Reviewing systematic literature reviews: ten key questions and criteria for reviewers

Management Review Quarterly - Systematic literature review articles are important for synthesizing knowledge in management and business research. However, to date, we lack clear guidelines how to...     

Trust and controllability in venture capital fundraising

This study discusses a model of success in venture capital (VC) fundraising. We develop this model based on agency and trust theory. The model is tested against quantitative data collected from 151 limited partners (LP) with headquarters predominantly in North America and Europe. Beyond the well-known criterion of the VC firm's track record, results suggest that trust and perceived controllability shape the investment decisions of those LPs. Moreover, antecedents of these main factors are evaluated. In sum, this study shows how fundraising VC firms can systematically manage the fundraising process.     

Top athletes’ psychological characteristics and their potential for entrepreneurship

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - The role of personality traits as predictors of entrepreneurial intention and success has been widely researched. This article investigates...     

The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions — Investigating the role of business experience

Do individuals who are concerned by issues of sustainability also exhibit stronger entrepreneurial intentions? Given that existing imperfections in the market create numerous opportunities for entrepreneurship connected with sustainable development, adding individual sustainability orientation to models of entrepreneurial intention could increase their explanatory power. Based on survey data collected from engineering and business students and alumni of three universities, we provide evidence that entering sustainability orientation into the equation is actually meaningful. However, our findings suggest that the positive impact of sustainability orientation vanishes with business experience. Consequently, we suggest measures to nourish an evidently existing potential for sustainable entrepreneurship.     

Zur Dynamik von Such-, Erfahrungs- und Vertrauenseigenschaften in komplexen Transaktionsprozessen – eine empirische Studie am Beispiel des Venture-Capital-Investitionsprozesses

In this paper we discuss the concept of search qualities, experience qualities and credence qualit ies (SEC qualities) which was developed in “Informational Economics” to explain the quality of goods. Some authors from this stream of research criticize the concept for its static character and suggest the development of a dynamic perspective. We consequently address this issue against the background of complex transactions and propose the introduction of multiple reference points in order to make the dynamics of SEC qualities measurable. First empirical evidence from the venture capital transaction process supports the assumption of dynamic SEC qualities.     

Ties that blind? How strong ties affect small business owner-managers’ perceived trustworthiness of their advisors

This research investigates how a strong personal relationship (strong tie) between a small business owner-manager and his professional or informal advisor affects the relationship between the advisor's recent performance and the owner-manager's perceptions of the advisor's trustworthiness in terms of ability, benevolence and integrity. A negative moderating effect could point to a ‘tie that blinds’: the owner-manager may be less critical in evaluating the advisor's perceived trustworthiness in light of their recent performance, because of the existing personal relationship. A conceptual model is constructed and examined with survey data comprising 153 young Finnish businesses. The results show that strong ties increase the owner-manager's perception of the advisor's integrity, disregarding their recent performance. For professional advisors, strong ties reduce the impact of recent performance in the owner-manager's evaluation of their ability. For informal advisors, a strong tie makes it more likely that their benevolence will be evaluated highly in light of their recent performance. While the results show that ‘ties can blind’ under certain circumstances, the limitations of the study raise the need for further research to specify these contextual factors and examine the causal link between the choice of advisor and business performance.     

Cannibalization or synergy? Consumers' channel selection in online–offline multichannel systems

This paper develops and empirically validates customer shopping motives taking account of customer channel selection in multichannel systems. As each channel is associated with certain advantages and disadvantages from a customer's perspective, we develop – based on behavioral considerations – a customer typology to classify different segments of customers. This enables us to empirically analyze the interrelationship between distinct shopping motives prior marketing research has suggested and cannibalization and synergetic effects in online–offline multichannel systems. Our results show that a higher degree of customers' convenience orientation in contrast to the degree of risk aversion and service orientation encourages the selection of the online channel over the offline channel. In addition, we develop and empirically analyze a typology of customers to classify distinct segments of consumers, highlighting the associated interrelationship of individual shopping motives and cannibalization and synergetic effects. Our results indicate that the desire for service, rather than risk aversion, could potentially cannibalize customers away from the online channel.     

Creative reconstruction: a structured literature review of the early empirical research on the COVID-19 crisis and entrepreneurship

Management Review Quarterly - The COVID-19 crisis triggered by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the infection control measures taken have extended beyond affecting health issues to impact...     

Explorers of the twenty-first century? A systematic literature review of the scholarship on international entrepreneurs from developed economies

Throughout history, expeditionists and explorers have discovered foreign countries and new worlds, markedly influencing the lives of succeeding generations. However, as multinational enterprises have come to drive globalisation, the existence of entrepreneurial individuals without the resources of large corporations is a relatively recent phenomenon. Although research on migrant entrepreneurs demonstrates the positive impact that foreign entrepreneurial activity can have on job creation and innovation, a clear perspective on entrepreneurs from developed economies venturing abroad is lacking. The study aggregates evidence from 33 articles to establish a unifying framework that describes the foreign entrepreneurial process originating in developed economies. The framework proposes categorising foreign entrepreneurial activity according to social and economic dimensions and introduces four archetypes of foreign entrepreneurs, helping us understand the dynamics of the institutional context and the motivations for venturing into foreign environments. Finally, the study discusses the implications for foreign entrepreneurs and considers future research avenues.