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1 – 10 of over 15000
Article
Publication date: 4 February 2021

Muhammad Awais Bhatti, Mohammed A Al Doghan, Suzanie Adina Mat Saat, Ariff Syah Juhari and Mohammed Alshagawi

Researchers have been trying to identify different psychological attributes which influence entrepreneurial intention (EI) and role of entrepreneurial education and training…

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Abstract

Purpose

Researchers have been trying to identify different psychological attributes which influence entrepreneurial intention (EI) and role of entrepreneurial education and training programs to develop these attributes among women. Therefore, the purpose of this study is twofold: firstly, to evaluate the difference among psychological attributes before and after an entrepreneurial education and training program. Secondly, to examine the effects of psychological attributes on EI among female students in Saudi Arabia.

Design/methodology/approach

A detailed program was designed with the combination of entrepreneurial education and training program throughout a 14-week semester. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 310 female university students studying in a Saudi university and participated in this program. SPSS, version 20, was used to analyze the data.

Findings

Entrepreneurial education and training programs based on active learning and learner-centered approaches play an important role to significantly improve the level of psychological attributes and EI of female students. Furthermore, findings of this study also suggest that psychological attributes (training retention, self-confidence, tolerance of ambiguity, innovativeness and achievement motivation) positively influence EI.

Originality/value

Previous studies only focused on relationship testing among psychological attributes and EI. This research proposes strategies to design entrepreneurial education and training program to improve psychological attributes and EI which can be considered practical version of EntreComp conceptual model.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 November 2011

Barbara J. Orser, Catherine Elliott and Joanne Leck

The purpose of this study is to examine how feminist attributes are expressed within entrepreneurial identity.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how feminist attributes are expressed within entrepreneurial identity.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed a purposive sampling technique to recruit 15 self‐identified “feminist entrepreneurs”. This included retailers, manufacturers, exploration operators, consultants, and professionals. Qualitative data were subject to content analysis.

Findings

Contrary to a feminine archetype portrayed as caring and nurturing, respondents do not describe themselves as typically portrayed in the feminist literature. Prevalent themes included participative leadership, action‐oriented, and creative thinker/or problem solver.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers should use caution in assuming feminist discourse has direct application to characterizing or stereotyping “feminist” entrepreneurs. The applicability and reliability of “off the shelf” psychometrics to describe contemporary gender roles across the myriads of processes associated with venture creation must also be questioned. Limitations: the purposive and small‐sample limits the generalizability of findings to the diverse community of female entrepreneurs. Testing of the applicability, validity, and reliability of the nomenclature used to describe self‐identity is warranted across international samples of feminist entrepreneurs.

Practical implications

The current study provides an inventory of feminist entrepreneurs' self‐described leadership attributes. The nomenclature can be used by women‐focused trainers to help clients to recognize their entrepreneurial attributes.

Social implications

The study may assist women in recognizing identity synergies and conflicts (e.g. within themselves and among family, employees, clients, etc.).

Originality/value

This is the first study that documents feminist entrepreneurs' leadership attributes. As such, the work is a step in seeking to reconcile feminist theory and entrepreneurial practice.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal, vol. 26 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 March 2024

Inge Birkbak Larsen and Helle Neergaard

This research presents and evaluates a method for assessing the entrepreneurial mindset (EM) of students in higher education.

Abstract

Purpose

This research presents and evaluates a method for assessing the entrepreneurial mindset (EM) of students in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

The research considers EM a multi-variable psychological construct, which can be broken down into several conceptual sub-categories. Using data from a master course in entrepreneurship, the authors show how these categories can be applied to analyze students’ written reflections to identify linguistic markers of EM.

Findings

The research reports three main findings: analyzing student reflections is an appropriate method to explore the state and development of students’ EM; the theoretically-derived EM categories can be nuanced and extended with insight from contextualized empirical insights; and student reflections reveal counter-EM categories that represent challenges in the educator’s endeavor to foster students’ EM.

Research limitations/implications

The commitment of resources to researching EM requires the dedication of efforts to develop methods for assessing the state and development of students’ EM. The framework can be applied to enhance the theoretical rigor and methodological transparency of studies of EM in entrepreneurship education.

Practical implications

The framework can be of value to educators who currently struggle to assess if and how their educational design fosters EM attributes.

Originality/value

This inquiry contributes to the critical research discussion about how to operationalize EM in entrepreneurship education studies. The operationalization of a psychological concept such as EM is highly important because a research focus cannot be maintained on something that cannot be studied in a meaningful way.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 May 2021

Catherine Elliott, Janet Mantler and Joie Huggins

Women are underrepresented in most university entrepreneurship education (EE) programmes and less likely than men to pursue business venturing as a career. One reason may be the…

Abstract

Purpose

Women are underrepresented in most university entrepreneurship education (EE) programmes and less likely than men to pursue business venturing as a career. One reason may be the “entrepreneurial identity gap”, whereby female students do not see themselves as successful entrepreneurs. This paper aims to explore the nature of this identity gap and its relationship to entrepreneurial intent and entrepreneurship education.

Design/methodology/approach

A set of contemporary, gender-inclusive entrepreneurial attributes was developed using entrepreneurial subject matter experts and tested with 591 university students to explore the nature of the gendered entrepreneurial identity gap.

Findings

While masculine stereotypes persist and the entrepreneurial identity gap is larger for female students, results suggest that a more gender-inclusive vocabulary of entrepreneurship is emerging among the student population and an androgynous perception of the idealized entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship education had a positive influence on entrepreneurial intent.

Research limitations/implications

Study findings advance the conversation about entrepreneurial identity, the nature of the gendered identity gap and the role of education in closing that gap. The questionnaire and set of gender-inclusive attributes should continue to be tested beyond student samples.

Practical implications

Based on this study, entrepreneurship education could benefit from more gender-inclusive instructional practices and vocabulary and a broadened definition of what it means to be entrepreneurial. More students – both men and women – will see themselves as entrepreneurs and be inspired to participate in the innovation economy.

Originality/value

This study takes a novel approach to the study of entrepreneurial identity, developing a new set of attributes and contemporary vocabulary around business venturing.

Details

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-6266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 February 2022

Victor Silva Corrêa, Maciel M. Queiroz, Marina Almeida Cruz and Helena Belintani Shigaki

This paper aims to investigate factors that induce entrepreneurial orientation (EO), i.e. what influences the manifestation of its fundamental attributes (innovativeness…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate factors that induce entrepreneurial orientation (EO), i.e. what influences the manifestation of its fundamental attributes (innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking).

Design/methodology/approach

This study focuses on religious entrepreneurship in an emerging economy, employing a single case study approach. A total of 17 shepherd-entrepreneurs and 4 parishioners were interviewed.

Findings

The results suggest that two key driving factors influence religious entrepreneurs’ EO: the search for the discovery of opportunity (a finding that strengthens current literature); and both the search for the creation of opportunity and overcoming challenges associated with the need for survival.

Practical implications

This paper allows entrepreneurs to understand better the factors and motivations that affect their entrepreneurial behavior. It is particularly relevant to entrepreneurs embedded in emerging and developing countries, in which the interchange between opportunity and need contexts is apparent. Further, this paper sheds light on significant dimensions for entrepreneurs’ education and training programs. It also suggests elements capable of bolstering public policies.

Originality/value

The contributions of this paper are fourfold: it supports an integrative view of creation and discovery theories; it reinforces the alternating character of entrepreneurial motivations; it expands the literature by arguing that creating opportunity and the need for survival also influence entrepreneurs' innovativeness, proactivity and risk-taking; and it stresses the neo-Pentecostal shepherds' entrepreneurial propensity.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 September 2023

Inge Birkbak Larsen, Per Blenker and Helle Neergaard

The aim of this paper is to examine the usefulness of the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model for systematizing and further exploring the knowledge of the role of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to examine the usefulness of the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model for systematizing and further exploring the knowledge of the role of entrepreneurship education (EE) in fostering students' entrepreneurial mindset (EM). Current research studying the EM in an educational setting often fails to conceptualize this mindset and its attributes rigorously and to include epistemological considerations regarding how the authors can know whether a person has developed an EM or not.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test the S-O-R model by combining it with a critical realist approach to develop a conceptual model for understanding the EM and its development in an educational setting.

Findings

The authors identify eight psychological constructs that represent markers of the EM. The authors further surface the multi-causal characteristic of learning in EE. The authors' model cannot be applied to detect causal relationships, but it is useful in exploring potential causal tendencies and plausible explanations of the mechanisms and circumstances of EE, which may, in concert, potentially foster the psychological attributes associated with an EM.

Originality/value

The paper addresses the often-overlooked epistemological considerations related to how the authors can know anything about psychological and theoretical constructs, such as the EM. A conscious discussion about how the authors can develop knowledge and insight about the EM and how individuals develop it is critical to justify a continued focus on the EM in EE.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 65 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2022

Juan Martin Ireta Sanchez

This multiple case study research aims to identify the characteristics of scaling up SMEs in Chile for exploring how and why some entrepreneurship in the information technology…

Abstract

Purpose

This multiple case study research aims to identify the characteristics of scaling up SMEs in Chile for exploring how and why some entrepreneurship in the information technology (IT) sector are able to scale up and develop sustainable strategies, based on three consecutive years. The average sales of the companies during the last period analysed was around US$1,323,579, with an average annual growth rate of 66.7%. Scaling up SMEs may require several attributes to achieve positive revenue and develop effective high growth rates that allow them to succeed over several years.

Design/methodology/approach

To discern the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, the methodology of multiple case study research was conducted in three parts. The first was to define and design the research process, in which the study should settle the theory analysis and then show that research propositions and questions. The second part of the research was to prepare, collect and analyse the data through crafting instruments and data collection protocols as a source of evidence to conduct the pilot and multiple case study. In this stage, interviews were scheduled, transcribed, analysed and coded to explore how individual attributes may create a scaling-up entrepreneurial process for maintaining or developing high performance in the IT sector. The last part of the research concludes and validates the research propositions for the identification for potential attributes, which were obtained during the qualitative study.

Findings

Attributes were selected when 13 or more SMEs reported the importance of this initiative for the process of scaling up their SMEs. As a result of the data analysis, the empirical findings suggest on the importance of the academic background, budgetary control, negative entrepreneurial experiences, building teams, geographical expansion and first critical experience as key attributes for scaling-up. Additionally, the data propose that constructive entrepreneurial ecosystem and reforms financing markets and programmes are two additional components that could moderate the interaction between the scaling-up process and the achievement of rapid sales results as a key outcome measure.

Research limitations/implications

The first limitation was the lack of consensus on the phenomenon of the scaling up of entrepreneurship. Information in Latin America and emerging countries is scarce, which also represents an opportunity for other researchers to deepen and validate the results reported here. Even though it was an attempt to understand the issue of environmental change, this additional limitation did not allow the evaluation of these adjustments over time that can positively or negatively drive the strategies corresponding to the evolution in each of the moderator variables.

Practical implications

Because of the characteristics of the sample in terms of size of the SMEs, industrial sector, location, culture, socio-economic environment and years of establishment of the company, the study cannot be generalised in terms of other industrial sectors or countries. The results of this research are also limited to SMEs in Chile, and to the extent that it can be applied to emerging countries IT sectors with similar sample characteristics, it must be done so with caution. Yin states that eight cases “are sufficient replications to convince the reader of a general phenomenon”.

Social implications

Policymakers have the option to identify what skills and knowledge the entrepreneur requires to be trained to scale up their established ventures. In this context, they will also benefit from the empirical contribution of knowing what the restrictions that limit this process are, such as adverse tax systems and public strategies. Additionally, it is of public interest because no national records exist on the presence of theoretical terms.

Originality/value

Even though the literature promotes the present findings, it shows that there is an absence of empirical evidence in emerging economies to better comprehend which factors may affect the development process of scaling up entrepreneurship in the IT sector. Both deliberate and emergent strategic initiatives are necessary for the scaling-up process where six critical factors are the basis of the scaling-up. This empirical contribution for entrepreneurs will support the achievement of rapid and sustained sales results for scaling up their ventures.

Article
Publication date: 5 July 2021

Charlene L. Nicholls-Nixon and Dave Valliere

Although business incubators are widely used support mechanisms for innovative entrepreneurship, the literature still lacks theoretically based explanations of how the incubation…

Abstract

Purpose

Although business incubators are widely used support mechanisms for innovative entrepreneurship, the literature still lacks theoretically based explanations of how the incubation process creates value for stakeholders. This study aims to address this gap by developing a conceptual model, and related research propositions, that explains how the entrepreneurial logic in use by an incubator influences the incubation process (selection criteria and service offering) and performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Integrating the effectuation and entrepreneurial opportunities literature, which shares common conceptualizations about how the predictability of the future affects entrepreneurial action, the authors posit two archetypes of entrepreneurial logic that are associated with different incubation processes (causal or effectual) and two archetypes of opportunity attributes (discovery- or creation-based) that affect the incubation process needed to support their development.

Findings

Juxtaposing these archetypes, the proposed cross-level conceptual model specifies four levels of fit (ideal, surplus, deficit and mismatch) between the incubation process and the opportunity attributes of individual ventures, which directly influence venture performance (high, moderate and low). In turn, an incubator's performance is largely shaped by the overall performance of ventures in its portfolio.

Originality/value

This paper responds to the call for theory-building that links the antecedents and outcomes of the incubation process across levels of analysis. In addition to developing a conceptual model and research agenda at the intersection of entrepreneurship and business incubation, the proposed model also has implications for incubator directors deciding how to allocate limited resources, and for public/private sector administrators interested in leveraging investment in business incubators.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 27 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

William Walton Kirkley

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key values individuals believe in and their interpretation in the context of entrepreneurial behaviour. The study is predicated on the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key values individuals believe in and their interpretation in the context of entrepreneurial behaviour. The study is predicated on the prior work of Krueger (2007) and specifically on the premise that “deep beliefs” underpin sense making, decision making and subsequent entrepreneurial behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilised an inductive and interpretive research design within a constructivist paradigm. In phase one, Schwartz’s (1992) 54 values inventory was used to discover a core value-set associated with entrepreneurial behaviour. The results were later used as an “aide-memoire” during the second phase of in-depth interviews with 30 self-selected entrepreneurs. Interviews focused primarily on the meaning individuals attributed to those fundamental values they associated with entrepreneurial behaviour. The resulting narrative was subjected to discourse analysis and categorised into relevant themes.

Findings

Self-determined human action is based on a specific set of values which the individual uses to make decisions about how to behave in situations that are meaningful to them. Engaging in entrepreneurship is one form of self-determined behaviour that enables the individual to express and satisfy a variety of different fundamental needs. Four specific values are believed to be critical to the motivation of entrepreneurial behaviour, namely, independence, creativity, ambition and daring. The meaning attributed to each of these values is consistent with that attributed to self-determinism, self-efficacy and the identity of participants associated with entrepreneurship.

Research limitations/implications

There are limitations to this research and the extension of the findings to a generalised population comprising individuals who may, or may not, behave entrepreneurially. This is not to say that such individuals hold values substantially different in other roles or areas of their lives outside a purely business context. The values rated by participants in this study had relevance to their view of entrepreneurial behaviour and were confined to a business perspective.The variability in meaning attributed to these values is however likely to produce a common thread focusing on control, creativity and goal-directed behaviour.

Practical implications

The study strongly suggests the presence of a specific value-set associated with entrepreneurial behaviour. The shift in emphasis to independence and being ambitious, at the expense of being creative and daring, represents one explanation for the episodic nature of entrepreneurial behaviour among individuals. The data further reveal differences in entrepreneurial behaviour within urban and rural contexts with the former being more tolerant of entrepreneurial activity because of its inherent cultural diversity

Social implications

Similarly, all participants have assimilated several different identities for the different social roles they occupy. Within those varying roles there is the possibility that both individual and group values will differ from what is reported here. The purpose of the study was to isolate as far as possible entrepreneurial behaviour and its core values independently from other types of behaviour and values. However, the likelihood does exist that values held by some individuals from other spheres of their lives could take precedence over their entrepreneurial role and thus influence their survey results.

Originality/value

The value of this study lies in exposing the underlying motivations that cause entrepreneurial behaviour. The study also discovered that shifts occur in the belief structure causing individuals to engage in managerial behaviour in preference to entrepreneurial behaviour at critical stages in the business life-cycle. The study further identifies cultural differences in individualistic vs collectivist cultures and the degrees to which entrepreneurial behaviour is accepted within urban vs rural environments.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2021

Claudia Benavides-Salazar, Cristina Iturrioz-Landart, Cristina Aragón-Amonarriz and Asunción Ibañez-Romero

This paper aims to investigate how entrepreneurial families (EFs) influence the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) by using the family social capital (FSC) approach.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how entrepreneurial families (EFs) influence the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) by using the family social capital (FSC) approach.

Design/methodology/approach

For this paper, the authors analyzed the Manizales EE as a case study. The authors used a variety of data collection procedures, including in-depth interviews with 26 entrepreneurs and mentors.

Findings

The authors established how EFs affect EE development, identifying how the FSC bridging mechanisms impact the EE’s social and cultural attributes, boosting entrepreneurial dynamics.

Originality/value

The results indicated the relevance of EFs’ embeddedness and the degree of the FSC institutionalization in promoting of entrepreneurship within the EEs.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

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