Cut me some slack! An exploration of slack resources and technology-mediated human capital investments in entrepreneurship

PurposeIn this paper, the authors explore the relationship that slack resources and technology-mediated human capital investments can have on individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on human capital investments that individuals make through education and work, the authors analyze the relationship among formal online learning opportunities, informal skill development in the gig economy and entrepreneurial intentions.Design/methodology/approach Leveraging a novel dataset that merges administrative tax data with a survey of over 8,528 low- and moderate income (LMI) households, this study uses machine learning and propensity score weighting to examine the likelihood that individuals who make these technology-mediated human capital investments will have increased odds of entrepreneurial intentions when compared to similar individuals who do not make these investments.Findings The authors find that both partaking in online learning and working in the gig economy are significantly associated with increased odds of entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, through a variety of robustness and mechanism checks, the authors find that technology-mediation is an important factor in these relationships and that informal skill development and career preparation is one way in which gig employment influences entrepreneurial intentions.Research limitations/implications As the study’s data come from a cross-sectional survey, the authors cannot make causal inferences about the relationship between online learning, gig employment and entrepreneurial intentions. Thus, future research should explore sources of longitudinal data.Practical implications This study has practical implication for individuals and policymakers that seek to increase entrepreneurship among LMI households.Originality/value Despite a wealth of research on the relationships among slack resources, technology and innovation at the firm level, there is little of this research at the individual level – especially among LMI individuals. The authors begin to fill this important gap.

Coopetition and international entrepreneurship: the influence of a competitor orientation

PurposeGuided by a relational, stakeholder perspective of resource-based theory, the purpose of the current investigation is to help unpack the complexity of the performance-enhancing nature of coopetition for international entrepreneurs, namely the interplay between collaboration and competition. The context features under-resourced wine producers owned and managed by entrepreneurs that have implemented an internationalised business model. The focus of the study involves the influence of a “competitor orientation”, namely when decision-makers understand the short-term strengths, weaknesses, long-term capabilities and strategies of key current and potential rivals.Design/methodology/approachData collection primarily featured semi-structured interviews with owner-managers of wine-producing firms in New Zealand that reflected heterogeneity amongst international entrepreneurs' strategies targeting different product markets within their respective business models. Secondary data were also collected where possible. Specifically, interviewees' firms exhibited different portfolios involving wine sales (with varying export intensities) together with augmented sales of tourism-related products/services focussed on the domestic market.FindingsCoopetition activities amongst international entrepreneurs varied; i.e. influenced by respective owner-managers' competitor orientations. Illustrations of different decision-makers' business models within a 2 × 2 matrix feature those with a low- or high-export intensity, together with a narrow or augmented product portfolio. Internationalising entrepreneurs' perceptions varied regarding the extent to which their respective business model was oriented towards local cluster-based domestic tourism with limited export sales, as opposed to those with national and more importantly international wine sales. Possessing and acting upon relevant knowledge manifested in which competitors international entrepreneurs collaborated with and the extent to which this took place across product-market strategies. In turn, this enabled particular decision-makers to exhibit flexibility; hence, entrepreneurs enter and exit certain markets together with changing export intensities, as varying opportunities were identified and exploited.Originality/valueAlthough the performance-enhancing nature of coopetition is largely established in prior literature, the complexity of that relationship remains relatively under-researched, not least, amongst international entrepreneurs. More specifically, the extent to which decision-makers that are engaged in coopetition exhibit a competitor orientation remains under-researched. Unique insights feature a 2 × 2 matrix in order to provide originality regarding international entrepreneurs' respective product-market strategies within their business models that are underpinned by varying coopetition relationships and competitor orientations.

The malleability of international entrepreneurial cognitions: a natural quasi-experimental study on voluntary and involuntary shocks

PurposeThe authors investigate the durability of international entrepreneurial cognitions. Specifically, they examine how advanced business education and the Covid-19 pandemic influence international entrepreneurial orientation disposition (IEOD), and subsequently entrepreneurial intentions (EIs), to better understand the psychological dynamics underpinning the drivers of international entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachAgainst the backdrop of emerging entrepreneurial cognition and international entrepreneurial orientation research, the authors theorize that both a planned business education intervention (voluntary) and an unforeseeable radical environmental (involuntary) change constitute cognitive shocks impacting the disposition and intention to engage in entrepreneurial efforts. The authors use pre- and post-Covid-19 panel data (n = 233) and uniquely identify the idiosyncratic cognitive effects of Covid-19 through changes in the OCEAN personality assessment.FindingsFindings demonstrate that when individuals' perceived psychological impact of Covid-19 is low, business education increases IEOD. Conversely, the effects of a strongly perceived Covid-19 impact reduce the risk-taking and proactiveness components of the IEOD scale. The authors trace the same effects forward to EIs.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to a greater understanding of the resilience of entrepreneurial dispositions through an empirical test of the IEOD scale and shows its boundary conditions under planned intervention as well as unplanned externally induced shock.Practical implicationsThe study offers a first benchmark to practitioners of the malleability of international entrepreneurial dispositions and discusses the potential to encourage international entrepreneurial behaviour and the individual-level dispositional risk posed by exogenous shocks.Originality/valueThe study uniquely employs a baseline measure of all our constructs pre-Covid-19 to discern and isolate the pandemic impact on entrepreneurial dispositions and intentions, responding to recent calls for more experimental designs in entrepreneurship research.

Reconciling social enterprise: beyond the paradox perspective

PurposeThe paper aims to critically review the increasingly taken-for-granted view of social enterprise (SE) as inherently paradoxical and tackles the research question as follows: are the tensions experienced by SE and social entrepreneurs (SEnt) actually paradoxical and if not, what are the implications for theory and practice?Design/methodology/approachA paradox theory (PT) approach has been utilized to explore the implications, validity and helpfulness of the paradox perspective in understanding and managing the tensions that are inherent in SE.FindingsConceptualizing the primary tension of doing social good through commercial activity as a paradox is argued to be a limiting misnomer that conspires to reify and perpetuate the tensions that SE and SEnt have to manage. Drawing upon PT, the findings of the paper reconceptualize these tensions as myths, dilemmas and dialectics, which are subsequently used to develop a more complete ontological framework of the challenges that arise in SE and for SEnt.Practical implicationsReconceptualizing the “inherent paradoxes” of SE as either dilemmas or dialectics affords a means of pursuing their successful resolution. Consequently, this view alleviates much of the pressure that SE managers and SEnt may feel in needing to pursue commercial goals alongside social goals.Originality/valueThe work presents new theoretical insights to challenge the dominant view of SE as inherently paradoxical.

Exploring differences in the antisocial behaviors of adolescent rule-breaking that affect entrepreneurial persistence

PurposeThe authors explore the relationship between adolescent behavior and subsequent entrepreneurial persistence by drawing on scholarship from clinical psychology and criminology to examine different subtypes of antisocial behavior (nonaggressive antisocial behavior and aggressive antisocial behavior) that underlie adolescent rule breaking. The intersection of gender and socioeconomic status on these types of antisocial behavior and entrepreneurial persistence is also studied.Design/methodology/approachUsing a longitudinal research design, this study draws from a national representative survey of USA adolescents, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997) (NLSY97). Nonaggressive antisocial behavior was assessed with a composite scale that measured economic self-interest and with a second measure that focused on substance abuse. Aggressive antisocial behavior was assessed as a measure of aggressive, destructive behaviors, such as fighting and property destruction. Entrepreneurial persistence was operationalized as years of self-employment experience, which is based on the number of years a respondent reported any self-employment.FindingsAggressive antisocial behavior is positively related to entrepreneurial persistence but nonaggressive antisocial behavior is not. This relationship is moderated by gender and socioeconomic status.Originality/valueThese findings contribute to research on the relationship between adolescent behavior and entrepreneurship in adulthood, the effect of antisocial behavior, and demographic intersectionality (by gender and socioeconomic status) in entrepreneurship. The authors surmise that the finding that self-employment for men from lower socioeconomic backgrounds involved in aggressive antisocial behavior was significantly higher compared to others may indicate that necessity entrepreneurship may be the primary driver of entrepreneurial activity for these individuals.

Social entrepreneurship organisations and collaboration: taking stock and looking forward

PurposeThe aim of this systematic literature review (SLR) is to map out the current state of the research on collaboration in the context of social entrepreneurship organisations (SEOs), synthesise this line of research and advance a research agenda.Design/methodology/approachA SLR of 40 scientific articles found in the Scopus and Web of Science databases built the foundation for an analysis of the state-of-the-art of the research addressing the interplay of SEOs and collaboration. This area of research has been very recent since the selected articles have been published since 2005 and more than half of which have appeared since 2017.FindingsThe findings suggest that collaboration is increasingly perceived as a crucial entrepreneurial activity and process for SEOs. The results indicate that collaboration is a vibrant and rapidly growing line of research which spans different fields of study, contexts, varied theoretical perspectives and multiple units of analysis. Furthermore, a total of five key research themes are identified pertaining to collaboration in the context of SEOs, such as motivations and strategies of collaboration, its antecedents, the interplay of institutional logics and tensions arising in collaboration, the impact of collaboration on the mission of SEOs and collaborative processes and practices.Originality/valueTo lend structure to this fragmented field of inquiry, this study systematically reviews and synthesises research on collaboration in the context of SEOs. In doing so, the study reveals that this line of research is under-researched, offering a significant scope for further scrutiny.

Careers of commercially successful female entrepreneurs in context of underdeveloped markets and weak institutions

PurposeCareers have come to dominate contemporary discourse on gendered entrepreneurship. This paper aims to explore entrepreneurial careers as recounted by commercially successful female entrepreneurs to examine how they strategize to construct desirable careers in contexts characterized by underdeveloped markets and weak institutions.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative research design, data for our inquiry come from publicly available life history accounts of 20 female entrepreneurs appearing on an enterprise focus television show in Nigeria. The authors supplemented the television interview data with archival data in the form of publicly available digital footprints of the entrepreneurs collected from their company websites, magazines, online newspapers featuring these entrepreneurs and their social media pages such as LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Facebook and Instagram.FindingsThe careers of female entrepreneurs operating in context of underdeveloped institution and markets, the authors found, are characterized by four heterogeneous ingrained dispositions and actions reflecting how they got in and got on with their entrepreneurial careers: (1) “Observing and playing business,” (2) traipsing the “path less traveled,” (3) a hook to the “Pierian spring” of entrepreneurship and (4) “Grace under pressure” in decision-making.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the entrepreneurship literature by providing insight into the lived experiences, agency and careers of commercially successful female entrepreneurs as played out in the form of a contextual practice of “wayfinding” to starting up and managing their own business ventures.

Is academic spin-off financing a matter of business and growth models? The Spanish case

PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between the development of academic spin-offs (ASOs) and the type of financing involved, by considering three research questions: How do ASOs differ in terms of financing? To what extent and for what reasons do ASOs differ in their financing? How do business and growth models dictate the selection of different sorts of financing arrangement?Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a grounded-theory, qualitative approach based on 39 Spanish ASOs.FindingsThere is a heterogeneity of ASO financing, and the selection of financial resources is related to the business and growth model of the ASO. Furthermore, there are some critical junctures for financing within each group of ASOs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study advances the understanding of the determinants of ASOs, specifically with respect to financing, business models and growth orientation. The Spanish context used here may not permit the global generalisation of the results; nevertheless, this study is a response to calls to consider the effect of regional context on ASOs.Practical implicationsKnowing the heterogeneity of ASOs in terms of financing and how business and growth models determines the selection of distinct financing sources help financial planning, investment decisions and the design of programmes and policies, which can be relevant for both ASOs and their stakeholders (investors, universities and governments).Originality/valueThis study provides a comprehensive view of ASO financing, confirming a heterogeneity, not only in terms of financing but also in some critical junctures that presage a change from one type of financing to another.

Entrepreneurial performance of new-generation rural migrant entrepreneurs in China

PurposeChina has a new rural revitalization strategy to stimulate rural transformation through modernizing rural areas and resolving their social contradictions. While social capital is recognized as an important element to rural revitalization and entrepreneurship, research into the role of psychological capital is less developed. Therefore, this paper assesses the impact of both social and psychological capital on entrepreneurial performance of Chinese new-generation rural migrant entrepreneurs (NGRMEs) who have returned to their homes to develop businesses as part of the rural revitalization revolution.Design/methodology/approachBased on a survey, data were collected from 525 NGRMEs in Shaanxi province. This paper uses factor analysis to determine variables for a multiple linear regression model to investigate the impacts of dimensions of both social capital and psychological capital on NGRMEs’ entrepreneurial performance.FindingsThrough the factor analysis, social capital of these entrepreneurs consists of five dimensions (reputation, participation, networks, trust and support), psychological capital has three dimensions (innovation and risk-taking, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial happiness) and entrepreneurial performance contains four dimensions (financial, customer, learning and growth, and internal business process). Furthermore, the multiple linear regression model empirically verifies that both social capital and psychological capital significantly influence and positively correlate with NGRMEs' entrepreneurial performance.Originality/valueThis study shows the importance of how a mixture of interrelated social and psychological dimensions influence entrepreneurial performance that may contribute to the success of the Chinese rural revitalization strategy. This has serious implications when attempting to improve the lives of over 100 million rural Chinese citizens.

An exploration of changing student entrepreneurial motivators – a longitudinal analysis

Purpose Entrepreneurial motivations are considered key determinants of the direction, intensity and duration of entrepreneurial processes and outcomes. To measure attitudes and outcome expectations related to an entrepreneurial career, researchers often use a set of predetermined behavioral beliefs or motivators. However, motivators can be numerous, context-specific and there is a lack of evidence regarding their stability over time. This study addresses this gap, while also providing a rich description of how Portuguese college students perceive entrepreneurship and how these perceptions relate to levels of entrepreneurial intentions (EI).Design/methodology/approach Using qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze data over a 5-year period, this study seeks to confirm existing evidence on entrepreneurship motivators' diversity and heterogeneity and to explore differences in motivators' temporal stability. Using an initial sample of 851 Portuguese college students and 3 different survey waves, this study first aggregates the most frequently cited motivators for EI to compile a series of meaningful motivational factors. Subsequently, it extensively analyzes the robustness of these factors by examining their validity against EI and stability over time.Findings Based on their superior association with EI and greater temporal stability, the findings suggest that entrepreneurship-intrinsic motivational factors are more relevant for college students' EI models. Prominently, being motivated to create one's own new business due to a particular occupational interest is the most consistently stable individual motivation.Practical implications The results may interest those studying entrepreneurial motivations and EI longitudinally and who invest in promoting entrepreneurial behavior of college students.Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to analyze entrepreneurship motivators/reasons' temporal stability, which is relevant for assessing their value for longitudinal entrepreneurship research and education. It is also the most complete assessment of Portuguese college students' perceptions of entrepreneurship.