Entrepreneurial Perspective Research Articles

The Sustainable Rural Industrial Development under Entrepreneurship and Deep Learning from Digital Empowerment

This paper aims to realize the planning of resource utilization and development of rural industries endowed by digitalization under entrepreneurship. First, the global classic practical experience of digitizing rural industries is studied, and the development model of existing rural industries is captured from the perspective of entrepreneurship. Second, the influencing factors of rural industrial development are extracted, the structure of resource development is analyzed, and a Neural Network (NN) model of industrial development aiming at expected per capita annual income is established. In addition, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) is introduced to learn the weights of influencing factors in the model. The structure of the NN is determined through extensive experiments. Finally, conclusions are drawn through the simulation and experiment of NN and GA. Tourism, infrastructure, and transportation planning have weights of 7.79, 5.6, and 6.4, respectively, and these three sectors should be vigorously developed. In the future, the weight values of these factors can be used for reference, and the development of various aspects can be refined. This paper clarifies the core of industrial development in rural revitalization based on the perspective of entrepreneurship. The problem of how to realize the optimal utilization of resources is solved scientifically and rationally through the mathematical model. The introduction of deep learning algorithm models provides data support for resource allocation and industrial planning in the process of digital empowerment of traditional rural industries, which is of great value and significance for exploring digital models for rural industry development.

Dual innovation of the business model: the regulatory role of entrepreneurial orientation in family firms

PurposeFamily farms are seen as a powerful force for rural development, and they are gaining more and more research attention. This study aims to explore the relationship between the social networks of family farms and the dual innovation of the family farm business model from the perspective of entrepreneurial orientation.Design/methodology/approachUsing a questionnaire survey of 169 family farms in Qingdao, China, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The study hypothesis was tested using inferential tests (regression analysis).FindingsThe study results show that innovative, efficiency- and novelty-based business models facilitated by social networks have a favorable and significant impact on the performance of family farms. Furthermore, the relationship between social networks and new business model creation is positively influenced by an entrepreneurial orientation.Originality/valueThis study is distinctive in that it examines the mechanisms underlying family farm growth from an entrepreneurial standpoint, classifying family farm social networks for the first time into social, market and governmental categories and looking at their impact on the creation of new business models. In addition, it looks into the relationship between the innovation and social network aspect of the family farm business model from an entrepreneurial perspective, offering fresh insight into this connection. It also examines the family farm business model’s connection to innovation and social networks from an entrepreneurial standpoint, providing new insight into this relationship.

The gap between entrepreneurial behaviour and entrepreneurial identity: A case for ethnographic and autoethnographic methods

I argue that increased use of ethnographic methods and autoethnographic methods can help bridge the gap between entrepreneurial identity (EI) and entrepreneurial behaviour (EB) in entrepreneurship research and give theoretical weight to the concepts. The disconnection between EI and EB is caused by the inability to answer questions about how EI impacts EB. Using ethnographic methods allows for a fuller depiction of the social context in which entrepreneurs operate, demonstrating the relationship between EI and EB. However, EB remains practically defined and theory about EI is borrowed from other various other literatures, such as sociology, importing the problems as well as the benefits. I argue that the use of autoethnographic methods, researching EI–EB from the entrepreneur's perspective, produces data that can be used to build theory that maintains the practical tilt of entrepreneurship research and addresses its theoretical shallowness.

Digital Economy, Entrepreneurship and Collaborative Innovation: An Evidence from China

The influence mechanism of digital economy on collaborative innovation still needs further exploration in terms of theoretical and empirical evidence. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China from 2013-2019, this paper uses the entropy value method to measure the digital economy index and the level of collaborative innovation. Then we conduct a more in-depth discussion on the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics and influence relationship of the digital economy and collaborative innovation from the perspective of entrepreneurship. The results show that, firstly, the digital economy has a significant positive impact on the level of collaborative innovation, and entrepreneurship, specifically entrepreneurial entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial innovation, plays a partly mediating role in this process. Secondly, by using the Spatial Durbin model, we found that the digital economy has a significant siphon effect on the level of collaborative innovation in neighboring provinces. Finally, there is a significant double threshold effect of entrepreneurship on the impact of digital economy on collaborative innovation, and the positive impact of digital economy is characterized by a non-linear incremental marginal effect. The findings of this paper provide a new way of thinking to reveal the inner mechanism of the digital economy's influence on collaborative innovation.

Women Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Perspectives of an Emerging Economy

Women entrepreneurship is considered by many researchers as an imminent phenomenon of the 21st century, especially for developing countries. Due to its contribution to the economy and society, recent studies have focused on investigating its motivational factors, as well as achievements. Moreover, researchers have come up with different entrepreneurial perspectives in different societies and cultures and have called for further analysis. In this context, the main purpose of this research was to assess the driving factors, challenges, and perspectives of woman entrepreneurship in a post-communist country context. As part of the data collection process, a survey was conducted with 36 female entrepreneurs operating in the capital city of Albania, Tirana. The study results reveal that, even though there are no significant differences between the percentage of women who feel that they are being discriminated against and percentage of female entrepreneurs who perceive that their gender has positively affected the business growth, there is a positive significant difference regarding the percentages of women entrepreneurs who have been supported by their families and partners and those who have received heritage from their families. Special attention is addressed to the different factors that women experience in terms of entrepreneurial development. Another aim of this research is to provide different recommendations to be taken into consideration by the policymakers to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Albania.

How does digital financial inclusion promote green total factor productivity in China? An empirical analysis from the perspectives of innovation and entrepreneurship

Green total factor productivity (GTFP) is a critical indicator for measuring sustainable development, with profound implication for achieving a win-win situation of economic prosperity and environmental protection. However, little attention has been paid to understand the influence of emerging digital financial inclusion (DFI) on China’s GTFP growth. To address this research gap, this study employs the Malmquist-Luenberger index to measure the GTFP of 276 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, and then explores the impact of DFI on GTFP from the perspectives of innovation and entrepreneurship. The results show that the development of DFI significantly increases GTFP, which remains robust after variable replacement and endogenous treatment. At the micro-level, DFI is conductive to GTFP growth by promoting green innovation and entrepreneurial activity. Particularly, this study sheds light on the valid channel of green innovation patents in the relationship between DFI and GTFP whereas the mediating role of green utility models appears trivial. Heterogeneity analysis illustrates that the promotion effect of DFI on GTFP is more significant in the eastern area and non-resource-based cities. Therefore, in order to achieve sustainable development, the Chinese government should incorporate the development of DFI into the formulation of policies related to carbon mitigation.

The impact of digitalization on marketing activities in manufacturing companies

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to present an empirical study that examines the impact of digitalization on informative, strategic and operational marketing activities in manufacturing companies from the entrepreneurial perspective.Design/methodology/approachA research project was carried out in 205 Italian manufacturing companies by using the questionnaire method. An exploratory research study was conducted with hierarchical cluster analysis.FindingsThe analysis shows the existence of seven clusters of manufacturing companies that differ by the impact of digitalization on marketing activities from the entrepreneurial perspective. Two clusters have a high positive impact of digitalization, primarily on informative and strategic marketing activities. Two clusters are characterized by a low positive impact of digitalization and three clusters perform an intermediate level of digitalization. Furthermore, these groups of clusters differ in terms of the influence of digitalization on customer value.Research limitations/implicationsThe small size of the sample and the geographic origin of the companies imply limited generalizability; further research on the topic is thus recommended.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that companies should digitalize many key marketing activities to increase marketing effectiveness and customer value. To achieve high levels of digitalization and thus increase their competitiveness, manufacturing companies should consider the importance of relevant technologies and skills.Originality/valueBy focussing on the impact of digitalization on informative, strategic and operational marketing, which has not yet been empirically investigated, the present study reveals many new elements concerning the marketing process in the digital era from the entrepreneur's point of view.

Overtourism in a City Destination from the Perspective of Entrepreneurs: Evidence from Wroclaw, Poland

This study investigates how overtourism, as perceived by entrepreneurs operating in the local tourism economy, manifests itself in a large city – Wroclaw (Poland). Data were collected via a questionnaire in November 2021. The study reveals overtourism symptoms in Wroclaw, while their influence on selected city features is not recognized by entrepreneurs as a threat. Negative and positive effects of tourism in Wroclaw are identified on the basis of research that considered (via nonprobability sampling) the opinions of entrepreneurial representatives participating in tourism organization and service from several sectors of the tourism economy. The findings presented here will help mitigate the above issues while neutralizing the threat of overtourism and its negative impacts.

Developing Business Start-up to Promote Job Creation: An Entrepreneurship Perspective in Pandemic Era

Market stagnation and employee rationalization caused by global social restrictions are problems arising from the Pandemic crisis. It caused a 6.5% increase in the global unemployment rate in 2020 and pushed down the work opportunity for the labor force. Therefore, the state needs efforts to increase the availability of job opportunities by supporting the formation of a start-up. This study aims to form a strategic model with Start-up entrepreneurship as a driver in increasing job opportunities in the Pandemic Era. This study refers data panel from GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) in 2019-2021 with 102 data from 34 countries. The testing method used is the Component-Based Structural Equation Model (CB-SEM), which shows that the Start-up Entrepreneurship variable has succeeded in becoming a total mediation variable for the relationship between Entrepreneurship Capability and Job Creation Activity and the relationship between Entrepreneurship Intention and Job Creation Activity. This study provides a body of knowledge on applying the management Labor Supply theory. The significance of the role of Entrepreneurship capability, which emphasizes a proactive attitude in creating opportunities and entrepreneurship intention through business incubation, can increase Start-up Entrepreneurship, which impacts Job Creation Activity.

Entrepreneurship in Times of Crisis: A Comprehensive Review with Future Directions

Abstract Despite an increased interest in crises within the field of entrepreneurship, there is still a lack of understanding about the interplay between different types of crises and entrepreneurship. In addition, the specific circumstances surrounding each type of crisis may also cause the conclusions of these studies to diverge or converge. To enhance our theoretical understanding of entrepreneurship during times of crisis, our review seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) How are the different types of crises addressed in entrepreneurship literature, and what similarities and differences exist? (2) How can we broaden our understanding and deepen our insights into the relationship between a crisis and entrepreneurship? In an effort to review the largest possible variety of crises that extends beyond political crises, natural disasters, and financial crises, we have also included a number of recent studies that examined COVID-19 from an entrepreneurial perspective. Following this, our study identifies six types of crises along with corresponding research themes, key findings, and critical shortcomings. This review also identifies multiple research gaps and suggests several future research directions, as well as theoretical approaches that researchers can take to build upon existing discussions surrounding entrepreneurship in times of crisis.

Transnational digital entrepreneurship and enterprise effectiveness: A micro-foundational perspective

Transnational digital entrepreneurship (TDE), the establishment of digital enterprises by combining home- and host-country value creation to serve domestic and foreign customers, is increasing. In order to understand the role of entrepreneurs in transnational digital enterprise effectiveness, we investigate how the competencies of transnational digital entrepreneurs influence social interactions among stakeholders that contribute to enterprise effectiveness. We apply the micro-foundations perspective of management and entrepreneurship and semi-structured interview data from transnational entrepreneurs from six countries—Finland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA—and their partners in Pakistan. We find that entrepreneurs’ digital knowledge, skills, and abilities—versatile cognitive capabilities, digital managerial capabilities, and multicultural capabilities—affect social interactions through four socio-structural mechanisms—structural support, trust-building, knowledge sharing, and resource configuration—that enhance enterprise effectiveness. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications for transnational entrepreneurship, policymakers, and migrant entrepreneurs.

Place in Entrepreneurial Storytelling: A Study of Cultural Entrepreneurship in a Deprived Context

AbstractWe extend the cultural entrepreneurship perspective by investigating how entrepreneurs in deprived contexts gain legitimacy by leveraging proprietary and public places in their entrepreneurial storytelling. Inspired by the sociology of place, we present a longitudinal study of ten new venture journeys over four years in Kasoa, Ghana. We identify three distinct ways places are used in entrepreneurial narratives: projective significance of place, connective significance of place, and authoritative significance of place. We show how impoverished entrepreneurs construct and communicate places in diverse ways, not only as locations, but also as material and symbolic resources that provide legitimacy for their venturing activities. Drawing from our findings, we generate a model of place‐based cultural entrepreneurship and elaborate place as a central resource in cultural entrepreneurship and new venture creation in deprived contexts.

Between consultation and control: how incubators perform a governance function for entrepreneurial firms

PurposeThis paper examines the governance function that incubators perform for entrepreneurial firms. The authors demonstrate that this governance function has both a consultative and a control dimension and illustrate how these are enacted in the interactions between incubators and entrepreneurs. The authors also show how these interactions come into being and how entrepreneurs assess the value of the governance role played by incubators.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a cross-sectional interview study with entrepreneurs of 21 start-ups that were hosted by three different incubators. The start-ups are all early-stage technology firms. The analysis in the paper follows an inductive approach.FindingsThe authors find that the governance role of incubators is about both consultation and control. Consultative forms of governance include providing input and advice as well as questioning ideas and assumptions. Controlling forms of governance comprise setting targets and tracking progress as well as enforcing structures and documentation. The authors furthermore show that governance episodes are triggered either by the entrepreneurs themselves or by the incubator. In the former case, such episodes are mainly about consultation, while in the latter one, they often have a pronounced control element, which materializes particularly through regularly enforced meetings. Most entrepreneurs seem to appreciate this control element, acknowledging that, in its absence, they would lack the self-discipline of doing some things that need to be done.Research limitations/implicationsThis study’s findings extend prior research on inter-organizational relationships and the types of governance mechanisms observed therein. The authors show that a strict separation between actors who offer consultation and those who exercise control is too simplistic. Incubators influence entrepreneurial firms both through consultative and controlling forms of governance. In terms of limitations, this study’s analysis focuses on the perspectives of entrepreneurs, and the authors did not include the perspectives of incubators nor did the authors directly observe meetings between these two parties.Practical implicationsThis paper provides examples for how entrepreneurial firms can benefit from being part of an incubator.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the discussion of the governance of inter-organizational relationships by focusing on incubators. In so doing, the authors also complement extant literature on management control in entrepreneurial settings by showing how the incubator fulfills a control function for entrepreneurs before these implement control mechanisms themselves.

Social entrepreneurship for young people with disabilities: A conceptual analysis

Employment is one of the most basic needs of everyone, including people with disabilities (PWD). However, the numerous obstacles faced by PWD limit their ability to actively participate in the labour market, become economically self-sufficient, and contribute to national economic development. In general, PWD all over the world face a high risk of unemployment. Therefore, this study explored the function of social entrepreneurship in eradicating unemployment among young PWD. This research also emphasised the challenges experienced by PWD in securing employment in Malaysia. Among the issues highlighted are the negative attitudes of employers towards PWD and how employers could adopt the social entrepreneurship perspective. The systematic review method was used to examine the previous literature to accomplish the highlighted purpose and seek answer to the research questions. The literature review revealed problems of unemployment among young PWD. Hence, the improvement of young PWD’s employment have to be focused systematically by taking into account the social entrepreneurship’s perspective. This study is expected to provide a significant contribution to the knowledge on employment of young PWD and would increase the number of their participation in the workplaces.

Favorable strategies for the success of entry into new technological areas: an entrepreneurial perspective

This study considers the act of entering into new technological domains for R&D purposes as one of the most intense entrepreneurial activities within large established firms, referring to it as R&D entrepreneurship. Attempting to detect factors that could strengthen (or weaken) the impact of R&D entrepreneurship on innovation performance, I examine the moderating role of three important R&D strategies, namely the knowledge plurality, internal focus, and R&D collaboration. I empirically test the hypotheses developed in this study on secondary, longitudinal economic and patent data from a sample of 139 firms from the industries of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and chemicals for a 7-year period, using fixed-effects negative binomial regression models. Findings support that the relationship between R&D entrepreneurship and innovation performance is positively moderated by knowledge plurality but negatively by internal focus and R&D collaboration.

Gravitating exogenous shocks to the next normal through entrepreneurial coopetive interactions: A PLS-SEM and fsQCA approach

PurposeEntrepreneurship can be viewed as an individual or group pursuit of market opportunities irrespective of the context. But when an exogenous shock alters and permanently alters the known normal, entrepreneurs can do no more than cope with the immediate impact. Covid-19 changed the normal for every-one, and the current study aims to analyse how the pandemic changed the context and entrepreneurial perspective of business owners geographically located in different cultural environments. Various experiences impacted them as they tried to navigate and mitigate the effects of the crisis on the wider economy and their business. We seek to identify the probable relevant entrepreneurial configurations in which one or more combinations of antecedent conditions are needed to cause entrepreneurs to adapt their behavior in order to increase their coopetitive interactions further, to mitigate the effects of the crisis. OriginalityTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to address an entrepreneurial phenomenon using an integrative approach using PLS-SEM and fsQCA as separate prediction-oriented methods in order to validate the proposed conceptual model and to create a preliminary scaffolding for building the Theory of Unplanned Behavior in a crisis context.

Influence of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Open Innovation of Military-Civilian Integration Enterprises in China: The Mediating Effect of Organization Legitimacy

Most research on open innovation focuses on innovation performance. However, few people have explored the driving factor of open innovation. This study is based on the entrepreneurial perspective, combined with the new institutional theory, taking 243 A-share listed military-civilian integration companies in China from 2016–2020. A multiple linear regression method is used to discuss the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on the open innovation of military-civilian integration enterprises, and the mediating role of organizational legitimacy. The empirical research results show that: entrepreneurial orientation positively influences the open innovation of military-civilian integration enterprises; political relevance plays a mediating role in the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on open innovation; compared with the military-to-civilian enterprises, political relevance is more important to the civilian-to-military enterprises. The research findings can not only enrich the open innovation theory but also have an important guiding significance for the military-civilian integration technology innovation in China.

The digitalisation as gender equaliser? The import and export of digitally delivered services in shaping female entrepreneurship in European countries

PurposeThe article examines whether cross-border trade in digitally delivered services (DDSs) has an influence on European female entrepreneurship. Two research questions were asked to assess the potential impact of trade in DDSs both on the import and export sides.Design/methodology/approachTo answer the research questions, the panel data for 26 European countries for the years 2008–2019 were implemented to estimate panel regression models. Based on the results of variance inflation factors (VIFs) and Breusch–Pagan and Hausman tests, the estimations of panel models were conducted for female entrepreneurship as a dependent variable and measures of import and export of digitally delivered services as independent variables.FindingsThe imports of digitally delivered services positively affect female entrepreneurship in European countries, whilst the impact of the export of digitally delivered services is statistically insignificant. The possibility of being a customer of digitally delivered services through its import may become a gender equaliser in entrepreneurship. However, as differences in digital competencies and growth intentions prevent women from acting as the providers of digitally delivered services, the export of DDSs can sustain the existing gender gap in entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsThe research findings provide the added value in the field of female entrepreneurship, referring to institutional theory and human capital theory. The import of DDSs seems to support female entrepreneurs through the reduction of cultural distance, whilst the human capital theory gains the perspective of limited digital competencies needed to export DDSs as a pathway to the internationalisation of women's ventures. The practical implications for trade policy, digitalisation and gender equality should aim not only at supporting women's export propensity, but should also focus on the development of their digital competencies.Originality/valueInstead of commonly used perspective of international entrepreneurship, the authors implemented the lens of cross-border trade to check whether there is a linkage between internationalisation, measured by imports and exports of DDSs and female entrepreneurship. Trade economists neglect the gender dimension in their studies of pro-growth internationalisation. In contrast, research on female entrepreneurship does not consider the potential of cross-border trade in DDSs as a gender equaliser.

Innovation subsidies and entrepreneurial activity in an emerging market

PurposeThis study aims to find that entrepreneurial activities can spur entrepreneurial firms' superior performance, but this effect is contingent on the different levels of government innovation subsidies. Extending the institutional perspective explanation and entrepreneurship perspective explanation, this study examines how a firm's entrepreneurial orientation (EO) affects its superior performance when it receives innovation subsidies.Design/methodology/approachEntrepreneurial firms in China, an emerging economy, are taken as the context for empirical evidence. A large-scale questionnaire survey is used for firm data collection. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is employed to test the hypothesized model using a sample of 287 entrepreneurial firms.FindingsThe results show a curvilinear, inverse U-shaped moderating effect in the relationship between EO and firm performance. This relationship is strongest at intermediate levels of innovation subsidies but is comparatively weaker when innovation subsidies are low or high.Originality/valueThe study contributes to entrepreneurship research by examining the nonlinear moderating effect of innovation subsidies on entrepreneurial firms' performance. The study also contributes to entrepreneurship theory by elaborating on the innovation subsidy scheme and how it facilitates the development of entrepreneurial activity.

Bridging Intention-Behavior Gap through Implementation Intention: Conceptual Insight

The gap between intention and behavior is considered as a psychological state of the individual to perform any planned action. Scholars define this gap by implementation intention, and they argue the impact of implementation intention to transform intention into an action. It can be argued that this transformation is much more relevant and important in Entrepreneurship as it entails a series of planned actions. Thus, entrepreneurs must play a major role in converting intention to actions/behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept “implantation intention” to bridge the gap between intention and behavior from entrepreneurial perspective. A thorough literature review and integration of prominent psychological and social psychology theories are used to conceptualize the implementation intention. Further, empirical review shows its impact as a mediating and moderating variable in understanding the link between intention and behavior. This review provides meaningful insights to understand and link intention and behavior. Further increased understanding helps to enhance intention-based behaviors and positive impact can be expected on performance. There is a dearth of scholarly investigation on implementation intention in entrepreneurship. Thus, this paper contributes the field of entrepreneurship by exploring the role of implementation intention in an entrepreneurial perspective.