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In this paper, the authors aim to develop a framework that provides a holistic approach to the assessment of entrepreneurial performance outcomes (EPOs) incorporating the multitude of factors (such as entrepreneurial goals and cultural norms) that research suggests can impact the entrepreneurial process.

In developing the suggested framework, the authors draw on both the existing literature and the findings provided in the five papers selected for this special issue.

The framework the authors advance suggests that the satisfaction male and female entrepreneurs derive from their ventures is principally determined by a combination of the goals they set for their business and the outcomes/outputs achieved. There is also some evidence to suggest that, other things equal, females may experience higher levels of satisfaction with their ventures than males. Other key issues the authors have incorporated into the framework that are important to a better understanding of the entrepreneurial process include the resources the entrepreneur has available (human, financial and social); various external environmental factors (for example, government support programmes); and gender (for example, to the extent that women are more risk averse than men they may set more modest goals for their ventures).

The holistic framework the authors present for assessing (and better understanding) the entrepreneurial process should help direct/focus: future research concerned with assessing, evaluating and understanding EPOs; government policies designed to promote entrepreneurial initiatives; and those providing advice to the sector.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the four major factors known to contribute to self-efficacy in general (enactive mastery, vicarious experience, physiological arousal and verbal persuasion) can help account for observed differences in the entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) of young women and men, in particular.

The authors adopted a two-stage design, which included collecting data from 222 university students via an online survey followed by a quasi-experiment involving an opportunity evaluation task.

The findings demonstrate that the significantly lower ESE of the young women in the sample was attributable to their lower level of prior entrepreneurial experience, their lower level of positive and negative affect towards entrepreneurship and their higher likelihood of receiving failure feedback due to their actual performance on an opportunity evaluation task.

Given the importance of understanding why females continue to be under-represented in entrepreneurial activity the world over, these findings provide additional insight into why young women tend to feel less efficacious than young men about their ability to successfully undertake an entrepreneurial career.

This paper offers a comprehensive and unified theoretical framework, derived from social learning theory, for furthering the understanding of the factors that contribute to gender differences in ESE. The authors also offer a novel quasi-experimental design involving an opportunity evaluation task that others might find useful, particularly for empirical research adopting a cognitive and/or affective lens on entrepreneurship.

Small and medium enterprise (SME) research into the meaning and perception of success is now reaching beyond (the somewhat stereotypical) extrinsic success measures such as sales, number of employees, and profit. Researchers now identify the goals and expectations of the owner(s) of a business as central to their likely performance and preferred success metrics. Therefore, this paper aims to overlay perceptions of success and gender to establish whether success is conceptualised in the same way across genders.

The study analyses the responses from 375 male and female SME owners to a range of quantitative success metrics and also explores the responses provided to a number of qualitative questions surrounding the owners' perceptions of success.

Although the average female-owned business in the study is significantly smaller than the average male-owned business, they perform equally well on extrinsic measures that relate outputs (profit) to inputs (assets and hours worked). Further, the female SME owners appear to be more satisfied with both the success of their business and their lifestyle, than their male counterparts.

The findings suggest that the social feminists hold sway (men and women have different perceptions of success) and there is value in incorporating a feminine perspective when examining what business owners are looking for from their ventures. That is, measures of SME success need to adopt a person-centered perspective.

The paper aims to investigate the motivations, goals, challenges, successes and needs of older women starting new ventures.

In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten successful female entrepreneurs who had created their businesses at age 50 or over. The key areas of focus included the women's motivation for starting a business, their previous work experience, potential barriers/enabling factors (including their human, social and financial capital), and the performance of their ventures. Responses were taped, transcribed, coded, grouped and analyzed.

The primary trigger for older women to start a new venture appears to be the need to find a creative outlet (self-actualization). Further, more than half the women stated that because they now had significantly reduced family responsibilities, this was the time for them to pursue their own goals. Interestingly, a majority of the women had started new ventures in an area completely unrelated to their previous work experience. Family support, particularly from their spouse/partner, was acknowledged by virtually all the women as an important factor contributing to the success of their ventures. All the ventures were profitable and growing.

The findings suggest that well-trained mentors could make a significant difference to this older cohort of female entrepreneurs, particularly in terms of helping them to grow their businesses.

This study fills a gap in the literature by providing an understanding of the motivations and needs of older female entrepreneurs.

This exploratory study aims to examine how knowledge acquired via guanxi (networks and connections) is enabling women in China to overcome a number of significant barriers and challenges in order to start and grow successful businesses.

The authors undertook two in-depth interviews to qualitatively investigate the use of guanxi as a means of overcoming various barriers faced by Chinese women in establishing and growing their businesses.

The findings suggest that family background (and, in particular, support from parents and spouses), experience, training, education and finance are key success factors influencing the performance of women-led firms in China. The experiences of the two entrepreneurs in the study demonstrate the importance of mentors in helping to develop a woman's business acumen and providing the right contacts to help overcome potential barriers to developing a successful business.

While this study provides a useful first step to better understanding the role of guanxi networks in supporting women-led ventures in China, further research is needed to test the generalizability of the findings.

This study contributes to the limited prior research focusing on the important role of guanxi networks in assisting Chinese women to successfully launch and grow new ventures.

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of governmental support policies and socio-cultural influences on female entrepreneurship in rural Vietnam. As such, the study addresses an important literature gap concerning female entrepreneurship within rural communities in South East Asia.

Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with six female entrepreneurs and six female non-entrepreneurs in northern Vietnam to examine the influence of various environmental factors on female entrepreneurship in a rural setting.

The results suggest that government pro-entrepreneurship policies, together with private sector interventions, have had an impact on rural Vietnam. Yet females in rural and remote Vietnam are still constrained by societal prejudices, financial limitations, and limited entrepreneurship educational opportunities.

The paper's originality lies in its review of the circumstances confronting women in rural Vietnam and its findings concerning the impact of environmental factors on female entrepreneurship in this setting.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is manifested in the context of born global firms. Specifically, the authors investigate the extent to which the EO dimensions of the influential Miller/Covin & Slevin scale are demonstrated in born globals. In addition, following calls in the literature, some as-yet unrecognised dimensions of EO in born globals are examined.

The authors use a qualitative research approach by conducting semi-structured, in-depth interviews with eight born global firms from New Zealand and Australia.

The authors find that the EO dimensions of proactiveness and innovativeness are strongly prevalent in these firms. In contrast to the extant literature, the results also indicate that these born global firms generally display a relatively low level of risk-taking. The authors find strong empirical support for two additional emerging dimensions of EO: passion and perseverance.

The study provides two key contributions to the area of international entrepreneurship by investigating how EO is prevalent in the context of born globals and by proposing the new dimensions of passion and perseverance.

The purpose of this paper is to present and develop models of educational approaches to entrepreneurship that can provide complementary analytical structures to better study, enact and reflect upon the role of entrepreneurship in higher education.

A general framework for entrepreneurship education is developed by using theory as well as practical experiences from the fields of business, engineering and pedagogy. The paper is mainly conceptual where the unfolding Swedish practice is used as contextual backdrop.

The FOR/IN/THROUGH/ABOUT (FITA) taxonomy is presented and used to develop three models of how to approach entrepreneurship in higher education depending on purpose. As there exists a didactical divide between entrepreneurial education for business and entrepreneurial approach to teaching and learning, educators and researchers ought to let their specific context influence the adoption of the taxonomy as well as the presented models.

The differentiations suggested by the presented models can be used to both structure the designs and limit claims of future research. More heuristic research is called for.

The use of FITA in the designing of entrepreneurship education offers new opportunities for enhancing complementary student learning in higher education.

The study suggests that any political or scholarly initiative must acknowledge the diversity of entrepreneurship education and chose different approaches depending on what is to be achieved.

The multidisciplinary approach has made it possible to present and create models that denote a common ground for a productive discussion on how to better understand and make use of entrepreneurship in higher education.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief history of the evolution of the Diana Project and the Diana International Research Conference. The authors examine the impact of the publications, conferences and research contributions and consider key factors in the success of this collaborative research organization. They discuss the ongoing legacy, suggesting ways to extend this into the future.

This paper uses an historical narrative and a citation analysis.

The Diana Project was founded by five women professors in 1999 with the purpose of investigating women’s access to growth capital. Following a series of academic articles, and numerous presentations, the first Diana International Conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden. At this convening, 20 scholars from 13 countries shared their knowledge of women’s entrepreneurship, venture creation and growth, culminating in the first volume of the Diana Book Series. Since then, 14 international conferences have been held, resulting in 10 special issues of top academic journals and 11 books. More than 600 scholars have attended or participated in Diana conferences or publications.

Contributions from the Diana International Conferences’ special issues of journals and books have advanced theory across topics, levels, geographies and methods. Articles emerging from Diana scholars are some of the top contributions about women’s entrepreneurship and gender to the field of entrepreneurship. Future research directions are included.

This analysis demonstrates the success of a unique woman-focused collaborative research initiative and identifies key success factors, suggesting how these might be expanded in the future.

To date, more than 600 scholars have participated in the Diana International Conferences or publications. Diana is the only community dedicated to rigorous and relevant research about gender and women’s entrepreneurship. Going forward, efforts to expand work on education for women’s entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurship faculty and careers, and women entrepreneurs, gender and policy will take place to extend this legacy.

The paper is unique in that it is the first to show the substantial legacy and impact of the Diana project since its inception in 1999. Further, it demonstrates how a feminist approach to entrepreneurial principles can yield insights about this unique research initiative and collaborative organization.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role that socio‐religious context plays in the decision of whether to become and entrepreneur, and what type of new business venture to create.

Interpretivist development from qualitative data obtained by interviews of entrepreneurs in Nepal and Canada.

Conceptions of Right Livelihood play an important role in the evaluation and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities and in the day‐to‐day operations of the resultant new businesses.

Links the literatures of social economics and entrepreneurship to explore how entrepreneurs must balance economic, social, and religious objectives when launching and operating new businesses.