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1 – 10 of 12Susana C. Santos, Shahrokh Nikou, Malin Brännback and Eric W. Liguori
Building on construal level theory (CLT), this study explores mental representations of entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) with different foci (i.e. social and commercial) among…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on construal level theory (CLT), this study explores mental representations of entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) with different foci (i.e. social and commercial) among university students from Generations Y and Z.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of university students from the United States contacted through the Entrepreneurship Education Project, this study employs a configurational perspective—fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)—to identify the pathways leading to EIs and social entrepreneurial intentions (SEIs).
Findings
Results show that the configurations of conditions leading to the outcomes (EI and SEI) are not disparate but share far more similarities even when considering socially oriented antecedents, supporting the claim that students perceive both EIs with different foci as high-level construals. The results also demonstrate no differences within gender, but there are asymmetries between gender in the configurations leading to EI and SEI.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to EI literature by providing new insights into understanding how individuals perceive EIs at an early stage of entrepreneurship and by bringing CLT to the EI literature.
Practical implications
These results have implications for entrepreneurship education and practice, as it recognizes that students' EIs are psychologically distant, lacking a level of detail and specificity. This would explain why students do not immediately create ventures, but that entrepreneurship has a certain incubation time to create an entrepreneurial mindset.
Originality/value
Exploring the configurational approaches can help to uncover the complexity and idiosyncrasies underlying EIs.
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Shahrokh Nikou, Malin Brännback, Alan L. Carsrud and Candida G. Brush
The purpose of this paper is to revisit the conceptualization and measurement of entrepreneurial intentions. Significant studies anchored in the Theory of Planned Behavior use…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to revisit the conceptualization and measurement of entrepreneurial intentions. Significant studies anchored in the Theory of Planned Behavior use causal statistical approaches to entrepreneurial intentions. This methodological approach, leads to the conclusion that there is a single pathway for all groups of people to achieve business start-up. Even though theory suggests approaches by women entrepreneurs to start a business may be influenced by different factors from those influencing men, results are inconclusive in these analyses. The authors argue that methodological preferences for linear, causal analytical approaches limit the understanding of gender similarities and differences in the business start-up process. The authors propose that when considering diverse samples, it is unreasonable to assume there is only a single pathway leading to business start-up.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and data set of 2,038 respondents, the authors investigate factors predicting the intentions to start a business and evaluate the alternative conjunctive paths that emerge.
Findings
The fsQCA results shows that the relationship among conditions leading to entrepreneurial intentions is complex and is best represented as multiple and conjectural causation configurations. In other words, there are multiple significant pathways (refers to equifinality) that predict intentions to start a business start-up, and there are significant differences by gender.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to examine the roll of gender as a sperate condition in the analysis. This paper offers implications for theory and future research and highlights the complexity of this domain.
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Malin Brännback, Alan Carsrud and William D. Schulte
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the family business succession process using Nonaka's theory of knowledge creation and conceptualisation of a knowledge‐creating place, Ba…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the family business succession process using Nonaka's theory of knowledge creation and conceptualisation of a knowledge‐creating place, Ba to enhance one's understanding of critical managerial challenges in family business succession.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on literature review, Nonaka's theory of knowledge creation and knowledge‐creating space is applied to the family business succession process.
Findings
Through literature review and synthesis thereof the paper concludes that Nonaka's theory of knowledge creation is a highly valid framework for analyzing and supporting the family business succession process. The paper proposes that Ba is a perception of a place – the family firm – and a shared purpose among family members in that firm. It is posited that the absence of Ba can be a significant barrier to a family firm adopting a successful succession process. Creating a Ba is essential for family firms to survive.
Research limitations/implications
Only propositions are presented, but they serve as valid research questions for future research.
Originality/value
Previous research of knowledge management processes and applications in family business context is scarce. Moreover, research on succession in family firms has not been considered as a knowledge creating and sharing process. This paper applies a valid and widely used model to the context of family firms and adopts the view that a succession process in essence is a knowledge creating and sharing process.
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Malin Tillmar, Birgitta Sköld, Helene Ahl, Karin Berglund and Katarina Pettersson
The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss to what extent and why women's entrepreneurship contributes to rural economic viability and gender equality in an advanced…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss to what extent and why women's entrepreneurship contributes to rural economic viability and gender equality in an advanced welfare state.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use detailed register data to explore men's and women's rural businesses in the most common industries for rural women entrepreneurs in the Swedish welfare state. Based on a literature review, the authors develop hypotheses and analyse how family, business and industry factors influence earnings.
Findings
Women's rural entrepreneurship is important for rural viability, as women's businesses provide a wide range of services necessary for life in rural areas. Although women's rural businesses are not significantly smaller than those of men, women's income is lower and more sensitive to business and industry variables. Marriage has positive effects for the earnings of men but negative effects for the earnings of women. The authors argue that the results are contingent on the gendering of entrepreneurship and industries, as well as on the local rural gender contracts. For these reasons, the importance of women entrepreneurs for rural viability is not reflected in their own incomes. Hence, women's rural entrepreneurship does not result in (economic) gender equality.
Originality/value
Entrepreneurship scholars rarely explore women's rural entrepreneurship, and particularly not in the Global North or Western welfare states. Therefore, this empirical study from Sweden provides novel information on how the gender order on the business, industry and family levels influences the income of men and women entrepreneurs differently.
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The purpose of this study is to provide a bibliometric analysis of the research on entrepreneurial intentions. A total of 1,393 papers published from the year 2000 to 2018 are…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide a bibliometric analysis of the research on entrepreneurial intentions. A total of 1,393 papers published from the year 2000 to 2018 are analysed. The study attempts to identify the significant journals in this area, years with the maximum publication, most cited papers, important authors and most prolific countries and institutions. Then, the co-authorship network map, inter-country co-authorship network map and keyword co-occurrences network maps are provided.
Design/methodology/approach
The Scopus database was used for analysing the large data about various papers included in this study. Then, the VOSviewer software was used for creating a co-authorship network map, inter-country co-authorship network map and keywords co-occurrences network maps.
Findings
The results of this study indicate that in the year 2017, the maximum papers have been published, the most significant journal is International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business and the most cited paper is about competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, the most prominent author is Francisco Linan, and the most prolific country and institution are the USA and the University of Seville (Spain), respectively.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature on entrepreneurial intentions. A much comprehensive and reliable picture of this area is provided using the bibliometric techniques. The results can help in guiding the authors interested in conducting future research on this topic.
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Fabian Osorio Tinoco, Manoj Chandra Bayon and Guillermo Murillo Vargas
Based on a theoretical framework grounded in the social-cognitive theory and its derivative the social-cognitive career theory, the main purpose of this paper is to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on a theoretical framework grounded in the social-cognitive theory and its derivative the social-cognitive career theory, the main purpose of this paper is to examine the role of entrepreneurial exposure in moderating the relationship between self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention in the presence of different levels of outcome expectations.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 643 secondary students from Colombia, the authors tested the validity and reliability of scales used to measure the main constructs of the socio-cognitive career theory and used the construct of entrepreneurial exposure to examine contingent hypotheses using a four-step linear regression analysis.
Findings
The study results suggest that although the main social-cognitive career variables (self-efficacy and outcome expectation) and entrepreneurial exposure directly influence the formation of entrepreneurial intention and thus support previous findings, the authors also discover a new configuration of (interacting) antecedents. While on the one hand, even a low level of entrepreneurial exposure leads to a significant increase in the entrepreneurial intention of secondary students with high outcome expectation and high self-efficacy; on the other hand, high entrepreneurial exposure leads to a decrease in entrepreneurial intention among students with high entrepreneurial expectation and high self-efficacy.
Research limitations/implications
The main implication of the study findings is although entrepreneurial exposure is beneficial for fostering entrepreneurial intention among secondary students, a high level of entrepreneurial exposure can have a detrimental effect especially among those with high self-efficacy and outcome expectations.
Practical implications
The paper suggests implications and suggestions for educators to foster the development of entrepreneurial intentions among students.
Originality/value
This study provides empirical evidence on the formation of entrepreneurial intention in a new setting. In addition, it improves one’s understanding of the main tenets of social-cognitive career theory by taking into account an important environment factor that can have a contrasting impact on the formation on entrepreneurial intention among adolescents.
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Mohammad Saud Khan, Robert J. Breitenecker and Erich J. Schwarz
The purpose of this paper is to examine how diversity in need for achievement (nfA) a well-established entrepreneurial personality trait impacts team performance (effectiveness…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how diversity in need for achievement (nfA) a well-established entrepreneurial personality trait impacts team performance (effectiveness and efficiency) in Austria. In addition, it investigates the interaction effects of Team Mean nfA and relationship conflicts on the nfA diversity-performance relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Data originated from 44 entrepreneurial teams based in nine business incubators in Austria. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to estimate the model.
Findings
Results indicate that, in general, nfA diversity has a negative impact on entrepreneurial team effectiveness and efficiency. However, acknowledging the importance of nfA for being entrepreneurial, diversity in nfA could improve team effectiveness when the prevailing team nfA (mean) is low. The dysfunctional role of relationship conflicts for entrepreneurial team performance is confirmed; nonetheless, similarity in nfA could help teams to cope more successfully with these potentially negative consequences.
Originality/value
The paper puts forth one of the first empirical investigations of nfA and performance at a team level in an entrepreneurial field setting. Moreover, a contextually specific contribution of examining nfA diversity, team nfA (mean), relationship conflicts and team performance also augments team deep-level diversity and conflict literature. Finally, this study highlights that entrepreneurial teams could effectively leverage their human capital by realizing that some types of deep-level homogeneity (nfA) might prove helpful in neutralizing the damaging effects of relationship conflicts.
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Shahrokh Nikou, Mark De Reuver and Matin Mahboob Kanafi
Information and digital literacy have recently received much interest, and they are being viewed as critical strategic organisational resources and skills that employees need to…
Abstract
Purpose
Information and digital literacy have recently received much interest, and they are being viewed as critical strategic organisational resources and skills that employees need to obtain in order to function at their workplaces. Yet, the role of employees' literacy seems to be neglected in current literature. This paper aims to explore the roles that information and digital literacy play on the employees' perception in relation to usefulness and ease of use of digital technologies and consequently their intention to use technology in the practices they perform at the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper builds a conceptual model with key constructs (information literacy and digital literacy) as new antecedents to the technology acceptance model and aims to establish that information literacy and digital literacy are indirect determinants of employees' intention to use digital technologies at the workplace. The data set used in this paper comprises of 121 respondents and structural equation modelling was used.
Findings
The findings reveal that both information literacy and digital literacy have a direct impact on perceived ease of use of technology but not on the perceive usefulness. The findings also show that both literacies have an indirect impact on the intention to use digital technology at work via attitude towards use.
Practical implications
Managers and decision-makers should pay close attention to the literacy levels of their staff. Because literacies are such an important skillset in the digital age, managers and chief information officers may want to start by identifying which work groups or individuals require literacy training and instruction, and then provide specific and relevant training or literacy interventions to help those who lack sufficient literacy.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to consider information literacy and digital literacy as new antecedents of the technology acceptance model at the workplace environment.
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This paper aims to add to the theorization of family dynamics and women’s entrepreneurship by examining women’s influence on decision-making in family businesses. Business…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to add to the theorization of family dynamics and women’s entrepreneurship by examining women’s influence on decision-making in family businesses. Business decisions in family firms, in particular, are not free from family influence in terms of goals and strategies, and the role of women in decision-making processes is of particular interest. Consequently, the role of women entrepreneurs in family firms and their influence on business development requires a more fine-grained analysis of the family dynamic within the family and the business.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on a qualitative study and focuses on the life story narratives of nine women in rural family businesses in rural communities of Småland province in Sweden to empirically examine the decision-making processes. This region is known both for its entrepreneurial culture and traditional gender order. Based on the narrative accounts of women entrepreneurs in family businesses, the data analysis method is thematic, using a Gioia-inspired method.
Findings
The complexity of decision-making in rural family firms is further complicated in part due to a closeness with the rural community. Thus, a typology of three decision-making modes in family firms emerges an informal family-oriented mode, a semistructured family/employee consensus mode and a formal board mode with at least one nonfamily member. Moreover, the advantages, disadvantages and strategies that women use to influence decisions within the respective mode are outlined.
Originality/value
This work contributes to the study of women’s agency and its implications in family business and entrepreneurship in the rural context. The study implies that women’s agency shapes the (rural) entrepreneurship context and, likewise, the (rural) entrepreneurship context influences women’s agency. Hence, the author challenges the view of women as only caregivers and sheds light on the practices and processes behind the scenes of entrepreneurial family businesses.
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