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The study clarifies the relationship between students’ perceptions of university support and heterogeneous entrepreneurial intentions in the Chinese context. It proposes a new construct with the classification of growth- and independence-oriented intentions and examines the moderating role of the Chinese sense of face. This study aims to enrich entrepreneurship education research by incorporating cultural factors.

The study uses a questionnaire survey to examine the research hypotheses. Further, the authors collected data from 374 students from Mainland China and applied a regression analysis.

The study clarifies the positive relationship between perceived university support and growth-oriented/independence-oriented entrepreneurial intentions. Further, it proposes the differences in the moderating role of the Chinese sense of face in the relationships between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and growth- and independence-oriented intentions.

Because of the chosen method, the study results may lack generalizability. Hence, future studies are encouraged to test the proposed hypotheses.

The study results have important implications for entrepreneurship education development.

The study is conducted against the background of the “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” policy in China and combines country-specific characteristics to enrich entrepreneurial education and social entrepreneurship.

This study fulfills the intention to examine the influence of cultural factors on entrepreneurship education and identify the heterogeneous entrepreneurial intentions in a single construct.

Prior studies on entrepreneurial intention have shown that different orientations exist regarding entrepreneurial engagement: one looking at the growth of a venture (growth-oriented) and the other looking at the maintenance of an entrepreneurial autonomy (independence-oriented). Filling a gap in the literature concerning the reasons why individuals develop different orientations of entrepreneurial intention, this study revolves around achievement goal motivation (mastery, performance and avoidance approaches) and self-regulatory modes (locomotion and assessment), since both are thought to be at the origin and maintenance of an action willingness.

In a sample of 209 undergraduates, we administered a structured questionnaire at the beginning of an elective entrepreneurship education programme. Through a set of hierarchical regressions we examined the specific role of achievement goal motivation and regulatory modes in relation to the two orientations of intention.

Our findings show that, on the one hand, growth-oriented intention is related to a performance approach and both locomotion and assessment regulatory modes. On the other hand, independence-oriented intention is related to an avoidance approach.

These results illuminate the theoretical connections between entrepreneurial intention and motivation and provide implications for entrepreneurship education and the relationship between intention and consequent behaviour.

This study is among the first to provide an empirical exploration of the motivational and regulatory drivers that lie beneath a growth-oriented and an independent-oriented intention, offering a theoretical explanation about the development of different intentions towards venture creation. Our findings illuminate on the urgency to consider entrepreneurial intention as a multi-dimensional construct if we are to understand the intention-behaviour nexus.

Machiavellian, narcissistic, and psychopathic traits are often viewed as negative or undesirable personality traits. However, recent research demonstrates that individuals with these traits possess qualities that may be personally beneficial within the business contexts. In this chapter, we conceptualize a balanced perspective of these traits throughout the entrepreneurial process (opportunity recognition, opportunity evaluation, and opportunity exploitation) and discuss human resources management strategies that can be employed to enhance the benefits, or minimize the challenges, associated with Machiavellian, narcissistic, and psychopathic traits. Specifically, we propose that Machiavellian qualities are most beneficial in the evaluation stage of entrepreneurship, and Machiavellian, narcissistic, and psychopathic qualities are beneficial in the exploitation stage of entrepreneurship.

The paper aims to examine the management practices of owner‐managers of small businesses seeking to grow their firms. It seeks to better understand their strategic thinking in relation to internal and external environmental issues.

A sample of 204 owner‐managers who had indicated their desire for growth was surveyed using a questionnaire developed from earlier research that examined their strategic and operational behaviour. Follow‐up discussions over their results were conducted face‐to‐face. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and discriminant analysis.

Firms that possessed formal written business plans were found to be more likely to have stronger support network partnerships, formal quality assurance and the ability to lead change among employees. A relationship was found between an above average level of annual sales turnover and the personal vision of the owner‐managers.

Although the sample was atypical, in that it was comprised of owner‐managers who had a growth orientation, the study suggests that owner‐managers who have a strong growth orientation are likely to have an enhanced sense of their strategic vision, and the ability to communicate this vision to their employees.

The findings in this paper suggest that owner‐managers from small firms should seek to benchmark their business against industry best practice, but that such benchmarking must be supported by a clear strategic vision and the capacity to communicate this vision to others, particularly employees.

The literature relating to strategic thinking and behaviour within small firms remains underdeveloped, and this paper provides valuable insights into this area.

Micro-businesses account for a large majority of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, they remain comparatively under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of the extant literature on growth challenges and to distinguish growth constraints facing micro-businesses as a specific subset of SMEs from those facing larger SMEs.

The study consists of a systematic review of 59 peer-reviewed articles on SME growth.

Micro-businesses distinguish themselves from larger SMEs by being owner-manager entrepreneur (OME) centric and are constrained by a tendency to be growth-averse, underdeveloped capabilities in key business areas, underdeveloped OME capabilities, and often inadequate business support provision.

The use of keywords, search strings, and specific databases may have limited the number of papers identified as relevant by the review. However, the findings are valuable for understanding micro-businesses as a subset of SMEs, providing directions for future research and generating implications for policy to support the scaling up of micro-businesses.

The review provides a renewed foundation for academic analysis of micro-business growth, highlighting how micro-businesses are distinct from larger SMEs. At present, no literature review on this topic has previously been published and the study develops a number of theoretical and policy implications.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the factors affecting the growth intentions of women entrepreneurs in the Indian context.

The author adopted a two-stage design, which included qualitative case studies followed by an online survey of 127 women entrepreneurs.

The findings reinforce the significance of entrepreneurs’ perception of her abilities. They also suggest the changing role of family support in continued entrepreneurship with direct family involvement positively moderating the relationship between attitude to growth and growth intentions.

Given the importance of entrepreneurial growth, the findings provide additional insight into growth intentions of women entrepreneurs and also the dynamic role of family in the life cycle of a venture.

This paper offers insights into entrepreneurial growth of women in the context of India. It integrates the theory of planned behaviour and social identity theory to provide a comprehensive framework for furthering the understanding of the factors that affect the growth decisions of women entrepreneurs.

This paper aims to inform strategies to enhance public procurement opportunities for women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To do so, the study examines two research questions: To what extent are women-owned enterprises under-represented among SME suppliers to government; and Do barriers to public procurement – as perceived by SME owners – differ across gender?

The study draws on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and on theories of role congruity and social feminism to develop the study’s hypotheses. Empirical analyses rely on comparisons of a sample of 1,021 SMEs that had been suppliers to government and 9,376 employer firms that had not been suppliers to government. Data were collected by Statistics Canada and are nationally representative. Logistic regression analysis was used to control for systemic firm and owner differences.

Controlling firm and owner attributes, majority women-owned businesses were underrepresented as SME suppliers to government in some, but not all sectors. Women-owned SMEs in Wholesale and Retail and in Other Services were, ceteris paribus, half as likely as to be government suppliers as counterpart SMEs owned by men. Among Goods Producers and for Professional, Scientific and Technical Services SMEs, there were no significant gender differences in the propensity to supply the federal government. “Complexity of the contracting process” and “difficulty finding contract opportunities” were the obstacles to contracting cited most frequently.

The limitations of using secondary analyses of data are well documented and apply here. The findings reflect only the perspectives of “successful bidders” and do not capture SMEs that submitted bids but were not successful. Furthermore, the survey did not include questions about sub-contractor enterprises, data that would likely provide even more insights about SMEs in government supply chains. Accordingly, the study could not address sub-contracting strategies to increase the number of women-owned businesses on government contracts. Statistics Canada’s privacy protocols also limited the extent to which the research team could examine sub-groups of small business owners, such as visible minorities and Indigenous/Aboriginal persons. It is also notable that much of the SME literature, as well as this study, define gender as a dichotomous (women/female, men/male) attribute. Comparing women/female and men/males implicitly assumes within group homogeneity. Future research should use a more inclusive definition of gender. Research is also required to inform about the obstacles to government procurement among the population of SMEs that were unsuccessful in their bids.

The study provides benchmarks on, and directions to, enhance the participation of women-owned SMEs or enterprises in public procurement. Strategies to support women-owned small businesses that comply with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are advanced.

The study offers insights to reconcile economic efficiency and social (gender equity) policy goals in the context of public procurement. The “policy-practice divides” in public procurement and women’s enterprise policies are discussed.

The study is among the first to use a feminist lens to examine the associations between gender of SME ownership and public procurement, while controlling for other salient owner and firm attributes.

Drawing on the entrepreneurial event model (EEM), entrepreneurship education programs (EEPs) and perceived contextual support (adapted from social cognitive career theory) and perceived contextual barriers, this study aims to unravel the differences in entrepreneurial activity among university students in higher education institutes in two diverse Asian countries.

This study uses a cross-sectional survey-based data collection technique using paper and electronic methods. The study analyzes data using descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, reliability analysis and logistic regression analysis via SPSS version 25.

The findings show the positive influence of perceived desirability and feasibility on entrepreneurial intentions; however, the stronger desirability was found among university students in China and stronger feasibility toward entrepreneurial intentions among Pakistani students. The study reveals the negative significant influence of EEPs on entrepreneurial intentions, and this finding is consistent across both samples. Furthermore, the findings show that university students in both countries show insignificant impact of perceived contextual support in predicting entrepreneurial intentions. Finally, the study confirms the negative influence of perceived barriers on entrepreneurial intentions in both contexts.

This study provides differences in entrepreneurial activity by combing EEM, EEPs, perceived contextual support and barriers in two diverse Asian countries, and to the best of author’s knowledge, no previous study considered these factors in a single framework. Furthermore, the findings of the study enrich existing literature and also provide policy recommendations for practitioners.

The authors examine the influence of planning and execution capability (PEC) and operational improvement capability (OIC) on small-and-medium-sized firms’ (SMEs) attainment of different innovation outcomes under the conditions of exports and formal business networks, based on the capability-based perspective and organisational learning literature.

The authors analyse time-series data about UK SMEs, extracted from the 2015 and 2016 UK Longitudinal Small Business Surveys (LSBS).

The authors failed to find any direct effects of PEC and OIC on product innovation outcomes. However, the authors discovered that OIC supports the generation of process innovation outputs more strongly than PEC. Additionally, exports and formal business networks provide SMEs with different learning opportunities. The authors find limited support that exports amplify the beneficial effect of PEC on product innovation outcomes more than formal business networks. On the other hand, formal business networks strengthen the effect of PEC on process innovation outcomes more than exports. As a result, exports reduce the beneficial effect of OIC on product innovation outcomes more than formal business networks. However, formal business networks weaken the beneficial effect of OIC more than exports.

The authors distinguish between two types of organisational capabilities – PEC and OIC – and examine their impact on SMEs in achieving innovation outcomes. The authors also identify SMEs’ involvement in exports and formal business networks as the important boundary conditions for such effects. xD; xA; xD; xA;