A comparative study of net entrepreneurial productivity in developed and post-transition economies

The paper develops net entrepreneurial productivity (NEP) as a complex latent construct of second order composed of productive, unproductive and destructive entrepreneurial activity. Its parameters were estimated using the partial least squares structural equation modeling method in the selected 15 developed and 7 post-transition economies for the average values in the period 2006-2013. The results unveil the direct and indirect effects between entrepreneurial activities, and between entrepreneurial activities and NEP, as well as that the level of NEP and productive entrepreneurial activity in developed economies is at a higher level compared with post-transition economies. The results suggest that for NEP and productive entrepreneurship to take place, regardless of the group of economies considered, an effective institutional environment that supports human capital development, fair competition and transparency should be established and maintained before developing more specific entrepreneurial programs and policies.     

Systematic literature review on entrepreneurial orientation in nonprofit organizations – Far more than business-like behavior

While entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) is often considered as another business-like behavior, the present systematic literature review changes this perspective by revealing that the construct refers to several specific third sector organizations' qualities and leverages financial and mission goals simultaneously. EO as a strategic posture of organizations is already well established in management and strategy literature whereas corresponding insights in NPOs are indeed expanded, but fragmented. To develop this research stream, a systematic literature review was conducted, that analyses the results of 76 studies about EO in NPOs. Besides describing current findings, this paper generates a comprehensive overview of applied constructs, drivers influencing EO, and goals promoted by this strategic posture. The context-specific modification of the construct leads to the presumption that EO does not predominantly target business-like initiatives, but holds a lot of potential meeting NPO's core challenges, such as the fulfillment of various stakeholders' expectations or diverse resources acquisition. The discussion elaborates to what extent EO serves as a viable alternative to highly discussed third sector developments of business approximation.     

Unraveling willingness to cannibalize: a closer look at the barrier to radical innovation

In the literature it has been suggested that willingness to cannibalize might explain why certain organizations are better at developing radical innovations than other organizations. Yet, a closer inspection of the literature suggests that organizations may cannibalize on previous investments, capabilities, and sales, lending support for the notion of a three-dimensional construct of willingness to cannibalize. The construct was then tested using a sample of Dutch companies. The results confirmed the three-dimensions of willingness to cannibalize. The construct and its dimensions showed anticipated different relationships with other NPD constructs, e.g. future market focus and risk posture of top management. In a second, larger study involving a panel of Dutch SMEs the construct was further checked and its effect on the type of new products developed investigated. Two out of three-dimensions of willingness to cannibalize were correlated with turning out more radical new products. There also was a positive correlation with financial performance. The results confirm that willingness to cannibalize is a multidimensional construct and plays an important role in predicting new product radicalness.     

Entrepreneurial Hustle: Navigating Uncertainty and Enrolling Venture Stakeholders through Urgent and Unorthodox Action

Entrepreneurs need to act under conditions of uncertainty and resource constraints to bring new, often-unrecognizable products to market and convince an unknown set of stakeholders to support their endeavours. The type of action entrepreneurs take to navigate uncertain entrepreneurial contexts is underspecified. We analysed 48 interviews with entrepreneurs to inductively identify an action-oriented construct we labelled as entrepreneurial hustle – an entrepreneur’s urgent, unorthodox actions that are intended to be useful in addressing immediate challenges and opportunities under conditions of uncertainty. In a follow-up study, we use an experimental vignette approach to assess the impact of an entrepreneur’s hustle on venture stakeholders. Findings suggest that entrepreneurial hustle positively influences stakeholder perceptions of the entrepreneur’s leadership effectiveness and a venture’s legitimacy, mediated by perceptions of the entrepreneur’s ability-based trustworthiness. We conclude that entrepreneurial hustle is a fundamental behaviour that enables entrepreneurs to enrol new venture stakeholders and lead their entrepreneurial efforts.     

Institutional environment for entrepreneurship in rapidly emerging major economies: the case of Brazil,China, India,and Korea

The country institutional profile (CIP) construct has become the most widely used conceptualization of institutional environment for entrepreneurship. This construct is frequently employed to study institutional forces influencing entrepreneurial activity at the national level. However, relatively little is known about the cross-national equivalence of the construct. Moreover, the institutional environment for entrepreneurship in emerging economies remains largely under-explored. To address these issues, in the current study, we used the most frequently utilized CIP scale to collect data from 809 young adults in four rapidly emerging countries: Brazil, China, India, and South Korea. We examined the invariance of the CIP construct and unraveled differences in perceived institutional profiles among these rapidly emerging economies. Results support the CIP construct as largely invariant in the four REME countries and revealed important differences in specific aspects of institutional environments in these countries. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

The Emergence and Popularization of Strategic Alliances: Institutional and Entrepreneurial Views

Strategic alliances have become a popular strategy in many industries. However, the process through which alliances emerge and get popularized is not well understood. While both the institutional and entrepreneurial views are relevant, they represent competing explanations regarding the alliance phenomenon. This paper recognizes both views and sees alliance emergence as a function of both the firms entrepreneurial posture and its institutional environment. The popularization of alliances is discussed as a legitimization process that changes the institutional environment, which in turn encourages more alliance formation.     

A taxonomy of ecopreneurship in small manufacturing firms: A multidimensional cluster analysis

This study presents a multidimensional taxonomy of “ecopreneurship” for small manufacturing firms. Based on a cluster analysis of 312 Swedish firms, four distinct clusters are identified: pioneers, green dumpers, overlookers, and recyclers. These clusters are compared regarding their level of entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Based on the results, and because of the resource constraints associated with small firms, managers of such companies are advised to examine the economic consequences of specific environmental business practices and to adopt a less aggregated approach to ecopreneurship. This study illustrates the usefulness of a multidimensional scale when researching environmental behaviors and is a response to the lack of an empirically based classification of ecopreneurship configurations.     

On assessing the construct validity of two multidimensional constructs: Occupational commitment and occupational entrenchment

Occupational commitment and occupational (career) entrenchment are two multidimensional constructs in the “early development” stages. The construct validity evidence to date for each multidimensional construct is constructively critiqued. Suggestions for building stronger measures of occupational commitment and occupational entrenchment are offered. It is argued that using longitudinal research designs and revisiting the nomological net can provide stronger discriminant validity evidence for each multidimensional construct. Finally, research simultaneously studying both constructs is needed. Preliminary work suggests that occupational entrenchment can be integrated within the continuance dimension of occupational commitment. Human resource implications for studying such occupational-level constructs are discussed.     

Tracking precursors of entrepreneurial intention: the case of researchers involved in eco-label industry

This article is based on the adaptation of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB) to build an entrepreneurial intention framework tailored to the specific context of researchers involved in eco-label industry, who can be perceived as nascent entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial intention model is tested on a convenience sample of researchers involved in eco-label industry from a wide range of countries. The configurational effect of research experience, personal attitude, funding instruments and entrepreneurial education level is tested for causal condition related to entrepreneurial intention of 25 eco-label researchers. The qualitative approach of data reveals that research experience and personal attitude relate positively to entrepreneurial career intentions and that these relationships are mediated by entrepreneurial education level. A multi-sided online platform connecting innovators and potential investors is considered a suitable solution for funding respondents’ results of research and innovation activities. Stimulating entrepreneurial motivations and intentions may help researchers to better adapt to alternative career perspectives. Results of this study suggest several ways to stimulate entrepreneurial career choices among researchers involved in eco-label industry.

     

Recommendations for improving the construct clarity of higher-order multidimensional constructs

In recent decades, there has been a proliferation of higher-order multidimensional constructs in the management and psychology literatures. Unfortunately, few guidelines have been presented for assessing the appropriateness of these constructs. In the current paper, the authors present seven recommendations for evaluating the construct clarity of multidimensional constructs. As an example, these guidelines are applied to existing multidimensional constructs, such as core self-evaluation and work engagement. The guidelines presented in this paper provide a roadmap for researchers interested in developing multidimensional constructs and identifying aspects of existing multidimensional constructs that are in need of improvement.     

Evaluating the impact of prior experience in entrepreneurial intention

Although entrepreneurial behavior is proposed as part of the solution to fragile labor markets, in particular in periods of economic and social change, policy makers are struggling to find the right levers to promote it. Despite the extant prior research on entrepreneurial behavior, little is known on the entrepreneurial behavior drivers for the individuals of working age with experience. Prior research explores the influence of entrepreneurial knowledge to study the drivers of experienced individuals evaluating whether or not to engage in an entrepreneurial behavior. This research introduces entrepreneurial knowledge to study the impact of prior experience on entrepreneurial intention. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this research work analyzes the relationship between entrepreneurial knowledge and entrepreneurial intention, and the mediating effects of the TPB perceptual variables: personal attitude (PA), social norm (SN), and perceived behavioral-control (PBC). A structural equation model (SEM) has been used to analyze the responses of a sample of 431 experienced individuals of working-age that completed a questionnaire based on Liñan & Chen’s, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 593–618, (2009) Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (EIQ). The results showed that entrepreneurial knowledge positively influences entrepreneurial intention and that this influence is mediated by the perceptual variables of the TPB model (PA, SN, PBC). These findings contribute to the understanding of the entrepreneurial intention for experienced individuals and consolidate the use of the TPB model to study individual entrepreneurial intention. The findings suggest that policy makers should pay more attention to individual entrepreneurial knowledge, and strengthen the attractiveness of an entrepreneurial career, if they are interested in fostering entrepreneurial behavior among individuals of working age with experience.     

Quantifying the relationship between entrepreneurship and competitiveness development stages in Latin America

This research aims to quantify the importance of a country??s entrepreneurship level in terms of its competitiveness rates. Our hypothesis is that those countries entrepreneurship growth rates increase their competitiveness indicators and that this entrepreneurial improvement could be a key factor in reaching the next stage of development. We establish this relationship using a longitudinal database of Latin American countries that participated in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and the Global Competitiveness Reports of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from 2001 to 2006. GEM and WEF construct aggregated indexes using several variables to rate each country??s entrepreneurship activity and competitiveness development. We use a discriminant analysis to identify various countries?? competitiveness subgroups and show how each country??s entrepreneurship rates have weight in different stages of competitiveness, placing a special emphasis on Latin America. Our results suggest that Latin American countries need to gain entrepreneurial dynamics and economic (and competitiveness) development by transforming their typical self-employment or low value-added new ventures for local markets into strong, innovative networked firms competing globally. Some management and policy implications are also discussed.     

Why are some graduate entrepreneurs more innovative than others? The effect of human capital,psychological factor and entrepreneurial rewards on entrepreneurial innovativeness

This study investigates the innovation behaviour of graduate start-ups at the individual level. It bridges the graduate enterprise literature and innovative entrepreneurship literature to put forward three arguments that ascertain why highly educated graduate entrepreneurs are not always innovative in starting new businesses. First, anchoring on the individual opportunity costs–entrepreneurial rewards nexus, it argues that graduate entrepreneurs will exploit opportunities innovatively if they expect the levels of entrepreneurial rewards that match their high human capital and high opportunity costs. Second, it is argued that entrepreneurial innovativeness is conditional on psychological factors such as students’ managerial self-efficacy and overconfidence. Third, it is also argued that the nonlinear relationship between entrepreneurial innovativeness and entrepreneurial rewards will drive graduate entrepreneurs to exploit even riskier opportunities in search for high rewards. This study operationalizes the theoretical framework with an empirical model and estimates it using a graduate entrepreneur sample from a questionnaire survey in China. Our results suggest that innovation behaviour of graduate start-ups is influenced by the quantity of human capital, psychological make-up and expectations of entrepreneurial rewards.     

Reconceptualizing entrepreneurial framework conditions

This report is an empirical examination of entrepreneurial framework conditions—the environmental conditions that encourage and support entrepreneurial activity at the national level. In particular, it attempts to validate the framework conditions employed in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), a multi-year, multinational study of entrepreneurial activity widely used in entrepreneurship research. The validity of the GEM entrepreneurial framework conditions is examined using empirical analysis of data drawn from Global Competitiveness Report measures for 53 countries over 4 years. The data suggest an alternative conceptualization of entrepreneurial framework conditions: commercial munificence, technology openness, regulatory openness, and technology influx. These findings have implications for theorists and policy makers interested in antecedents to entrepreneurially based economic growth.     

浅析如何提高高职院校创业的成功率

党的十七大报告提出了就业工作的新策略,"创业来带动就业"是缓解就业问题的重要途径。高职院校对创业教育师资队伍建设、创业教育的内容、途径和方法,直接影响着创业教育的质量。因此,创业教育课程和建设与改革值得思考和研究。     

Entrepreneurship in transitional economy

This paper explores the relationship among socio-political culture and the economic environment. It places the entrepreneur at the forefront of the Transitional Economy and identifies the entrepreneur as a catalyst for change and progress. Within wider world changes, this discussion and interrogation of entrepreneurial development in the Transitional Economy provides new knowledge from the perspective of both the authors and the perceptions of 638 respondents who contributed to the research. The concluding model makes explicit that the constructs Freedom and History serve as moderators for entrepreneurial development in the Transitional Economy and suggests that the strength of an individual is created by societal construct. The progress of entrepreneurs is enhanced where there is political and economic freedom to operate, informed by historical knowledge.     

Explaining nation-wide differences in entrepreneurial activity: a legitimacy perspective

The present study applies the lens of Institutional Theory to analyze the impact of a country’s entrepreneurial legitimacy on its entrepreneurial activity as well as on entrepreneurs’ access to financing. By creating a structural equation model of entrepreneurship in innovation-driven countries, the authors show that countries with greater entrepreneurial legitimacy have more entrepreneurial activity. The model was tested over a 5-year period, from 2009 to 2013. Results suggest that innovation-driven countries with more entrepreneurial legitimacy obtain greater rates of entrepreneurial activity. Further distinguishing among legitimacy types, cognitive legitimacy is shown to exert a stronger influence than regulative or normative legitimacy. The model also confirms a positive relationship between a country’s entrepreneurial legitimacy and access to financing. This occurs principally through regulative legitimacy. This study enlarges our knowledge of the existing differences in entrepreneurial activity among countries. It contributes to the literature on the country-level determinants of entrepreneurship, such as institutional conditions or financial access.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and motivation to start up a business: evidence from the health service industry

This study aims to investigate the entrepreneurial orientation and motivation to start up a business in a specific group of health care professionals (HCP), namely diagnostic and therapy technicians. Primary data collected through a sample of 367 HCP is used. The results regarding the entrepreneur’s psychological and cognitive profile supported the hypothesis that HCP who have previously created a firm have particular psychological and cognitive characteristics conducive to entrepreneurial activity. The results also demonstrate that motivation influences the willingness of firm creation. Additionally, this study highlights some implications for management seeking to promote the emergence of context-relevant conditions that would allow HCP to launch their own business venture more readily.     

Toward rigor and parsimony: a primary validation of Kolvereid’s (1996) entrepreneurial attitudes scales

Questioning the validity of scholarly work is not a typical path to publication in the management field. However, although considerable scholarship assesses entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions models of behaviour, methodological weaknesses in scale development have hampered scholars’ ability to rigorously interpret and build upon their research findings. We review 20 years of research and discover that the pioneer measure of entrepreneurial attitudes as a predictor of self-employment intentions, has yet to be empirically validated. We show that construct and measurement differences, one-off modifications to existing scales and a lack of adequate justification may partially explain why studies in the entrepreneurship education domain have produced inconsistent results. We address this limitation by performing factor analytic techniques on data from two sets of English-speaking university students from two North American countries. The result is a more parsimonious and streamlined ‘mini-Kolvereid’ scale. We further demonstrate that this scale is an effective predictor of entrepreneurial intentions.