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Article
Publication date: 5 July 2021

Naveed Yasin and Zeinab Khansari

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an enterprise education (social innovation and enterprise) learning programme on the enterprising characteristics among interdisciplinary…

Abstract

Purpose

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an enterprise education (social innovation and enterprise) learning programme on the enterprising characteristics among interdisciplinary undergraduate enterprise education students from a general (without considering gender) and gender-specific perspective at a higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a convenience sampling approach, pre- and post-surveys were distributed among 180 undergraduate students from January to April 2019. An independent-samples t-test was utilised to evaluate the impact of enterprise education on students' learning for three sample classifications, which were (1) general or gender-neutral (no gender consideration), (2) male and (3) female.

Findings

This study found significant improvements in the enterprising characteristics of students as a result of undertaking the learning programme in enterprise education. There was a greater improvement among female students in comparison to male students. However, contrasts in enterprising enhancement trends between female and male students were recognised. While the greatest improvement for male students were identified in their risk-taking characteristics, for female students, the risk-taking characteristic evidenced the least influence. The differences between the enterprising levels in risk-taking, and locus of control, between male and female students, were prominent post completion of the learning programme.

Research limitations/implications

Considering that a quantitative method of inquiry was adopted to address the dearth of research evaluating the effectiveness of our learning programmes in enterprise education (i.e. social innovation) on students' psychological traits through a gendered lens, qualitative insights could enrich the depth of the research findings. As this study was conducted on a limited number of students at a single university, the results do not claim generalisation to other contexts.

Practical implications

The outcomes of this research deliver valuable insights about the divergent influences of enterprise learning programmes on male and female students. The implications of the study suggest that policymakers and stakeholders should consider gender diversities when designing an effective and equitable entrepreneurship and enterprise learning programme that fosters and stimulates students' enterprising mindset and confidence for both male and female students. The implications are for academics, educational instructors and policymakers.

Originality/value

This study presents a literature review on the impact of entrepreneurship education by focusing on the key enterprising psychological characteristics and educational systems over the last two decades, and illustrates that most studies in the field of entrepreneurship are based on either general (gender-neutral) or gender-specified investigations. This work provides a comparison between these two perspectives in a relatively underexplored region of the UAE and demonstrates that relying solely on gender-neutral analyses hinders the opportunity to enhance and effectively harness females' entrepreneurial potential.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 63 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2009

Gerhard Blickle, Jochen Kramer, Ingo Zettler, Tassilo Momm, James K. Summers, Timothy P. Munyon and Gerald R. Ferris

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether political skill is equally effective in its prediction of job performance for different job demands.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether political skill is equally effective in its prediction of job performance for different job demands.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses self‐report sources of employee performance and self‐report of political skill after several weeks along with three ratings of target individuals' job demands.

Findings

Results support the hypothesis that Holland's enterprising category (i.e. because of its job demands and requisite job competencies to be effective) will moderate the relationship between political skill and job performance, demonstrating stronger predictability under high enterprising job demands.

Research limitations/implications

The present results suggest that political skill is a better predictor of job performance under situations of high enterprising job demands than under conditions of low enterprising job demands. Furthermore, social and conventional job demands do not significantly moderate the political skill‐job performance relationships, implying that these job demands act as an important boundary condition.

Practical implications

Politically skilled individuals are more likely to succeed in environments (e.g. enterprising jobs) where they have the opportunity to exercise interpersonal influence, and where that interpersonal influence is directly related to their performance.

Originality/value

This paper makes several contributions to theory and practice in vocational achievement and political skill. Perhaps, most significant is the identification of job demands as a boundary condition in the political skill‐job performance relationship.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 December 2018

Alistair R. Anderson, Sohail Younis, Hina Hashim and Carol Air

The paper investigates an unusual form of social enterprising located in a poor region of Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to examine a novel form of micro social

Abstract

Purpose

The paper investigates an unusual form of social enterprising located in a poor region of Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to examine a novel form of micro social enterprise. Their form and functions are considered, examining how they conform to what is expected of a social enterprise. The extreme cases are analysed to reflect on what constitutes the explanatory characteristics of a social enterprise.

Design/methodology/approach

Information on examples of micro social entrepreneurship was collected from the troubled context of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a very poor region of Pakistan. Using the constant comparison method, explanatory themes of structure and practice are drawn out.

Findings

These enterprising social agents were engaged in opening up an opportunity space for those disadvantaged by the context. Driven by a strong sense of community responsibility, they drew upon limited, but culturally available resources. Relevance, embeddedness and informality were identified as structural characteristics, and bricolage and effectuation, frugality and social responsibility emerged as practices. Not only did context shape what they did and how they did it, but the purpose of these enterprises was also to help reshape context. From this analysis, it is argued that conceptual concerns should be directed towards behaviours; it should be asked how are enterprises agents of social change, and how are they enterprising?

Research limitations/implications

It is argued that a robust indicator for social enterprise is not what they are, but what they do. Consequently, for understanding and theorising, it is suggested that the focus remain on enterprising. This study was limited to unusual cases which may be atypical and ungeneralisable. Nonetheless, the concept – enterprising – may have theoretical applications.

Social implications

In reviewing the analysis and findings, it is noted that the proposals in the paper may comprise the early stages of a theory of social entrepreneurship practice. There may be considerable explanatory power in examining the interplays between the agency of social enterprises and the structures that are constituted in the formal and informal institutions with whom they interact.

Originality/value

Descriptively, the account draws attention to a possibly neglected phenomenon. Moreover, the extreme cases draw out the significance of a localised practice. Conceptually, there may be value in prioritising practice in social enterprise rather than form and structure.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Abdallah Abdul-Rahaman, Kwame Adom and Ibn Kailan Abdul-Hamid

Entrepreneurial education is gaining traction in Ghana. The purpose of this chapter was to assess the influences of social enterprises in promoting entrepreneurial education…

Abstract

Entrepreneurial education is gaining traction in Ghana. The purpose of this chapter was to assess the influences of social enterprises in promoting entrepreneurial education, using Ghanaian social enterprises as a case study. The study adopted a qualitative research approach. A multiple case study analysis examined the influences of social enterprises in Ghana. Four in-depth qualitative case studies offer insight into social enterprise practices. Sustainability, innovation, control and employment issues stand out as key effects of Ghanaian social enterprise practices. The social practice theory framework is used to draw the linkages of the structure and agency relationships. Sustainability emerges as the most dominant impact of social enterprise practice followed by innovation, control and employment. These four descriptive terms summarise the universal effects of Ghanaian social enterprises' practices. The study identifies and assesses the role of social enterprises in social entrepreneurial education in addressing social ills and environmental challenges facing Ghana. The emphasis placed on each of the identified four constructs describes the plausible roles of Ghana's social enterprises in achieving productive entrepreneurship through entrepreneurship education. The result shows the pursuit of multiple practices is a common feature of social enterprises. The limitations of the study stem from methodological approach as it is qualitative approach bias and a single country case. Likewise, the subjectivities of the samples direct the results of the study. The study draws the attention of stakeholders and policymakers to the goodwill of social entrepreneurship education in Ghana. Many studies have been conducted on entrepreneurial education in the contextual setting of this study. This present study focused on the practices of social enterprises in Ghana that influences entrepreneurial education.

Details

Delivering Entrepreneurship Education in Africa
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-326-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 May 2024

Sylvia Nabila Azwa Ambad and Ahmad Rafiki

This study aims to investigate the impact of Holland’s theory of career choice (RIASEC [realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional]) on the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the impact of Holland’s theory of career choice (RIASEC [realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional]) on the entrepreneurial event model (EEM) and the agropreneurial intention among university students.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is quantitative research, and 772 undergraduate students from public and private universities in Malaysia participated. The data were then analysed using SmartPLS 4.

Findings

The statistical analysis revealed that the realistic, artistic, enterprising and conventional in Holland’s theory of career choice (RIASEC) are antecedents of perceived desirability and feasibility, which has an indirect effect on agropreneurial intention. Additionally, all dimensions of EEM have a direct effect on agropreneurial intention.

Originality/value

Despite the importance of agriculture in providing food security and reducing poverty, especially in rural areas, there is very limited empirical research in this area. Notably, most of the research on the intention to become an entrepreneur is general entrepreneurship. This study, therefore, undertakes an interventionist role to investigate the factors influencing agropreneurial intention among youth.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2017

Natalia Vershinina, Kassa Woldesenbet Beta and William Murithi

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise how various value dimensions of Harambee, the Kenyan culture, affect the fostering of entrepreneurial behaviours. Theoretically, we…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise how various value dimensions of Harambee, the Kenyan culture, affect the fostering of entrepreneurial behaviours. Theoretically, we draw upon perspectives that view culture as a toolkit and use cultural variables provided by Hofstede to examine the links between national culture and entrepreneurial endeavours in an African context.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on review and synthesis of accessible secondary sources (published research, country-specific reports, policy documents, firm-level empirical evidences, etc.) on the topic and related areas to understand and advance research propositions on the link between enterprising efforts and national culture specific to the Kenyan context.

Findings

Several theoretical propositions are offered on themes of collective reliance, social responsibility, enterprising, resource mobilisation and political philanthropy to establish relationships, both positive and negative, between values of Harambee and entrepreneurial behaviours. Further, the study provides initial insights into how actors blend both collectivistic and emergent individualistic orientations and display collective identity in the process of mobilising resources and engaging in entrepreneurship.

Research limitations/implications

The conceptual framework presented bears a considerable relevance to the advancing theory, policy and practice associated with the national culture and entrepreneurial behaviour in the African context and has potential to generate valuable insights.

Originality/value

This original study provides a springboard for studying the relationship between African cultural context and entrepreneurial behaviours.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2008

David M. Kaplan

The purpose of this article is to investigate how political skill relates to career decisions and occupational fit.

4391

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to investigate how political skill relates to career decisions and occupational fit.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilizes undergraduate business majors to determine how their level of political skill influences their choice of career/major in a Holland‐type framework. Hypotheses are tested using logistic regression.

Findings

The paper finds that there is general support for the proposition that political skill influences the pursuit of social and enterprising majors/careers.

Research limitations/implications

While choice of major is a strong indicator of occupational choice, it is not a direct measure of individual careers. However, the results provide insight regarding how organizational politics relates to individual careers and suggests the need for further study.

Practical implications

The paper provides a valuable additional factor for assessing career fit.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to critically examine organizational politics with reference to career choices rather than career outcomes and provides insight into how these affect satisfaction and success.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2015

Madeline Powell and Stephen P. Osborne

This paper aims to explore the role of marketing as a route to sustainability for social enterprises providing public services. It examines the tensions between the economic and…

4562

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the role of marketing as a route to sustainability for social enterprises providing public services. It examines the tensions between the economic and social objectives, both of social enterprises and of marketing. It concludes by offering a new model of the role of marketing for sustainable social enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used the case study approach which included four cases. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the chief executives of each social enterprise. The cases were classified by age.

Findings

The paper demonstrates that while marketing potentially has much to offer in terms of organisational resilience for social enterprises, its application is currently undermined by its misunderstanding in practise within a “product-dominant” business logic. Despite this, the study finds a strong element of the unconscious application of marketing by social enterprises.

Originality/value

The implications of this are discussed in the context of the “public service-dominant” business logic that is currently emerging in public management, and recommendations are made for policy and practice as to how to enhance the contribution of marketing, both to sustainable social enterprises and to public services delivery.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Malin Tillmar

The subject areas are social entrepreneurship, gender, institutions and emerging markets.

Abstract

Subject area

The subject areas are social entrepreneurship, gender, institutions and emerging markets.

Study level/applicability

Bachelor, Master, PhD.

Case overview

Some of the fastest growing economies in the world are situated in East Africa. However, there are many institutional challenges. The societies are, for example, heavily patriarchal. Women are, hence, in a particularly vulnerable situation. This is the case of one woman entrepreneur who views the support of other, less educated, women as a main part of her venture. She is a highly educated woman, who has lived part of her life in the USA. Her father is an influential person in the city. She does not need to work at all for her livelihood. She wants the women in her country to have a chance to become economically independent from men. Therefore, she uses her expertise in chemistry to help groups of rural women to make soap and other beauty products from local plants. The case not only illustrates the institutional challenges and how the macro-level institutions affect micro level action but also illustrates the agency enabled by networks and a more fortunate class background. It is an example of a contextually embedded social entrepreneurship process, with simultaneously good and bad odds.

Expected learning outcomes

Main learning objectives are the importance of avoiding both ethnocentrism and androcentrism when analyzing driving forces, processes and decision-making among social entrepreneurs. After having processed this case, students should be able to: critically and independently discuss the context dependence of driving forces and processes of social entrepreneurship; critically and independently discuss the gendering of driving forces and processes of social entrepreneurship; and understand and discuss the prerequisites for social entrepreneurship for different groups in a given society, including the class and gender dimensions and the intersection between these dimensions.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2012

Peter R. Elson and Peter V. Hall

The purpose of this research is to measure the economic and social/environmental/cultural activity of the social enterprise sector at a provincial level in Canada.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to measure the economic and social/environmental/cultural activity of the social enterprise sector at a provincial level in Canada.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was implemented in three phases. In phase one, the structure and content of the mapping instrument was developed and tested. In phase two, the survey was circulated to all verified social enterprises in the sample frame to achieve a large and fully representative probability sample of social enterprises in both provinces. Data were subsequently collected for cleaning, entry, and analysis. Phase three involved the circulation of the survey results to social enterprise‐related networks in both provinces through both participant feedback and de‐briefing workshops.

Findings

Social enterprises surveyed had a number of non‐exclusive purposes. Eight (22 percent) Alberta (AB) social enterprises focused on employment and related activities while 51 (51 percent) of social enterprises in British Columbia (BC) had a similar focus. A total of 39 percent in AB and 47 percent of social enterprises in BC generated income for their parent organization. The highest percentage of social enterprises in both provinces (92 percent in AB/71 percent in BC) described themselves as having a social mission while 25 percent of social enterprises in AB and 35 percent in BC had a cultural mission. Environmental activities were pursued by 22 percent social enterprises in AB and 38 percent in BC.

Research limitations/implications

Notwithstanding the inclusion of the non‐profit corporate form in the paper's definition, social enterprise organizational form and legal structure tell us little about the activities or the impact of the organization. This is a tentative finding; it is indicative perhaps of the current, “pre‐institutionalized”, phase of social enterprise development, but more research needs to be conducted to fully examine and to elaborate on this proposition.

Practical implications

Measuring the size, strength and scope of social enterprises contributes to the important constellation of evidence, policy options, and political will that is necessary to put a policy on the political agenda. In BC, the survey results provided policy advocates with the first empirical evidence of the scope, size, and capacity of social enterprises in the province. This, together with existing anecdotal information, case stories, and stakeholder events, helped to convince policy makers that social enterprises are a viable and legitimate entity, worthy of serious policy support.

Social implications

The aim of this research was to provide relevant and timely information, not to define social enterprises as an end in itself. The operational definition of social enterprise was thus developed with the explicit purpose of conducting this investigation and as such, the authors are confident that it served its purpose. To this end, the authors trust that this survey, and its embedded structural‐functional definition, will contribute to the ongoing exploration of the number and nature of social enterprises in Canada and elsewhere.

Originality/value

This research set out to take stock of the structure, purpose, and operational activity of social enterprises in BC and AB. This was undertaken using a structural‐functional definition of social enterprise as “a business venture, owned or operated by a non‐profit organization that continuously sells goods or provides services in the market for the purpose of creating a blended return on investment; financial, social, environmental, and cultural”.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

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