Canadian Entrepreneurs Research Articles

Entrepreneurial Competencies, Innovation Enablers and Sustainable Competitive Advantage Among Micro Firms Across Cultures: A Comparative Study of Canada and Malaysia

Recent research on start-up businesses has drawn attention to the central importance of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) by accelerating the continuous development of entrepreneurial competencies (EC) through bridging the mediating and moderating peer relationships for entrepreneurial success. Such peer relationships among innovation enablers (IE), government support (GS) and competitive intelligence awareness (CIA) are vital in connecting EC to achieve SCA. However, prior studies scantily emphasized the causal linkages between two different contexts, particularly Canada and Malaysia. This study unpacks the black box of peer relationships contributing to EC and sustainable growth. We espoused a deductive approach with a quantitative methodology using SPSS AMOS version 22 for measurements to address the gaps in the entrepreneurship literature. The dataset comprises 750 respondents from micro-sized wholesale, retail and service firms with 1–3 employees, evenly split between Malaysia and Canada. The empirical sample results show that for Canadian entrepreneurs, the direct effect of EC has a positive and significant influence on SCA, but is negatively and significantly associated in the Malaysian context. Moreover, the CIA had a positive and significant moderating effect on the relationship between EC and IE in both Canadian and Malaysian samples. However, the CIA moderating effect on the relationship between EC and SCA is only positive and significant in the Canadian sample and insignificant in the Malaysian context. Lastly, the moderating effect of GS on the relationship between EC and SCA is positive and significant in the Canadian sample and insignificant in the Malaysian sample. These findings also offer practical clarity to the puzzle of how some EC can become the cornerstone of these firms’ sustainable growth by adopting IE in conjunction with CIA and GS.

Antecedents of immigrants' entrepreneurial intention formation process: an empirical study of immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada.

Economic integration of ever-increasing number of immigrants in the host country is a challenge both for the immigrant and their host government. Immigrant entrepreneurship can be one of the solutions to this challenge. However, little is known about how immigrant entrepreneurship intention formation process takes place. Immigrants face various challenging situations that make them psychologically and cognitively distinct. This study models from a holistic perspective, the dimensions of individual and contextual variables as antecedents of Immigrants' entrepreneurial intention (IEI). The study aims to identify the key factors responsible for developing EI of immigrants with an implementation intent. Cross-sectional data from Canada is examined using a sample of 250 immigrants. The analysis adopts a structural equation modelling approach. In addition to risk perception, bridging social network, and experience, we postulate that the perceived distance of entrepreneurial culture (country of origin versus host country) and entrepreneurial support are crucial factors that influence IEI. Empirical analyses based on survey data partially confirmed our hypotheses. The results show the role of psychological and cognitive factors in determining immigrants' intention to start a new business. We extend the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by identifying certain understudied determinants in the literature and presenting a holistic decision-making process in the context of immigration-entrepreneurship nexus. Examining specific factors that appropriately contextualize immigrant entrepreneurship research and relativize the EI through a learning-based approach advances current literature. It offers insights to policymakers and practitioners to contemplate entrepreneurial culture as a shared liability issue (foreignness, host country), and adapt their entrepreneurship guidance accordingly. Thus, this study opens the way to a better understanding of the business behaviour of immigrants. Their impact matters for the entrepreneurial diversity that resilient ecosystems need.

Corrado Paina (ed.) Made in Canada: The Italian Way. 32 Success Stories of Canadian Entrepreneurs of Italian Origin

Corrado Paina (ed.) Made in Canada: The Italian Way. 32 Success Stories of Canadian Entrepreneurs of Italian Origin

PETRO YATSYK − ENTREPRENEUR, PHILANTHROPIST, STATESMAN

Abstract. This article aims to popularize the ideas and practices of social responsibility of business, whose representatives are guided by the social values of culture, education, science as the main factors in the development of a strong democratic state. Petro Yatsyk, a Canadian entrepreneur of Ukrainian origin, is an example of such a representative. The article reflects the most important projects of scientific, economic and socio-cultural significance, the initiative and financing of which was joined by Petro Yatsik. According to researchers, Petro Yatsyk has funded projects aimed at developing Ukrainian institutions in the world and other charitable purposes in the amount of more than $30 million. Among them are the «Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies», created under the auspices of the Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society, the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University (USA), Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta, the International Ukrainian Language Competition (now the Petro Yatsyk Competition), the “History of Ukraine-Rus” by Mykhaylo Hrushevsʹkyy translated into English, other monographs on history, economics, political science, medicine, ethnography. Petro Yatsyk was awarded the President of Ukraine and other state awards for personal merits in building a sovereign democratic state, developing the economy, science, culture, active charitable and civic activities. Keywords: Petro Yatsyk, entrepreneurship, social values, philanthropy, Ukrainian studies, Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta, Ukraine.

The Rise of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Canada: From Immigrant to Influencer

This study aims to examine the influence of Chinese immigrants on Canadian business culture and the role of Chinese business associations in shaping the Canadian business landscape. A qualitative research design was used to explore the topic, and semi-structured interviews were conducted as the primary method of data collection. 25 participants were selected for the study through purposive sampling, including Chinese immigrant business owners, employees of Chinese-owned businesses, and members of Chinese business associations in Canada. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected through the interviews and identify patterns and themes that emerged from the participants’ responses. The study found that Chinese immigrants have had a significant influence on Canadian business culture and that Chinese business associations play an important role in promoting business cooperation between different cultural groups. The results also suggest that embracing cultural diversity in the business environment has both benefits and challenges, and businesses must effectively manage cultural diversity in the workplace to promote cooperation between different cultural groups. This study provides valuable insights into the ways in which Chinese immigrants have shaped the Canadian business landscape and the importance of embracing cultural diversity in the business environment.

Does generation matter to innovation development? A new look at entrepreneurial businesses from the perspective of resource-based view (RBV)

PurposeResearch shows that innovation is imperative for business competitiveness and that entrepreneurs are stimulators of innovation. This is particularly true for younger entrepreneurs, who are recognized as having technological savvy, high dependency on the web, low fear of change and high zeal for challenges. However, not all businesses headed by younger entrepreneurs innovate, and research on younger entrepreneurs' innovation is lacking. This study assessed the main drivers of innovation in a sample of young Canadian entrepreneurs leading businesses in the initiation phase.Design/methodology/approachA sample of young Canadian entrepreneurs leading businesses in the initiation phase has been employed. This study is based on younger entrepreneurs and draws on the definition of generations Y and Z (Taylor and Keeter, 2010). It examines the initial stage of a business, up to 3 years. The sample includes 100 adults (65% female), whose ages ranged from 18 to 34 years. The drivers to innovate included external support (e.g. mentoring, funds, accelerators) and internal factors, including psychological attributes (i.e. risk-taking) and entrepreneurial motivations. Regression and structural equation modeling analyses have been conducted.FindingsThe findings revealed that entrepreneurial motivations for achieving self-fulfillment and contributing to the world, which are prevalent among younger generations, fostered innovation both directly and indirectly through the mediating effect of external support and risk-taking. External support fostered innovation not directly but through the mediating effect of risk-taking; in contrast, internal factors directly propelled innovation. This finding demonstrates the significance younger generations attribute to internal factors over external factors in the quest for innovation.Practical implicationsThis study can be an intriguing starting point for future studies to examine in more depth the intertwined role of external and internal factors in accelerating innovation among younger entrepreneurs. Studies could examine various psychological attributes and professional and business capabilities (Zahra, 2021) as well as external factors.Originality/valueOur findings add to this literature in stressing the need to strengthen risk-taking among younger entrepreneurs, which is affected by external support and produces innovation; and reinforce the relevance of the resource-based view in revealing younger entrepreneurs' avenues to develop innovation, pinpointing external support as contingent on motivation and demonstrating the role of risk-taking in the pursuit of innovation.

Relationship Between Effectuation/Causation and New Venture Performance: A Situational Perspective

Although some studies have addressed circumstances under which effectual or causal actions yield better venture performance, until now, there are still unanswered questions about whether entrepreneurs can cognitively recognize when effectual/causal actions are likely to yield better performance and execute them. In this research, we utilize a contingency theory lens to address this question for different levels of product/service disruptiveness. Based on a sample of 200 entrepreneurs in Canada, we study the effect of openness to change and ambition on the ventures’ capability of choosing and fulfilling the best course of action (effectuation vs causation) at different levels of product/service disruptiveness.

Advancing Equity in Arts Entrepreneurship

The authors conduct an empirical investigation of the national Equity X Program to understand not just the barriers that women face in becoming producers and developing business skills to move their career forward as artist entrepreneurs in Canada but also how emerging professionals feel about their perceived opportunities. The authors first situate the study within the literature on equity and inclusion in the creative sector and the importance of the music industry in this context. They then use an impact assessment framework that incorporates key indicators around equity and inclusion, aesthetic goals and approaches, and accessibility measures to help organize six rich clusters of data drawn from respondents (N=397). Using iterative open coding of open-ended responses to semi-structured questions, as well as critical discourse analysis, the authors examine the clustered data to illustrate or address these impact measures and to tease out the implications of each cluster of data. The analysis of the six clusters of data can help the sector (and their funders and policymaking supporters) better understand priorities for entrepreneurial capacity-building, including professionalization, technical skills, self-development, a sense of belonging through networking, entrepreneurial development, and emotional engagement in the sector. While the study does not suggest that systemic discrimination can be overcome any time soon, it does provide evidence of the ways in which women creatives in music believe that becoming more proficient in technical and business skills will help them; it also illustrates their optimism about being able to overcome discrimination. This generates a more complex understanding not just of some of the challenges faced by diverse women artist-entrepreneurs within Canada’s music ecosystem but also perceptions about how they aim to overcome these challenges. The article concludes by outlining future work required to ameliorate system-wide discrimination in arts entrepreneurship.

Strong ties, information seeking, and ecosystem brokerage among actors in the Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem

While weak ties have received considerable research attention, less is known about the role of strong ties in this context or the interplay among different types of ties. This study addressed this gap, at least partially, by investigating the outreach made by Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs to improve their businesses through a survey of knowledge-seeking behaviors of 533 Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs identified 1666 different ecosystem actors among 3397 separate knowledge-seeking events. The findings from this study highlight the importance of a confluence of strong and weak ties in serving as conduits through which entrepreneurs secure resources from ecosystem support providers. When a breadth of knowledge is required (i.e. both business and technical), entrepreneurial firms establish strong ties with specific government agencies and universities. When primarily business knowledge is needed, entrepreneurial firms form strong ties with government agencies, while government agencies in turn establish strong ties with a wider range of stakeholders across the ecosystem actors. Finally, when primarily technical knowledge is needed the strong ties are leveraged primarily by entrepreneurial firms to embed themselves within the partner organizations, which tend to be universities and professional service organizations. The article concludes with implications for theory and practice.

Interview With Canadian Entrepreneur Stéphane Bilodeau on the Management of COVID19 in His Country

CP: Canada is, I believe, an exception, since both the elimination strategy and the mitigation strategy for COVID are carried out on the same territory. Can you explain this particularity? SB: My country, Canada, has indeed implemented a diversified strategy. In six provinces, the strategy is close to that of France. Called mitigation, it aims … Continued

Immigrant Entrepreneurs’ Identity Constructions and Endeavors: Considering Ethnicity and Gender

In this study, we ask: How do immigrant men and women construct entrepreneurial identities at the intersection of ethnicity and gender, and how do these identity constructions interact with entrepreneurial endeavors? We conduct a qualitative study based on interviews with Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada, and analyze their narratives. The findings show various configurations of ethnicity and gender themes in entrepreneurial identity narratives, and provide a nuanced understanding of how social categories of ethnicity and gender offer interpretive resources that immigrant entrepreneurs appropriate and emplot, resist and efface, or subvert and customize in narratives of entrepreneurial identity. Identity constructions show limits of agency as individuals may be constrained by embodiment of identity markers through which they might come to define themselves. Identity markers can also be interpreted expansively, and can change as entrepreneurial endeavors bring about variations that are then taken up in identity reconstructions. The findings also reveal the ambivalences experienced by immigrant entrepreneurs, and show that these ambivalences may persist over long periods of time. This study contributes to research through inclusion of both men and women immigrant entrepreneurs. Men have hitherto not been a major focus of analysis in gendered identity studies of immigrant entrepreneurs.

Exploring the organizing and strategic factors of diasporic transnational entrepreneurs in Canada: An empirical study

This paper examines opportunity identification and strategies as well as organizational practices used by diasporic transnational entrepreneurs residing in Canada. The findings indicate that the ability to identify products/services in one context and adapt them to fulfill needs in another context and a choice of appropriate competitive strategies are paramount to success. However, differentiation strategies seem preferred more often than low cost leadership strategies. Learning and creativity are the best means to identify and take advantage of opportunities. Although family and friends play an important role in the identification of opportunities, their importance decreases once a firm is created.

What motivates millennials? How intersectionality shapes the working lives of female entrepreneurs in Canada’s fashion industry

The contemporary fashion industry is based on a set of ‘gendered skills and attributes.’ Women numerically dominate fashion schools and the labour force of fashion firms, and also start and run the majority of independent fashion brands. Angela McRobbie and others have highlighted the importance of considering the gendered dynamics of fashion-related work. Yet, as the industry continues to evolve in the wake of global integration, the digital transition and intensifying competition, there is an ongoing need for research. Using an intersectional approach, this paper provides a novel case study of young ‘Millennial’ female independent fashion designers who operate within the emerging and under-explored Canadian fashion industry. Drawing on 87 interviews and participant observation, the paper demonstrates how entrepreneurial motivations, pathways, practices and experiences are shaped by individual characteristics, such as gender, age, lifecycle and class. Particular attention is paid to the challenges and tensions associated with the D.I.Y. (do it yourself) model and how forms of work, including aesthetic labour, are performed and experienced in virtual spaces such as social media platforms. In so doing, the paper contributes to nascent research on Millennials and nuances our understanding of the gendered nature of creative labour. Crucially, the paper also moves beyond typical masculinist conceptualisations of entrepreneurship, which focus on high-growth and high-technology businesses, to highlight the legitimacy, prevalence and importance of alternative motivations, networks, identities and business practices within contemporary markets and creative industries.

Spirituality and Entrepreneurship: The Role of Magical Thinking in Future-Oriented Sensemaking

Drawing from a qualitative empirical study of Canadian entrepreneurs, we seek to understand the nature of entrepreneurial thinking. More specifically, we analyse entrepreneurs’ cognitive capacity to mitigate the risk inherent in an uncertain future and overcome low community expectations of entrepreneurial success. We introduce the notion of ‘magical thinking’, an emergent construct that refers to a cluster of beliefs that maintain the motivation and focus of entrepreneurs by transmuting agency from a rational-scientific context in which the entrepreneur imposes his or her will on the environment, to a spiritual context in which the entrepreneur perseveres by remaining true to trust in a wider cosmological belief system. We identify three key elements of magical thinking – finding one’s path, obtaining the answers and being at peace.

The role of entrepreneurial education and support in business growth intentions: the case of Canadian entrepreneurs

We investigate the role of academic and non-academic entrepreneurship education programs on entrepreneurs’ growth intentions by employing attributes perceived by entrepreneurs as valuable in their education. Entrepreneur status (nascent/wanna-preneurs versus experienced entrepreneurs) is then explored to decipher its influence on these relationships. We analyzed a sample of 2609 Canadian adults who were active or non-active (wanna-preneurs) in entrepreneurship activity. The results confirmed the significant impact of the ‘traditional’ essence of academic (e.g. knowledge) and non-academic (e.g. funding) programs on growth intentions. They further proved the relevance of academic programs to experienced entrepreneurs and of non-academic programs to nascent/wanna-preneurs intentions toward growing their business. Implications of these results for higher education and programs for entrepreneurs, as well as for policy-makers, are discussed.

Network embeddedness in the internationalization of biotechnology entrepreneurs

This study investigates how entrepreneurs of biotech enterprises embed in domestic and international networks so as to internationalize. We advance a contextual framework of embeddedness of internationalizing entrepreneurs, providing a contribution (i) by synthesizing and applying existing conceptual insights from the networking literature to provide a more culturally sensitive view of getting embedded for international entrepreneurship in the biotech industry and (ii) by adding insights into the practices and (micro)processes of how and in what ways embeddedness integrates with the internationalization of biotech entrepreneurs. Our study involves six entrepreneurs from Canada, Finland, and New Zealand. Context-specific embeddedness was studied by exploring the (i) type, (ii) strength, (iii) locality, and (iv) importance of the international and national network ties among internationalizing entrepreneurs. We found differences in relation to the locality of universities and research institutes, role and type of financiers, and customer focus in internationalization. For instance, while customers were central to the embeddedness of Canadian and New Zealand entrepreneurs, Finnish entrepreneurs had no focus on their customers, but acted solely through sales channels and partners. The customer focus of New Zealand entrepreneurs was mainly international, whereas it was domestic in the case of Canadian entrepreneurs.

The institutional workers of biomedical science: Legitimizing academic entrepreneurship and obscuring conflicts of interest.

Given growing initiatives incentivizing academic researchers to engage in ‘entrepreneurial’ activities, this article examines how these academic entrepreneurs claim value in their entrepreneurial engagements, and navigate concerns related to conflicts of interest. Using data from qualitative interviews with twenty-four academic entrepreneurs in Canada, we show how these scientists value entrepreneurial activities for providing financial and intellectual resources to academic science, as well as for their potential to create impact through translation. Simultaneously, these scientists claimed to maintain academic norms of disinterested science and avoid conflicts of interest. Using theories of institutional work, we demonstrate how entrepreneurial scientists engage in processes of institutional change-through-maintenance, drawing on the maintenance of academic norms as institutional resources to legitimize entrepreneurial activities. As entrepreneurial scientists work to legitimize new zones of academic scientific practice, there is a need to carefully regulate and scrutinize these activities so that their potential harms do not become obscured.

Can less be more? Mentoring functions, learning goal orientation, and novice entrepreneurs’ self-efficacy

PurposeOne of the main goals of entrepreneurial mentoring programs is to strengthen the mentees’ self-efficacy. However, the conditions in which entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) is developed through mentoring are not yet fully explored. The purpose of this paper is to test the combined effects of mentee’s learning goal orientation (LGO) and perceived similarity with the mentor and demonstrates the role of these two variables in mentoring relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe current study is based on a sample of 360 novice Canadian entrepreneurs who completed an online questionnaire. The authors used a cross-sectional analysis as research design.FindingsFindings indicate that the development of ESE is optimal when mentees present low levels of LGO and perceive high similarities between their mentor and themselves. Mentees with high LGO decreased their level of ESE with more in-depth mentoring received.Research limitations/implicationsThis study investigated a formal mentoring program with volunteer (unpaid) mentors. Generalization to informal mentoring relationships needs to be tested.Practical implicationsThe study shows that, in order to effectively develop self-efficacy in a mentoring situation, LGO should be taken into account. Mentors can be trained to modify mentees’ LGO to increase their impact on this mindset and mentees’ ESE.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study that demonstrates the effects of mentoring on ESE and reveals a triple moderating effect of LGO and perceived similarity in mentoring relationships.

The Role of Education in Entrepreneurship: Two Canadian Stories

The role that education and training plays in entrepreneurial success is one that is subject to lively debates in the literature. In the first half of this paper, we explore the essence of this debate, with a particular focus on women entrepreneurs in Canada. In the second half of the paper, we tell the stories of these two Canadian entrepreneurs who have started technology-based businesses and were participants in a unique Canadian non-profit educational enterprise, Shad Valley Centre for Creative Technology. The stories of these two successful entrepreneurs - Thelma Zee, who started a freelance web design business while she was still in high school, and Jennifer Corriero, who started a now world-renowned non-profit organization for youth - aim to shed light on the role they see for education in entrepreneurship. Our cases suggest that personal characteristics are important — persistence, self-confidence, initiative, creative thinking, and as Thelma said, a certain kind of intelligence that isn't really about being "book-smart," although it often includes that too. Our research also asked the question, "Is learning important?"Traditional formal education plays a relatively small role in these two cases and the others that we have gathered through our study. Based on our research, we would argue this reflects the relatively low importance of formal education as specific preparation for entrepreneurship for women. In our stories, the informal learning that young people receive from family and friends was important. Furthermore, participation in the Shad Valley program - its intensity, level of challenge, and focus on experiential and applied learning — played a key role in inspiring these women to take on the entrepreneurial initiatives.

New Models of Citizen Participation: Perennial and the Syrian Crisis: A CASE STUDY

The development of transnational connections has fostered non-state actors and enabled the rise of new models of citizen participation in the global stage. Nowadays, digital tools offer social activists new means to act. This work studies the case of Perennial, a project led by two Canadian entrepreneurs, whose vision is to master social algorithms of civic participation and turn them into a public resource for all civil society. This study attempts to test if the theory on transnational activism applies to the case of Perennial. It suggests that information flow, skillful individuals, the density of transnational advocacy networks, and digital connections have enabled digital transnational activism, which offers individuals a new repertoire of contention with a broader scale.