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The demand for entrepreneurship to become more prevalent in societies worldwide highlights the need to better understand entrepreneurial intentions (EI). This is particularly important for African nations characterised by significant poverty and low income. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) this paper explores potential predictors of these intentions in two countries that differ considerably in their economic situation and culture. It chiefly focuses on SEI as socially desired, yet still unexplored phenomenon. The current study differentiates between social (SEI) and commercial (CEI) entrepreneurial intentions and explores their antecedents among university students in Namibia (n = 223) and Germany (n = 1326). The results suggest that TPB only poorly predicts SEI, particularly in Namibia. However, they support universally positive effect of perceived behavioural control on formation of CEI in both countries. This study contributes to emerging research into antecedents of SEI. It also highlights the need to test exploratory power of recognised theories such as TPB within different contexts and types of entrepreneurial activity.

Although gambling is forbidden for minors, the prevalence of gambling among adolescents is increasing. In order to improve preventive interventions, more evidence on predictors of gambling onset is needed. A longitudinal study was proposed to (1) establish the prevalence of gambling, (2) identify factors associated with gambling behavior the following year, and (3) adjust a model to predict gambling behavior. A cohort of 1074 students (13&ndash, 18 years old) was followed for 12 months. The prevalence of gambling reached 42.0% in the second measure. Boys gambled 2.7 times more than girls, and the highest percentages of gambling onset showed up between 13 and 14 years old. Gambling onset and maintenance was associated with gender, age, sensation-seeking, risk perception, self-efficacy for not gambling, parents&rsquo, attitude towards gambling, group pressure (friends), subjective norm, exposure to advertising, accessibility, normative perception, gambling in T1 and parents gambling behavior. Gender, gambling in T1 and risk perception were significant in all three logistic adjusted regression models, with the fourth variable being sensation seeking, peer pressure (friends) and accessibility, respectively. It is suggested that universal prevention should be aimed preferably at children under 15 years old and to alert regulators and public administrations to the directly proportional relationship between accessibility and gambling onset.

The innovativeness of individual employees is a vital source of competitive advantage of firms, contributing to societal development. Therefore, the aim of this multilevel study was to examine how entrepreneurial firm owners&rsquo, authentic leadership relates to their employees&rsquo, innovative behaviour. Our conceptual model postulates that the relationship between business owners&rsquo, authentic leadership (as perceived by their employees) and their employees&rsquo, innovative behaviour is mediated by employees&rsquo, personal initiative and their work engagement. Hypotheses derived from this model were tested on data collected from 711 employees working in 85 small firms from three European countries: the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. The results of the multilevel modelling confirmed our model, showing that when business owners are perceived as more authentic leaders, their employees show higher personal initiative and are more engaged at work and, in turn, identify more innovative solutions to be implemented in the organization. A cross-national difference was observed: employees from Spain (in comparison to Dutch and Polish employees) reported engaging less frequently in innovative behaviour. These research findings suggest that the innovative behaviour of employees can be boosted through leadership training, improving the quality of relationships between leaders and subordinates, and strengthening employees&rsquo, personal initiative and work engagement.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between sales managers’ authentic leadership style and salespeople’s positive development. Design/methodology/approach Multilevel regression analysis was used to examine the data from 40 work teams from several Spanish retail companies (190 salespeople and 40 sales managers). Findings In line with previous studies, the analyses indicated that sales managers’ authentic leadership style as perceived by employees significantly predicted salespeople’s work engagement and psychological capital (PsyCap). Contrary to the expectations, salespeople’s perceptions of sales managers’ authentic leadership did not relate to sales managers’ self-ratings of authentic leadership, but instead related to sales managers’ gender (women were perceived as more authentic) and higher perceived frequency of leader–follower interaction. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature by testing if sales managers’ variables (gender and self-ratings of authentic leadership and perceived frequency of leader–follower interaction) predict salespeople’s perceptions of authentic leadership, which in turn, predict salespeople’s positive development (work engagement and PsyCap).

This article argues that cultural and personal values are relevant in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions; as such, the interplay between both value-levels deserves attention. Individualist values such as achievement, pleasure, self-direction and an exciting and stimulating life are related to entrepreneurial intention and activity, at both the cultural and personal levels. From a sample of 2069 adults with a university degree, the results support a double-effect of culture on entrepreneurial intention: the personal values effect (a more individualist culture leads to more members exhibiting higher entrepreneurial intentions) and the outlier effect (those who are more individualist than average in their culture will exhibit a higher entrepreneurial intention). Within the two individualist dimensions considered (self-enhancement and openness to change), the relationship of self-enhancement to entrepreneurial intention is stronger than that of openness to change. The implications of these results are discussed and avenues for future research are proposed Junta de Andalucía P08-SEJ-03542

The role of values and motivations in understanding the entrepreneurial cognitive process deserves closer attention. So far, the predominant approach has been studying the entrepreneurial intention. This has been a very fruitful avenue of research. However, there is still much to be known to fully understand how the decision to start a venture is formed, and how the individual acts to implement that decision. Values and motivations are closely related, since both of them are linked to the notion of goals. The higher the importance attached to a goal, the more likely the person will form action plans to achieve it. In this paper, we present some ideas on how values and motivations could be integrated into the predominant entrepreneurial intention model. Firstly, we propose that values may help to explain the formation of intention antecedents (e.g., attitudes), and also moderate their effect on the entrepreneurial intention. Secondly, we point to the possibility that values and motivations may also play a role in the intention–action link. In particular, they may be instrumental in overcoming the barriers and obstacles toward effective start-up. In addition, this paper is also an introduction to the special issue, and we present the four papers selected to be included and highlight some of the most interesting aspects of their contributions

Purpose – Building on the dualistic approach to passion, the aim of this paper was to examine how work engagement and workaholism relate to entrepreneurs' performance (innovative behavior, business growth, and subjective business performance). Design/methodology/approach – Cross-sectional survey data of 180 Spanish entrepreneurs were analyzed using partial least squares modeling. Findings – Evidence was found for a dual affective pathway to performance. Work engagement related favorably to performance through its relationship with more positive affect and less negative affect. Workaholism related to more negative affect, which in turn related negatively to performance. After controlling for affective states, both work engagement and workaholism still had a direct and positive association with innovative behavior. Research limitations/implications – Limitations are the cross-sectional design and the reliance on self-report measures; although self-reports of business growth can be considered indicative of objective business performance. Bi-directional relationships between the study variables seem plausible. The dualistic approach to passion is a sound theoretical basis for future research on drivers and consequences of work engagement and workaholism. Practical implications – The findings imply that entrepreneurial success can be enhanced by improving entrepreneurs' emotion-regulation strategies to manage their affective states. Workaholics especially would benefit from such strategies. Social implications – Improving entrepreneurial performance has value for society via counteracting economic decline and creation of wealth and jobs. Originality/value – This study adds to our limited understanding of the consequences of work engagement and workaholism. It addresses entrepreneurs, who are an under researched occupational group.

The current research aims to shed light on the role of culture in the formation of career intentions. It draws on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen), which has been widely employed to predict intentions, including entrepreneurial career intentions, but past research has almost exclusively been conducted in “Western” countries. The current research specifically explores the extent to which both the strength of relationships of TPB predictors with entrepreneurial career intentions and the TPB predictors themselves are invariant across cultures. The study compares six very different countries (Germany, India, Iran, Poland, Spain, and the Netherlands), drawing on an overall sample of 1,074 students and their assessments of entrepreneurial career intentions. Results support culture universal effects of attitudes and perceived behavioral control (self-efficacy) on entrepreneurial career intentions but cultural variation in the effects of subjective norm.