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This study aims to examine how women entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan's male-dominated sectors utilize the concept of positionality to navigate and redefine gender norms, focusing on their engagement with entrepreneurial masculinities and femininities. It explores the transformative potential of their strategic actions on gender dynamics within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Employing qualitative research through 27 in-depth interviews, this study adopts constructivist grounded theory to delve into how women entrepreneurs interact with gender norms within their entrepreneurial context. This approach highlights the dynamic interplay between gender norms and the strategies employed by women entrepreneurs to navigate these challenges.

The findings reveal that women entrepreneurs actively employ and navigate entrepreneurial masculinities and femininities as strategies to challenge traditional gender roles. Their approaches vary from conforming to, challenging and creatively redefining the gendered expectations encountered in their entrepreneurial journey. This demonstrates their agency in reshaping gender norms and contributing to the diversity of gender performances within the domain of entrepreneurship.

While focused on Kazakhstan, the study's findings suggest broader implications for understanding gender dynamics in entrepreneurship across different cultural contexts. Future research could extend this inquiry to varied sociocultural settings, employing post-structuralist and ethnographic methodologies to further explore the performance of gender roles and the negotiation of belonging in entrepreneurial contexts.

By foregrounding the concept of positionality, this study enriches the dialogue on gender dynamics within entrepreneurship, offering fresh perspectives on the agency of women entrepreneurs in male-dominated sectors. It illustrates how gender identities and performances are not fixed but are actively constructed and negotiated, contributing to the evolving landscape of entrepreneurial masculinities and femininities.

How do informal lending institutions affect entrepreneurship? This paper aims to investigates the role of formal and informal credit market institutions in the decision to become an entrepreneur over the life cycle.

The author developed a dynamic Roy model in which a decision to become an entrepreneur depends on the access to formal and informal credit markets, nonpecuniary benefits of entrepreneurship, career-specific entry costs, prior work experience, education, unobserved abilities and other labor market opportunities (salaried employment and nonemployment). Using detailed Russian panel microdata (the Russia longitudinal monitoring survey) and estimating a structural model of labor market decisions and borrowing options, the author assesses the impact of the development of informal and formal credit institutions.

The expansion of traditional (formal) credit market institutions positively impacts all workers’ categories, reduces the share of entrepreneurs who borrow from informal sources and incentivizes low-type entrepreneurs to switch to salaried employment. The development of the informal credit market reduces the percentage of high-type entrepreneurs who borrow from formal sources. In the case of default, a higher value of the social network or higher costs of losing social ties demotivate low-type entrepreneurs to borrow from informal sources. The author highlights the practical implications of estimates by evaluating policies designed to promote entrepreneurship, such as subsidies and accessibility regulations in credit market institutions.

This study contributes to the literature in several ways. Unlike other studies that focus on individual characteristics in the selection for self-employment [Humphries (2017), Hincapíe (2020), Gendron-Carrier (2021), Dillon and Stanton (2017)], the paper models labor and borrowing decisions jointly. Previous studies discuss transitions between salaried employment and self-employment, taking into account entrepreneurial earnings, wealth, education and age, but do not consider the availability of financial institutions as a driving factor for the selection into self-employment. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper shows for the first time that the transition from salaried employment to self-employment is standard and consistent with changes in access to financial institutions. Another feature of this study is incorporating both types of credit markets – formal and informal. The survey by the European Central Bank on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (2018) shows 18% of small and medium enterprise in EU pointed funds from family or friends. Therefore, the exclusion from consideration of informal credit markets may distort the understanding of the role of the accessibility of credit markets.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the detrimental consequences of participating in stokvels among women entrepreneurs within the South African township economy.

The research used the Gioia methodology, involving the implementation of a qualitative inquiry with an inductive approach. Semi-structured interviews served as the primary method for data collection. The study had a sample comprising 20 women entrepreneurs located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Narratives on the detrimental consequences of participating in stokvels among women entrepreneurs within the South African township economy included fraudsters, misunderstanding and dishonesty among stokvel partners, year-end robbery and theft, stokvels being dominated by men, operating outside of formal regulatory frameworks, exclusion and limited funding.

Sample size challenges feature as a notable limitation, including the research being conducted in only one province of South Africa. Caution should be exercised when seeking to generalize the findings in other contexts.

While there is an array of literature on the impact of stokvels on entrepreneurship, there are deficiencies in studies that have looked at the detrimental consequences of stokvels on women entrepreneurs. As a result, the goal of this research is to add to the present corpus of African entrepreneurship literature, specifically in the context of South Africa.

This study takes an “entrepreneurship as emancipation” perspective to study entrepreneurs defined as “others” on multiple categories: women entrepreneurs whose ventures are necessity-based, bootstrapped and located in economically impoverished areas (neighborhoods) in two Latin-American countries: Chile and Peru.

The study takes an interpretivist research approach and analyses inductively interviews with women entrepreneurs.

The findings reveal how everyday practices in pursuit of emancipation – while conducted within the existing patriarchal social structure – push the boundaries and contribute to changes in the social system via a variety of outcomes such as intergenerational social mobility, personal fulfilment and strengthening the communities in which the women entrepreneurs operate. Furthermore, while the authors find that in the particular Latin-American context under study, entrepreneuring activities become an emancipatory possibility for the everyday women entrepreneurs, they also highlight a “dark side” of their emancipatory projects.

The study contributes to recent critical studies in entrepreneurship by demonstrating the diversity and importance of the “mundane” activities undertaken by “necessity-based” entrepreneurs, and the significant – yet underappreciated – reach of their ventures’ impact on issues well beyond economic considerations.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions, experiences and behaviors of women entrepreneurs and industry professionals in raising finance for women-led businesses and associated problems faced by the women entrepreneurs.

This qualitative research adopts a narrative inquiry strategy. In-depth interviews are used to collect data from women entrepreneurs and women industry professionals in Pakistan. NVivo qualitative data analysis software is used to organize, analyze and find insights in the qualitative data.

This research finds that women entrepreneurs struggle to secure financing for their businesses, and most of them have not been successful in obtaining loans from banks. Women entrepreneurs have relied on various sources of funding, including microfinance banks, grants, personal finance and family members. Some of the barriers to finance attainment for women entrepreneurs include sociocultural inhibitions, lack of awareness and limited information dissemination by financial institutions. Women professionals suggest that entrepreneurs should maintain a bank account, have proper documentation and show dedication to their business to improve their chances of obtaining financing.

This research provides theoretical contributions and methodological advancements in the study of financial inclusion for women-owned businesses in Pakistan. This research raises awareness about the difficulties women entrepreneurs face when trying to obtain credit from banks and other financial institutions and provides policy recommendations to inform the government about financial inclusion policies and financing policies for women entrepreneurs. Overall, this research contributes to the literature on financial access and access to finance for women-owned businesses in developing countries.

Based on the vulnerable group theory and theory of discouraged borrower, this paper has two important theoretical and practical implications. First, the findings of this study reveal that the financial services are indifferent to women, and there is a denial of women being vulnerable in the financial system, hence requiring a major policy shift to not portray women as vulnerable, as they will rationally feel risky and prefer to opt out of the financial system. Second, the findings suggest that the issue of access to finance for women is not in the financial services but in the women's capabilities and awareness. Therefore, a policy shift is suggested from “financial services for women” to “capability and awareness of women” to avail and access the current services.

The purpose of this paper is to identify entrepreneur mentor benefits and challenges as a result of entrepreneurship mentoring in higher education (HE).

An entrepreneurship mentoring scheme was developed at a UK university to support prospective student entrepreneurs, with mentors being entrepreneurs drawn from the local business community. A mentor-outcomes framework was developed and applied to guide semi-structured interviews.

Results supported the broader applicability of our framework, with a revised framework developed to better represent the entrepreneur mentor context. Alongside psychosocial and personal developmental outcomes, mentors benefitted from entrepreneurial learning, renewed commitment to their own ventures and the development of additional skills sets. Enhanced business performance also manifested itself for some mentors. A range of challenges are presented, some generic to the entrepreneur setting and others more specific to the higher education (HE) setting.

The framework offered serves as a starting point for further researchers to explore and refine the outcomes of entrepreneur mentoring.

The findings serve to support those considering developing a mentor programme or including mentoring as part of a formal entrepreneurship education offer, specifically in a university setting but also beyond.

The vast majority of entrepreneurship mentoring studies focus on the benefits to the mentee. By focusing on benefits and challenges for the entrepreneur mentor, this study extends our knowledge of the benefit of entrepreneurship mentoring. It offers an empirically derived entrepreneur mentor outcomes framework, as well as offering insights into challenges for the entrepreneur mentor within an HE setting.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between generational persona, adaptability tendencies and entrepreneurial behavior. The paper also aims at testing the mediating role of adaptability tendencies in the relationship between generational persona and entrepreneurial behavior among millennial entrepreneurs in an African setting.

The study adopts a quantitative methodological approach with a cross-sectional, questionnaire survey and correlational design where hypotheses were statistically tested using Structural Equation Modelling based on survey data (n = 382) from millennial entrepreneurs in Kampala Uganda.

Drawing on the sample of 382 millennial entrepreneurs in Kampala, findings show that both generational persona and adaptability tendencies are positively and significantly associated with entrepreneurial behavior. Results further indicate that adaptability tendencies partially mediates the relationship between generational persona and entrepreneurial behavior among millennial entrepreneurs.

This study focused only on millennial entrepreneurs in Kampala Uganda ignoring other equally important groups of entrepreneurs like the baby boomers, generation Xers, generation Y and others. As such, the findings of this research do not entirely apply to all entrepreneurs in the country and this may have affected the generalizability of the results. Therefore, future studies can be done on the entrepreneurial behavior focusing on all entrepreneurs from all generations. Also, the study used a quantitative approach, future studies should consider a mixed methodology, which may give a more holistic understanding of entrepreneurial behavior.

In practice, millennial entrepreneurs may use the results of the study to see how they can improve their performance for their businesses to benefit. Specifically, they ought to focus on adaptability, and generational persona to exhibit those entrepreneurial behaviors which will generally lead to the improvement of their businesses.

To the authors’ knowledge, this study provides a shred of initial empirical evidence on the relationship between generational persona, adaptability tendencies and entrepreneurial behavior using evidence from a low developed African country Uganda. Mostly, this study provides initial evidence of the mediating role of adaptability tendencies in the relationship between generational persona and entrepreneurial behavior. This study incorporates the Generational Cohort Theory and the Complex Adaptive Systems Theory into an applied theoretical framework that explains entrepreneurial behavior. More still, this study answers the call for more empirical studies on entrepreneurial behavior.

This research aims to understand the primary challenges encountered by entrepreneurs operating in emerging economies, where entrepreneurship plays a vital role. The study places a particular emphasis on entrepreneurs in Brazil.

The research methodology involved the analysis of data obtained from interviews, using both content analysis and Grey Relational Analysis techniques.

The analysis revealed several prominent difficulties that entrepreneurs face in these domains. These challenges encompassed issues such as grappling with intricate taxation systems and the associated tax burden, navigating government bureaucracy, securing access to essential financing and initial investments, contending with the absence of supportive government programs and addressing the dynamic nature of market conditions. The findings on the most critical barriers reveal potential pathways for entrepreneurs, policymakers and universities to act in developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in emerging economies.

The insights garnered from this research have the potential to inform the formulation of robust public policies aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging countries. Furthermore, these findings can serve as a valuable resource for planning initiatives designed to train engineers to become successful entrepreneurs.

This study aims to explore the impact of social, financial and institutional factors on women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, emphasizing motivation’s role in addressing challenges. Women’s entrepreneurship holds economic significance, driving local economies and creating opportunities. Government efforts to support women entrepreneurs have increased, but research on this in developing economies, especially in Vietnam, is limited.

The paper investigates women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, examining social, financial and institutional influences and emphasizing motivation in overcoming challenges. Using a qualitative approach, it conducts in-depth interviews with 28 female entrepreneurs, analyzing data thematically. Methodologically, the study uses purposive sampling, triangulation and member checking to enhance credibility.

Findings reveal key motivations like financial incentives, self-achievement and social impact. These motivations empower women to overcome financial constraints, skill gaps, limited support and societal perceptions. This research guides women entrepreneurs to enhance success through learning, persistence, skill development and self-awareness.

This paper presents a novel exploration into women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, offering original insights into the interplay of social, financial and institutional factors, with a spotlight on motivational drivers. It provides unique perspectives on their motivations, challenges and support mechanisms. The study’s contribution lies in its comprehensive understanding of women’s entrepreneurship dynamics in a developing economy like Vietnam, offering valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners and academics alike. Its originality lies in its holistic approach and nuanced examination, enriching the discourse on women’s entrepreneurship in emerging

This paper aims to explore how narcissistic traits and personality influence entrepreneurial behaviour. In entrepreneurship and psychology, research has shown that narcissism and personality have “productive” and “unproductive” influences on entrepreneurial activities. Therefore, this paper explores the entrepreneur from a social constructionist perspective by using the narrative from the emerging literature. The narrative focus is on narcissism, entrepreneurial personality and the intention to start a new venture, focusing on activities in the early stages of entrepreneurship.

This study draws upon the narcissism theory and the big five personality models. Using the conceptual model, the authors identify commonalities with entrepreneurial activities such as product and service development, market competitive strategies, marketing, networking, performance management, learning from failure and fund-raising activities. The conceptual framework demonstrates a connection between narcissism, the big five personality and entrepreneurial activities.

This study proposes an innovative conceptual framework for productive entrepreneurial behaviour. Productive traits of the grandiose narcissist are extraversion and openness to experience, which may have positive influences on the entrepreneurship process. Traits such as assertiveness, overconfidence and intellect have been found to be instrumental in resource acquisition activities. Findings also suggest that the grandiose narcissist will be high in openness to experience (intellect) and extraversion (excitement and social networking). The narcissist is most likely to choose an internal source of funding to protect their fragile ego and maintain control over their entities. Those with high extraversion and openness to experience may be more open to pursuing external sources of funding, as they are more inclined to have social networks and enjoy the external process. Though the study focuses on the “dark trait productivity” of narcissism, it is important not to overlook the damaging side of the narcissistic entrepreneur – “dark trait unproductivity”. The study also discusses the unproductive traits of narcissistic entrepreneurs, such as constantly chasing goals, deflecting and blaming the environment and others for failure, embarking on risky financial decisions, a lack of empathy in team dynamics and poor stakeholder management.

The influence of narcissism on entrepreneurial activities and its impact have gained traction among academia and practitioners. Yet, this is an insufficiently understood area of study and has not been explored in depth. Previous research has focused chiefly on entrepreneurial intentions in the context of entrepreneurship, and what influences the choice to start a business. There is limited research that bridges the gap between entrepreneurial finance and psychology–narcissism personality.