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The phenomenon of imitation has attracted immense attention in studies of big companies, but it has been largely neglected in the immigrant entrepreneurship research thus far. The purpose of this paper is to address that gap by proposing a theoretical framework for studying immigrant entrepreneurship imitation decisions.

The framework is based on a review of relevant literature covering the issue of imitation within three perspectives: institutional, heuristics of judgement and organisational learning. We validate the framework by juxtaposing it with existing studies on immigrant entrepreneurship, where imitation practices were directly and indirectly referred to. The framework is also initially validated with data from three qualitative studies performed by the authors.

The literature-derived framework consists of three major building blocks (i.e. causes, target and content of imitation) while immigrant-entrepreneurship specificity (ethnic groups and clusters, ethnic identity, generation, and resources) constitutes the context of the framework. The authors formulate 12 propositions on which the framework is based. The specific character of immigrant entrepreneurs' imitation decision is discussed, and differences in that regard between immigrant entrepreneurs and established local businesses are highlighted.

A more diversified sample and quantitative studies are needed to further verify the proposed framework and propositions.

The framework is intended to expedite future research on immigrant entrepreneurs' imitative decisions and facilitate better-adjusted public policy to support immigrant entrepreneurs.

This paper drives attention to a widely used, yet understudied phenomenon of imitation, provides an analytical framework for the study of imitation in immigrant entrepreneurship, provides a preliminary validation of the framework and contributes to a better understanding of immigrant behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to show how the identities of the employees of Polish public administration are shaped in the process of public system reforms.

The findings are based on interviews with 40 employees of the Polish public administration. The authors have used open interviews as well as projective methods to discover and explore beliefs and attitudes of bureaucrats towards their work and the system of public administration. The selected sample was diversified both spatially and systematically to reflect the diversity of organisations that constitute the Polish public administration system. Grounded theory was used for data coding and interpretation.

The study indicates that organisational change initiatives designed to enhance the quality and efficiency of public administration may have negative impacts on the identities of public servants and may lead to their increased incapacity. Rather than sparking entrepreneurial behaviours and transforming bureaucrats into managers, introduction of the rhetoric of New Public Management and New Public Governance in the Polish public administration has contributed to strengthening of classical dysfunctions of bureaucracy.

The results imply that the understanding of organisational changes in the Eastern European public sector – which are usually studied through the lenses of regulation and economy – would benefit from more sociologically and historically oriented studies. The limitations of our results are associated with the adopted qualitative subjective methodology.

Foreign-born templates of reforms may appear to be logical and coherent but they rest on certain assumptions about identities and value structures that are not necessarily congruent with the identities at the adoption site. For that reason, successful reform projects need to consider and problematise the content and shape of culturally conditioned identities.

Understanding of public sector reforms’ implication should lead to the improvement of change programmes as well as to the evolution of public administration towards a form more desired by the society. It is especially important as Polish society considers public administration as one of factors influencing (in a negative way) the quality of life.

The paper provides insight into public administration reforms in Poland and their impact on public servants’ identities.

The paper aims to explore the relationship between the congruence of mental models held by the members of entrepreneurial teams operating in an emerging economy (Poland) and entrepreneurial outcomes (performance and satisfaction).

The data obtained from 18 nascent and 20 established entrepreneurial teams was analysed to answer hypotheses. The research was quantitative and was conducted using an online questionnaire. Data was collected from each of the teams at two stages. Members of entrepreneurial teams were surveyed independently, which allowed measuring the congruence of their mental models pertaining to running a venture.

Findings reveal that team members’ mental model congruence is significantly related to financial performance and members’ satisfaction in the case of established entrepreneurial teams. However, in the case of nascent teams, there is no relationship between analysed variables.

Implications for theory and practice are offered with a special emphasis on entrepreneurship education. The concept of team mental model congruence is proposed to be included in training of nascent entrepreneurial teams, experienced companies and students.

The concept of team mental models investigated by the authors has been underexplored in entrepreneurship research. Results indicate that at least in some entrepreneurial teams, team mental models’ congruence is related to obtained outcomes. The paper proposes that principles of effectuation and causation can serve as the lens through which the mental model pertaining to running a venture can be analysed. It allows expanding studies on the congruence of team mental models in entrepreneurial teams beyond the strategic consensus.