Entrepreneurial Growth Intention Research Articles

Toward dynamic capability views of entrepreneurial growth intention: perspective of floricultures industry in Sri Lanka

PurposeIt is aware that entrepreneurial growth has gained some attention in the literature, yet the debate in respect of the determinants of entrepreneurial growth intention (EGI) is far from being complete. The purpose of this study is to identify the key dynamic capabilities that foster EGI in floriculture industry in Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approachThe study used quantitative approach. The owners of farms who possess commercial experience in floriculture cultivation in Sri Lanka were selected as a target population. A self-administrated structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Valid and reliable indicators were developed to conceptualize five key capabilities and EGI.FindingsBased on the responses from 206 farm owners, results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that organizational learning, technological and alliance formation capabilities are significantly associated with EGI of floriculture farm owners.Originality/valueThe need for common conceptualization of dynamic capabilities and EGI represents a major gap in the literature. The study expands the current debates on entrepreneurial growth and institutional environment, which allows the mapping out of dynamic capability development.

Entrepreneurial growth intention and capability approach in agriculture: lesson from Sri Lanka

PurposeIt is imperative to offer a new perspective of Entrepreneurial Growth Intention (EGI) that draws directly upon the capability approach. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of capabilities in the context of EGI in the floriculture industry in Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approachThe study was exploratory and is mainly qualitative in nature. In-depth interviews were carried out with the owners of farms who possess experience in floriculture commercial cultivation in Sri Lanka.FindingsThe results emerged that there are different perspectives among farm owners regarding EGI. Drawing attention on the stories of our participants and making a three-phase analysis, we identified 31 key actions denoted by the farm owners. This work then suggests that the seven capabilities might be fruitfully framed around EGI.Research limitations/implicationsAs the results stress the role of capabilities in the formation of an entrepreneur's growth intention is vital. Therefore, more targeted measures should be drawn to build fair and supportive facilities to obtain advanced knowledge, to familiarise with the emergence of technology and to attain professional services specifically in financial literacy.Originality/valueThe question of what factors influence EGI at the farm level is still largely unexplored as less is known about the effect of capabilities on EGI. The study expands the current debates on EGI and institutional environment, which allows the mapping out of capability development.

Institutional and self-efficacy effects on systemic entrepreneurship: evidence from South Africa

Research indicates that institutional weaknesses in several African economies often leads to uncertainty, but also provides opportunity so that different types of entrepreneurship may become more or less feasible in these economies. Recognizing that it is not always clear which institutions really matter, this study is important as it empirically examines the impact of formal and informal institutions, as well as the effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, on systemic entrepreneurial growth intentions. Hypotheses were statistically tested using primary data from early-stage enterprises (n = 292) in South Africa. Findings highlight a significant relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy as well as the normative institutional dimension and systemic entrepreneurship. By weaving in the entrepreneurial and institutional context of South Africa, this study has extended the theoretical and empirical reach of institutional theory to the domain of systemic entrepreneurship. Study implications relate to creating empirical links between the different institutional dimensions, self-efficacy and systemic entrepreneurship, which is vital for an African market setting as the context for entrepreneurship is often a distinctive one.

Promoting Female Entrepreneurial Growth Intention in Thailand’s Tourism Industry: Role of Education Driven Ability, Opportunities and Advisory

This research proposes to find out the aspects that impact the growth intention (GI) of female entrepreneurs in the sector of tourism of Thailand. The purpose of the current paper is to examine why female industrialists attain growth goals whereas others don’t. This research uses quantitative approach and a self-administrated questionnaire was utilized with 200 female tourism entrepreneurs in Thailand. In this study, data analysis was performed through SPSS and regression analysis was run. This study results revealed that that all hypotheses of the study were accepted and are also consistent with the findings of the past studies. This study also showed that female entrepreneurs in Thailand can increase their entrepreneurial capabilities though, the growth of their business is limited by the deficiency of fiscal resources. This study fills the research gap in the domain of feminine tourism industrialists and their growth intention (GI) from the perception of an emerging nation like Thailand.

Gender gap in entrepreneurial growth ambition

PurposeSince the limited growth of enterprises has been identified as a deliberate choice of women entrepreneurs, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the institutional environment of an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) fosters the gender gap in entrepreneurial growth intention. The mediating role of the perceived institutional environment in the gender effect on entrepreneurial growth intention is tested in the Chinese context. As individuals’ cognitions are usually influenced by their cultural orientations, the gender difference in perceptions of the institutional environment is considered to be contingent on entrepreneurs’ self-construal.Design/methodology/approachUsing a multiregional sample of 206 Chinese entrepreneurs who completed the questionnaire, the study obtained results by adopting a structural equation modelling analysis with a partial least squares approach.FindingsThere are significant gender gaps in perceptions of the institutional environment and growth intention among Chinese entrepreneurs. Due to their limited political ties and lower legitimacy in economic activities in the country, Chinese women entrepreneurs have more negative perceptions of the regulative and cognitive institutional environment than their male counterparts, which accounts for the lack of growth ambition among Chinese women entrepreneurs. Independent self-construal enlarges the difference in environmental perceptions between male and female entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThis research enriches the discussion in the emerging area of EEs by adequately responding to the highlighted target to advance ambitious entrepreneurship and offering an interpretation of its evolutionary thinking. Given the increasing calls for a focus on high-growth women’s entrepreneurship, this study provides an explanation for how the institutional environment engenders the absence of women in growth-oriented entrepreneurial activities. It also uncovers the overlooked deficiency in institutional practice by highlighting the gender inequality in the implementation process of entrepreneurial support policies and the distribution of entrepreneurial capabilities in society.

How do Institutions Inspire Ambitions? Differentiating Institutional Effects on Entrepreneurial Growth Intentions: Evidence from China

Abstract Entrepreneurial growth intention, as an outcome of the entrepreneur’s cognition, has been found to be influenced by the institutional context. However, the cognitive rationale for the institutional impact on entrepreneurial growth intention is still unknown. This article builds upon the framework of institutional theory to reveal how the perceptions of institutional environment foster entrepreneurial growth intention via the entrepreneur’s specific cognitive process. Based on an extended model of the theory of planned behavior, we find that perceptions of different institutional dimensions exert important but distinct influence on the way in which entrepreneurs view and perceive venture growth and then indirectly inspire their ambitions in the post-entry stage of entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur’s perception of behavioral control plays a key role in this process. The implications for entrepreneurial practice and future research are then discussed.

Determinants of early stage high-growth entrepreneurship: Evidence from South East Europe region

The main objective of this paper is to determine the factors of influence on growth aspired entrepreneurial ventures in order to determine characteristics of these entrepreneurs in the SEE region. We draw upon data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor international survey in order to provide deeper insight into the high-growth entrepreneurship in selected SEE countries. For the purposes of this research, the authors included six countries in the research sample of South East Europe: Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and FYR of Macedonia. An exploratory sample of the mentioned countries was 12027 respondents and 457 high-growth entrepreneurs. Based on the nature of the observed variables, we used Spearman's correlation and ordinal logistic regression (ORL) in order to explore the relations between variables. We used OLR to explore the relation between the national culture, entrepreneurial motives, and aspiration to the level of entrepreneurial growth intentions. The findings demonstrate that entrepreneurial motives, innovation, and internationalization of new business venture have statistically significant relations with the high-growth aspirations among entrepreneurs in South East Europe region.

Regional industrial path development: The role of new entrepreneurial firms

Entrepreneurs play an important role in the evolutionary process of regional industries. As founders of new firms, entrepreneurs increase the supply side of the industrial economy, and by doing so, they challenge the incumbent firms to respond. From the perspective of evolutionary economics, understanding these dynamics of entrepreneurial triggers and industrial firm responds are important, as it sheds new light to our understanding of how regional industries evolve.The entrepreneurship literature offers several classifications which are helpful in distinguishing between different types of entrepreneurs and firms. However, none of these classifications and typologies are suitable for explaining what effect new entrepreneurial firms may be expected to have on regional industries and their future development. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap. Based on two dimensions, innovation novelty and entrepreneurial growth intention, the conceptual framework develops a typology of new entrepreneurial firms’ expected effect on future regional industrial development. In doing so, the paper contributes to the field of evolutionary economic geography by introducing a new perspective on entrepreneurial firms’ contribution to dynamic regional industrial path development.

Alternative growth patterns of university spin-offs: why so many remain small?

The aim of this paper is to provide explanations for alternative growth patterns of university spin-offs using qualitative research methods. By matching the willingness of academic entrepreneurs to the ability of university spin-offs to grow, four basic types of university spin-offs are derived: ambitious, unwilling, saturated and impeded university spin-offs. By combining theoretical considerations from a specific concept of growth phases and empirical regularities from 68 university spin-offs we construct eight different subtypes of university spin-offs. The results show that the majority of university spin-offs either lacks entrepreneurial growth intentions or is impeded by reasons caused by personal characteristics of the academic entrepreneur, the university spin-off or the external environment. Some subtypes like life stylists, entrepreneurial academics and late bloomers face problems or share attitudes that are very specific in the context of university spin-offs. This paper contributes to the literature on university spin-off growth by providing an in-depth analysis of the underlying reasons for the founders’ willingness and ability to grow or not to grow. This study also reflects the heterogeneity of university spin-off growth and considers the evolutionary perspective. Growth is not only understood as a consequence of an economic process but also a personal and social process. In this way, this study augments the existing concepts of growth phases.

Venture Cognitive Logics, Entrepreneurial Cognitive Style, and Growth Intentions: A Conceptual Model and an Exploratory Field Study

Using insights based on the entrepreneurial cognition perspective, we develop a conceptual model to explain the evolution of entrepreneurial growth intentions under the influence of venture cognitive logics (causation versus effectuation) and entrepreneurial cognitive style (analytic versus holistic). Our model finds preliminary support based on qualitative data from an exploratory field study of a select group of entrepreneurs, interviewed in three waves over a 5-year timeframe.

Family contributions to entrepreneurial development in Lebanon

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to profile the characteristics, attributes and growth orientations of Lebanese entrepreneurs, including the relationships, roles, and contributions that family and culture make and play in the development of private small and medium‐sized enterprises.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on a sample of 112 entrepreneurs, psychographic motives, demographic attributes, and business activities are revealed. A series of 112 in‐depth personal interviews was conducted over a 12 month period between May 2006 and 2007. The entrepreneurial profile questionnaire (EPQ) was utilized as a data collection instrument. The EPQ was designed to survey the effect of individual, societal, and environmental factors on entrepreneurship and family business development by collecting a combination of demographic information and extensive detail related to characteristics and orientations.FindingsThe findings suggest that entrepreneurs are motivated by the need for independence and flexibility. Entrepreneurs were found to rely heavily on family member participation to establish, develop, and grow their enterprises. The majority of the entrepreneurs surveyed employ at least one family member on a full‐time basis. Entrepreneurs were also found to use family finances as the primary source of start‐up capital. Family participation in the form of employment and investment was found to have a positive impact on entrepreneurial growth intentions and expansion plans.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights into family contributions to entrepreneurial development in Lebanon.

Entrepreneurial expansion plans: An empirical investigation of infrastructure predictors

Entrepreneurship and the development of new business continue to be the forefront of socioeconomic development in virtually all economies today. Despite evidence of increasing research into entrepreneurial growth, the existing research is limited by the fact that most studies define entrepreneurial growth as a unidimensional construct and operationalize it as “realized” growth relying on financially based measures. Consequently, this article has two objectives: (1) to develop a set of accurate and comprehensive entrepreneurial growth measures; and (2) to test a series of hypotheses regarding precursors of growth intentions‐more specifically, to what extent, infrastructure factors affect entrepreneurial growth intentions. These two questions were examined using Entrepreneurial Profile Questionnaire (EPQ) in the context of Romania. Results from factor analysis revealed refined patterns of entrepreneurial growth, including resource aggregation, market expansion, and technological improvement. The relationships between infrastructure and entrepreneurial growth were tested using a multiple regression model. Overall, it was posited that infrastructure is positively related to entrepreneurial growth. However, in most of the cases, the opposite proved to be true. These findings suggest that the Romanian entrepreneurs would pursue expansion plans in spite of the obstacles thrown into their path. Perhaps they have already developed strategies about overcoming those obstacles and in that process have developed the strength, ingenuity, and confidence to grow their new business ventures. Perhaps the many years that Romanians were confronted with numerous political and economical obstacles have prepared them to be much more flexible and adaptive.These counter-intuitive findings reflect on the hardiness and perseverance of the Romanian entrepreneurs.