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This paper attempts to explain the observations that not all individuals have the potential to found organizations, and that of those who do, not all try or succeed. Three dimensions to organization formation are proposed: propensity to found, intention to found, and sense making. These three dimensions lead to a decision to found the venture, or to abandon the attempt. Several propositions are derived from the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines a constructivist framework for understanding the outcomes of the entrepreneurial process. The core thesis of the paper is that, taken alone, neither the personality of the entrepreneur nor the structural characteristics of the environment determine the outcome. Rather, it is argued that the outcome of the entrepreneurial process is emergent from a complex interaction between the entrepreneur, the environment, chance events and prior performance. The framework is illustrated with evidence from biographies of six entrepreneurs involved in successful processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on entrepreneurial exit has established itself as a more recognized component of the entrepreneurial process and a distinctive domain of entrepreneurship research. Despite the progress made, there still exists important topics within entrepreneurial exit where scholarly understanding is scant. This special issue discusses new and open topics of research on entrepreneurial exit. Three papers examine three such topics including pricing intentions of exiting entrepreneurs, exit considerations among angel investors, and the relationship between exit and failure in new ventures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose two conceptual developments in understanding entrepreneur motivations and their effects. First, we argue that entrepreneur motivations develop dynamically in relation to career, household and business life courses. Second, we conceptualize how motivation and life courses develop interactively. We present an exploratory test of these ideas. In a sample of enterprise programme participants, we identify motivation profiles employing more robust cluster analyses than hitherto presented: our profiles are termed reluctant, convenience, economically driven, social, learning and earning, and prestige and control entrepreneurs. We then demonstrate statistical relationships between motivation profiles at a particular phase in the business life course (early establishment) and career and household life course factors. Motivations are also related to business resources, behaviour and performance. This initial confirmation of our conceptual claims suggests that further testing is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The literature on Pacific Island business activity is relatively small. Acknowledging the dilemma associated with a statistical approach, progress can be achieved by employing a qualitative research approach. The paper discusses traditional talanoa as a method for collecting information about Pacific businesses. Talanoa is a popular and preferred means of communication that captures the traditions and protocols of the Pacific Islands. Its merits are discussed here alongside that of both formal and informal interviews. Much can be gained from the use of talanoa for research into the business and accounting practices of Pacific businesses, as written records capturing their experiences and practices are often not recorded. Such knowledge is entrenched in an oral history and in the stories of their journey. Based on talanoa sessions with Tongan businesses in Auckland New Zealand, the paper seeks to establish the appropriateness of talanoa as an alternative method for collecting information from Pacific Island people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between resource-based theory and entrepreneurship and develops insights that advance the boundaries of resource-based theory and begin to address important questions in entrepreneurship. We extend the boundaries of resource-based theory to include the cognitive ability of individual entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs have individual-specific resources that facilitate the recognition of new opportunities and the assembling of resources for the venture. By focusing on resources, from opportunity recognition to the ability to organize these resources into a firm and then to the creation of heterogeneous outputs through the firm that are superior to the market, we help identify issues that address the distinctive domain of entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contextual factors of entrepreneurship consist of social, political, and economic variables such as displacement, changes in markets, and government deregulation (Bird, 1988). Entrepreneurial intentions are further structured by both rational/analytic thinking (goal-directed behavior) and intuitive/holistic thinking (vision). These thought processes underlie the creation of formal business plans, opportunity analysis, and other goal-directed behavior. This paper further develops Bird's model of entrepreneurial intentionality by suggesting that individual self-efficacy, which has been defined as a person's belief in his or her capability to perform a task, influences the development of both entrepreneurial intentions and actions or behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated framework is not available for studying the environmental conditions conducive for entrepreneurship despite their importance for the emergence and growth of enterprises in a country. This paper develops such a framework consisting of five dimensions of entrepreneurial environments and links these dimensions to the core elements of the new venture creation process. Specific emphasis is given to the role of environmental conditions in developing opportunities and in enhancing entrepreneurs' propensity and ability to enterprise. The paper outlines some propositions and research implications of the integrated model and offers initial guidelines for formulating public policies to develop entrepreneurial environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the second of three special issues editorial staff have edited on corporate entrepreneurship (CE). In the first issue, most papers focused on the role of CE in the development arid acquisition of important organizational capabilities and skills. These papers examined the role CE can play in the development of knowledge and creation of goods and services that build new revenue streams. Papers also discussed ways in which CE can help the firm to develop and enter new markets, exploiting their capabilities and competencies. They have been gratified by the positive reactions they have received on the first CE issue. These comments have reinforced their belief that this is an area that is ripe for important theory-driven research and for studies that connect CE to other strategic issues senior executives must address in today's dynamic and global economy. The papers included in this issue use different research methods to capture the manifestations of CE in their respective research sites. This methodological polarity is a welcome addition to the field.

This paper provides a comparative perspective of pathways to entrepreneurship among Hispanic (mostly Mexican), Korean, non-Hispanic white, and Middle-Eastern/South-Asian entrepreneurs to identify common and unique circumstances conducive to business ownership. A stratified random sample business survey conducted in an immigrant neighborhood in Chicago is analyzed, to determine whether employment in a co-ethnic firm and informal self-employment serve as a stepladder to business ownership. The blocked mobility hypothesis is examined by considering self-reports about reasons for becoming self-employed. Results show that the informal economy is a common pathway to steady self-employment for Hispanics, whereas entry through employment in a co-ethnic firm was more common among Koreans than immigrants from Mexico, the Middle East, and South Asia. Koreans see business ownership as a way to overcome blocked mobility, but virtually all desire their offspring to acquire good jobs in the open labor market. For Hispanics, business ownership is not solely an instrument for overcoming discrimination, but rather a strategy for intergenerational mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines corporate entrepreneurship in multinational corporations through a detailed study of initiatives taken by foreign subsidiaries. We develop a theoretical model in which two levels of organizational context (corporate and subsidiary) promote or suppress subsidiary initiative, and initiative in turn has a feedback effect on both subsidiary and corporate context. Using a multi-method study (229 questionnaire returns plus 5 in-depth case studies), the key findings are as follows: Subsidiary initiative is promoted by a high level of distinctive subsidiary capabilities, and is suppressed by a high level of decision centralization, a low level of subsidiary credibility, and a low level of corporate-subsidiary communication. Over time, we find evidence that subsidiary initiative leads to an enhancement of credibility (vis-a-vis the head office), head office openness, corporate-subsidiary communication, and distinctive capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary argues that scholars need an alternative to the dominance in academic research of the U.S. model of entrepreneurship to reflect better the variety and diversity of entrepreneurial activities around the globe. Using the example of China, today the world's second-largest economy, we discuss how researchers miss key elements of entrepreneurship because of their over-reliance on the U.S. model of entrepreneurship for analysis, espousing Western-based theoretical values and foundations. We discuss how researchers and journals can promote future research efforts focusing on indigenous entrepreneurship activities, applying indigenously developed theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores entrepreneurial cognition theory and the boundaryless view of careers analyzing how a boundaryless view may be composed of several cognitive biases such as overconfidence, belief in the law of small numbers, and illusions of control focused on the ability to enter employment following entrepreneurial exit or failure. These biases reduce risk perceptions associated with the decision to start a venture; however, critical decision-making information may be missed by boundaryless biased individuals, such as negative attributions about former entrepreneurs made by recruitment managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing population diversity, referred to as ‘super-diversity’, has transformed the UK landscape, yet many areas of social science and policy appear reluctant to engage with the phenomenon. This article examines the ‘research–policy’ nexus as it applies one area of super-diversity: that is, businesses run by new migrants. Based on a year-long collaboration with a regional business support intermediary, the study investigate how policymakers, working with academics, handle the complexities that attend super-diversity in relation to enterprise. The study adopts an ‘engaged scholarship’ approach comprising participant observation and interviews with community-based intermediaries and business owners from 22 new migrant communities. It finds that policymakers and practitioners struggle to cope with the complexities that attend the processes of super-diversity. The danger of this is a perpetuation of a form of ‘ethnic managerialism’. However, by working collaboratively, academics and practitioners can deploy complementary bodies of knowledge to develop constructive intervention to support new migrant businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In response to the absence of entrepreneurial action on behalf of non-actors, micro-oriented scholars typically tend to refuse to allocate entrepreneurial capacities to the ‘others’ of entrepreneurship. However, in contesting this explanatory practice, macro-oriented scholars counter that ‘others’ do not lack power but opportunity. This article suggests how recurrent dualisms may be fruitfully surpassed within a conceptual framework that accommodates the ontological intuitions of both theorizing tendencies. Guarding against the temptation to deny the existence of either unexercised powers or unexploited opportunities not only allows us to resist the seduction of dualisms, but also allows for the emergence of an expanded worldview that enables a more dynamic conceptualization of the entrepreneurship phenomenon. The analysis closes by recommending directions for meta-theoretical research aiming at the identification of factors that may be hindering entrepreneurship scholarship from cognizance of realist (and realistic) insights. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The jack-of-all-trades theory of entrepreneurship suggests that technically adept employees require additional skills in order to effectively transition to the more generalist role of founder. However, it is silent about the effect of broader skill acquisition on the quality of the outputs that new ventures produce. This silence is problematic given ecological research that indicates how working across categories can hinder one’s performance in a focal role. This article examines the relationship between the pattern of prior career experiences of founders in the restaurant industry and consumer evaluations of the food that their restaurants produce. According to this analysis of 404 Toronto restaurants, founders with more prior kitchen experience receive superior food quality evaluations. However, their prior ownership experience – that which broadens their skill sets – has more tenuous implications. At the extreme, food quality ratings associated with restaurant founders who also claim to be head chefs at founding are harmed by their accumulated ownership experience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This special edition editorial notes the complex and dynamic nature of the new venture creation process. Although the growing body of work which explores discrete elements of this process is acknowledged, in-depth analyses of the 'black box' of new venture creation remain scarce. Thus, this special edition features articles that recognize and explore how entrepreneurial actors and their ventures progress within and between the various phases necessary to establish viable new firms within differing and uncertain contexts. Three articles are featured offering a diverse range of perspectives upon the challenges encountered during new venture creation and the strategies adopted to address these issues. Drawing from these articles, a more nuanced processual view of entrepreneurial activity in the venture creation and development process is presented and in addition, pathways are suggested for future research to develop this debate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on institutional theory and entrepreneurial cognition, we test the environmental perception-scanning framework in the United States and India. The results suggest that culture and transition context help explain scanning frequency, but entrepreneurs in the two countries are similar in their perceptions of strategic uncertainty in environmental sectors. Moreover, the perceptions of increased environmental change and sector importance, as conditioned by perceived information accessibility, are associated with increased scanning. Overall, our results provide important indications about perceptions and information seeking, and lend support to indications of a universal mindset of entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the collapse of socialism in the late 1980s, Central and Eastern European countries initiated attempts to adopt capitalist economic frameworks and promote entrepreneurship. However, persistent economic difficulties and high levels of unemployment have led to dissatisfaction with political parties favoring capitalism. We integrate identity, institutional, and social movement theories to describe the emergence of four competing social movements (capitalist democracy, socialist command, social democracy, and populist command) that are undertaken to pursue politico-economic reforms. We discuss the implications for developing an entrepreneurial culture in Central and Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The critical role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in firm performance has been widely studied in the U.S. context. However, the examination of this key construct in emerging regions such as China has been very limited. In this article, we hypothesize that the relationship between EO and firm performance is best represented as curvilinear, as opposed to linear, in China. We use a two-study approach to test the link between EO and performance, as expressed in both perceptual and objective performance. Findings of both studies demonstrate an inverted U-shape relationship. Implications for future research on EO are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we sought to empirically validate an instrument for measuring country institutional profiles for the promotion of entrepreneurship in a sample of 254 business students from three emerging economies: Bulgaria, Hungary, and Latvia. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis suggest high reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity of the instrument. Further, we find important differences in the three dimensions (regulatory, cognitive, and normative) of the institutional profiles across the three emerging economies, reflecting their idiosyncratic cultural norms and values, traditions, and institutional heritage in promoting entrepreneurship. Implications for future research, managerial practice, and public policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dialogic and drama-like narrative is presented. This has resulted from an unexpected circumstance in which a business idea is seen to emerge. This narrative provides a valuable resource for a ‘negotiated narrative’ style of entrepreneurship management learning and it is used to contribute to the theoretical understanding of entrepreneurship itself and to the production of a novel way of conceptualizing entrepreneurial processes generally. Emphasis is given to the emergent and relational processes through which learning occurs and through which entrepreneurial opportunities are realized. Entrepreneurship can thus be seen as a matter of entrepreneurial actors relationally ‘becoming otherwise’ through enabling customers or clients to ‘become otherwise’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this interdisciplinary study is to analyze the entrepreneurial personality in the context of resources, environment, and the startup process based on a configurational approach. The study focuses on the startup process. A questionnaire was developed to measure the configuration areas of personality, personal resources, environment, and organizing activities. A representative sample of 1,169 nascent entrepreneurs and new business owner-managers was examined. Three startup configurations were found which reveal different patterns of personality characteristics. These patterns are interpreted in the context of aspects of the environment, the resources, and the startup process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of the Journal "Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice" focuses on the relationship between culture and entrepreneurship. It adopts a broad definition of both culture and entrepreneurship. Culture is used to refer to the enduring set of values of a nation, a region, or an organization. Entrepreneurship is defined as the act and process by which societies, regions, organizations, or individuals identify and pursue business opportunities to create wealth. The articles in this special issue highlight opportunities for future research, both theoretical and empirical. These studies offer a preliminary roadmap for conducting influential and insightful research that can enrich your understanding of the interplay between culture and entrepreneurship. The author believes that this special issue provides the momentum for future research that will more closely address the relationship between manifestations of culture and forms of entrepreneurship. Numerous opportunities abound for behavioral research in the nexus of culture and entrepreneurship. Substantial gaps in our knowledge of this relationship and its contingencies need to be addressed in future research.

There are assumptions about copreneurs that they represent an emerging egalitarian style of family business ownership and that they operate in their marriages similarly to dual-career couples. Unfortunately, there has been little empirical research to support these assumptions. The current study examines these assumptions by comparing a population of copreneurs and dual-career couples on variables such as sex-role orientation, self-concept at work and home, and marital and business partnership equity. The findings indicate that copreneurs and dual-career couples define their work and home boundaries very differently. Recommendations for professional practice include (1) expanding the consultant's consciousness about these differences in couples, and (2) encouraging more egalitarian relationships between copreneurial husband and wife so as to better prepare the business for succession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociological perspectives and research provide important and distinctive contributions to the understanding of entrepreneurship in three ways. The first is through the development of societal conceptions regarding productive activities that encompass the entrepreneurial role or function. The major alternatives emphasize socioeconomic systems as (a) moving toward an equilibrium (reflecting a broad consensus) or (b) reflecting the outcome of class competition (emphasizing conflict resolution). Both assume the Inevitable dominance of massive productive organizations. These conceptions have recently been supplemented with attention to the dual nature of advanced economies or the benefits of flexible specialization. The second is through attention to specific societal characteristics affecting entrepreneurship: modernization; the role of the state in economic development; variations in the scope and nature of the unregistered (underground) economy; and the character of organizational populations and their ecological niche as they affect new firm foundings. The third Is through attention to the impact of social context on the decisions of Individuals to pursue entrepreneurial options. This includes attention to the individual's life course stage; social networks and embeddedness; ethnicity; and work experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines a conceptual model of entrepreneurship as an organizational-level phenomenon. The model is intended to depict the organizational system elements that relate to entrepreneurial behavior among larger, established firms, but may also be applicable in varying degrees to many smaller firms. Entrepreneurship is described as a dimension of strategic posture represented by a firm's risk-taking propensity, tendency to act in competitively aggressive, proactive manners, and reliance on frequent and extensive product innovation. The proposed model delineates the antecedents and consequences of an entrepreneurial posture as well as the variables that moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial posture and firm performance. The advantages of a firm-behavior perspective on entrepreneurship are discussed, as are the theoretical and managerial implications of such a perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitude is presented as a better approach to the description of entrepreneurs than either personality characteristics or demographics. The development and validation of the Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientation (EAO) scale are explained. Sixty-three undergraduates were used in developing and establishing the test-retest reliability of the EAO. Fifty-four entrepreneurs and fifty-seven non-entrepreneurs served as known groups in establishing the discriminant validity of the EAO. There was a significant difference between known groups for all four of the EAO subscales (achievement, personal control, innovation, self-esteem); all subscales but achievement entered into a stepwise discriminant function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]