Entrepreneurial bricolage: crowdfunding for female entrepreneurs during COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented effects around the world and particularly on vulnerable populations, such as female entrepreneurs in developing countries. They are facing a new normal, characterized by high uncertainty and resource constraints. This paper aims to use the experiential learning theory applied to entrepreneurship to propose the entrepreneurial bricolage approach to study how female entrepreneurs can overcome this type of crisis. Design/methodology/approach Within the research designs of conceptual papers, the study is situated within the model approach because the authors propose novel relationships between constructs to answer the research questions through the development of theoretical propositions. Findings The analysis suggests that the entrepreneurial bricolage process represents a type of strategy that allows these women to adapt to this new normal. Based on this approach, the authors suggest that crowdfunding represents a financial resource at hand for both pre-existing female entrepreneurs and new female entrepreneurs. Practical implications The theoretical implications suggest an alternative conceptual framework of the entrepreneurial bricolage process to analyse the female entrepreneurial activity in developing countries and during crisis’ contexts. The managerial implications suggest that crowdfunding is a financial resource at hand for female entrepreneurs that allow them to perform well, innovate or implement growth strategies and have more chances of surviving and growing during the crisis. Finally, the policy implications are oriented to the promotion of this kind of financial alternative and the generation of trust for users, along with the strengthening of a regulatory framework to attract more investors and entrepreneurs. Originality/value This study provides useful information on how the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting female entrepreneurs in developing countries. It also expands on the literature on crowdfunding in terms of its advantages as a non-traditional funding source for women.

The Effect of Dual-level Transformational Leadership on New Firm Performance

In recent years, entrepreneurial bricolage acts as an effective way to solve the problem of resource constraint in new firms, and then gradually attracted attention from related scholars in entrepreneurship field. However, the existing literatures have an obviously insufficient of the implementation and driving factor of entrepreneurial bricolage behavior. Therefore, in this paper, we integrate entrepreneurial bricolage theory with transformational leadership theory to construct a theory model among dual-level (i.e., individual-focused and group-focused) transformational leadership, entrepreneurial bricolage and new firm performance by means of 194 questionnaires to empirical analysis. The results show that the entrepreneurial bricolage has the mediated role in the relationship between dual-level transformational leadership and new firm performance.

The Effect of Dual-Level Transformational Leadership on New Firm Performance

In recent years, entrepreneurial bricolage acts as an effective way to solve the problem of resource constraint in new firms, and then gradually attracted attention from related scholars in entrepreneurship field. However, the existing literatures have an obviously insufficient of the implementation and driving factor of entrepreneurial bricolage behavior. Therefore, in this paper, we integrate entrepreneurial bricolage theory with transformational leadership theory to construct a theory model among dual-level (i.e., individual-focused and group-focused) transformational leadership, entrepreneurial bricolage and new firm performance by means of 194 questionnaires to empirical analysis. The results show that the entrepreneurial bricolage has the mediated role in the relationship between dual-level transformational leadership and new firm performance.

Impact of Entrepreneurial Leadership and Bricolage on Job Security and Sustainable Economic Performance: An Empirical Study of Croatian Companies during COVID-19 Pandemic

In the wake of the current socio-economic crisis, discovering an effective strategy for managing uncertainty and successful reallocation of resources became key to ensuring sustainable economic performance. More recent evidence pointed to the entrepreneurial leadership style as an effective means for engaging employees in a more proactive pursuit of organizational goals. This article introduces a novel approach to sustainable economic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic considering entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurial bricolage, and job insecurity. The empirical study was performed on a sample of 410 employees from Croatian organizations working in different industries during the COVID outbreak. The study results reveal that entrepreneurial leadership positively impacts sustainable economic performance but does not lead to decreased job insecurity. Expectedly, job insecurity was found to have a negative effect on sustainable economic performance. The results confirmed a positive influence of entrepreneurial bricolage on sustainable economic performance, which is in line with existing literature. However, the moderating effect of entrepreneurial bricolage on the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and job insecurity was not significant. The findings suggest that companies can sustain their performance or even thrive under entrepreneurial leadership. The study lays the groundwork for further investigation on how entrepreneurial leaders can influence followers’ creative self-efficacy to decrease job uncertainty and prevent fear-induced hindrances, such as organizational deviance and turnover intention in the context of the pandemic.

Impact of entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of new ventures in China: the roles of entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition

Purpose This study aims to examine how entrepreneurial orientation affects new venture performance in a dynamic environment. The authors examine whether entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition mediate the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on new venture performance and whether environmental dynamics moderate the above effects. Design/methodology/approach This study uses questionnaires to collect data. The sample includes responses of managers from 274 new Chinese ventures. Regression analysis and bootstrapping are used to test the hypotheses. Findings Entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition play mediating roles between entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance. Environmental dynamism positively moderates the relationship between opportunity recognition and new venture performance. Practical implications In a dynamic environment, new ventures should strengthen their entrepreneurial orientation, which would gradually improve their performance by improving their entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition ability. Originality/value This study innovatively explains the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance from the perspectives of “flexible solutions to current problems” and “discovering and grasping potential new opportunities.” It does so by using the concepts of entrepreneurial bricolage and entrepreneurial opportunity identification in the context of a dynamic environment.