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This study aims to examine the resilience of Peruvian startups during the COVID-19 pandemic using a framework proposed by Lengnick-Hall et al. (2011), in which resilience impacts organizational strengthening. The goal is to identify those characteristics that allowed certain startups to discover growth opportunities amid this crisis.

This study analyzed human, social and entrepreneurial capital variables in Peruvian startups using data from a survey conducted in July 2020. Binary logistic regression was used to determine which organizational resources increased the probability of identifying growth opportunities during the pandemic.

The findings suggest that human capabilities become secondary in extreme crises such as pandemics. Critical factors for startup resilience include commercial partnerships with established firms, founders’ capital investment, business maturity and adoption of advanced digital technologies.

This research provides unique insights into startup resilience and growth in Peru during the COVID-19 crisis. The authors observed that business growth during this period was largely unpredictable, with less emphasis on human capabilities. The study highlights the importance of external factors in resilience, the role of collaboration between established firms, the integration of advanced digital technologies and the influence of founders’ investments and business maturity in navigating difficult times.

Este estudio examina la resiliencia de las startups peruanas durante la pandemia de COVID-19 utilizando un marco propuesto por Lengnick-Hall et al. (2011), en el que la resiliencia tiene un efecto en el fortalecimiento de las organizaciones. Su objetivo es identificar las características que permitieron a ciertas startups descubrir oportunidades de crecimiento en medio de esta crisis.

Analizamos variables de capital humano, social y empresarial en startups peruanas utilizando datos de una encuesta realizada en julio de 2020. Se utilizó regresión logística binaria para determinar qué recursos organizativos incrementaban la probabilidad de identificar oportunidades de crecimiento durante la pandemia.

Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que las capacidades humanas pasan a un segundo plano en crisis extremas como las pandemias. Los factores críticos para la resiliencia de las startups incluyen las asociaciones comerciales con empresas establecidas, la inversión de capital de los fundadores, la madurez empresarial y la adopción de tecnologías digitales avanzadas.

Esta investigación proporciona una visión única sobre la resiliencia y el crecimiento de las startups en Perú durante la crisis COVID-19. Observamos que el crecimiento empresarial durante este período fue en gran medida impredecible, con menos énfasis en las capacidades humanas. El estudio subraya la importancia de los factores externos en la resiliencia, el papel de la colaboración con las empresas establecidas, la integración de tecnologías digitales avanzadas, la influencia de las inversiones de los fundadores y la madurez empresarial para navegar en tiempos difíciles.

Este estudo examina a resiliência das startups peruanas durante a pandemia da COVID-19 usando uma abordagem proposta por Lengnick-Hall et al. (2011), na qual a resiliência tem um efeito fortalecedor nas organizações. Seu objetivo é identificar as características que permitiram que determinadas startups descobrissem oportunidades de crescimento em meio a essa crise.

Analisamos variáveis de capital humano, social e empresarial em start-ups peruanas usando dados de uma pesquisa realizada em julho de 2020. A regressão logística binária foi usada para determinar quais recursos organizacionais aumentaram a probabilidade de identificar oportunidades de crescimento durante a pandemia.

Nossas análises sugerem que as capacidades humanas se tornam secundárias em crises extremas, como as pandemias. Os fatores essenciais para a resiliência das startups incluem parcerias comerciais com empresas estabelecidas, investimento de capital dos fundadores, maturidade dos negócios e adoção de tecnologias digitais avançadas.

Esta pesquisa fornece informações exclusivas sobre a resiliência e o crescimento de startups no Peru durante a crise da COVID-19. Observamos que o crescimento das empresas durante esse período foi amplamente imprevisível, com menos ênfase nas capacidades humanas. O estudo destaca a importância de fatores externos na resiliência, o papel da colaboração com empresas estabelecidas, a integração de tecnologias digitais avançadas e a influência dos investimentos dos fundadores e da maturidade dos negócios na superação de tempos difíceis.

This research aimed to examine entrepreneurial fear of failure and entrepreneurial well-being from the perspectives of incubated and nonincubated startups during crises.

Data were collected by distributing online questionnaires to 152 respondents comprising 43 incubated and 109 nonincubated startups in Indonesia. A multivariate discriminant analysis procedure was used to examine the interrelationships between both groups at the discovery, validation, customer creation and construction stages.

The result showed a significant difference between these startups at various stages, which was analyzed to provide insights into the relevant dimensions of fear of failure for startups. The essence of entrepreneurial well-being during crises is in accordance with the role of business incubators in an emerging market economy.

Startups need to innovate in order to grow while considering other factors such as work-life balance and financial resource availability. This is important to ensure they have sufficient motivating dosage of fear of failure.

The present study evaluates incubated and nonincubated startups in an emerging market economy by using both the entrepreneurial fear of failure and well-being to capture possible differences between groups. The context of pandemic crises helps us formulate appropriate approaches taken by incubators and startups in the future crises.

Many individuals start a new firm each year, mainly intending to become independent or improve their financial situation. For most of them, the first years of operations mean a substantial investment of time, effort and money with highly insecure outcomes. This study aims to explore how entrepreneurs running new firms perform financially compared with the established ones and how this situation influences their well-being.

A questionnaire survey was completed in 2021 and 2022 by a representative sample of N = 1136 solo self-employed and microentrepreneurs in the Czech Republic, with dependent self-employed excluded. This study used multiple regressions for data analysis.

Early-stage entrepreneurs are less satisfied with their financial situation, have lower disposable income and report more significant financial problems than their established counterparts. The situation is even worse for the subsample of startups. However, this study also finds they do not have lower well-being than established entrepreneurs. While a worse financial situation is generally negatively related to well-being, being a startup founder moderates this link. Startup founders can maintain a good level of well-being even in financial struggles.

The results suggest that policies should focus on reducing the costs related to start-up activities. Further, policy support should not be restricted to new technological firms. Startups from all fields should be eligible to receive support, provided that they meet the milestones of their development. For entrepreneurship education, this study‘s results support action-oriented approaches that help build entrepreneurs’ self-efficacy while making them aware of cognitive biases common in entrepreneurship. This study also underscores that effectuation or lean startup approaches help entrepreneurs develop their startups efficiently and not deprive themselves of resources because of their unjustified overconfidence.

This study contributes to a better understanding of the financial situation and well-being of founders of new firms and, specifically, startups. The personal financial situation of startup founders has been a largely underexplored issue. Compared with other entrepreneurs, this study finds that startup founders are, as individuals, in the worst financial situation. Their well-being remains, however, on a comparable level with that of other entrepreneurs.

This study has conducted exploratory research to understand who should comprise the members of a resilient supply chain for promoting an entrepreneurial ecosystem of a startup project and to determine the mechanisms for the balanced coexistence of all stakeholders. This is necessary to ensure mutual benefits for all stakeholders, each of whom has multidimensional interests. Additionally, this supply chain must be able to withstand any potential disruption risks.

This research has employed a mixed-design approach. In this context, the study conducted an extensive qualitative and quantitative investigation, including 30 interviews and a survey involving 180 potential stakeholders in this supply network, respectively in the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka. The analysis of the interviews utilized principles of matrix thinking, while structural equation modeling (SEM) through LISREL was employed to understand cause-and-effect relationships.

Network, platform and governance—these three independent constructs have the potential to contribute to the dependent construct, a resilient supply chain, aimed at promoting an entrepreneurial ecosystem for startup projects. It has been revealed that the management of such projects depends on the rules and regulations within the ecosystem. An excellent governance mechanism is essential for this purpose. To facilitate coexistence, the establishment of a platform is crucial, where cooperation among all members is mandatory.

For practitioners, three distinctive but closely interdependent issues are explored and resolved in this philanthropic study. It has unfolded the elements of any startup project with essential settings.

The identification of the structural dynamics of potential stakeholders within the entrepreneurial ecosystem of startups is largely absent in existing literature. Therefore, there is a need to comprehensively investigate the entire network, including their roles, responsibilities and associations. This study makes a significant and novel contribution to the existing literature. Academics and practitioners alike have ample opportunities to learn from this new aspect of relationships across three distinct areas: the entrepreneurial ecosystem, startup projects and the development of a resilient supply chain.

Recent years have seen a meteoric rise in the study of narcissism in entrepreneurship, although little consolidation has occurred in this area. The purpose of this paper is the development of an integrative framework to harmonise the academic discussion and serve as a structured foundation for future research.

The authors conducted an artificial intelligence-aided, structured literature review focused on content analysis of concepts and contexts to map out current findings and research gaps in startup narcissism research.

According to the findings of this study, narcissistic tendencies have the potential to positively influence startup success early on in an entrepreneur's journey, but after a certain point in the process, the influence of narcissism on success becomes predominantly negative.

The research field is currently not very harmonised regarding research measures, research subjects and key research terms. Further research must use a standardised approach to add value to the research body.

Narcissism is a two-sided sword for founders. In the early stages of a company, many of the founder’s tasks can benefit from narcissistic tendencies. In the later stages of a company, that might shift to overwhelmingly negative effects of narcissism.

Methodically, this study is the first one to establish an artificial intelligence component to add value to the results of a review paper to the best of the authors’ knowledge. The results of this study provide a clear framework of entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial performance to give researchers the opportunity of a more differentiated way of organising work.

With practical entrepreneurship capabilities becoming ever more important for all university graduates, whether they are starting their own business or adding value to an organisation by innovating, improving, and problem-solving, what role do business incubators (BIs) play in helping to develop these capabilities for students? This chapter aims to better understand the role of BIs as extra-curricular entrepreneurship activity in universities through a narrative account of business incubation practice in three institutions – two in England and one in Australia. Utilising a practice-led methodology, the study is underpinned by social capital theory and a critical realist ontological perspective on incubation’s mechanisms, processes, and structures. Across these examples, there are common underpinning principles of entrepreneurial learning and socio-economic development. However, there are differences in implementation regarding space for incubation. Where the BI is on campus and closely integrated with extra-curricular entrepreneurship activity, this results in a cohesive graduate startup community and ongoing peer support. With no BI present, the opposite is observed. The chapter argues that without the infrastructure to build and maintain a community of nascent entrepreneurs to benefit from sustained peer learning, there can be negative impacts on the entrepreneurs and a visible gap affecting the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The chapter concludes with a practice note providing practical considerations for university BIs in communicating the significance of the incubator peer group to prospective entrepreneurs to improve realistic expectations and potentially improve their reach to entrepreneurs who may be experiencing isolation during their startup journey.

The lean startup approach (LSA) is extensively utilized by early-stage entrepreneurs, with “pivot” serving as a key pillar. However, there is a research gap concerning the boundary conditions impacting LSA and pivot decisions, especially when addressing societal challenges, as in the context of transformational entrepreneurship. In this regard, the healthcare sector, further compounded by a lack of research on startups and scale-ups, presents an embraced opportunity to provide multiple contributions for both theory and practice.

The present investigation employs a grounded approach to explore the experiences of the co-founders of a fast-growing Italian e-health startup. A narrative strategy was employed to organize conditions and evolving strategic action/interactions into three different pivoting phases of the startup – before the pivot, its enactment and aftermath – with primary and secondary data collected over a period of one year.

Pivoting in digital healthcare unfolded as a liminal experience marked by factors such as high regulation, multiple stakeholders, technological and symbolic ambivalence, resource-intensive demands and institutional actors acting as pathway pioneers, leading to an information overload and unforeseeable uncertainty to manage. These factors challenge entrepreneurs' ability to attain optimal distinctiveness, presenting the paradoxical need for vertical flexibility for scaling up.

By uniquely illuminating the sector’s constraints on entrepreneurial phenomena, this study provides a valuable guide for entrepreneurs and institutional actors in addressing societal challenges.

This study introduces a process model of transformational information crafting when pivoting, highlighting the role of entrepreneurs' transformational stance and platform-mediated solutions as engines behind strategies involving information breaking and transition, preceding knowledge-driven integration strategies.

The operational framework of external financing in the correlation between the gender of entrepreneurs and firm performance remains to be resolved. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of external financing on gender-based disparities in private firm performance and to explore its heterogeneity within the Chinese context.

Based on national data from the 10th to 13th Chinese Private Enterprise Survey, this study used a bootstrap-based mediation effect model to analyze the role of external financing as a mediator in the relationship between entrepreneur gender and firm performance.

This study found that external financing is a constructive mediator between entrepreneur gender and firm performance. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that external financing plays a complementary mediation role in the impact of entrepreneur gender on performance in West China. In the tertiary industry, external financing acts as the sole mediator for the impact of gender on firm performance. Notably, this mediating effect is present in non-startups but not in startups.

The findings suggest that external financing can improve the firm performance of female entrepreneurs. Governments and policymakers should strengthen financial support for female entrepreneurs in West China, tertiary industry and non-startup enterprises.

This paper contributes to the literature on gender and corporate governance by shedding light on the mediating role of external financing in the relationship between the gender of business owners and firm performance.

The aim of this paper is to improve the understanding of strategies for how established companies can respond to disruptive innovation, handle increasing complexity, facilitate entrepreneurial culture and processes and successfully manage organizational ambidexterity.

A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted to explore successful practices of innovation ambidexterity (IA) and their organizational design, entrepreneurial culture and mindset, processes and leadership. Two internationally established firms that have launched and established IA programs provided deep insight, revealing their strategy and learning on the path toward effective IA.

The findings show that accepting and managing the inherent complexity increases within an ambidextrous organization strategy is a decisive factor in achieving effective IA. As a result, segmenting small organizational units and granting them extensive autonomy is proposed for managing the complexity of an organization while increasing its effectiveness. Furthermore, it is shown that this helps foster entrepreneurial culture, mindsets and processes as additional mediators for achieving effective IA. Coaching, empowerment and trust were identified as key factors of ambidextrous leadership values that encourage entrepreneurial behavior and decision-making.

To the best of the authors knowledge the first study connecting the research fields of complexity management, organizational ambidexterity theory and entrepreneurial culture while applying the fundamentals of systems theory to propose a practical management framework for successfully responding to disruptive innovation.

The purpose of this study is to explore the strength and value-relevance of social capital in an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) provides a new perspective to explaining the configurations and interactions that shape entrepreneurial outcomes in regions. Research on the nature of interactions in EEs is still an ongoing debate. The authors draw from “organisational fields” studies to critically examine the interactions among actors in a non-transparent EE using the case of the Lagos region.

The methodology is based on a qualitative study of 40 semi-structured interviews with various ecosystem actors in the Lagos region, including financiers, government officials, universities, founders and venture capitalists. Additionally, data from the semi-structured interviews were triangulated with data obtained from a two-day focus group discussion Summit where Lagos’ EE issues were raised. This study analysed both data using thematic analysis.

This study suggests that in a non-transparent EE, four types of interactions are apparent: collaborative, stratified, clustered and unleveraged. Authors argue that in a non-transparent EE, there are blockages and distortions in the flow of resources to entrepreneurs and a higher proportion of entrepreneurs are unable to plug into the ecosystem to extract value for their businesses without a strong social capital.

The authors argue that entrepreneurs require deliberate effort to improve structural and relational social capital to plug into their ecosystem to extract value for their businesses.

The focus on interaction in a non-transparent EE is a novel approach to studying interactions within EEs. In addition, the study is an early attempt to explore entrepreneurial interactions within the Lagos region.