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The latest science news, in brief. The latest science news, in brief., Author Affiliations: Thousand-author papers, lab outbreaks and a prisoner exchange White Island, a marine volcano off New Zealand, erupted while tourists were exploring its crater. Credit: Michael Schade/Xinhua News Agency/eyevine [...]

Funding startups, particularly rural entrepreneurial ventures in the United States, is not a simple binary process of checking off items on a list. There are many factors that impact whether a rural entrepreneur receives funding, from the type of rural venture, the location of the venture, to the skill sets of the entrepreneur, the social capital and networks an entrepreneur has, to existing business clusters, and to the policies of the government, private/public ventures, and private ventures. This paper begins as a funding question; however, it ventures into the deep body of literature on the various considerations that affect funding. It is impossible to come to a formal conclusion on the exact reason, as there is no one specific answer. What this paper provides, however, is a much larger, but clearer, insight into the complexities that make up rural entrepreneurship and the potential reasons funding is a challenge. Keywords: Rural Entrepreneurship, Rural Venture Capital, Social Capital, Business Clusters, INTRODUCTION (M. L. Pato & Teixeira, 2016)) boldly state that, Entrepreneurship has become a dynamic field of research in the last two decades. However, 'rural entrepreneurship' has been largely overlooked. [...]

The study presented in this paper explored the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and business model innovation of companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) after the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the authors aimed to analyze how the individual dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship influence business model innovation by using the dynamic capabilities view. The study empirically analysed a sample of 100 companies using regression analysis. The findings revealed that each dimension of corporate entrepreneurship positively and significantly impacts business model innovation. Innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, autonomy, and competitive aggressiveness positively affected the innovation of the business model. The results of this study confirm that entrepreneurial initiative is a good predictor of a company's ability to innovate business models. The implication for management is to deepen the understanding of how corporate entrepreneurship promotes and shapes an innovative business model. This increases companies' success and overall well-being in B&H after the COVID-19 pandemic. KEYWORDS: corporate entrepreneurship, business model innovation, innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, dynamic capabilities view., 1. INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic has damaged economies around the world, although the extent of the damage is difficult to assess. Economic development slowdown is evident in developed and developing [...]

This paper describes a study of South Africans' national perception and alignment to financial inclusion for women. It explains the impact of institutional roles and governance on financial inclusion in South Africa. There is ample evidence of government efforts on implementing financial inclusion in the country. Still, the significance of how governance and institutions promote access to finance for women has been overlooked in the literature. The main objective of this study is to identify the impact of institutional quality and governance on financial inclusion for women in South Africa. Data for analytical purposes supporting the research has been obtained from primary sources through semi-structured open-ended interviews collected from 2019 to 2020. The research approach employed and coded data from a recent study on 30 women entrepreneurs, five key policymakers on women empowerment and five financial institutions supervisors on financial inclusion for women. The results obtained suggest that there is little institutional quality and governance on financial inclusion for women, and further efforts must be intensified to achieve equal access to financial services in South Africa. Furthermore, the paper presents recommendations for policymakers that, if implemented, would prove fruitful. Policymakers are expected to facilitate gender-mainstreaming/strategies and working policies, monitoring and evaluation, financial literacy, and transparent legal framework on financial policies addressing women. Keywords: Financial Inclusion, Political Economy, Racial Configuration of the Economy, Class Dimension, Women's Power, 1. Introduction Since women play diverse roles in the economy (economic actors, wives, mothers, entrepreneurs, workers, leaders), there are multiple benefits that women's financial inclusion add to society. Access to [...]

In construction project management, the contractor plays a primary role. Selection of the contractor is a matter of concern for clients as this is a key player who ensures better performance of a project. This paper structurally investigates the literature from credible databases and renowned journals from 2000 to 2018 in matters related to contractor selection. This investigation sets to accomplish three objectives. Firstly, it includes the identification of criteria and sub-riteria and their organization into a proper classification. Secondly, it highlights the types of decision-making techniques applied in articles published on contractor selection. The third objective covers a detailed investigation of current saturation and gaps of this area of study around the globe. The findings of the research are critically discussed in the light of the literature. As very limited work has been carried out in the area of contractor selection, this paper fills this gap in knowledge in the context of a structured review. Key words: contractor selection attributes, construction, decision-making techniques, structured literature review. Dans la gestion d'un projet de construction, l'entrepreneur joue un role de premier plan. La selection de l'entrepreneur est un sujet de preoccupation pour les clients puisque l'entrepreneur constitue un acteur cle qui assure un meilleur rendement du projet. Ce document examine de facon structuree la documentation provenant de bases de donnees credibles et de revues de renom de 2000 a 2018 au sujet de questions liees a la selection de l'entrepreneur. L'etude vise les objectifs suivants. Le premier objectif est de determiner des criteres et des sous-criteres et leur organisation dans une classification appropriee. Deuxiemement, l'etude met en evidence les types de techniques de prise de decision appliquees comme publie dans les articles sur la selection des entrepreneurs. Le troisieme objectif couvre une etude detaillee de la saturation actuelle et des lacunes de ce domaine d'etude dans le monde entier. Les resultats de la recherche sont examines de facon critique a la lumiere de la litterature. Ce document comble le manque de connaissances, car tres peu d'etudes ont ete effectuees dans le domaine de selection de l'entrepreneur, dans le contexte d'une revue structuree. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : attributs de selection de l'entrepreneur, construction, techniques de prise de decisions, revue structuree de la litterature., 1. Introduction Tendering has a predominant role in the construction project life cycle. Essentially, construction projects are carried out through a tendering process in which the client selects a suitable [...]

This paper examines how different dimensions of entrepreneurial experience and their combinations affect new ventures' wealth growth. Drawing on entrepreneurial experience research as well as work experience and learning theories, entrepreneurial experience is posited to involve a stream of critical events that occur throughout venture creation and growth, resulting in expert knowledge and cognition and benefiting subsequent venture performance. However, the impact of experience on subsequent venture outcomes can vary due to the diversity of exposure to these critical events, the breadth of events experienced, and the comprehensiveness of qualitative and quantitative factors considered. Findings from a sample of 346 high-growth firms support that entrepreneurs' number of prior ventures has a positive effect on venture wealth growth. Further, this effect is even stronger when (1) the average time period in their prior ventures is longer, (2) they occupied lead founder roles in prior ventures, and (3) they have experienced both prior successes and failures in their ventures. Keywords: Entrepreneurial Experience, Entrepreneurial Learning, Founders, High-Growth Ventures, Entrepreneurial learning theorists suggest the most effective way to become an 'expert' entrepreneur is through learning by doing, or learning from experience (e.g., Cope and Watts, 2000; Krueger, 2007; Minniti [...]

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are important foundations to implement mass entrepreneurship and innovation and play an irreplaceable role in increasing employment, promoting economic growth, as well as scientific and technological innovations, and providing particularly social harmony and stability and imminently are strategic entities to the national economy and social development in underdeveloped regions. However, the low-efficiency financing of SMEs has gradually become a major factor that restricts the high-quality development of SMEs in the current conditions. In this paper, interest expenditure, gearing ratio, and the net debt ratio as input indicators and current asset turnover ratio, cost margin, and main business income as output indicators are used to conduct the DEA-BCC model. By utilizing the GEM-listed private enterprises between 2017 and 2020 in China, the nationwide financing efficiency of SMEs is firstly measured, and then the financing efficiencies of SMEs in economically developed regions and lagging regions are calculated separately. The comparison reveals that the financing efficiency of SMEs in economically underdeveloped regions is not only lower than the national average figure but also much lower than the financing efficiency level in economically developed regions, which is the result of the combined effect of internal and external factors that enterprises face. Further, this paper finds that unexpected public events, core technical personnel, and enterprise size have an impact on the financing efficiency of SMEs when running group testing. This paper puts forward rationalized suggestions to the institutions to improve the financing efficiency of SMEs in underdeveloped regions concerning the conducted research, which are called government, financial institutions, and enterprises., Author(s): Jinghong Xu [1,2]; Daguang Yang [1]; Qian Zhang (corresponding author) [3] 1. Introduction With the continuous development of the market economy, SMEs have become a significant new force in [...]

This paper argues that manufacturing is still important for structural transformation in Africa. Despite failing to industrialize in the past, there may be a new window of opportunity emerging. This is due to the convergence of what have been called 'brilliant' new technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and a resurgence of start-up entrepreneurship. In this light, this paper (i) shows why manufacturing is vital for African economies; (ii) critically analyzes the nature and impact--both in terms of opportunities and risks--of the new technologies associated with 4IR for Africa; (iii) describes the resurgence of tech start-up entrepreneurship in Africa, and; (iv) calls for policy support in the form of complementary investments and regulations to allow entrepreneurs to maximize opportunities and to minimize threats. The paper shows that a new narrative for African manufacturing is possible., Africa needs to industrialize to create jobs. Its population is young and growing fast, and at more than one billion people already, is the second highest of any region after [...]

Numerous sources of data that are traditionally used by small businesses and entrepreneurship researchers, primarily from government entities, have not caught-up with actual conditions on the ground. COVID-19's impact on the social and economic picture around the globe has been like watching a train wreck taking place on 'Main Street' in slow motion. Doomsday 'preppers' and at least some of their prognostications and suggestions moved towards the mainstream, having greater acceptance than before. One of the more popular books on Amazon, covering the topic of canning and preserving foods, was on backorder for at least several weeks, and as of the time of this writing, it has been months since one could easily acquire canning supplies such as jar lids on retailers' shelves. There were shortages on major websites of sewing machines, elastic, and other materials--even those that are substitute goods such as coffee filters, when individuals and groups engaged in making their own masks. Panic buying also wiped out inventories of hand sanitizers, disinfecting aerosol sprays, bleach, toilet paper, and numerous other products that consumers felt they might need, including guns and ammunition. A vast majority of businesses have not fared well. Hospitality, tourism, and the restaurant industries have been hit hard, and there are also disparate impacts among certain demographic groups relative to small-business owners. Bad actors are also hard at work, launching scams. Many have essential items for resale on websites such as Craigslist and eBay. This research presents a systematic review of the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses. It further examines the phenomenon in a broader socioeconomic and cultural context. Keywords: COVID-19, small business, entrepreneurship, innovation, U.S. and global economy, INTRODUCTION (1) 'COVID-19 constitutes both a health crisis and an economic crisis' (Stephens, Jahn, Fox, Charoensap-Kelly, Mitra, Sutton, & Meisenbach, 2020). Three key themes arise in connection with this study: [...]

Numerous sources of data that are traditionally used by small businesses and entrepreneurship researchers, primarily from government entities, have not caught-up with actual conditions on the ground. COVID-19's impact on the social and economic picture around the globe has been like watching a train wreck taking place on 'Main Street' in slow motion. Doomsday 'preppers' and at least some of their prognostications and suggestions moved towards the mainstream, having greater acceptance than before. One of the more popular books on Amazon, covering the topic of canning and preserving foods, was on backorder for at least several weeks, and as of the time of this writing, it has been months since one could easily acquire canning supplies such as jar lids on retailers' shelves. There were shortages on major websites of sewing machines, elastic, and other materials--even those that are substitute goods such as coffee filters, when individuals and groups engaged in making their own masks. Panic buying also wiped out inventories of hand sanitizers, disinfecting aerosol sprays, bleach, toilet paper, and numerous other products that consumers felt they might need, including guns and ammunition. A vast majority of businesses have not fared well. Hospitality, tourism, and the restaurant industries have been hit hard, and there are also disparate impacts among certain demographic groups relative to small-business owners. Bad actors are also hard at work, launching scams. Many have essential items for resale on websites such as Craigslist and eBay. This research presents a systematic review of the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses. It further examines the phenomenon in a broader socioeconomic and cultural context. Keywords: COVID-19, small business, entrepreneurship, innovation, U.S. and global economy, INTRODUCTION (1) 'COVID-19 constitutes both a health crisis and an economic crisis' ( Stephens, Jahn, Fox, Charoensap-Kelly, Mitra, Sutton, & Meisenbach, 2020). Three key themes arise in connection with this [...]

The U.S. economy depends on the health of small businesses, which represent 99.9 percent of total U.S. businesses. Similarly, the Mexican economy depends on the health of its small (and medium) businesses, which represent 99.8 percent of total Mexican businesses. Small business creation and success is important to developed and developing countries, but risky. Studies have examined problems and opportunities created by small businesses. This paper examines problems and challenges faced by small businesses in Mexico and the USA. While these problems and challenges are similar in both countries, some important distinctions need to be identified. This is an important topic because small businesses that do not recognize which problems to avoid may quickly fail. Researchers noted there is no simple pattern for success among small businesses; there's no general theoretical framework for success. Certain issues impacting small businesses have been identified as critical success factors (CSFs). The literature review of CSFs was used to develop the instrument for this study. The methodology was identical for both the U.S. and Mexico studies and included focus groups with business owners in the United States and Mexico. The business owners represented different businesses and identified common problems faced by their businesses. Problems uncovered in the focus groups were included in a survey instrument, which ultimately identified 29 key business problems. The survey instrument examined small business owners' perceptions of current key problem areas. The 29 items presented to the small business owners in Mexico were identical to the 29 items presented in the U.S. survey. Factor analysis was used in an exploratory manner to analyze the interrelations among the 29 key business problems. The study's findings indicate that the small business owner is a key participant among a complex set of interrelated factors including the availability of capital, adequate human resources, governmental organization and relations, and strategic planning. The issues that impact small business development in the U.S. are very similar to the issues that impact small business development in Mexico, but there are some critical differences. The study revealed a significant difference between the factor structure of the problem areas as perceived by Mexican entrepreneurs and U.S. entrepreneurs. Small business owners, business advisors and government facilitators may benefit from this knowledge as they develop companies in these countries. The Mexican government may consider a special program to provide micro loans and also encourage formation of cooperatives according to business clusters. JEL Classification: L2 Keywords: Small Business, Comparative Study, Business Problems and Opportunities, Critical Success Factors, Mexico, United States, INTRODUCTION This paper compares problems and challenges found in small businesses in a developed country and a developing country, and examines problems impacting small businesses in the United States and [...]