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The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of coaching to develop female entrepreneurship by overcoming potential barriers. It sought to understand how entrepreneurial self-efficacy can be applied to development relationships, through on-line coaching, examining changes in the four key elements of entrepreneurial self-efficacy enactive mastery, vicarious experiences, social persuasion and psychological arousal. The study examines the impact of coaching relationships on female entrepreneurial self-efficacy compared to a control group. The participant group was matched with coaches and undertook a structured six months’ coaching programme.

This was a longitudinal study using a mixed methods approach. Questionnaires investigating entrepreneurial self-efficacy were collected at two time points for both the coaching and control group. After the first time point, the coaching group was supported through a six months coaching development programme. At the second time point, questionnaires were again completed by both groups and qualitative data gather via interviews with the coaching group.

The findings from this study showed that coaching relationships had a positive impact on coachees’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy, compared to the control group in terms of enactive mastery, vicarious experience, social persuasion and psychological arousal. This suggests that coaching is a development intervention which can be used to enhance self-efficacy beliefs of female entrepreneurs, thereby increasing their chances of engaging in successful business creation and operation.

The group size was a problem, with four of the coaching group and ten of the control group dropping out. The coaching participants left the intervention due to personal reasons but no reason could be established for the control group participants leaving the study. The problem of ‘Type II’ was considered and in an attempt to overcome this problem, data were shown at below 10% (p < 0.10). It would also have been useful to collect more qualitative data from the control group.

An online coaching programme provided by women for women, which is tailored to the individual, can support female entrepreneurs through the difficult stages of start-up and development phases of business development. Creating more successful women owned businesses will not only provide financial benefits, but should help provide additional entrepreneurial networks for women, as well as more positive female role models. Exposure to positive role models has been found to have a direct effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy. This circular affect should in theory keep on increasing, if female entrepreneurs have access to the tailored support provided by coaching programmes such as the one used here.

Considering the current global economic climate, it is increasingly important for women to be supported in small business ownership (Denis, 2012). Countries which actively promote women entering into business ownership will ultimately share the gains in terms of wider issues, i.e. improving education and health, and economic growth (Harding, 2007). If female entrepreneurship is to be encouraged and supported, provision needs to be designed and developed based on female entrepreneurs’ needs and requirements, rather than simply conforming to traditional business support models.

This study contributes to learning and theoretical debates by providing an understanding of female entrepreneurs' needs with regard to business support and how this can be related to and supported by coaching. It also adds to the literature on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, coaching and learning by providing empirical evidence to illustrate how coaching interventions, including the use of online methods, can have a positive impact on female entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

Privatization is a popular strategy for restructuring the national economies of advanced and advancing countries. This strategy centers on promoting the forces of the free market system by transforming state‐owned enterprises into private companies and changing their ownership and management systems. These changes can alter organizational cultures and promote risk‐taking, innovation and entrepreneurship. This article examines the contributions of privatization to entrepreneurship in new ventures and established companies, outlines factors that can limit entreprenurial gains from national privatization programs, and discusses the implications of entrepreneurial changes that occur following privatization for global competitiveness.

The purpose of this article is to provide organized, synthesized information related to initiatives throughout the world based on knowledge‐based development (KBD) such as knowledge cities (KCs), knowledge regions, and knowledge countries. A first search was conducted using the Internet and specialized databases under the keywords “knowledge cities”. The information compiled led to other related keywords which branched out the search. All resulting information was then collated and integrated into a number of categories all unified under the field of knowledge‐based development. A compilation of information on the topic “knowledge cities” and other topics related to knowledge‐based development. The information is presented in eight sections: a glossary of KC‐related terms, a list of knowledge‐based development initiatives, a list of associations and organizations related to the topic, a list of urban KBD‐related value dimensions and their indicators, a list of international rankings, a list of special editions on KCs, a bibliography, and a directory of related sites on the Internet. This effort resulted in a public service available at the World Wide Web. The information included in this compilation is limited mainly to public domain information available throughout Internet in both English and Spanish, as well as in selected databases.

DID IT REALLY take 24 persons to decide that there was need to regulate the granting of vocational qualifications whose report last month proposes what must surely be the most super of super‐quangoes?

Industrial venture systems have been devised and implemented for many years, but examination of the literature dealing with the concept shows a lack of consistency of definition. The “venture” label is freely applied to management styles which differ in important respects. Often, the only common feature is that the object of discussion is an industrial subgroup concerned with innovation. In particular, there is a marked failure to distinguish between venture systems in the USA and the quasi‐venture systems which tend to operate elsewhere.

The case illustrates an entrepreneurial voyage and venture creation and through it helps in identifying the reasons and causes for that venture's failure. It also enables discussion on the importance of planning a venture, more importantly; financing, managing, growing, and ending a venture and on how to avoid the pitfalls that befall such enterprises. This case can be used in Entrepreneurship courses as well as MBA, PGP and Executive Education programmes on Entrepreneurship.

Information systems are often developed to introduce new technology or to overcome severe maintenance problems rather than to improve fundamental business practice. In today′s manufacturing environment, any attempt to develop effective information systems must benefit the organization as a whole and reflect the strategic needs of the business. The goal is the development of systems that help produce constructive change in business operations to achieve a competitive edge. For most organizations, this means defining a strategy or plan for moving from their current position to the desired goal. Emphasizes the importance of effective information systems planning, details its requirements in today′s manufacturing environment and outlines a planning methodology that helps identify and rank opportunities to develop information systems to meet business needs.

Reviews and describes the results of some psychological tests which have been used with entrepreneurs. The tests have been mainly employed either to explore the nature of the entrepreneur or to assess so‐called significant entrepreneurial characteristics. Key problems in the psychological testing of entrepreneurs relate to varying definitions of the entrepreneur, numerous entrepreneurial characteristics, uncertainty about the significance of entrepreneurial characteristics, and lack of rigour in test development. The results of well validated tests highlight many personality characteristics which could be correlated with characteristics of small firms and business owner‐managers. However, there have been specific measures of entrepreneurial characteristics developed in a search for a sensitive discriminating measure. Unfortunately, many of these tests have been poorly validated and this fails to supply useful information about the nature of entrepreneurs. Gives examples to illustrate some problems in psychological testing and discusses the importance of new approaches.

The essence of management is judgement and decision. Decision commits the individual and the organisation to a path of development and further irresistible decisions. In this regular feature Peter Smith, Group Education and Training Manager, The Avon Group, will recount crucial business decisions taken by British managers and entrepreneurs and evaluate their consequences for the individual and his organisation. Many people throw up their jobs and set out on their own account. Many fail through basing their decision on inadequate planning, and poor judgement of the situation. Few succeed so quickly as John Brown who heads the rapidly growing computer consultancy and management services group of Management Dynamics. Barely over 40, in the space of only a couple of years he dominates with his organisation a growing and vitally important area of management consultancy. No decision is a static entity. It contains both vision and consequences—John Brown's vision grows with the success of his original decision.

Industry is overwhelmed by a glut of management courses and seminars. David Saunders investigates this expensive form of training.