Search results for "entrepreneurs"
showing 10 items of 662 documents
Opportunity Recognition in Social Entrepreneurship
2012
Opportunity recognition (OR) is at the very heart of entrepreneurship. However, research on OR in the context of social entrepreneurship is still in its early stages. First, this article identifies, codifies and analyses OR-relevant articles on social entrepreneurship (SE) through the lens of Sarasvathy’s three views of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. In the second step, statistical methods are applied on the results to indicate possible correlations among different schools of thought in SE and views on OR. OR in social ventures is found to be a prevalent topic in SE literature and differences in OR between social and commercial ventures are found.
Stakeholder perceptions of alternative food entrepreneurs
2009
This paper focuses on rural entrepreneurs' perceptions of their stakeholders with respect to their influence towards the economic success of farms and environmental issues, as well as their trustworthiness. There is special emphasis on the comparison of perceptions between suppliers of alternative food supply chains and suppliers of conventional supply chains. Survey research, with a final sample size of 522 rural entrepreneurs in Central Finland, was used as a research method. The results showed that 28% of the respondents could be defined as alternative food entrepreneurs. Significant differences between alternative and conventional food entrepreneurs were related to perceptions towards c…
Culture and Entrepreneurship – Remarks on Transculturality as Practice
2003
The most recent media debate about a new ‘Turkish entrepreneurship’ in Germany triggered off the fundamental reflections on the necessarily critical conceptualisation of the relation between ‘culture’ and entrepreneurial action. The dominating concepts in the field of ‘ethnic business’, in which questions of cultural orientation in entrepreneurial action have been a central issue for some time, can serve as a starting point for this analysis. For understanding the term culture and the conceptualisation of culture in conjunction with entrepreneurial action, a few critical remarks and a shift in perspective are necessary. Contributions of economic geography inspired by the ‘cultural turn’, wh…
The interaction between culture and sex in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions
2013
This study aims to reveal the effect of an interaction between culture and sex on the formation of entrepreneurial intentions, while building on notions of a cultural construction of gender. The study adopts the theory of planned behaviour as the setting for such exploration, as it has been proven to be robust across national contexts. The analysis is based on survey data collected from business students in Norway and Turkey. Both countries were selected as two distinct and opposite cultural constellations in accordance with the dissatisfaction approach to entrepreneurship. Turkey representing a relatively masculine, high power distance, uncertainty avoiding and collectivistic society; whil…
The Impact of Entrepreneur-CEOs in Microfinance Institutions: A Global Survey
2013
- Peer reviewed Microfinance is a global high-growth industry, in which entrepreneurship is prevalent and substantial. Based on the theoretical argument that microfinance entrepreneur-CEOs are “motivated agents” with a unique ability to hire and socialize mission-oriented staff, we hypothesize that these CEOs produce more sustainable microfinance institutions with better social performance and lower costs. This study utilizes data from 295 microfinance institutions in 73 developing countries, assessed between 1998 and 2010. Our empirical evidence suggests that entrepreneur-managed microfinance institutions feature higher social performance, greater financial sustainability, and lower costs.
Small business and entrepreneurship: their role in economic and social development
2017
Since the 1980s, small business owners and entrepreneurs have been receiving greater recognition as drivers of economic growth. Recently, several studies (Forsman 2011; McKeever, Anderson, and Jack...
The role of private equity: from focus on the product to focus on value creation
2009
Orginal article published by InderScience publishers. Avaialble from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJEIM.2009.025141 As a consequence of the paradigm shift from an industrial society to an information society, the role of the entrepreneur ought to change from being an inventor of product/services to become a value creator. Hence, the focus of entrepreneurial ventures should be shifting towards creating viable business models rather than superior product/services. One major implication of the shift of entrepreneurial endeavour from product/services towards creating new business models is that hands on investors behind companies’ have to be involved closer to the inception of new ventures in ord…
Financial literacy, value creation and firm performance. An investigation of Italian small and medium enterprises
2023
This article aims to determine the influence of entrepreneurs’ financial literacy for the growth of SMEs’ value. The paper verifies the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between financial literacy and value creation, as indicated by economic value added (EVA®). The study analyses 162 Italian SMEs operating in the textile and clothing sector. The analysis period is between 2011 and 2013. Regression analysis and correlation analysis have been applied to test the hypotheses. The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between financial literacy and the variables that drive the value creation. Greater financial literacy allows SMEs to optimise their capital str…
The role of innovation and knowledge for entrepreneurship and regional development
2021
The impact of entrepreneurial activity on regional economic growth continues to be a focus of research and policy-makers throughout our global environment (Carree and Thurik 2000; Agarwal, Audretsc...
Survival causal patterns of social and commercial entrepreneurial initiatives in Spain
2021
This research aims at analysing the influence of a holistic configuration of factors related to industry and the characteristics of the entrepreneur and the business, on the survival of social and commercial entrepreneurial initiatives in both, new and consolidated companies. The sample ranges from 2,851 to 2,109 firms, according to the period considered, and has been obtained from the reports of the projects submitted to the Assistance Programme to Young Entrepreneurs, promoted by the Valencian Institute of Youth. Other sources of information have been the Institute’s own reports and the Chambers of Commerce. A configurational analysis is performed using the Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparati…