk associated with divided attention, conflicts of interest, and diminished loyalty. This paper reframes moonlighting through a value-creation lens, arguing that when it is transparently managed, secondary employment can function as a mechanism through which employees build human, social, psychological, and financial capital that ultimately benefits both the individual and, under identifiable conditions, the primary organization. Drawing on human capital theory, boundaryless career theory, self-determination theory, and the resource-based view of the firm, the paper develops a conceptual framework that links the antecedents of moonlighting to individual- and organizational-level value outcomes, moderated by disclosure norms, job design, and human resource practices. The paper concludes with managerial implications for designing moonlighting policies that convert a traditionally risk-managed behaviour into a source of competitive advantage, and it proposes a research agenda for empirically testing the framework across sectors and labour markets.
Keywords
moonlighting; dual employment; employee value creation; human capital theory; career capital; human resource management; knowledge spillover
References
[1] Becker GS (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. University of Chicago Press.
[2] Cohen LE (2020). Bringing moonlighting into the study of workers, jobs, and careers. Research paper presented at academic conference proceedings on careers and work.
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[4] Hall DT (1996). Protean careers of the 21st century. Academy of Management Executive, 10(4), 8–16.
[5] Rautela, S., et al. (2024). Employee moonlighting: A review and research agenda.
[6] Sanjo O, Ayo-Balogun A, Odunayo T (2024). Moonlighting and employees' performance: A study of academic staff of federal polytechnics in South-West Nigeria. Academy of Strategic Management Journal.
[7] Tran Huy P (2025). Employee moonlighting: The role of human resource management practices, perceived employability and self-direction value. Employee Relations.
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How to cite this paper
@article{1724864,
author = {Venugopala M, Dr. Ratna Sinha},
title = {Moonlighting as a Mechanism for Employee Value Creation: A Conceptual Review and Research Agenda},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {10},
number = {5},
pages = {1460-1466},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1724864.pdf},
abstract = {Moonlighting, defined as the practice of holding one or more paid engagements in addition to a primary job, has traditionally been framed by organizations as a governance risk associated with divided attention, conflicts of interest, and diminished loyalty. This paper reframes moonlighting through a value-creation lens, arguing that when it is transparently managed, secondary employment can function as a mechanism through which employees build human, social, psychological, and financial capital that ultimately benefits both the individual and, under identifiable conditions, the primary organization. Drawing on human capital theory, boundaryless career theory, self-determination theory, and the resource-based view of the firm, the paper develops a conceptual framework that links the antecedents of moonlighting to individual- and organizational-level value outcomes, moderated by disclosure norms, job design, and human resource practices. The paper concludes with managerial implications for designing moonlighting policies that convert a traditionally risk-managed behaviour into a source of competitive advantage, and it proposes a research agenda for empirically testing the framework across sectors and labour markets.},
keywords = {moonlighting; dual employment; employee value creation; human capital theory; career capital; human resource management; knowledge spillover},
month = {November},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/ire1724864}
}