Purpose Users in the household sector innovate regularly, but lack incentives to spread their innovations. A recent insight is that diffusion effort can be intrinsically motivated: to confirm an aspired social identity. Yet, previous studies have likely overlooked some identity concepts relevant for diffusion, and users' diffusion effort seems more intricate than the main pathways of sharing and commercialization. Design/methodology/approach We studied users' aspired identities and diffusion behaviors in more detail. Our empirical context was the community of K-pop fans, where users innovate and disseminate innovations for a variety of reasons. Seventeen in-depth interviews were done and analyzed with the Gioia methodology. Findings Four identity concepts were found: handyman, buddy, contributor and professional. These are associated with different diffusion efforts. Free sharing is unraveled into passive showcasing, active assistance and proactive dissemination. Commercial diffusion starts with informal attempts to sell, while venture creation or licensing innovations to producer firms are rare and considered only later. Research limitations/implications Our findings should be replicated in other contexts and validated with quantitative data. Yet, our study informs continued theorizing about the antecedents of various forms of diffusion effort and the associated identities of user innovators. Practical implications Practitioners should account for the intrinsic diffusion motives of users. This will stimulate users to collaborate with commercial firms for product development, and their general willingness to spread innovations for everyone's benefit. Originality/value We unravel known diffusion pathways into subtypes that are more meaningful for users' diffusion effort. Previously undetected user identities (handyman, buddy) are associated with less pronounced diffusion efforts.

Beyond direct impact: Exploring inward FDI’s multifaceted effects on new venture creation

This study explores how practical pedagogy can catalyse the alignment of entrepreneurship education with the development of graduate entrepreneurs in South African higher education. Despite prioritising entrepreneurship education to address unemployment and economic challenges, the current curriculum remains predominantly theoretical, limiting graduates’ ability to translate knowledge into venture creation. Drawing on literature and empirical evidence, the study emphasises the integration of theory-based and action-oriented learning, mentorship, and work-integrated programs as essential components for fostering entrepreneurial intention and competencies. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through focus group interviews with 60 students from two universities in the Western Cape and analysed using Atlas.ti. Findings reveal significant gaps in pedagogical strategies, including the absence of practical frameworks, experiential learning, mentorship, and industrial exposure, which collectively hinder entrepreneurial development. The study recommends restructuring entrepreneurship pedagogy to incorporate interactive, student-centred approaches that combine conceptual knowledge with hands-on experiences, supported by mentorship and work-integrated learning. These interventions are critical for cultivating entrepreneurial mindsets and equipping graduates to pursue entrepreneurship as a viable career path. Keywords: Entrepreneurship education, practical pedagogy, theory-practice integration, mentorship, work-integrated learning.

This opinion paper examines the transformative relationship between Generation Z and business information, arguing that this cohort is pioneering a bottom-up, information-driven approach to economic self-reliance. Unlike previous generations, Gen-Z leverages a diverse digital ecosystem from social media platforms to specialized forums to gather, synthesize, and apply business intelligence for career advancement and venture creation. While this represents a significant democratization of entrepreneurial opportunity, it also presents critical challenges, including information overload, credibility assessment, and a potential foundational skills gap. This paper discusses these promises and perils, contending that the current institutional support systems are lagging behind these informal learning models. The conclusion offers a multi-stakeholder call to action, proposing that educators, policymakers, and business leaders must collaboratively build a scaffolded ecosystem to effectively harness Gen-Z’s unique information sensibilities for sustainable economic growth.

Drawing on social identity theory, we explore the social identities of next-generation founders from business families and how these shape their venture creation activities. We find that differences in the valence and interplay of family-internal—such as family expectations and legacy—and family-external identity considerations—including peer influences—shape founders’ self-conceptions, yielding three identity types: legacy preservers, independence seekers, and identity integrators. These guide key venture creation activities, including opportunity identification, business model development, resource mobilization, and strategic vision. This study contributes by developing next-generation founder identities, linking them to action around venture creation, and broadening the understanding of entrepreneurship beyond succession.

Generative AI can enhance venture creation education, yet faculty adoption remains limited. This study explores why through a three-stage mixed-methods approach. Stage 1 reviewed 2020–25 literature to identify 23 barriers across pedagogical, technical, institutional, and ethical domains. Stage 2 involved interviews with experienced entrepreneurship educators, refining and reducing the list to 15 context-specific challenges. Stage 3 used a fuzzy-DEMATEL survey to capture expert causal judgments, while thematic coding of interviews added narrative depth. The resulting influence map highlights a clear hierarchy: lack of staff training, unclear governance, and weak technical support are key upstream barriers, while concerns like plagiarism and over-reliance are downstream effects. Cluster analysis groups drivers into pedagogical, organisational, and infrastructural clusters, suggesting a phased response: begin with training and transparent policy, then invest in tools and assessments.

Rapid economic shifts, technological acceleration, and changing labor-market structures require higher education to prepare graduates who are not only academically capable but also creative, innovative, independent, and able to make responsible decisions under uncertainty. This study aimed to examine how project-based learning (PBL) strengthens the entrepreneurial mindset of postgraduate students and to identify the learning processes that facilitate the internalization of entrepreneurial values. A qualitative descriptive design was employed, using direct classroom observation, in-depth semi-structured interviews with postgraduate students and course instructors, and document analysis of course plans and student project reports. Data were analyzed thematically through iterative reduction, display, and conclusion drawing, supported by source and technique triangulation. Findings indicate that PBL positively influenced students’ critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in authentic entrepreneurship-related tasks. Active engagement across project phases (planning–implementation–evaluation) fostered innovation, accountability, self-confidence, and opportunity recognition, while bridging conceptual understanding with practical entrepreneurial action. The study concludes that PBL is an effective and contextually relevant approach for strengthening postgraduate students’ entrepreneurial mindset and should be integrated more systematically within graduate curricula. Practically, the results inform curriculum design and instructional strategies for entrepreneurship development in higher education. Future research should use longitudinal and mixed-method designs to measure sustained outcomes (e.g., entrepreneurial self-efficacy, intention, or venture creation) across disciplines and institutional contexts.

ABSTRACT Research on personal values (PVs) has revealed links to entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and to the profiles of existing entrepreneurs. This study advances knowledge by exploring how PVs influence the transition from EI to entrepreneurial action, based on Schwartz’s theory of basic human values. Through a 9-year longitudinal study (2010–2019) on a sample of Spanish university alumni (n = 1,693), we assessed PVs and EI in 2010 and tracked their influence on venture creation up to 2019, using linear and logistic regression analyses. The results show that PVs indirectly influence start-up behaviors in the short term; whereas, the impact is direct in the long term. Specifically, openness-to-change values foster venture creation; whereas, conservation values hinder such creation. Personal values are thus relevant long-term drivers of entrepreneurship and can help clarify the transition from intention to action in entrepreneurship. The results also reveal major implications for research and practice.

ABSTRACT The circular economy (CE) has emerged as a promising paradigm to address environmental challenges through resource efficiency, product life cycle transformation, and business model innovation. Yet, implementing circular business models remains challenging due to the complexity of coordinating stakeholders and managing large volumes of data, especially across the different life cycle phases. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers great potential to address these challenges. However, prior research has predominantly focused on a generic and undifferentiated application of AI within the CE, neglecting the complexity and diversity across life cycle phases. Our study seeks to address this. Drawing on the external enablement framework, we conduct a qualitative study comprising 57 semi‐structured interviews with domain experts and AI‐based ventures operating in the CE. In demonstrating how AI facilitates business model innovation by enabling navigation through circular product life cycles, our findings advance three key areas. We extend the external enablement framework by showing that external enablers can interact synergistically. Specifically, we develop a model that illustrates how the underlying dynamics of the CE and AI jointly enable business model innovation and subsequent new venture creation through complementary mechanisms, a dynamic we term dual enablement . We show how AI enhances life cycle efficiency, fosters systems interconnectivity, and supports holistic decision‐making, engendering two novel categories of business models, which we coin AI‐based business models for complexity navigation and dual enablement .

Political embeddedness and family embeddedness are two influential yet distinct areas of entrepreneurship research. In this study, we integrate these two streams of research to focus on family political embeddedness and its implications for new venture creation. Drawing on the social embeddedness perspective and utilizing a longitudinal dataset of 17,084 individuals from the China Family Panel Studies (2014–2022), complemented by 32 qualitative interviews, we examine the relationship between family political embeddedness and entrepreneurial entry, revealing a nuanced interplay. Our theory and related findings reveal a general negative relationship between family political embeddedness and entrepreneurial entry. However, we also unveil an indirect pathway through which family political embeddedness can foster entrepreneurial entry through political news consumption. Finally, we theorize and find that perceived government efficiency strengthens the relationship between political news consumption and entrepreneurial entry. Our work yields important theoretical and practical implications.

The Expression of Self Through Venture Creation: Narratives of Entrepreneurial Life and Well-Being Abroad

Background: Entrepreneurship has emerged as a vital driver of economic growth and a key strategy for creating jobs in most developing countries. The South African government also believes that entrepreneurship can help address challenges such as youth unemployment. As such, identifying factors that can enhance the entrepreneurial intention and behaviour among the youth becomes vital. Aim: This study aimed to assess whether entrepreneurial intention positively predicts entrepreneurial behaviour (EB) among students. Additionally, the study tested whether entrepreneurial role models moderate this relationship. Setting: This study was conducted using students at a South African university. Methods: The study collected quantitative data using a self-administered questionnaire. A sample size of 361 university students was recruited using convenience sampling. The data were analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (SMART-PLS 4 software). Results: It was established that entrepreneurial intention positively predicts actual behaviour. Surprisingly, only one of the four hypothesised role models (i.e. successful entrepreneurs) was a significant moderator in the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and actual behaviour. Conclusion: This study provides empirical evidence that successful entrepreneurial role models are a necessary boundary condition that can help students transition from entrepreneurial intention to actual EB, which is crucial for new venture creation. Contribution: The findings can guide universities and educators in integrating experiential entrepreneurship programmes and mentorship opportunities into the curriculum, particularly those involving successful entrepreneurs as guest lecturers, mentors or advisers, as these were found to be useful in this study.

This study investigates the configurational pathways enabling women in Oman to translate entrepreneurial intentions into technology venture creation. By integrating institutional theory and resource-based view, we develop a novel framework examining how formal institutional support (FIS), informal institutional support (IIS), and digital self-efficacy (DSE) interact in Oman’s conservative context. We emphasize the significant enabling role of work–life balance resources (WLBR) and the cultural legitimacy of spousal endorsement. Our mixed-methods design utilizes survey data from 418 female IT graduates and 20 semi-structured interviews, analyzed through fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The findings indicate that FIS predicts entrepreneurial intention (β = 0.34, p < 0.001) but not venture creation (OR = 0.85, p = 0.298), revealing a visibility gap in policy implementation. IIS predicts venture creation (OR = 1.43, p = 0.033), with spousal endorsement acting as a cultural legitimacy signal. DSE alone fails to predict venture creation but is vital when combined with WLBR. FsQCA identifies a sufficient configuration pathway characterized by the combination of spousal endorsement, domestic support, DSE, and WLBR with solution consistency of 0.93 and coverage of 0.78. WLBR is a necessary condition with necessity consistency of 0.96, demonstrating that venture creation is improbable without it. Qualitative evidence shows founders reposition conservative norms as legitimacy signals, while non-founders emphasize funding barriers despite policy awareness. We recommend that policymakers subsidize care infrastructure, leverage women-led community networks for targeted outreach, and formalize state-backed legitimacy programs that reduce kinship dependency while building autonomy-focused alternatives.

Business schools play a pivotal role in shaping future leaders who combine entrepreneurial thinking with sustainable values. This paper explores how B-schools can foster an ecosystem that stimulates innovation and supports new venture creation while advancing social, environmental, and economic goals. Drawing on the Triple Helix approach, concepts of the entrepreneurial university, and institutional perspectives, the study formulates a set of hypotheses linking institutional mechanisms—such as curriculum design, experiential programs, and incubation support—with outcomes like entrepreneurial intention, startup activity, and sustainability orientation. A mixed-methods framework is proposed, involving multi-institutional surveys, in-depth case analyses of incubators, and secondary data on startup performance. Advanced statistical tools, in conjunction with qualitative interpretation, will be employed to examine these relationships. This research paper concludes with implications for the B-school spearheads and policymakers on introducing entrepreneurship and sustainability as essential graduate outcomes

Abstract This study examines the (direct, mediated and moderated) connections between entrepreneurial alertness, intention, behavior, and education to influence the actions of aspiring entrepreneurs in an emerging economy, specifically Saudi Arabia, through an integrated application of a multilevel theoretical framework that includes the Alertness Theory, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Human Capital Theory. Data were collected from 405 aspiring entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. PLS-SEM was performed using Smart PLS 4.0 to calibrate the auxiliary and structural models. The findings confirmed that entrepreneurial alertness positively and significantly correlates with entrepreneurial intention and behavior. Entrepreneurial intention affirmed its mediating role in this model. Likewise, the study validated the significant moderating role of education in producing direct and mediated effects. This study contributes to the limited but growing literature on entrepreneurial behavior in developing economies by offering context-specific insights into the role of multiple individual constructs in bridging cognitive and behavioral gaps in entrepreneurship.

The objective of this research consists of analysing the impact of carrying out Bachelor thesis (BT) subject-focused on the creation of a new venture by implementation and elaboration of a business plan-on learning outcomes. Thus, a combination of competences is analysed and evaluated between prior and after to carry out the BT subject-consisting of a business plan-, so as to confirm to what extent the BT contributes to the outcomes obtained in acquisition of and training in competences. The results obtained indicate important and positive improvements in the following competences: interpersonal relations, teamworking, organizational issues, leadership, change management, creativity, and in particular, entrepreneurship and the application of knowledge into practice. The choice of topic for the BT emerges as a critical tool in the orientation of training emphasis towards particular competences, such as those related to entrepreneurship. Thus, a business plan implemented properly is a way of teaching and learning-learning by doing-, and consequently, a valuable tool in the training of competences related to entrepreneurship-providing knowledge, skills, and their articulation. Such BT develops entrepreneurial competence and increases the necessary competences for different entrepreneurship itineraries, as social entrepreneurship, innovative entrepreneurship, and international entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs increasingly adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools during the earliest stage of venture creation—problem ideation. To clarify how AI reshapes this stage of opportunity identification, this study conducts a systematic scoping review of emerging literature. Searches were performed in Google Scholar and Scopus using Boolean queries combining “artificial intelligence,” “entrepreneurship,” “opportunity identification,” and “ideation.” After removing duplicates and screening records against predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 17 studies were included. Data were extracted using a structured coding framework capturing the entrepreneurial stage, AI’s functional role, reported benefits and risks, and boundary conditions. Findings show that AI expands entrepreneurs’ cognitive search space, accelerates pattern recognition, and supports reframing of problem domains, but also introduces risks of convergence, reduced contextual judgment, and overreliance. Synthesizing these patterns, the review develops the AI-Enhanced Opportunity Identification Framework: Human–AI Co-Evolutionary Extension, a refinement of a foundational opportunity identification model. The framework identifies three cross-stage AI roles—Inspirer, Analyst, and Organizer—and situates ideation within iterative human–AI collaboration shaped by institutional enablers such as AI-integrated incubators. This review contributes by mapping empirical evidence on AI’s influence on entrepreneurial ideation, clarifying mechanisms of human–AI co-creation, and outlining future research opportunities on judgment, novelty, and ecosystem-level effects.

This study investigates how entrepreneurial personality traits, specifically achievement motivation and self-efficacy, interact with contextual factors in venture creation. Drawing on data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, it examines the influence of market competition and environmental support. The findings show that achievement motivation contributes positively to venture creation when market competition is low. However, entrepreneurial self-efficacy does not mediate the relationship between environmental support and venture creation. These results underscore the importance of considering both personality traits and external conditions in entrepreneurship research. They offer valuable insights for advancing theory and guiding practical approaches to venture development.

Entrepreneurship has traditionally been conceptualized through frameworks that prioritize growth maximization, competitive dominance, and risk-taking norms historically associated with masculine economic models. In response to the structural inequalities embedded in these paradigms, entrepreneurial feminism has emerged as a transformative framework that redefines venture creation, innovation, and risk through the lens of gender equity and inclusion. This paper examines entrepreneurial feminism as both a theoretical and practical approach that challenges dominant entrepreneurial narratives by emphasizing collaborative leadership, social value creation, ethical governance, and inclusive access to resources. Through a multidimensional analysis, the study explores how feminist principles reshape entrepreneurial motivations, redefine risk-taking behaviors, and foster alternative innovation pathways that integrate economic sustainability with social justice. The findings suggest that entrepreneurial feminism not only expands opportunities for women and marginalized groups, but also offers more resilient and equitable models of business creation in contemporary economies.

Purpose Volitional competencies, specifically self-regulation and self-control, are recognized as critical during the early stages of new venture creation, when New Venture Teams (NVTs) actively engage in business formation. Similarly, behavioral dynamics such as team collaboration and cohesion also play a crucial role in business venture creation. Yet, the specific individual volitional competencies and their relationship to the behavioral dynamics within youth NVTs remain underexplored. The purpose of this paper is to explore these volitional competencies and behavioral dynamics after NVTs cross the entrepreneurial Rubicon. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data was collected on a sample of 515 South African early-stage youth team members regarding seven self-regulation and five self-control volitional competencies and team collaboration and cohesion as the behavioral dynamics. These youth NVTs have crossed the entrepreneurial Rubicon stage, as they created new businesses and are owners/founders of these businesses. Findings Drawing on the Mindset theory of action phases and the self-regulation theory, this study empirically tested the correlational relationship through structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that the self-regulation volitional competencies, particularly attention focusing, self-motivation, emotion regulation, decision regulation and self-determination, as well as the self-control volitional competencies, planning skill and initiating control, significantly influence team collaboration and cohesion. This study challenges the distinction between collaboration and cohesion and combines them as a single construct. Originality/value This study presents a novel theoretical framework that supports eight volitional competencies and two behavioral dynamics that are particularly necessary for early-stage youth NVTs to create new ventures. The findings could contribute to new theoretical construct development, policy formulation, measuring instruments and training programme design.