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To augment sales revenue, B2B digital start-ups aim to create and sustain commercial relationships with industry incumbents. However, since these incumbents have traditionally struggled with implementing disruptive digital artifacts, most studies have almost exclusively concentrated on their challenges, leaving the digital start-ups' side underexplored. Therefore, this study seeks to understand how digital start-ups navigate digital implementation (DI) hardships to ultimately achieve digital entrepreneurship success.

An abductive explanatory multi-case study of four industries that pose a variety of implementation challenges for B2B digital start-ups (agriculture, insurance, real estate and construction, and healthcare) was conducted using data collected from 40 interviews with Israeli experts and relevant digital data observations.

This study articulates two main observations. (1) Throughout their journeys, digital start-ups have utilized newly created and/or refined dynamic capabilities (DC) to successfully implement their digital artifacts. Simultaneously, successful DI has enabled digital start-ups to create new DC or sustain and evolve current DC. (2) We provide empirical evidence outlining how digital start-ups using continuous learning have combined causation and effectuation logic throughout their DI journeys.

This study answers a call to explore more explicit digital-related drivers (i.e. DI) for digital entrepreneurship success by studying a highly-ranked country on the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) to achieve this. Moreover, it illustrates how digital start-ups evolve throughout their commercial relationships with industry incumbents, thereby enabling an effective approach for successful DI. Such an approach can be considered very valuable for both practitioners and policymakers. Consequently, it advances digital entrepreneurship as an independent research topic.

This study aims to explore the impact of different contextual factors and their interactions on university students' entrepreneurship, specifically start-up activities.

The paper used a multilevel hierarchical model with four contextual factors: i) industry and technological, ii) institutional and policy, iii) organizational-university; and iv) cultural. Each of these factors might influence university students’ start-up activities differently. To address this exploratory direction, the study used a sample of 34,200 nascent entrepreneurs from 34 countries included in the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit students’ Survey, along with data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, Global Entrepreneurship Index and Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Index.

The results show that, in general terms, contextual elements impact university students’ start-up activities. Nevertheless, when these factors are combined, their effect increases strongly with the performance-based culture but decreases with a high level of a socially supportive culture.

Regarding the study of university students’ start-up activities, most scientific evidence has an individual-level approach without considering the influence of the context. The paper adopts a multilevel approach for such analysis to reflect the multilevel and context-dependent nature of the topic under study.

Este estudio explora el impacto de diferentes factores contextuales y sus interacciones en el espíritu empresarial de los estudiantes universitarios, concretamente en las actividades de puesta en marcha.

El trabajo emplea un modelo jerárquico multinivel con cuatro factores contextuales: i) industriales y tecnológicos, ii) institucionales y políticos, iii) organizativos-universitarios; y iv) culturales. Cada uno de estos factores podría influir de forma diferente en las actividades de puesta en marcha de los estudiantes universitarios. Bajo un enfoque exploratorio, el estudio utilizó una muestra de 34.200 emprendedores nacientes de 34 países incluidos en la Encuesta Global de Estudiantes Universitarios con Espíritu Emprendedor (GUESSS por sus siglas en inglés), junto con datos del Índice de Competitividad Global (GCI), el Índice de Espíritu Emprendedor Global (GEI) y el Índice Global de Liderazgo y Eficacia del Comportamiento Organizacional (GLOBE).

Los resultados muestran que, en términos generales, los elementos contextuales influyen en las actividades de creación de empresas de los estudiantes universitarios. Sin embargo, cuando se combinan estos factores, su efecto aumenta considerablemente en países con una cultura basada en el rendimiento, pero disminuye en las de un alto nivel de apoyo social.

En lo que respecta al estudio de las actividades de creación de empresas de los estudiantes universitarios, la mayoría de las pruebas científicas tienen un enfoque a nivel individual sin tener en cuenta la influencia del contexto. Nuestro trabajo adopta un enfoque multinivel para dicho análisis con el fin de reflejar la naturaleza multinivel y dependiente del contexto del tema estudiado.

Este estudo explora o impacto de diferentes fatores contextuais e suas interações no empreendedorismo dos estudantes universitários, especificamente nas atividades de start-up.

O artigo utilizou um modelo hierárquico multinível com quatro fatores contextuais: i) industrial e tecnológico, ii) institucional e político, iii) organizacional-universitário, e iv) cultural. Cada um desses fatores pode influenciar de maneira diferente as atividades de start-up dos estudantes universitários. Para abordar essa direção exploratória, o estudo utilizou uma amostra de 34.200 empreendedores de 34 países incluídos na Pesquisa Global sobre o Espírito Empreendedor dos Estudantes Universitários (GUESSS), juntamente com dados do Índice de Competitividade Global (GCI) do Fórum Econômico Mundial, do Índice Global de Empreendedorismo (GEI) e do Índice de Liderança Global e Eficácia Organizacional (GLOBE).

Os resultados mostraram que, em termos gerais, elementos contextuais impactam as atividades de start-up dos estudantes universitários. No entanto, quando esses fatores são combinados, seu efeito aumenta fortemente com a cultura baseada em desempenho, mas diminui com um alto nível de cultura socialmente solidária.

No que diz respeito ao estudo das atividades de start-up dos estudantes universitários, a maioria das evidências científicas tem uma abordagem em nível individual sem considerar a influência do contexto. Nosso artigo adota uma abordagem multinível para tal análise, a fim de refletir a natureza multinível e dependente do contexto do tema em estudo.

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.

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial education on students’ intention to become entrepreneurs through the theory of planned behaviour and the mediating effect of subjective norms on the relationship between entrepreneurial education and students’ entrepreneurial intentions.

A total of 257 students in the Higher Institute of Management at Gabès University participated in this study by means of a questionnaire. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

Subjective norm was found to be the strongest predictor of student’s entrepreneurial intentions followed by entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial education. Moreover, the findings revealed that the relationship between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial intentions was mediated by subjective norm.

It is expected that the findings of this study can help policy makers, researchers and academicians in better understanding the intentions of nascent entrepreneurs.

This study is one of the few studies that have empirically tested the indirect effects of entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurship education on students’ entrepreneurial intentions using the theory of planned behaviour in developing countries, particularly in Arab countries. The results suggest that subjective norms mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial intentions of students. It is an unexplored issue to date, and helps to understand how and why entrepreneurial intentions emerge.

This study aims to synthesize and conceptualize the highly fragmented yet important literature on racial discrimination in entrepreneurship.

A bibliometric analysis and literature review were performed that involved 523 articles containing 26,926 references.

The bibliometric analysis identified three dominant research themes that comprehensively illustrate the state of research in this domain: strategic, sociocultural and individual-level perspectives. The synthesis of extant literature helped in formulating a holistic conceptual model that portrays the genuineness of racial discrimination in entrepreneurship. The sources, factors and impact of racial discrimination faced by entrepreneurs were identified. Based on the review and analysis of keywords, certain fruitful future research directions were formulated that will take the field forward.

This work is the first attempt to review the literature that narrows down the focus to racial discrimination in entrepreneurship (from other discriminations such as gender, cultural and religious discrimination) as one form of discrimination due to its unique origins and consequences.

Based on social cognitive theory, this study aims to analyze the impact of fear of failure on entrepreneurs’ growth aspirations, the moderating role of collectivist institutional culture and the differences between emerging and developed countries.

Using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness databases for 27 developed and 15 emerging countries, and Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness, the authors apply multilevel model with individual-level and country-level variables.

The fear of failure has a negative impact on growth aspirations and that impact differs between developed and emerging countries. One of the main conclusions is that collectivist culture mitigates the negative impact of fear of failure on growth aspirations, and that this result is significant only in emerging countries.

The authors introduce a boundary condition for this study’s predictions, showing that in emerging countries, contrary to developed countries, the moderator effect of cultural context contributes to growth aspirations, despite the entrepreneur’s fear of failure.

The research aims to investigate the changing skills required for international entrepreneurship (IE) and the awareness of these skills among students and professionals in four European countries. The study intends to investigate students' and professionals' perceptions of entrepreneurial skills and the potential for educational programs to improve their awareness of these skills.

This quantitative cross-sectional analysis uses an online questionnaire to collect data from 75 university students and 75 entrepreneurs in four European countries. Several tests validate the data, and Cronbach's alpha succeeded in measuring internal consistency. The results showed differences in the perception of skills between students and entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs had developed all competencies except access to finance, while students had lower perceptions of their skills, except for collaboration. Students needed to improve significantly in access to finance, business planning, financial skills, knowledge of the labour market and digital marketing. Practitioners only required significant improvement in access to finance and digital marketing.

Education programs should fit the needs of different groups: a broader program for students and more specific courses on access to finance and digital marketing for practitioners.

The present research's original feature highlights the need to monitor and adapt to the constantly changing skills for IE and the importance of hard and soft skills. The paper provides insights into the subject's awareness and perceived standard, with reflections for policymakers and practitioners.

This paper responds to several calls for a cross-national comparative study of immigrant entrepreneurship throughout the longstanding discourse of this phenomenon. This study aims to comparatively analyze the nature of immigrant enclave entrepreneurship among one immigrant community across three different jurisdictional contexts (UK, Denmark and Norway) based on comparative ethnographic methods of inquiry.

The data was collected in person from April 2022 to June 2023 by the researchers to identify the similarities and differences of migrant entrepreneurial activities in three immigrant enclaves (Manchester, Oslo and Copenhagen). Comparative ethnographic narrative analysis methods and template analysis approaches were combined to analyze interviews, observations and secondary published data.

This study examines spatiality, sectoral occupation and market orientation for comparative analysis. Through detailed analysis, it uncovers the spatiality and nuances in market demands and sectoral similarities across diverse regulatory environments. Notably, it identifies traditional migrant sectoral occupations shared across regions and its relevance to immigrant enclaves.

This scholarly contribution explores immigrant entrepreneurship in various national contexts, emphasising their engagement in neglected and low-value sectors within immigrant enclaves. The study addresses the influence of the host economy’s conditions on immigrant entrepreneurs, impacting their strategic orientation and the extent of their “embeddedness”. It responds to the theoretical gap in immigrant entrepreneurship literature by conducting a cross-national investigation across countries, extending the comparative dimension to Norway and Denmark. The research employs a unique design focusing on a specific immigrant group and emphasizes spatial contexts, sectoral proliferation and market orientation within immigrant enclaves, offering insights into the mixed embeddedness perspective and the broader environmental forces shaping migrant entrepreneurial activities in the UK and Scandinavia.

Social value creation (SVC) is the primary emphasis for unifying the various issues in contemporary social entrepreneurship (SE) literature and practice since it highlights the fundamental problem of sustainability in SE business. Accordingly, SVC as an outcome of SE represents the primary drive of social entrepreneurs (SEs). However, SEs encounter multi-dimensional challenges as they work to build their SE businesses and create social value. In the current context of digitally transforming entrepreneurship scenario, this study investigates the role of SE compassion and digital learning orientation (DLO) for SVC ability of SEs.

The study utilized a quantitative survey approach for primary data collection from social entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. A total of 158 valid replies from social entrepreneurs were obtained for the study. Using SmartPLS (3.0), partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

The results validated a model of SVC in which the SE compassion and DLO positively impact the SVC ability in SEs. However, the impact of DLO in moderating the SE compassion - SVC relationship in SEs was not proven.

The study established the role of SE compassion in explaining the distinctive SVC ability in SEs. Meanwhile, given the expanding necessity for SEs to leverage digital technologies for SE missions, the study provides implications for nurturing positive outcomes in terms of SE compassion and DLO outcomes among SEs. This organized knowledge can help entrepreneurs, educators and policymakers better incorporate these concerns in SE education, and social enterprises and entrepreneurs’ developmental initiatives.

This work is pioneering in that it conceptualizes and tests a theoretical framework that links SE compassion, DLO, and SVC in SEs. Meanwhile, the study is the first to operationalize the DLO in entrepreneurs. The study thus generates fresh insights about SVC in SE amid the digitally transforming entrepreneurship scenario.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of external enablers (EEs) – factors that are exogenous and independent of the actors – on the rate of new venture creation (NVC) in digital entrepreneurship.

The authors established a unique data panel comprising all formal digital entrepreneurial firms and startups licensed to operate in the digital space from Iran E-Commerce Development Center, from 2012 to 2022, totaling 124,751 businesses classified in 16 sectors. The authors used Poisson regression with robust standard errors to analyze the relationship between external factors and NVC. Additionally, the authors segmented the data set along demographic, spatial and sectoral subsets to compare them using the average treatment effect model.

This analysis confirms that technology readiness and technology intensity, as EEs, significantly boost digital entrepreneurship in a developing country. The authors also explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural environmental enabler and explored its facilitating effects and the enduring impacts post-pandemic. Moreover, the authors assessed the heterogeneous impact of the EEs across different groups and derived implications for each.

While this study is comprehensive, it focuses exclusively on formal digital entrepreneurship within a single developing country, namely, Iran. Although the authors explored various EEs, they did not address all possible types, highlighting the potential for further research in other entrepreneurial sectors for a comparative analysis of EEs.

The initial findings affirm that most NVC in Iran stems from external factors. These findings have been widely used by policymakers to define the goals and objectives of EEs concerning their nature and impact. This research reveals that EEs have heterogeneous effects on NVC, varying across different characteristics such as gender, geography and industry sectors. The results of this study suggest that governments should reassess the role of “macro” policies to support vulnerable groups. EEs disproportionately benefit male founders, which exacerbates existing gender gaps and necessitates ongoing attention and intervention. Additionally, EEs have diverse impacts across industries, potentially favoring some while disadvantaging others because of varying social, cultural and economic factors.

NVC, central to entrepreneurship in developing nations, encounters numerous challenges, yet the role of EEs remains underexplored in this context. EEs are opportunities that are not limited to a subset of entrepreneurial actors; they act as levers influencing a wide range of entrepreneurial activities. This research distinctively investigates the empirical impact of EEs in a Middle Eastern developing country context, contributing to the growing literature on the external enablers framework.