Transformational Entrepreneurship Research Articles

Analyzing transformational role of black women entrepreneurs in Brazilian beauty sector

Purpose This study aims to explore the concept of transformational entrepreneurship (TE), which is relevant in emerging economies such as Brazil with its elevated level of unemployment, taxes and interest rates along with elevated levels of institutional voids, and how firms are including purpose as part of their goals and strategies. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a multiple case study of six Afro-entrepreneurs, participants of a consulting project from Sebrae, the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service, a private entity that promotes the competitiveness and sustainable development of micro and small business enterprises (Sebrae, 2022). Findings This work studied the transformational power of entrepreneurship and how six beauty salons led by black women have the ability to not only generate income but also contribute to social and cultural aspects. Practical implications This work demonstrates how TE has the potential to improve the lives of a population that has historically been marginalized and faces the lived consequences of socioeconomic discrimination. Originality/value This paper provides valuable contributions through a case study of transformational, ethnic and women’s entrepreneurship, not very explored in the literature.

Digital Empowerment: How Small B to B Companies Remodel the Value Chain Through Digital Platforms

ABSTRACT Purpose Digital platforms represent a major technological change that affects the entire value chain of a company and requires digital resources and a flexible organizational structure. Given the resource limitations that SMEs have, it is interesting to find out to what extent they have adopted digital platforms. The aim of this paper is to explore the level of SMEs’ digitalization and how sophisticated these businesses are in using various digital platforms in primary and secondary value creation activities. Additionally, we set out to identify clusters with different needs and behaviors when considering digital platforms. Methodology/Approach To address these research questions, we conducted a survey using a quota sampling procedure to reflect the SMEs’ structure in size and industry. We analyzed the data collected from 194 respondents using a two-step clustering procedure to identify different groups of SMEs with respect to the use of digital platforms. For business activities, we used Porter’s value chain and for assessing the adoption rate, we applied the Moore and Benbasat scale to measure adopters’ perceptions of the technology. Findings Most SMEs use general digital platforms while less than 20% have developed their own platforms or use the platforms of business partners. Organizations with a hybrid structure use the largest number of digital platforms, while enterprises with a fluid structure use the fewest. Companies are using their own platforms or partners’ platforms for primary activities while for support activities are employing general platforms. The most important factor which influences the adoption rate of digital platforms is the image and then comes the advantages they bring. Regarding the clusters, four distinct groups were identified with specific value creation behaviors Digital Pathfinders, Basic Techies, Tech Blend, and Flexible Adopters. Practical implications Practical implications concern both the companies that use digital platforms and the companies that develop them. From the user perspective, this study sets a benchmark for different industries and presents the most common practices Regarding the companies that develop digital platforms, it is important to know the main deterrence factors, namely the lack of testing possibilities and the difficulty in choosing the most suitable solution. Taking into account the specific needs of the four clusters, developers can adapt their product and value proposition to stimulate the adoption of the digital platform. Originality/Value/Contribution This paper contributes to research on digital platforms in the context of transformational entrepreneurship related to crisis or catastrophic events such as pandemics or wars. Furthermore, it adds to existing literature on digital transformation by providing recommendations considering specific value chain activities. Although there are numerous studies on digital platforms, most of them come from developed countries, which makes them less relevant for developing/underdeveloped ones.

Beyond the land of the living death: early-stage transformational entrepreneurs in digital healthcare as liminality navigator

PurposeThe lean startup approach (LSA) is extensively utilized by early-stage entrepreneurs, with “pivot” serving as a key pillar. However, there is a research gap concerning the boundary conditions impacting LSA and pivot decisions, especially when addressing societal challenges, as in the context of transformational entrepreneurship. In this regard, the healthcare sector, further compounded by a lack of research on startups and scale-ups, presents an embraced opportunity to provide multiple contributions for both theory and practice.Design/methodology/approachThe present investigation employs a grounded approach to explore the experiences of the co-founders of a fast-growing Italian e-health startup. A narrative strategy was employed to organize conditions and evolving strategic action/interactions into three different pivoting phases of the startup – before the pivot, its enactment and aftermath – with primary and secondary data collected over a period of one year.FindingsPivoting in digital healthcare unfolded as a liminal experience marked by factors such as high regulation, multiple stakeholders, technological and symbolic ambivalence, resource-intensive demands and institutional actors acting as pathway pioneers, leading to an information overload and unforeseeable uncertainty to manage. These factors challenge entrepreneurs' ability to attain optimal distinctiveness, presenting the paradoxical need for vertical flexibility for scaling up.Social implicationsBy uniquely illuminating the sector’s constraints on entrepreneurial phenomena, this study provides a valuable guide for entrepreneurs and institutional actors in addressing societal challenges.Originality/valueThis study introduces a process model of transformational information crafting when pivoting, highlighting the role of entrepreneurs' transformational stance and platform-mediated solutions as engines behind strategies involving information breaking and transition, preceding knowledge-driven integration strategies.

Industrial dynamics in the ICT technological paradigm: The case of Portugal, 1986–2018

Following Schumpeter, several scholars have shown that development follows long-term waves. These waves are prompted by radical innovations, which, until their full potential is exhausted, spread through incremental innovations and continuous learning and imitation processes. However, the discontinuity of technological progress often goes unnoticed in current debates on productivity slowdown, declining business dynamism and increasing market concentration. Our study, based on extensive microeconomic data from 1986 to 2018, examines how the ICT revolution has influenced business dynamism in Portugal. The Bai–Perron estimates show two structural breaks in industrial dynamics: an upswing in 1993 and a downturn in 2003. Our research also shows that during the late 20th century creative destruction was mainly driven by the expanding ICT sector. After 2003, however, firm dynamics became less turbulent, with less entry and job reallocation. Moreover, despite the increasing performance of a typical high-growth young firm, the incidence of startups has declined in the new century. Our results, therefore, suggest that reduced entry and increased exit risk have likely undermined the long-term disruptive potential of transformative entrepreneurship.

Assessing the organizational and ecosystem factors driving the impact of transformative FinTech platforms in emerging economies

The financial market has been transformed by FinTech platforms, which offer innovative products and services. FinTech platforms use a combination of technologies to digitalize processes and introduce new business models with unique characteristics. The benefits of FinTech initiatives are not limited to boosting the economic development of emerging economies; they also have a transformative impact on society and stakeholders. The transformative impact enables the democratization of digital services, making them accessible to marginalized groups that the traditional financial banking system has excluded. Our study theorizes how FinTech organizational capabilities (digital technologies, digital infrastructures, and talented employees) and FinTech ecosystem conditions (competitors, regulations, digital gender gaps, and institutional gaps) impact inclusion, transparency, and market expansion inspired by transformative entrepreneurship. We tested it through a multilevel analysis using data from 333 worldwide large FinTech platforms combined with secondary data at the country level. Results provide insights into how digital infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and closing the gaps for disadvantaged groups are crucial determinant factors for increasing FinTech impacts in emerging economies. Several implications for entrepreneurs, society, and policymakers emerge as a call for fostering digital societies and FinTech industry in emerging economies.

Open data platforms for transformational entrepreneurship: Inclusion and exclusion mechanisms

Open data is considered an important resource to stimulate innovation and create economic and social value. Open data researchers have examined the importance of data publication by public bodies, but in contrast, much less attention has focused on how open data is exploited. In this paper, we aim to provide insight into the actions of platforms to assist open data exploitation by transformational entrepreneurs, which systemically facilitate transformation in socio-economic development. Our findings investigate two types of mechanism, reflecting the openness of the data movement and the competitive commercial need for closure. First, inclusion mechanisms are social mechanisms of the open data ecosystem which seek to attract a broad range of potential collaborators through supporting entrepreneurs to innovate with open data. Second, exclusion mechanisms are deployed to filter collaborators, to identify those who are seen by platforms to be more likely to successfully exploit their data, or develop revenue sharing relationships. We reveal how these mechanisms are used at different stages of the innovation process, to initially attract a wide pool of collaborators, before seeking to reduce them to better target limited resources. Despite ‘openness’ being a key requirement of open data publication, for successful transformational entrepreneur exploitation, it requires dimensions of closure.

Transformational Entrepreneurship and Digital Platforms: A Combination of ISM-MICMAC and Unsupervised Machine Learning Algorithms

For many years, entrepreneurs were considered the change agents of their societies. They use their initiative and innovative minds to solve problems and create value. In the aftermath of the digital transformation era, a new group of entrepreneurs have emerged who are called transformational entrepreneurs. They use various digital platforms to create value. Surprisingly, despite their importance, they have not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, this research scrutinizes the elements affecting transformational entrepreneurship in digital platforms. To do so, the authors have considered a two-phase method. First, interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and Matrices d’Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliqué a Un Classement (MICMAC) are used to suggest a model. ISM is a qualitative method to reach a visualized hierarchical structure. Then, four unsupervised machine learning algorithms are used to ensure the accuracy of the proposed model. The findings reveal that transformational leadership could mediate the relationship between the entrepreneurial mindset and thinking and digital transformation, interdisciplinary approaches, value creation logic, and technology diffusion. The GMM in the full type, however, has the best accuracy among the various covariance types, with an accuracy of 0.895. From the practical point of view, this paper provides important insights for practitioners, entrepreneurs, and public actors to help them develop transformational entrepreneurship skills. The results could also serve as a guideline for companies regarding how to manage the consequences of a crisis such as a pandemic. The findings also provide significant insight for higher education policymakers.

How commitment and platform adoption drive the e-commerce performance of SMEs: A mixed-method inquiry into e-commerce affordances

To cope with the digital transition exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, managers of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) need to adopt innovative practices to face uncertain scenarios and create long-term value, identified as transformational entrepreneurship practices. Among emerging digital technologies, digital platforms are shaping and outgrowing the e-commerce channel representing a potential opportunity for manufacturing SMEs to embrace digital transformation. Drawing on affordance theory, this research uses a mixed method approach to investigate how manufacturing SMEs’ e-commerce commitment and digital platform adoption stimulate the actualization of three e-commerce affordances: consumer knowledge generation, internationalization, and customer diversification. Based on survey responses from 165 manufacturing SME managers, we find that direct selling through owned websites actualizes consumer knowledge generation and internationalization, indirect selling actualizes customer diversification and internationalization, and agency selling through third-party platforms actualizes all three affordances. The relationship between e-commerce commitment and ecommerce performance is mediated by consumer knowledge generation and internationalization but not by customer diversification. A fsQCA analysis outlines seven configurations actualizing these e-commerce affordances by pairing different ecommerce approaches with degrees of e-commerce commitment. Finally, an analysis of open-ended questions from 24 respondents complements the study and deeply interprets the seven unique configurations outlined.

Responsible innovation as transformational entrepreneurship by disabled people

ABSTRACT Responsible innovation (RI) has emerged as a powerful idea concerning the effective governance of science, technology and innovation. While much attention has been devoted to understanding and promoting RI within science and research policy addressing grand challenges, far less is known about the nature and implications of RI for business. This paper marshals qualitative insights from UK-based disabled entrepreneurs to examine how comparatively ordinary innovations arising in a ‘bottom-up’ manner can respond more inclusively to otherwise overlooked societal needs. The entrepreneurs initiate three specific innovation types to positively transform the lives of their intended beneficiaries: (1) transforming inaccessible practices within mainstream organisations; (2) enhancing personal powers of disabled people; and (3) changing mainstream societal attitudes towards disability. The paper demonstrates how RI principles can be realised through transformational entrepreneurship, highlighting a myriad of niche and distributed entrepreneurial activities, quite different from high-tech, big science innovations conventionally discussed in RI studies.

A critical analysis of the Nigerian entrepreneurial ecosystem on transformational entrepreneurship

ABSTRACT Previous research suggests that the entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) support factors are critical for the systemic development of micro, small. and medium enterprises (MSMEs). However, there is limited understanding of how MSME owner's/manager’s characteristics impact their perspectives of the EE support factors for business development. This study addresses this research gap to adopt a coherent approach to understand the EE in supporting MSMEs to achieve transformational entrepreneurship (TE), which builds sustainable businesses for long-term societal benefits. The MSMEs characteristics alongside the EE factors were tested with 576 MSMEs in Nigeria. The MSME owner's/manager’s characteristics were positively correlated to their perspective of EE support factors (access to finance, markets, resources, and policies and regulations), which were inadequate. The findings will assist theory and practice development to understand and focus on the EE discussed in the context of TE in Nigeria, offering potential insights for similar developing economies.

Instigating transformative entrepreneurship in subsistence communities: Supporting leaders' transcendence and self-determination

This research exposes a process of bottom-up development that supports leaders’ transcendent motives and self-determination needs to instigate transformative entrepreneurship within their communities. The process is illuminated by actions taken in development organizations working within subsistence communities. Findings reveal that as community leaders and members served by these organizations experience fulfillment of their need for transcendence and self-determination they become change-agents in their communities. Development organizations support the move from personal transcendence to taking action, as they empower, connect, and equip community leaders to become the change they want in their communities. When leaders take action, they launch initiatives in the form of transformative entrepreneurship, provide services, fuel much-needed economic growth, and stimulate a positive upward spiral of wellbeing in communities. This research contributes a practical, holistic, yet nuanced, grounded theory useful for development of initiatives to instigate transformative effort that targets wellbeing uplift in impoverished and oppressed communities.

Digital platforms and transformational entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 crisis

There has been an increased usage and popularity of digital platforms during the COVID-19 crisis. This has resulted in many new types of digital platforms emerging that are tied to specific localities and based on emergent needs. This article presents the results of a study on the ClickforVic digital platform that was started during the first 2020 lockdown in Melbourne, Australia as a way for country farmers to connect with urban consumers. The study is premised on transformational entrepreneurship theory that enables a focus on the societal changes that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. A semi-structured in-depth interview approach was utilised to understand how farm entrepreneurs perceived the digital platform and how this contributed to transformational entrepreneurship outcomes. The study is amongst the first to incorporate a digital platform, farm entrepreneurship, transformational entrepreneurship and COVID-19 perspective. The findings suggest that farm entrepreneurs are driven by financial, social and community goals during a crisis that influences their usage of digital platforms. As a consequence, the findings contribute to managerial practice and policy debate by highlighting the way digital platforms can be used in times of crisis to produce transformational entrepreneurship outcomes.

Startups as sustainability transformers: A new empirically derived taxonomy and its policy implications

AbstractFor research as well as policymakers aiming at fostering multilevel transitions toward sustainability, there is a clear need to better understand the transformative role and relevance of startups as newcomers in the market. The existing typologies of sustainable entrepreneurship and green startups have been derived from theory and are conceptual or anecdotal in nature. The lack of validity and generalizability is a major research gap, as the existing typologies do not provide a sufficient basis for policy decisions on how to promote which type of entrepreneurship to effectively support specific transition policies. Against this backdrop, we investigate the research question: Does the transformation orientation differ among startups, and if so, how can they be clustered as basis for sustainability transition policy? Based on a sample of 1674 startups and cluster analysis, the paper makes three important contributions: First, we provide a differentiated perspective and empirical data on the transformation orientation of newcomers. Second, we provide an empirically founded taxonomy of the transformative orientation of startups and contribute to theory‐building of transformative entrepreneurship. Third, we test the assumption inherent in most existing frameworks that there exists a high‐potential subgroup of startups. Our results confirm the existence of a clearly distinguishable subgroup with a particularly high transformation orientation, which we label as “sustainability transformers.” In terms of transition strategies, policymakers can build on our findings to adjust public funds and support programs in favor of specific subgroups such as sustainability transformers.

What type of education for transformative entrepreneurship?

What type of education for transformative entrepreneurship?

The role of transformational entrepreneurship in managing a digital platform: the case of Yamamay

PurposeTransformational entrepreneurship (TE) is a concept referring to the ability of entrepreneurs to face global challenges, such as the economic crisis, to improve the well-being of the community. Considering the current scenario of COVID-19, the way digital platforms support TE in overcoming a crisis, specifically the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, was analysed.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the goal, the authors used the case study methodology. The interview was compared for the company analysed stands out due to its use of digital platforms as a tool to increase brand value. The authors conducted a semi-structured, open-ended interview with the entrepreneur and founder of Yamamay, a company operating in the retail sector. The results obtained from validity using the open coding method.FindingsThe main findings show that the implementation of digital platforms supported the entrepreneur in formulating strategic choices that allowed the company to continue offering its services despite the store closures imposed by the pandemic. The whole concept of traditional retail has been and continues to be revised, rationalising it and integrating it with a more omnichannel logic in which digital platforms play a fundamental role.Practical implicationsThis paper provides market participants with useful information regarding the ability of this form of technology to support entrepreneurs in a crisis context. The results could also serve as an example for other retail companies regarding how to manage the consequences of the pandemic.Originality/valueThis contribution represents an extension of the existing literature that deepens the understanding of the relationship between digital platforms and TE in a particular scenario, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of business decisions on the adoption of digital platforms to meet increasing and changing customer needs has been examined.

The characteristics of a green, innovative and transformational entrepreneur: an example of transformative entrepreneurship in an efficiency-driven economy

The article addresses the issue of entrepreneurship and sustainability by considering the characteristics of an Egyptian transformational green entrepreneur and the venture he founded. It is based on two in-depth case studies derived from secondary data and participant observation and results in a new holistic model for business that harmonises or integrates the main economic, ecological, humane and social approaches to entrepreneurship to produce a venture with a triple bottom line that does not just address profit but also people and planet. The model recognises the systemic nature of the planet and is based on systems thinking and the principle of harmony. Apart from developing the business model the attributes of the transformative entrepreneur are considered, and the role of spirituality and 'ethical custom' is discussed. The article questions, also, the Friedman (1970) mantra that the responsibility of business is 'to make as much money as possible'. The implications of the approach are considered and the article will be of interest to both entrepreneurship academics and practitioners.

Conceptualising the transformational power of entrepreneurship from an entrepreneurial ecosystems perspective focusing on environmentally and socially inclusive economic growth

This paper focuses on the philosophy of transformational entrepreneurship and explores what role entrepreneurial ecosystems fulfil within that to stimulate environmentally and socially inclusive growth. It first examines the past and current contributions in the entrepreneurship literature. Then, it considers the current debate on the transformative power of entrepreneurship and how it can be best utilised for creation of sustainable socio-economic growth via diverse forms of entrepreneurship and interdependencies between entrepreneurial actions and functions at different income levels. From this basis, this research contributes to the recent literature on transformational effects of entrepreneurship by providing novel insights into the role entrepreneurial ecosystems fulfil in transforming societies.

The characteristics of a green, innovative and transformational entrepreneur: an example of transformative entrepreneurship in an efficiency-driven economy

The characteristics of a green, innovative and transformational entrepreneur: an example of transformative entrepreneurship in an efficiency-driven economy

Examining Digital Entrepreneurship: The Goal of Optimization of Transformation Path Normal Education in China.

The education system in China needs optimization with the erupted pandemic for effective outcomes. The path for normal education is upgrading itself with online learning, hence offering a challenge for entrepreneurship. The education sector needs to tackle these offered challenges better that optimizes and exploits the situations. The way teachers and students communicate and utilize their learning to materialize new ideas is very important for keeping pace. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate the role of mentorship in digital entrepreneurship. The population for the study was the teachers of normal education in China. The sampling design used was convenient random sampling, and data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire on five points Likert scale. This study has used Smart PLS 3.3.3 (USA) for the data analysis through structural equation modeling. In the first stage, the instrument analyzed the measurement model, and in the second stage, the hypotheses were checked using the data collected. The findings of the study show that mentorship plays a very important role in knowledge sharing and innovation, which further leads to digital entrepreneurship. The study will open a new path in the education field to incorporate knowledge hidings and transformational entrepreneurship.

Transformational entrepreneurship and its effect on readiness for change, psychological capital, and employee performance: evidence from an Indonesian bank

Continuing failures of financial capitalism across borders have led corporation to develop a more balanced economic growth model of transformational entrepreneurship that emphasises both short-term economic and longer-term social impacts. The model encourages entrepreneurial activities that bring major changes in the related markets and industries, as well as changes in society and culture. At the corporate level, transformational entrepreneurship prepares employees for any potential changes induced by a dynamic environment; it also improves the psychological capital of individual employees, and effective transformational entrepreneurship can eventually accelerate performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate (1) the direct and indirect effects of transformational entrepreneurship on readiness for change, psychological capital and employee performance, and (2) how the effects to readiness for change and psychological capital influence employee performance. The study data were collected using questionnaires completed by employees in 257 branches of a state-owned bank with locations throughout Indonesia. The data were analysed using the structural equation model. The results show that transformational entrepreneurship significantly and positively influences readiness for change, psychological capital, and employee performance and that readiness for change and psychological capital significantly and positively influences employee performance. Additionally, the effect of transformational entrepreneurship on employee performance is more significant if it is related to psychological capital than to readiness for change or to aspects of employee performance unrelated to transformational entrepreneurship. These findings enrich our understanding of transformational entrepreneurship and its value related to the direct and indirect effects on variables such as readiness for change, psychological capital and employee performance.