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The purpose of this paper is to examine whether family-to-business support acts as a job resource that attenuates the negative effects of work demands on the stress and creativity of women micro-entrepreneurs in the informal sector in Sri Lanka.

Data from 359 women micro-entrepreneurs and their respective case officers in local government were used to test the hypothesized relationship between work demands and their creativity through the mediating mechanism of stress and the moderating effect of family-to-business support on the said relationship.

Work demands reduced creativity through heightening the levels of stress faced by women micro-entrepreneurs. However, family-to-business support reduced the negative influence of work demands on creativity through stress.

Women micro-entrepreneurs should build strong family ties to obtain support from family members. In addition, government training programs that target women micro-entrepreneurs should be extended to include their immediate family members.

This paper contributes to the literature by examining whether family-to-business support buffers the negative effects of work demands for women micro-entrepreneurs in the informal sector. In doing so it makes a theoretical contribution by testing the key tenets of the JD-R model in entrepreneurial settings.

Despite the noticeable consequences of disruptive financial innovations, access to finance remains a major factor inhibiting the sustainable-growth potentials of young micro-entrepreneurs in informal settings. This study examines the determinants of financing options among micro-entrepreneurs in informal settings. Specifically, the study seeks to establish whether credit history, income, asset, gender, awareness and network capability have effects on formal and informal financing options among micro-entrepreneurs in informal settings.

This article uses the survey research design and administers a structured questionnaire among 300 purposively selected micro-entrepreneurs within the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Only 291 completed questionnaires are retrieved. This article also uses the multiple regression analysis to estimate the empirical model and test the research hypotheses respectively.

This article establishes that: (1) credit history and assets-based financing are significant determinants of formal financing options among young micro-entrepreneurs in informal settings, (2) gender and network capability are significant determinants of informal financing options among young micro-entrepreneurs in informal settings and (3) awareness is significant of both formal and informal financing options among young micro-entrepreneurs in informal settings.

This article examines the determinants of financing option among young micro-entrepreneurs in informal settings. Specifically, the study seeks to establish whether credit history income asset gender awareness and network capability have effects on formal and informal financing options among micro-entrepreneurs in informal settings.

The purpose of this study is to analyse potential models of Islamic crowdfunding as an alternative financing option for micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia. While crowdfunding has gained traction as an alternative funding source for businesses, it is unclear how far this concept can benefit a group of micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

This study uses a qualitative research approach by using data collected through semi-structured interviews with several experts and practitioners in crowdfunding, Shariah and entrepreneurship. Prior to discussing the facets of the findings, the data were analysed based on a thematic approach.

The findings reveal that while previous works of related literature suggest crowdfunding as a viable alternative financing option for entrepreneurs and their businesses, in reality, its practical implementation presents challenges. Numerous micro-entrepreneurs need more training in the areas of management and marketing. Such concerns raise questions about their ability to attract potential project backers. With the proper selection of Shariah contracts and several approaches to risk management, Islamic crowdfunding can potentially become an alternative funding source for microbusinesses.

Given the exploratory nature of this study regarding the applicability of Islamic crowdfunding as an alternative fund for micro-entrepreneurs, its findings may not fully encompass Malaysia’s context because of the limited number of participants involved.

The findings of this study offer guidelines on how to implement Islamic crowdfunding for micro-entrepreneurs. Consequently, Islamic crowdfunding has the potential to alleviate the government’s burden of providing funds for micro-enterprises and enhance their skills and mentality to be more independent, creative and able to promote their products.

While Islamic crowdfunding can be an alternative opportunity for business enterprises and community-based projects, it promotes the spirit of cooperation and collaboration within society.

Although Islamic crowdfunding is a topic that has been discussed previously, empirical investigations in this area remain scarce, mainly through qualitative approaches. Distinguishing from prior literature, this study analyses several potential models of Islamic crowdfunding from the perspectives of experts, practitioners and related agencies for micro-entrepreneurs. Moreover, this study bridges insights from related literature so that they offer practical applications to support micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

Social media has been gaining importance in recent years as an integral part of entrepreneurs’ business and marketing strategies. At the same time, the entrepreneurial use of social media can lead to dark and negative consequences. This aspect has received less attention in the literature so far. The purpose of this study is to advice entrepreneurial practitioners to balance the sides of pros and cons as being an inherent reality to acknowledge the full scenario of business life and the interplay of diverse influences.

The qualitative interviews focused on the dark side experiences of micro-entrepreneurs on social media and on strategies to protect their private identities and businesses from those dark side effects. For the theoretical classification of dark side experiences, the framework of Baccarella et al. (2018) was used and adapted based on the experiences reported.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is one of the first to provide an understanding of the negative experiences micro-entrepreneurs face on social media. The research showed the relevance of five out of the seven dark-side building blocks and identified time as a further influential aspect. Thereby, the authors learn to comprehend the negative sides of social media for micro-operated businesses. The findings highlight the need to understand entrepreneurial social media use with simultaneously negative hazards and economic and social challenges. Addressing the entanglement of the entrepreneurial and private selves of micro-entrepreneurs, the findings demonstrate entrepreneur’s attempts of distancing or cleaning the negativity from their private identities and their businesses.

This paper problematizes dark sides as critical elements in entrepreneurial practice, which are too often neglected when discussing entrepreneurial marketing in general and entrepreneurship in social media specifically. The self is always captured between two sides, including the problematic (“dark”) and the bright.

The purpose of the paper is to present the result of an empirical review as to how and to what extent the interest‐free microfinance to micro entrepreneurs contributes in minimising different cots of both the lender and the borrowers. An institutional‐network theoretical approach is used to study the phenomenon. A qualitative nature of research methodology is used while studying this particular phenomenon. A multiple explanatory case study was adopted as a research strategy in order to focus on contemporary phenomenon within the real life context of different rural‐based micro entrepreneurs and their relationships with the lending organisations. Interest‐free microfinance by Islamic banks is characterised by a close supervision and an in‐kind type of financing, which contributes greatly in promoting lender‐borrower network relationships between the bank and the rural based micro entrepreneurs. Such network relationships result in minimising exchange costs and other business related costs of both the borrowers and the lending organisations. The study was mainly concerned with rural‐based micro entrepreneurs who are engaged in grass‐root type entrepreneurs like poultry and diary firm, handloom industry, etc. Particular reference is made here to the facts of rural‐based micro entrepreneurs and their relationships with Islamic banks in Bangladesh.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how relational capital contributes to the startup phase of women-owned micro-enterprises. The motivation for the study stems from the fact that micro-enterprises are key drivers of economic growth and that woman entrepreneurs are key developers of these businesses.

To gather data for our study, a qualitative research methodology was adopted using a case study approach based on examining current events of real life in depth (Yin, 2009). Nine cases of micro-enterprises run by women are analysed, focusing on the management of the start-up phase to investigate the nature and role of the relationships that are activated by the entrepreneurs.

The paper develops the CAOS model of micro-entrepreneurship, examining the personal characteristics of the female entrepreneur (C); the environment in which the micro-enterprise operates (A); organizational and managerial aspects (O); and the motivations for starting a new business (S). Using this model, the authors’ are able to link these factors and classify different types of connections, it is possible to identify the kind of existing relations. From the analysis, it was found that a predominant use of networks characterized by informal and permanent relations, supporting the need to reconcile work and family and to involve relatives and friends in the network. This emphasizes the lack of strategy in the female-run micro-enterprises.

Given that female entrepreneurship is regarded as central to the development and welfare of economies, the deepening of knowledge of how women entrepreneurs manage the start-up of her business can contribute to improving the effectiveness policies aimed at promoting the participation of female entrepreneurs in the economy.

This study aims to propose a model of entrepreneurial microcredit support that could address the problem of entrepreneurial support provided by microfinance institutions. This objective is justified by the need to produce scientific knowledge that could be of use to practitioners and political decision-makers who formulate and implement strategies of social inclusion and poverty reduction.

The study adopts a socio-constructivist research perspective. Social constructivism is a theoretical approach that posits that all social reality is constructed. In other words, individuals construct their knowledge of reality relative to their social setting. This justifies the use of the focus group to supplement and validate the data gathered in an individual interview. The socio-constructivist perspective allows us to better understand and develop knowledge based on the meaning that interviewees attribute to their experience. This perspective also justifies the choice of qualitative data collection method. The data were collected during semi-structured interviews.

Entrepreneurial microcredit support is distinguished from classic entrepreneurial support because it places the individual at the center of the process by emphasizing soft skills in the development of the entrepreneurial spirit. This approach engenders an efficient support process that comprises three main steps: determination of entrepreneurial potential, empowerment and reinforcement of autonomy and acquisition of managerial skills. The efficiency stems from the fact that the time factor is not a constraint in the entrepreneurial microcredit support process and from the relationship of proximity and trust between the credit agent and the micro-entrepreneur.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to deal with the entrepreneurial microcredit support, which is completely different from the classical entrepreneurial support because of the uniqueness of microfinance and micro-entrepreneurs. The model clearly reveals that the support for the development of the skills required to successfully run a microenterprise is provided based on a socio-constructivist approach in which the micro-entrepreneur is the main actor in the construction of “mobilized knowledge” required to nurture promoters’ entrepreneurial spirit. Consideration of soft skills in a socio-constructivist perspective is, therefore, indispensable for entrepreneurial development.

The Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria are generally acknowledged as traders and astute entrepreneurs. Extant literature has investigated the various indigenous practices of Igbo entrepreneurs that ensure business success. Despite these efforts, knowledge of their financial practices has been limited. This chapter provides insights on the financial practices that are common amongst Igbo micro-entrepreneurs and the immense benefits of the practices. To unravel these practices, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 micro-entrepreneurs involved in supermarket, spare parts and food items businesses in Lagos, Nigeria. Using a grounded theory approach, four significant financial practices such as rotating financial contribution, deferred financial arrangements, financial settlement practice and financial prudence common among the Igbo micro-entrepreneurs were identified. Based on the findings, relevant recommendations were made for financial educators and the management of modern financial institutions to adapt and incorporate some of these indigenous financial practices in teaching curricula and financial product designs.

This case study describes practices in a micro-entrepreneur peer-to-peer network (MicroENTRE network), an example of a community of practice (CoP) where entrepreneurs, researchers and local public business advisory services (PBAS) seek to promote entrepreneurial behaviour through joint activities, such as sharing ideas, peer learning and business development. The concept was originally established to address the practical needs of micro-entrepreneurs and business development agencies in sparsely populated areas (SPA). Through the network, micro-entrepreneurs and PBAS are provided with direct contact to the university research team, which transfers recent research-based knowledge to the network. This chapter bridges the literature on micro-entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behaviour in networks through an empirical description of micro-entrepreneurs’ activities in the context of a peer-to-peer network using the typical CoP activity classifications developed by Wenger as the framework. The case study is based on the longitudinal analysis of monthly meetings (from 2015 to 2019) of 13 micro-entrepreneur groups. The data consist of participatory observations during the network meetings and the audio recordings and meeting memos of the authors. The findings describe typical examples of CoP activities in the network. For example, entrepreneurs use the network to share ideas, make requests for advice based on experience of fellow entrepreneurs and reuse the assets of other network members. Moreover, the data show that regular, peer-to-peer network meetings, jointly facilitated by PBAS and researchers, are an acceptable and accessible platform for micro-enterprise development in SPA.

Entrepreneurial activities are embedded within the networks of social relationships, which facilitate the flow of crucial information and resources. This study aims to examine the effect of social capital (i.e. structural, cognitive and relational), entrepreneurial competencies (i.e. commitment, conceptual and organizing) and micro-enterprise innovativeness (i.e. innovativeness and absorptive capacity) on the competitive advantages of the micro-enterprises owned and managed by women micro-entrepreneurs in Peninsular Malaysia.

This study used a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from 417 women micro-entrepreneurs from six selected states in Peninsular Malaysia through structured interview. For data analysis, this study adopted variance-based structural equation modeling, i.e. PLS-SEM.

The findings of this study revealed a significant positive effect of social capital on entrepreneurial competencies, innovativeness and competitive advantage. The findings also revealed a significant positive effect of entrepreneurial competencies on innovativeness and competitive advantage.

The government and other development agencies working toward enterprise development in Malaysia should therefore focus on designing a platform for women micro-entrepreneurs to promote the development of structural and relational social capital, which foster the flow of crucial information and resources necessary for suitable micro-enterprise performance.