Search results

The importance of sustainable development has become increasingly significant in today’s fast-paced world. The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) aim to solve a range of environmental, economic and social challenges, which requires global collaboration among governments and private organisations. In light of this, social entrepreneurship has garnered significant attention as it combines the social purpose of non-profits with the market-driven approach of for-profits to address SDG goals. Yet the cognitive processes underpinning the career decisions of social entrepreneurs remain underexplored. This study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure social entrepreneurial career decisions based on the appraisal of perceived challenges.

The study followed the steps of tool development and was carried out in three phases: item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

The final 20-item scale focuses on the appraisal components in pre-entry social entrepreneurial career decision-making and has four factors, which are relevance, coping potential, knowledge and resources and normative significance.

The study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial cognition, specifically focusing on social entrepreneurship. The scale could guide model testing and quantitative research in social entrepreneurial cognition. The four-dimensional structure identified in the study may also have implications for researchers interested in the antecedents and effects of social entrepreneurial decision-making.

Accurate measurement of cognitive appraisal is necessary to understand the perceived challenges and thought processes of potential social entrepreneurs. The scale could be used to examine the cognitive appraisal patterns among students. Social entrepreneurship educators and policymakers can use the scale to design and assess educational programs.

Distinct from existing studies, this scale offers a multidimensional approach that captures the stages of career decision-making, providing a robust tool to enhance our understanding of the decision-making dynamics in social entrepreneurship.

Prior research has extensively explored the dynamics of knowledge creation and transfer within entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). However, the research on knowledge integration within EEs, particularly by entrepreneurs, remains scant. Garnering and effectively using knowledge in such a dynamic and complex environment can provide entrepreneurs with a valuable asset for gaining a competitive advantage. To address this gap, this study aims to explore how entrepreneurs garner and capitalise on knowledge within the EE environment by using a transactive memory system lens.

This study is based on 26 semi-structured interviews with different actors and members of the same ecosystem – the northern Finnish health tech ecosystem. The data were analysed using the Gioia methodology.

This study results found that transactive memory processes (i.e. knowledge specialisation, credibility and coordination) and structures (i.e. differentiated-, shared- and meta-knowledge) influence knowledge organising in EEs.

This study provides a conceptual interplay between the EE and the transactive memory system’s processes and structures.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the insights of founding entrepreneurs to understand what they consider as motivating factors in their decision to act upon entrepreneurial intentions. Using this information, the entrepreneurial trigger event influence was conceptualized, and a scale developed for use in subsequent testable models.

Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to construct an instrument that measures the presence and influence of entrepreneurial behavior triggers. The concept of triggering events was explored with 14 founding entrepreneurs. Themes emerged from this enquiry process which informed the development of four primary entrepreneurial triggering events. Over 600 entrepreneurs participated in the study. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify dimensions of entrepreneurial triggers and was tested using confirmatory factor analysis.

Entrepreneurs perceive that personal fulfillment and job dissatisfaction serve as two significant trigger events which will lead individuals to engage in entrepreneurial behaviors. This research supports theorizing that suggests entrepreneurial trigger events have influence in motivating individuals to act upon entrepreneurial intentions and some trigger events may have more influence toward behavior than others.

This research is subject to multiple limitations. Trigger events were limited to those identified in literature and the interviews. Most entrepreneurs participating in this study were from a limited geographic region. The entrepreneurs in this study reported their triggering event based on their memory which could have been affected by inaccurate recall or memory bias. No attempt has been made to model the comparative effects of the different variables on entrepreneurial outcomes. Finally, the entrepreneurial trigger event instrument did not measure the participant's demographics or psychographics which could have played a role in the influence of reported trigger event.

This study extends previous research that trigger events serve as catalysts for entrepreneurial behavior. Findings support the premise that different types of triggers have different levels of influence as antecedents of entrepreneurial behavior. Specifically, positive, negative, internal and external entrepreneurial triggering events were explicated. The Entrepreneurial Trigger Event Scale created to facilitate this study enables researchers to explore the effects of types and perceived influences of precipitating trigger events on the intentions of the individual that result in entrepreneurial behavior. The optimized instrument further expanded Shapero's (1975) proposed theory of the origins of entrepreneurial behavior.

The development of a scale provides researchers with the opportunity to include the influence of entrepreneurial trigger events, as perceived by entrepreneurs, in future testable models. Entrepreneurial development organizations can use the knowledge to assist in understanding when potential entrepreneurs may act upon entrepreneurial intentions. Information gained can have significant implications for understanding the initiation of entrepreneurial behavior, entity establishment and business growth.

This research responds to a call for investigation into the influence of entrepreneurial trigger events on a person's decision to act upon entrepreneurial intentions. It is an early attempt to conceptualize a relevant construct of entrepreneurial trigger event influence and to develop a scale for use in empirical testing. It is distinguished by using planned behaviors, push and pull, motivation and drive reduction theories. These theories are applied to the perceptions of successful entrepreneurs to develop a construct and validate it.

The corona virus outbreak has affected the entrepreneurial ecosystem adversely. This in particular has impacted on females. This study aims to identify the factors affecting the entrepreneurial intention (EI) of females under post-COVID adverse conditions.

A total of 340 articles were screened applying the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses method. The EI of individuals undertaking different professional courses from three top National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) government institutes were then analyzed. In the expert analysis, the nominal group technique (NGT) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were used to identify and rank the crucial factors. Subsequently, in the exploratory analysis, a 19-item questionnaire was framed. The data was analyzed using SmartPLS 3.

Resilience, entrepreneurial education, self-concept and self-efficacy, social influence and opportunity perception were identified as critical indicators. Resilience was identified as the most significant factor. The partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed that all the factors except social influence had significant effect on the EI of females.

This study focuses primarily on factors affecting females in India. As ecosystems and support vary by region and country, the authors suggest that this study be replicated in different regions/countries in the future.

The potential entrepreneurs can use this study's reference to identify the abilities they need. The government and academic institutions can have skill/training programs to enhance the effect of important factors identified in the study.

While there is growing research of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial marketing post-pandemic, there are a lack of Indian studies and female entrepreneurship studies.

Previous studies may have overstated the benefits of entrepreneurial resilience while neglecting its potential adverse effects, especially in the context of team entrepreneurship. This study focuses on the structural characteristics of resilience, entrepreneurial team resilience diversity, to delve into the potential dark side effects of entrepreneurial resilience. Drawn upon the similarity-attraction theory, this study investigates the detrimental impact of entrepreneurial team resilience diversity on entrepreneurial performance from the team-member exchange (TMX) perspective, which describes the reciprocal relationships within a team and the moderating effect of environmental hostility.

The study collected data by conducting a two-wave survey. With the assistance of officials from entrepreneurship service agencies, entrepreneurship parks and entrepreneurship training institutions in southeast China, this study collected survey data from 361 participants of 91 entrepreneurial teams. The current research conducted empirical tests with SPSS and PROCESS macro to test the hypotheses.

Empirical results from a two-wave survey of 91 entrepreneurial teams in China reveal the detrimental effects of entrepreneurial resilience. In the context of team entrepreneurship, the diversity of a team’s entrepreneurial resilience negatively impacts entrepreneurial performance by impairing the quality of TMX. Moreover, the indirect effect of TMX is strengthened in more hostile environments.

Existing studies have mainly focused on the positive side of resilience. However, based on the similarity-attraction theory, this study explores the potential adverse effects of the structural characteristics of entrepreneurial team resilience from the perspective of team-member exchange (TMX). This study enriches the literature on resilience by demonstrating how resilience functions in new venture teams and challenges the assumption that resilience is universally beneficial to entrepreneurs. Introducing team members with high resilience in a hostile environment may not always benefit the team, deepening the understanding of entrepreneurial resilience when confronting adversities.

Recognizing novel entrepreneurial opportunities arising from a crisis is of paramount importance for firms. Hence, understanding the pivotal factors that facilitate firms in this endeavor holds significant value. This study delves into such factors within a representative empirical context impacted by a crisis, drawing insights from existing literature on opportunity recognition during such tumultuous periods.

The authors conducted a qualitative inspection of 14 Italian firms during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The authors collected a rich body of multi-source qualitative data, including 34 interviews (with senior managers and entrepreneurs) and secondary data (press releases, videos, web interviews, newspapers, reports and academic articles) in two phases (March–August 2020 and September–December 2020).

The results suggest the existence of a process model of opportunity recognition during crises based on five entrepreneurial influencing factors (entrepreneurial knowledge, entrepreneurial alertness, entrepreneurial proclivity, entrepreneurial personality and entrepreneurial purpose).

Various scholars have highlighted that, in times of crises, it is not easy and indeed very challenging for entrepreneurs to identify novel entrepreneurial opportunities. However, recent research has shown that crises can also positively impact entrepreneurs and their capacity to identify new entrepreneurial opportunities. Given these findings, not much research has analyzed the process by which entrepreneurs identify novel entrepreneurial opportunities during crises. This study shows that some entrepreneurial influencing factors are very important to identify new entrepreneurial opportunities during crises.

This paper aims to examine the main factors by which the high-performance work system (HPWS) influences the creativity of faculty members in Jordanian institutions. This work seeks to examine the factors that may influence the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and faculty members’ creativity. The current study also seeks to fill the gaps and differences in the literature that addressed the subject of the study.

To achieve the main goal, the sample included 230 faculty members working in Jordanian universities in Jordan. After examination and scrutiny, it was found that 11 questionnaires were not suitable for analysis to take appropriate samples, 219 questionnaires were included in the survey.

The results of the paper showed that HPWS improves the entrepreneurial orientation, which in turn improves the creativity of the faculty member. Moreover, the results indicate that entrepreneurship education positively modifies the relationship between the entrepreneurial orientation and creativity of a faculty member.

The results of this study contribute to universities that seek to improve the creativity of their faculty members needing to apply the pioneering approach in the course of the educational process and create innovative creative ideas, and this in turn needs to be implemented HPWS. In addition, universities need to encourage and promote entrepreneurial education, moving away from traditional education. Lastly, this study is considered as one of the recent studies that dealt with a sample of faculty members and their creativity and linked it with HPWS. By developing new educational technologies and methods, the efficiency of knowledge transfer can be improved and access to high-quality education can be enhanced for all.

This study aims to ascertain the personal characteristics of a group of successful academic entrepreneurs in a South African university enterprise and the prevalent barriers and enablers to their entrepreneurial endeavour.

The authors used a Delphi process to identify and rank the characteristics, enablers, barriers and behaviours of entrepreneurial academics, with a Nominal Group Technique applied to establish challenges they encounter managing their enterprise and to propose solutions.

Perseverance, resilience and innovation are critical personal characteristics, while collaborative networks, efficient research infrastructure and established research competence are essential for success. The university’s support for entrepreneurship is a significant enabler, with unnecessary bureaucracy and poor access to project and general enterprise funding an impediment. Successful academic entrepreneurs have strong leadership, and effective management and communication skills.

The main limitation is the small study participant group drawn from a single university enterprise, which complicates generalisability. The study supported the use of Krueger’s (2009) entrepreneurial intentions model for low- and middle-income country (LMIC) academic entrepreneur investigation but proposed the inclusion of mitigators to entrepreneurial activation to recognise contextual deficiencies and challenges.

Skills-deficient LMIC universities should extensively and directly support their entrepreneurial academics to overcome their contextual deficiencies and challenging environment.

This study contributes to addressing the paucity of academic entrepreneur research in LMIC contexts by identifying LMIC-specific factors that inhibit the entrepreneur’s movement from entrepreneurial intention to entrepreneurial action.

This paper integrates the action phase theory (APT) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to analyse the dynamic mechanisms involved in the configuration of goals and implementation intentions throughout the entrepreneurship process.

The empirical analysis compares individuals in different phases of this process (not yet decided, potential and nascent entrepreneurs). A large sample of adults from Spain is analysed. Structural equation models and multi-group analysis (MGA) serve to test the hypotheses.

The results confirm that perceived behavioural control (PBC) is the most influential antecedent of entrepreneurial goal intention (EGI) in pre-actional phases (undecided and potential entrepreneurs), whilst attitude towards entrepreneurship (ATE) takes this role during nascency. Subjective norms (SNs) are more important in Phase 1 (establishing the goal) and in Phase 3 (performing nascent behaviour).

This study contributes to both the TPB and the APT. It provides the most relevant insight into the mental process that leads to starting up and helps explain certain previous conflicting results found in the literature. Additionally, it has important implications not only for theory building but also for support bodies and for entrepreneurship educators.

To increase the understanding of how entrepreneurship education impacts entrepreneurial careers, the purpose of the paper is to investigate the role that a venture creation program (VCP) might have in mitigating or surpassing a lack of other antecedents of entrepreneurial careers. In particular, the authors focus on entrepreneurial pedigree and prior entrepreneurial experience.

Data from graduates of VCPs at three universities in Northern Europe were collected through an online survey. Questions addressed graduate background prior to education, yearly occupational employment subsequent to graduation and graduates' own perceptions of entrepreneurial activity in employment positions. The survey was sent to 1,326 graduates and received 692 responses (52.2% response rate).

The type of VCP, either independent (Ind-VCP) or corporate venture creation (Corp-VCP), influenced the mitigation of prior entrepreneurial experience. Prior entrepreneurial experience, together with Ind-VCP, made a career as self-employed more likely. However, this was not the case for Corp-VCP in subsequently choosing intrapreneurial careers. Entrepreneurial pedigree had no significant effect on career choice other than for hybrid careers.

Entrepreneurial experience gained from VCPs seems to influence graduates toward future entrepreneurial careers. Evidence supports the conclusion that many VCP graduates who lack prior entrepreneurial experience or entrepreneurial pedigree can develop sufficient entrepreneurial competencies through the program.

This study offers novel evidence that entrepreneurship education can compensate for a lack of prior entrepreneurial experience and exposure for students preparing for entrepreneurial careers.