Search

Abstract This study analyzes the determinants of entrepreneurial modes of entry by conducting a paper-based survey among 3547 students in Vietnam. The focus is to identify the influence of family business background and attitude toward risk on the intention to choose between business takeover versus new venture start-up modes. Results of hierarchical multinomial and binomial logistic model analyses show that people whose parents are self-employed tend to have higher motivation for business takeovers. Meanwhile, people who have higher levels of risk-taking tend to favor new venture start-ups. Results show that entrepreneurship is nurtured through family bonds. From that perspective, it is important to enhance social attitudes toward entrepreneurship and create an entrepreneurship culture to cultivate entrepreneurship among generations. Results also imply the importance of building an entrepreneurial-friendly environment where risk-taking action is tolerant of failing. These findings persist consistently through robustness checks by eliminating respondents who selected inheriting their family business.

Advances in renewable energy technologies, particularly in solar, wind, energy storage, and grid integration solutions, are accelerating the growth of in startups in this sector. Despite the promising outlook, renewable energy startups face several risks, including technological, regulatory, financial and market risks. The article carries out a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications related to the problem of investment and risks associated with the development of entrepreneurship and start-ups in the field of renewable energy. After multi-level filtering of the dataset, the research base consists of 82 publications by 232 scientists for 2005-2023, indexed by Scopus, and the analysis tools used are Biblioshiny and Excel. In 2005-2016, the number of publications grew annually at a rate of 10.47%, with peaks in 2006, 2007, and 2016; in 2017-2023, the number of papers increased (the dependence is described by a third-degree polynomial trend). The article examines 3 different types of Three-field plots in the topic of the investments and risks of the startups and entrepreneurship in renewable energy: 1) “References - Authors – Keywords”, 2) “Countries - Institutions – Authors”, 3) “Authors - Sources – Keywords”. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the scientific journals that make the largest / periodic but noteworthy / minimal contribution to the dissemination of knowledge in this area was carried out, the top 10 authors and papers were analysed by the levels of local and global influence, the most powerful research networks (based on the results of the analysis of joint citations) were identified both in terms of authors and countries, and the leading countries were identified in terms of the volume of research output of their scientists and the intensity of citation of these works. Building clouds of the most used keywords allowed us to identify priority thematic areas of research, as well as to analyse the structural and logical relationships between different thematic blocks in the research landscape. With the help of multiple correspondence analysis (factorial analysis) and longitudinal thematic map analysis, the scientific landscape in this area is clustered and evolutionary changes and interdependence of individual topics are identified.

The world economy has been experiencing and indeed appreciating the golden era of entrepreneurialism for quite some time now. The crucial element in this movement is entrepreneurs plentifully consuming accessible know-how and contemplating various funding options while benefiting from the digitised and globalised world. However, they often fail to succeed. In this paper, I assess the experience and knowledge of MBA graduate entrepreneurs on starting and running real businesses. I aim to explore what areas of new business development an MBA assists a nascent entrepreneur in launching a business. The research also intends to explore crucial MBA management tools and strategies vital in the start-up phase of a new business. To establish valid and robust empirical findings, I in-depth interviewed 10 MBA graduate entrepreneurs best acquainted with the research area. The study highlighted several areas within a new business formation where an MBA could assist a new entrepreneur and indicates as many as 26 MBA management tools and strategies that can be employed. Abstrak dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Ekonomi dunia telah mengalami dan benar-benar menghargai era keemasan kewirausahaan untuk waktu yang cukup lama. Elemen krusial dalam gerakan ini adalah para pengusaha yang melimpah mengonsumsi pengetahuan yang mudah diakses dan mempertimbangkan berbagai pilihan pendanaan sambil memanfaatkan dunia yang terdigitalisasi dan terglobalisasi. Namun, mereka seringkali gagal untuk berhasil. Dalam makalah ini, saya menilai pengalaman dan pengetahuan para pengusaha lulusan MBA dalam memulai dan menjalankan bisnis nyata. Saya bertujuan untuk menjelajahi bidang-bidang pengembangan bisnis baru di mana seorang MBA membantu seorang pengusaha pemula dalam meluncurkan bisnis. Penelitian ini juga bermaksud untuk menjelajahi alat-alat manajemen dan strategi MBA yang penting dalam fase awal sebuah bisnis baru. Untuk mendapatkan temuan empiris yang valid dan kuat, saya melakukan wawancara mendalam dengan 10 pengusaha lulusan MBA yang paling akrab dengan area penelitian. Studi ini menyoroti beberapa area dalam pembentukan bisnis baru di mana seorang MBA dapat membantu seorang pengusaha baru dan menunjukkan sebanyak 26 alat manajemen dan strategi MBA yang dapat digunakan.

PURPOSE: In both theory and practice, the entrepreneur’s prior experience is considered to be one of the most important human capital factors affecting venture performance. Nonetheless, the research on the effect of experience on venture performance has produced inconclusive findings. The literature explaining this inconclusiveness is sparse, but several determinants have been identified, such as the variability in the conceptualization and measurement of experience and performance, age of the investigated ventures, types of industry, or size and composition of venture management. The inconsistency of these features across primary studies makes it difficult to compare the results and to integrate findings. METHODOLOGY: This meta-analysis reviews and summarizes 80 primary studies in order to investigate the relationship between entrepreneur’s experience and venture performance. We investigated the effect of five determinants of this relationship, namely the type of experience, type of performance, venture age, size of managerial team, and composition of managerial team. A random effect model was applied and the correlation coefficient was used as an indicator of effect size. FINDINGS: The study found that experience positively affected venture performance, although the magnitude of the effect was rather small. Venture performance showed to have the strongest significant relationship with start-up experience, followed by industrial, working, and managerial experience. International, functional, and entrepreneurial experience had a non-significant effect on venture performance. Moreover, the effect of experience on venture performance was not significant for older ventures. Experience significantly affected two types of venture performance, namely the size of venture and profitability, while the effect on growth was non-significant. Finally, of all the types of venture management, the experience of owner-inclusive entrepreneurial teams had the greatest effect on venture performance. IMPLICATIONS: Investor practitioners may find it helpful to assess entrepreneurs’ experience within a broader context, taking account of the types of experience the entrepreneur possesses. Entrepreneurs’ international, functional, and entrepreneurial experience should be considered very carefully, as they had a non-significant effect on venture performance. In contrast, having experience of founding a venture or of a particular industry seems to provide more value than experience of doing business internationally, or being in business for many years. Another important aspect that investors and venture capitalists should take into account is the size and composition of the entrepreneurial team and the extent to which the venture proposal reflects the different types of experience the team members possess. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: The study contributes to the human capital literature by firstly attempting to examine systematically the overall magnitude of the relationship between entrepreneur’s experience and venture performance. It also contributes by investigating the determinants of the relationship between experience and venture performance. It summarizes and combines previous inconclusive findings about the impact of different types of experience on different venture performance outcomes.

Abstract Supporting the birth and development of innovative small firms, i.e., start-up incubation, has emerged as a critical factor in fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, regional development, and more recently, sustainability. This bibliometric review aims to comprehensively understand and visualize different research perspectives on how start-ups are successfully incubated. A total of 1116 Scopus articles were selected and synthesized using a qualitative approach. The study applies novel visualization techniques (Citation Network Analysis, Global Citation Score, Burst Detection Analysis and Co-Occurrence Networks of Keywords) to map the scientific structure of start-up incubation research, including the clusters of the leading research topics based on citation networks, the most cited articles, and the keywords with the most substantial citation bursts as well as their co-occurrence. We evaluate research on start-up incubation from 1972 to 2023 and show how the topic has advanced by scholars’ changing interests over time. We identify five clusters that reflect distinct study themes and their most cited references. The findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution of start-up incubation research, which developed from a focus on biotechnology and technology transfer toward the current research trends on accelerators and (entrepreneurial) ecosystems. This paper also provides insights for policymakers and start-up incubation managers to make informed decisions.

Contemporary economies worldwide appreciate the underlying importance of service sectors, culminating in sectorial growth and satisfactory performance of agri-preneurship. This study is premised on two simple explanations that cascaded into two hypothetical questions: (i) Are there inspiring factors for individuals to start up their own agri-preneurship business? (ii) Are there factors hindering individuals from starting up their own agri-preneurship business? These two hypothetical constructs triggered four primary arguments established in the study. This study was conducted in Mbombela local Municipality in category 'B', which is made up of the Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga South Africa. From a population of 1021 farmers, 458 samples of respondents were obtained and considered to be realistic for the study. The study embraced the mixed research approach, and the field survey was done between the months of February 2022 and June 2022. Descriptive statistics, involving the frequency count and percentages, were used to determine the motives and obstacles of starting up one's own business. The hypothesis was assessed by employing multinominal logistic regression to determine the relationship between demographic variables and predictor variables. The findings revealed that potential agri-preneurs are affected by an array of inspiring factors in the decision-making process. Further, the results revealed that agri-preneurial spirit is inhibited by numerous challenges. In the shared view of respondents, there was a portmanteau of obstacles impeding the commencement of one's own business. The results also showed that, in the self-realization variant, age (p < 0.035) and marital status (p < 0.033) were found to be correlated and statistically significant as an inspiration for setting up an agri-preneurship business, while the self-satisfaction variant specified marital status (p < 0.001) to be significant and to negatively (β −1.564) influence inspiration for agri-preneurship. In the independence variant category, two crucial variables, level of formal education (p < 0.005) and farm experience (p < 0.007), were found to be correlated and statistically significant in determining agri-preneurial decisions. This study has several policy propositions: the government and allied stakeholders must consider the motives that inspire potential investors in agriculture. The government must also oversee the reasons for young and old agri-preneurs leaving agri-businesses because of failure. This study underscores the need to subjectively analyze agri-preneurial inspiring factors and obstacles to performance. The contributions of agri-preneurial businesses to economic growth and poverty alleviation justify the need for a concerted effort to motivate potential investors. Another pertinent contribution of the study is highlighting the obstacles of agri-preneurs to enable the government to support and prepare responsive, innovative, and resilient agri-preneurs in South Africa. This paper recommends that starting up one's own agri-preneurial business is a good idea for abating hunger and unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escalating the number of young entrepreneurs is challenging (Saptono et al., 2020; Maebane, 2023), and government support can be beneficial in raising the intention toward entrepreneurship. This research assessed how government policies influence the readiness of young people to become entrepreneurs and involved motivation and risk perception as mediators. As many as 360 young entrepreneurs in the Special Capital Region of Jakarta were involved in this self-administered survey research, and the hypotheses were estimated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 3.0 software. The results of our study are consistent with a number of preliminary papers, which indicate that government policies not only affect the readiness of young entrepreneurs to be concerned about entrepreneurship but also increase their motivation and resilience when facing risks. The findings also show that resilience in facing risks can strengthen the influence of government policies and increase the readiness of young entrepreneurs to do business. This work furnishes insight into the vital role of government policy in increasing motivation, resilience to risk, and the readiness of young entrepreneurs to do business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of how recent crises have been experienced by Romanian start-ups from the perspective of their managers, through quantitative research. The authors also aimed to investigate the interest of entrepreneurs in sustainably developing their businesses and the actions they aim to take in this direction. Data were collected from a sample of 216 respondents, managers of start-ups operating in the Center and South-West Oltenia Regions. The results indicate that the COVID-19 health crisis and the international financial crisis, followed by the energy crisis, have had the greatest impact on the activity of start-ups and identify response measures that can be solutions to increase their resilience in times of crisis. The research can help managers of start-ups maintain business stability in complicated times and incorporate sustainability practices into their business strategy. Governmental, regional and local authorities, as well as entrepreneurship education providers, can also use the research results to initiate measures to support start-ups in their efforts to cope with current challenges and develop sustainably.

Consumer characteristics of digital entrepreneurship are indispensable in achieving sustainable growth. Digital entrepreneurship has been rapidly growing and developing worldwide, and Indonesia is no exception. This study aims to determine the effect of socio-demographics on consumer decisions on using products and services of digital entrepreneurship in Indonesia. The study used an online survey of 400 residents of Palembang City, Indonesia. The respondents were selected through a stratified random sampling method. A logistic regression model is estimated to determine the effect of socio-demographic variables that promote start-up entrepreneurship. The empirical results show that age, education, and income have a significant effect on consumers of digital entrepreneurship. The results also confirm that young people are more likely than older people to set up digital entrepreneurship. The higher people’s income and higher their education, the greater their likelihood of using products and services of digital entrepreneurship. The implication is that digital entrepreneurs must consider the reach of consumers to the products and services offered in terms of price, quality, uniqueness, and convenience per socio-demographic conditions. AcknowledgmentThe research team would like to thank the Directorate of Resources, Directorate General Higher Education, Research and Technology Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology as the funder, with Contract number 009/E4.1/AK.04.RA/2021.

IntroductionCurrent global statistics indicate that 80% of startups fail within a short period, with one of the primary reasons being weak branding strategies. Startups often lack precise knowledge of branding, which increases the risk of failure. To reduce this risk, marketers need a phenomenon called co-creation branding.Branding in startups can increase access to suppliers, customer purchases, and innovative business models (Drakoulis & Lipovsek, 2015). Despite these advantages, startups face challenges such as gaining consumer trust, creating demand for their products and services, establishing an identity, and providing unique and differentiated value to consumers (Sonja et al., 2022). Therefore, to reduce these challenges and the risk of failure, marketers need co-creation branding in startups (Bonamigo et al., 2022). Co-creation branding involves active customer and company participation and interaction to improve brand image, increase brand value and awareness, and ultimately increase customer loyalty, achieving a competitive position in the market (Dehdashti Shahrokh et al., 2022).Unfortunately, very few studies have been conducted on both co-creation branding and startups, and extensive research is needed (Wong & Merrilees, 2005; Lagerstedt & Mademlis, 2016). Therefore, this research aims to identify the factors affecting on co-creation branding in startups. The main question of this research is defined as follows: What are the factors affecting on co-creation branding in startups?Literature ReviewThe literature review of startups offers various definitions for the term. For instance, Avnimelech and Teubal (2006) define startups as young companies with advanced technology whose primary activity, from idea to initial sales, lasts between one to five years.Brand co-creation is a recent trend in branding (Hatch & Schultz, 2010), which is largely based on the dominant logic of service (Vargo & Lusch, 2008) and co-creation of value (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004), starting with the identification of customer value creation processes (Juntunen, 2012). Co-creation leads to offering more suitable products and services to consumers and encouraging their participation (Nadeem et al., 2020). The theory of brand co-creation assumes that the consumer is no longer a passive brand buyer but desires and seeks active participation in creating brand experiences (Kamboj et al., 2018), and therefore, customers can play a vital role in determining the success of brands. Brand co-creation begins with the relationship between shareholders and customers (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004; Snyder, 2019), where shareholders define and create their brand identity through this relationship. Finally, it can be said that brand co-creation, in addition to strengthening a company's innovation capability, is also a reliable way to enhance brand relationships (Chang & Hsieh, 2016).Broeke and Paparoidamis (2021) demonstrate in their research that the co-creation of brand value occurs when customers are more sensitive to quality and less sensitive to price, and there is high demand for the product. Under such conditions, product quality is enhanced, and the company's flexibility increases. Nadeem et al. (2020) show in their research that social support affects ethical perception, and both are effective in co-creation. Ethical understanding also has an impact on consumers' trust, satisfaction, and commitment. However, trust and commitment do not have a significant impact on the co-creation of value. Tajvidi et al. (2020) demonstrate that concerns about privacy can disrupt the effects of brand co-creation, and social support, quality of relationships, and information sharing on social media have a positive impact on consumers' intention to co-create brand value on social media. Additionally, there is a meaningful relationship between customer participation in brand communities on social media and the quality of the relationship.MethodologyThis study is objective in nature and employs a qualitative approach. Its aim is to identify the factors that affect co-creation branding in startups. To achieve this, a meta-synthesis approach is used to examine existing articles in the field and extract the relevant factors. The statistical population of the research is credible and relevant articles published between 2007 and 2022 (a 15-year time span). Meta-synthesis involves reviewing previous studies and reframing concepts through interpretive integration of previous results. In this research, the seven-stage Sandelowski & Barroso (2006) method is used to carry out the meta-synthesis, as it is the most commonly used method for meta-synthesis in recent university research studies.ResultsThis research conducted a systematic review of 41 research studies to identify the factors influencing co-branding in startups. The meta-synthesis method was used to analyze the research literature. After studying and extracting text, key codes were clustered using MAXQDA software and organized into concepts and components. Ultimately, the factors influencing co-branding in startups were extracted and classified into four themes, eight concepts, and 33 distinct codes. These themes include environmental factors (financial and social factors), strategic brand management factors (brand value and brand creation), marketing factors (promotional activities and customer-related factors), and individual entrepreneurial factors (entrepreneurial personal characteristics and entrepreneurial skills).Discussion and ConclusionThe objective of this research is to identify the factors that influence co-branding in startups using a meta-synthesis method. To accomplish this objective, the scattered factors mentioned in various studies and case studies in this field were collected and classified into similar categories as concepts and themes using the meta-synthesis method and following the seven steps proposed by Sandelowski and Barroso. Startups can fulfill their responsibility and duty to society by engaging in activities that help the community, which has a significant impact on co-branding in the startup ecosystem (Kennedy & Guzman, 2016). Moreover, the social position of companies has been shown to influence co-branding (Twrsnick, 2016; Kennedy & Guzman, 2016). The availability of financial resources has a critical impact on co-branding activities in startups. Financial performance in this context refers to the extent to which the resources under the company's control generate profitability, which is vital for accepting and developing co-branding programs in the future. Therefore, it is considered one of the influential factors (Hatch & Schultz, 2010; Huang & Lai, 2011; Todor, 2014; Setiyati & Wijaya, 2015; Du Plessis et al., 2015; Tavares, 2015; Twrsnick, 2016; Kennedy & Guzman, 2016). The process of brand creation refers to a set of factors that lead to the development of a brand, encompassing brand design, brand strategy, brand identity, brand positioning, and brand objectives. These factors have been examined in most studies conducted in this area (Spence & Essoussi, 2008; Bresciani & Eppler, 2010; Bergström et al., 2010; Huang & Lai, 2011; Dai & Pietrobon, 2012; Sonja et al., 2022). Understanding the value-creating factors of a brand is a requirement for creating a strong brand. A brand's value is defined as a set of assets related to the brand name and company symbol that depend on the name or symbol of a brand and the increase in value created by the company's products or services. The value-creating factors of a brand include brand awareness, perceived brand quality, brand associations, brand image, brand experience, brand value, brand trust, brand commitment, and brand love (Boyle, 2007; Carvalho, 2007; Spence & Essoussi, 2008; Hamidi et al., 2021; Sonja et al., 2022; Bahagir et al., 2022). Promotional activities are all actions taken to raise awareness and persuade customers and the target audience to use a product or service and represent the fourth element of the marketing mix (Hagili et al., 2017; Kamboj et al., 2018; Rialti et al., 2018; Tajvidi et al., 2020; Sonja et al., 2022; Bahagir et al., 2022). To implement and execute the co-creation approach, companies create their own channels to establish connections with customers, which is essentially the fundamental aspect of co-creation, involving individuals' participation in creating valuable experiences together. By employing this approach, companies cause customers to feel a sense of belonging to the brand and develop loyalty towards the brand (France et al., 2015; Setiyati & Wijaya, 2015; Du Plessis et al., 2015; Twrsnick, 2016; Kauffman et al., 2016). Previous research has shown that the personal characteristics and traits of entrepreneurs have an impact on their success and the success of their startup companies. Therefore, knowledge and experience play a significant role in branding, and many entrepreneurs have been able to use their previous knowledge and experience to pave the way for their future (Carvalho, 2007; Juntunen, 2012; Tavares, 2015; Lagerstedt & Mademlis, 2016; Twrsnick, 2016; Giannopoulos et al., 2021). The role of entrepreneurs in guiding and integrating the branding approach in startup companies has been emphasized in previous studies, which can be achieved in line with the innovation of entrepreneurs (Spence & Essoussi, 2008; Payne et al., 2009; Tavares, 2015; Setiyati & Wijaya, 2015; Twrsnick, 2016; Giannopoulos et al., 2021). Hence, it is advisable for entrepreneurs to place significant emphasis on networking and bolstering their social networks, as well as improving communication with their customers, to foster increased and superior engagement with them, and ideally, to capitalize on enhanced brand credibility. In this regard, startup firms can enhance and expedite their brand acceptance process by encouraging customers to partake in and collaborate on the branding process through co-creation. Moreover, considering the frequent reiteration of brand identity in numerous studies, it is recommended that startup company executives devote greater attention to establishing and reinforcing brand identity in the minds of customers. : Brand, Branding, Co-Creation, Start-Up, Meta-Synthesis

AbstractThis study aims to identify the factors that must be present when founders develop start-ups and why these factors affect the success of start-ups. Despite the importance of founders’ involvement in start-up success, few studies have specifically and comprehensively focused on founders as the main factor in start-up success. This study presents an integrative literature review of start-up success studies published between 2010 and 2020 on the Web of Science. The study finds that the main founder-related factors that influence start-up success can be categorized as Knowledge, Experience, Competence, Characteristics, and Founding Team (KECCT). KECCT determinants have a substantial impact on strategic decision making, which ultimately determines start-up performance. The dynamic process that founders need to follow in building successful start-ups is described as the start-up success framework. The start-up success framework can be used for further research and by practitioners in developing start-ups. Our review indicates that previous studies have put more emphasis on the cognitive (rational) characteristics of the founder. Based on the Trilogy of Mind Theory, we add the emotional and motivational characteristics of the founder that contribute to the success of a start-up. Our proposed framework, the ERM Model, also enriches the upper echelons theory.

AbstractUnderstanding the performance of millennial and Gen Z accountants in start-ups is compelling due to their role in enhancing start-up resilience. While training can improve employee performance, concerns arise about the impact of narcissistic personalities. The research aims to uncover the narcissistic personalities of millennial and gen z accountants by moderating the effect of training on their performance. The research used quantitative methods. Data collection through questionnaires. The study involved 100 respondents obtained using purposive sampling techniques. The data were analyzed using moderated regression analysis with SPSS. The results of the research showed that training had a positive impact on the performance of millennial and gen z accountants working in start-ups. Narcissism does not exhibit significant moderation of the training effect on accounting performance at the 5% level; however, it becomes noteworthy at the 10% level and has a positive influence. These findings have implications for the study of accounting, especially in the fields of business and management. The research emphasizes the importance of training programs to improve the performance of millennial and gen z accountants in the start-up environment. The non-moderate effect of narcissistic personalities contributes to organizations not worrying too much about the effects of narcissistic personalities on training. Focusing on training as the development of wider competences is more meaningful. This research has its limitations; it only involves accountants who practice in the private sector. Further research could develop for subjects in other work environments, such as public accountants, government accountants, or even educational accountants.

Efficiency of economy development directly depends on implementation of measures supporting business entities, including upgrading entrepreneurial infrastructure. This problem was repeatedly discussed at the highest level of state governance of the Russian Federation, in particular within the frames of the President of Russian address to the Federal Assembly in 2021. Business-incubators are a key element of such infrastructure. It should be pointed out that specialized literature has not thoroughly studied the issue of business-incubators functions in today’s economy. In general these functions can be differentiated in accordance with the stage of macro-economic development and overall strategy of finance and economic policy observed within the frames of a concrete state, depending on geopolitical situation, trends in global economy changes, possible foreign economic preferences and risks. Effectiveness of today’s incubator development, viewed both in finance and social aspect directly depends on the quality of methodological tools of their functioning efficiency appraisal. The article gives a classification of business-incubators by a number of important economic and managerial criteria, which gives a chance to find their most preferable type depending on strategic goals and objectives of developing the incubator’s founder and general functioning requirements of the relative territorial (federal, regional or municipal) system of entrepreneurial work support. The author underlines that today’s business-incubator should possess a multi-sectoral character, it should be set up for the conventionally unlimited period, provide system and various finance support to residents , be integrated into space of digital economy, realize its own education programs of different profile and have a preventive model of management. Business-incubator is considered in two aspects. In a wider sense it is a specialized social and economic institution oriented to provision of long-term rise in intensity and finance and economic efficiency of entrepreneurial activity at the expense of favorable conditions for locating potentially competitive businessstructures at the initial stage of their life cycles on special territories. In the narrower sense business-incubator is an entity of territorial (federal, regional or municipal) system of supporting entrepreneurial initiatives, which could ensure their progressive development at the expense of providing production, technological, finance, information, consultative and other resources on preference or free of charge basis.

Abstract This research aims to determine the impact of internal and external factors of Social Capital, Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy, and Person-Entrepreneurship Fit in the transition of nascent entrepreneurs toward venture creation. For the development of this research, a sample of 500 entrepreneurs located in Colombia who are creating a company was taken. The research methodology is hypothetical-deductive with a cross-sectional multiple causal correlation design with an explanatory scope and is divided into three stages: first, an exploratory analysis of the data relating to the study variables is carried out. Second, a principal component analysis is carried out. Finally, the third stage is the modelling using the Partial Least Squares-Path Modelling methodology. Among the most relevant findings, it is found that Social Capital is significant in explaining Person-Entrepreneurship Fit. In turn, Social Capital and Person-Entrepreneurship Fit are significant in explaining Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy. Finally, the construct of Venture Creation is only significantly explained by Person-Entrepreneurship Fit. Consequently, it can be concluded that the influence of social and psychological variables within the business cycle is significant, and models and strategies must consider these elements to design tools that support the optimal development of start-ups within the business cycle, so that they consolidate as stable ventures. This study contributes to filling the research gap by focusing on the factors determining the entrepreneurial process beyond its initial phase.

Contemporary economies worldwide appreciate the underlying importance of service sectors, culminating in sectorial growth and satisfactory performance of agri-preneurship. This study is premised on two simple explanations that cascaded into two hypothetical questions: (i) Are there inspiring factors for individuals to start up their own agri-preneurship business? (ii) Are there factors hindering individuals from starting up their own agri-preneurship business? These two hypothetical constructs triggered four primary arguments established in the study. This study was conducted in Mbombela local Municipality in category ‘B’, which is made up of the Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga South Africa. From a population of 1021 farmers, 458 samples of respondents were obtained and considered to be realistic for the study. The study embraced the mixed research approach, and the field survey was done between the months of February 2022 and June 2022. Descriptive statistics, involving the frequency count and percentages, were used to determine the motives and obstacles of starting up one’s own business. The hypothesis was assessed by employing multinominal logistic regression to determine the relationship between demographic variables and predictor variables. The findings revealed that potential agri-preneurs are affected by an array of inspiring factors in the decision-making process. Further, the results revealed that agri-preneurial spirit is inhibited by numerous challenges. In the shared view of respondents, there was a portmanteau of obstacles impeding the commencement of one’s own business. The results also showed that, in the self-realization variant, age (p < 0.035) and marital status (p < 0.033) were found to be correlated and statistically significant as an inspiration for setting up an agri-preneurship business, while the self-satisfaction variant specified marital status (p < 0.001) to be significant and to negatively (β −1.564) influence inspiration for agri-preneurship. In the independence variant category, two crucial variables, level of formal education (p < 0.005) and farm experience (p < 0.007), were found to be correlated and statistically significant in determining agri-preneurial decisions. This study has several policy propositions: the government and allied stakeholders must consider the motives that inspire potential investors in agriculture. The government must also oversee the reasons for young and old agri-preneurs leaving agri-businesses because of failure. This study underscores the need to subjectively analyze agri-preneurial inspiring factors and obstacles to performance. The contributions of agri-preneurial businesses to economic growth and poverty alleviation justify the need for a concerted effort to motivate potential investors. Another pertinent contribution of the study is highlighting the obstacles of agri-preneurs to enable the government to support and prepare responsive, innovative, and resilient agri-preneurs in South Africa. This paper recommends that starting up one’s own agri-preneurial business is a good idea for abating hunger and unemployment.

The influence of family support and psychological capital (PsyCap) is a topical discourse in entrepreneurship studies due to the unsupportive and turbulent environments most entrepreneurs operate in. However, studies concluding on the nature and direction of family support and PsyCap effects on start-up formation appear scant. This study aims to empirically examine family support effects on start-up formation with psychological capital (PsyCap) as a mediation factor. Specific emphasis was given to extended family support. The study utilized the partial least square (PLS) method for hypotheses testing with cross-sectional data collected from 261 randomly sampled trainees in an entrepreneurship training program organized by the Delta State Ministry of Youth Development. The PLS analysis showed that family support (β = 0.317, p = 0.000) and PsyCap (β = 0.202, p = 0.000) have a significant positive effect on start-up formation. The results proved that family support and PsyCap are valuable antecedent factors for positioning entrepreneurs to engage and thrive productively in the start-up formation process. Furthermore, PsyCap did not mediate the significant positive effect of family support on start-up formation (β = 0.235, p = 0.000; β = 0.103, p = 0.052). This result demonstrates that family support may not be enough for PsyCap to transmit its significant positive effect on start-up formation. Hence, there is a need to procure other alternate support from formal or informal settings.

Abstract This research explores the influences of selfish personalities of the Dark Triad on start-up intention and motives based on a sample of 400 university students in Vietnam, discovering mixed effects of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. A high level of narcissism and Machiavellianism leads to high start-up intention. There is a negative relationship of Machiavellianism with pro-social motive and a positive association with selfish entrepreneurship. In addition, narcissism is positively associated with pro-social start-up motives. This study has found no effect of psychopathy but a positive link to selfish entrepreneurial motivation. Implications have been suggested for educators and investors.

The success of early-stage start-ups is strongly dependent on founders’ education. Yet, while scholars maintain that investors should consider founders' education an important signal of start-ups' prospects, mixed empirical findings suggest that more education does not always trigger positive investor reactions. Scholars have thus urged the development of new theoretical insights that may explain why and when education is beneficial to start-ups' emergence. Based on cognitive and social psychology literature, in this article, we evidence that different configurations of founders' education affect the ability of founding teams to obtain funding. The empirical support that we obtained from a sample of 1078 start-ups helps reconcile the contradictory findings of past research through a joint examination of two dimensions of founders' education that were previously only investigated separately—the level of education and the heterogeneity of educational backgrounds. Our focus on the group dynamics founding teams advances our understanding of the contribution of founders’ education onto early-stage start-ups' fund raising. In greater detail, educational level and educational heterogeneity positively affect the amount of funds raised, but their joint presence negatively moderates such a relationship. In doing so, we also provide start-uppers and policymakers with important information regarding how cofounders should group together when launching a start-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to respond to all the fast changes that are happening, it is necessary to act quickly and to be adaptable, both from the point of view of organizations and individuals, having necessary knowledge and skill and continually developing human potentials. The year 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how those changes can happen overnight and create a need for the companies’ transformation. That is the new clear reason for the big interest in researching start-ups. Start ups are innovative and fast-developing companies, bringing new solutions and new products, and working under extreme uncertainty, therefore, they require specific skills, knowledge, and other competencies of their founders. Competencies, on the other side, are predispositions, knowledge and skills needed to respond and adapt to changes. The aim of the paper is to propose a theoretical model of relationships between start-up founders’ competence potential and outcomes of their ventures. The theoretical model is based on the Upper Echelons Theory presented by Hambrick and Mason (1984) and the scale measuring competence potential of employees in innovative enterprises proposed by Rakowska and Sitko-Lutek (2015). Competence potential of start-up founders is still not researched in depth, so the proposed theoretical method could be used as the practical research methodology.

The study of the impact of digital social media on the development of entrepreneurial innovation projects of different levels is topical. The aim of the study was to create a conceptual approach to assessing the impact of digital social media on innovative business development, regardless of the legal form of organization. Therefore, a new concept of mediatization was identified in the course of the research, which describes the role of different digital media as part of the process of communicative construction of the economic, social and cultural environment. The research involved the methodology for data analysis from an empirical context. The start-up incubator — Neudali, Germany — was the practical background of the research. The research sample included all start-ups (innovative projects) that were launched in 2017-2020 (3,426 projects), regardless of whether they continue as start-ups or have already entered the serial production stage. The research objective was fulfilled through the methods and tools of economic and statistical analysis, forecasting and business simulation. Studies have confirmed that the legal form of organization does not affect the project’s success, but only the assessment of information effects (mediatization effect) does, which includes all forms of communication in social networks (R2=0.8 for companies and R2=0.6 for self-employed persons). In theoretical terms, this study has bridged the gap in the literature regarding the lack of research on the role of social media in the innovation potential of both companies and self-employed individuals. In practical terms, this research has implications for various stakeholders, primarily businesses, academics and consumers.

Introduction: The main research purpose is the identification of the Key Success Factors (KSF) for Social Impact Startups (SST) and how they face an emergency context (like COVID-19 pandemic) under female management as Business Model Innovation (BMI) design to the next normal Methodology: This research applies a known KSF for the author's SST proposal framework published in 2021, composed of 6 factors and 30 variables. Hence, this work is extension research, but now, from the female management point of view. The survey data was on 400 Mexican social startup CEO as survivors in the 2020 second half. Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) extracts different outcomes to get the same solution as KSF for SST under female management. Results: The entrepreneurship profile factor is considered a core condition for male and female management. However, as gender-based features, Key Performance Indicators (KPF) are absent for male management, and Strategic Analysis is absent (STA) for female management as KSF for SST. The research's main value is the female management's characterization as business model innovation design to the next normal. Conclusion: There are subtle differences among gender management as KSF for SST that implying opportunities to take advantage of gender-based features as Business Model Innovation (BMI). The relationship KSF-SST for BMI in the case of female management needs to develop the factors Strategic Analysis (STA); Business Plan (BPL); Market Knowledge (MKK), Key Performance Indicators (KPI), and Value Proposition (VPN). Male management, for another side, the Key Performance Indicators (KPI); Strategic Analysis (STA); Business Plan (BPL), and Market Knowledge (MKK). For both cases, the Entrepreneur Profile (EPR) is strongly present («core condition»), and additionally (VPN) for male management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transforming an innovation into a start-up company can be highly rewarding to the technologist. This editorial considers technology selection for a start-up company. A simple system for screening initial of technologies is given. This editorial is based on years of experience working in translating technologies into start-up companies by the author. These companies have approached their start-up strategies in a variety of different ways. It is important for the technologist to enter into a start-up venture with an understanding of how their technology is positioned both technically and from a business perspective.

A start-up is a very small but dynamic enterprise in its early stage, and therefore the strategies involved are different from the strategies of mature enterprises. The aim of this research was to deepen and broaden the knowledge of the strategies regarding the launch of micro enterprises and thus improve their competitiveness and viability. Our two-phase field research identified a spectrum of business strategies using factor analysis. The strategies selected will help to better understand the activities of start-ups in a competitive environment. Half of the spectrum of the identified strategies explain start-ups as an ambitious action in the international space with an emphasis on defining a unique quality or an active action that is an expression of the viability and perception of the business environment. The other half of the spectrum consists of strategies that are unclear and non-conceptual, i.e. limited by no central idea. In the second phase of research, the share of rational and action strategies increased slightly. Nevertheless, the identified strategies, which are considered to be the natural approaches of start-ups, have shown little impact on performance that would confirm their rationale and efficiency. Of the generic strategies considered to be standard for any company, only the typology of a strategy clock, based on price along with value added criteria, showed an impact on start-up performance.

Innovation is seen as an impetus for the competitiveness of products and processes, a basic principle of organizations in the knowledge-based economy. Being globally present in (re)defining the vision of an organization, placing a new product on the market, academic research projects, public policies or transfer of new technologies, innovation is no longer just a matter of competitive advantage, but a matter of survival. The aim of current paper is to demonstrate the global spread of innovation by examination and comparison of a variety of innovation measurement scales issued during 2019, concluding that a significant number of states, including Finland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Luxembourg are ranked consistently among the most competitive and innovative countries. Given the very low values for countries such as Romania, we conclude that they can only learn from the examples of good practices regarding the financing of innovative projects and companies.

Entrepreneurship education aims to contribute to the emergence of innovative skills, abilities, and competencies in people, in the most diverse sectors and branches of activity of contemporary society, regardless of the intention to establish a new start-up. This study explores the development of entrepreneurial competencies, intentions, and attitudes offered by a higher education institution through the adoption of the eValueComp assessment tool. The findings revealed a significant increase of entrepreneurial competencies, general entrepreneurial attitudes, and perception of entrepreneurial feasibility. Furthermore, the age and number of years of professional experience are two correlated factors that contribute to students having a greater perception of the risks associated with the entrepreneurship process.

Start-ups need investor funding to overcome the early stages of their life, during which they are more vulnerable and exposed to failure. They need to convince investors to fund their business ideas by signaling the potential success of their entrepreneurial venture, through a demonstration of cohesion, shared views, and determination. The educational background of the founders of start-ups can be a strong driver of start-up performance, as it is a visible signal for investors. However, education is composed of two different dimensions (i.e., its depth and its heterogeneity), and their configurations should be carefully considered. To clarify this aspect, in this article, we discuss the impact that these two education dimensions have on funds raised by start-ups in the early stages of their life. Results show that highly educated cofounders have improved access to external funding as long as they do not have highly heterogeneous educational backgrounds; in a parallel fashion, cofounders educated in different disciplines also have improved access to funding, as long as they have less advanced levels of education. These findings are relevant to start-up founders and indicate the best team configurations to guarantee better access to capital in the initial stages of their life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every start-up starts with an idea it later transforms into a business model. However, building a start-up from scratch is a truly unique journey. Starting a successful start-up undoubtedly requires talent, expertise, technological knowhow and financing. The aim of this paper is to identify the relationship between the degree of awareness among potential young entrepreneurs about what a start-up entails and the motivation to establish their own start-up. The survey sample consisted of 100 respondents and the results of the analysis showed that the degree of awareness among the emerging young generation about this type of business is not sufficient. The low level of awareness may later be reflected in the low effectiveness of a start-up. However, this negative phenomenon usually manifests itself in the advanced stage of a star-up, hindering its ability to keep up and keep ahead for the months or years to come, thus ultimately heading towards serious economic and social problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contains an exploratory study of micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) funded by venture capital in conditions of the Slovak Republic. Their features specifically the number of employees and the affiliation to the industry branch in compliance with technological or knowledge demandingness were investigated. For that purpose two scientific hypotheses were verified. Verification of hypotheses was performed by the exact tests on the research sample consisted of 61 venture capital funded SMEs in the Slovak Republic in the time period 2001–2006. According to affiliation of enterprises to the category of micro, small and medium sized enterprises in our research sample, our assumption that the micro and small sized enterprises are more venture capital driven than medium sized enterprises was confirmed. The results showed that the majority of venture capital funded SMEs are micro-enterprises representing 60.66% and small sized enterprises with a share of 27.87%. According to affiliation of enterprise to the industry branch in compliance with its technological or knowledge demandingness in our research sample, our assumption that venture capital is related especially to the enterprises in high-tech sector was not confirmed and we can conclude that venture capital is related more to the enterprises operating in low-tech or medium low-tech sector than to the enterprises operating in high-tech or medium high-tech sector. The share of enterprises in high-tech sector was the lowest (only 3.28%) among all the sectors (low-tech, medium low-tech, medium high-tech and high-tech).

Objective: The main purpose of the paper is to establish which elements of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) have the biggest influence on the activities of Polish start-ups. Research Design & Methods: The diagnosis was based on an analysis of individual components of entrepreneurial orientation and presentation of the results of research carried out by the author among 382 start-ups in Poland. Findings: The research provide that, innovative activity of companies and exploring new market opportunities and possibilities by start-ups were important factors conditioning the operations and development of the companies studied. It is advisable to deepen the current theory of entrepreneurship orientation in relation to start-ups, understood as young innovative companies. Contribution & Value Added: The theoretical-empirical deliberations presented in the article may be a valuable source of information within the scope of the influence the particular elements of entrepreneurial orientation have on start-ups. However, for entrepreneurs they may be an impulse in the field of effective use of the elements of EO in the process of building competitiveness of young companies in Poland which is reflected in particular pillars of EO.

Though current research identifies which institutions are important as boundary conditions for entrepreneurship, questions remain about how they actually influence national entrepreneurial activity, particularly through start-ups. Specifically, the authors attempt to answer the following question: How do formal incentives influence the start-up rates across countries? Through a conceptual framework where formal incentives and societal legitimacy represent formal and informal institutions, respectively, the authors contribute to existing knowledge about national start-up activity by showing both the mechanism and conditions under which formal incentives increase the start-up rate. First, it is argued that formal incentives influence the start-up rate indirectly through the market opportunities available through economic development. Second, it is argued that these formal and informal institutions substitute for one another. The arguments are confirmed with a panel dataset on 57 countries from the World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Surveys and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. A key implication of the findings is that early efforts at stimulating economic development, for example, by incentivizing foreign investments in new technology, can also kickstart the entrepreneurial activity as much as entrepreneurial activity also contributes to economic development in return.

The authors of the article have analyzed certain economic characteristics of private investment of small and medium-sized innovative enterprises in the European Union (hereinafter — the EU). It has been noted that, unlike public funding from the EU Member States and Structural Funds investment, it is appropriate to pay attention to the investment mechanisms used in the private sector to support small and medium-sized innovative entrepreneurship in the EU, which has its own specificity and sources. The features of such sources as bank lending, corporate and venture investing, as well as financing provided by business angels have been studied. It has been noted that bank loans for innovative enterprises in the EU have become more accessible, but the collateral requirements imposed by banks remain high. The reasons for the low level of corporate investment of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (hereinafter — SMSEs) in some Member States are the lack of a developed culture of partial investment and the specificity of information exchange between companies and investors. The level of venture capital usage is low and, as a consequence, only a small number of SMSEs are attractive to venture capitalists’ investments. On the other hand, business angels are quite selective about investment objects. This determines their main activity at the stage of initial implementation of innovative projects. It has been concluded that a large proportion of SMEs face serious problems in accessing investment resources, and there are significant differences between countries, directly, in such areas as debt financing and, therefore, SMEs’ financing in Europe. is not homogeneous. Despite the large number of support instruments for investing such enterprises in the EU, successful implementation of initiatives does not occur in all countries and has a heterogeneous effect. In order to create a successful EU policy on supporting SMEs there is the need in more in-depth understanding of the problems and specificities of financing SMEs of the EU Member States.

Transforming an innovation into a start-up company can be highly rewarding to the technologist. This editorial considers technology selection for a start-up company. A simple system for screening initial of technologies is given. This editorial is based on years of experience working in translating technologies into start-up companies by the author. These companies have approached their start-up strategies in a variety of different ways. It is important for the technologist to enter into a start-up venture with an understanding of how their technology is positioned both technically and from a business perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Start-up is a young and very small enterprise which staffing and human relationships are different from the internal environment of larger enterprises. Research has therefore focused on founders/leaders of start-ups and relationships inside start-up teams. The result of the research is the basic personal characteristics of the leading people (age, education, reasons for entering the business and others), the quality of their leadership and the quality of teamwork. Since a start-up is developing vigorously, leadership and teamsmanship are monitored on the base of business idea development and investment cycle. Start-up founders are better leaders than managers, teams are better at handling extraordinary situations than standard operation, quality of leadership is situationally conditioned to a certain extent by start-up development phase. Start-ups contain contradictions with significant asymmetry, which are the expression of their limited strengths and considerable weaknesses. The lack of living and work experiences is substituted by the enthusiasm, the diligence and the sense of teamwork that have their limits, and therefore the solution is to professionalize the start-up in in the later stages of its development. Keywords: start-up, founder, leadership, team, Slovakia. JEL Classification M10, G24 Formulas: 0; fig.: 0; tabl.: 5; bibl.: 31.

In the context of today’s economic situation, where, on the one hand, the policy of “breakthrough development” is proclaimed and implemented and, on the other hand, it is necessary to overcome new global challenges, there is a need for substantiating the changes in corporate business strategies. The changes increase the relevance of finding effective business adaptation mechanisms and evaluating the expediency of their scientific development. The methodological basis of the study includes the concept of the ecosystem, entrepreneurship theory, provisions of startup methodology (Lean Canvas, Customer Development, Lean Startup). The authors apply the methods of system, structural-functional and comparative analysis. The article generalizes theoreticalmethodological foundations of entrepreneurship ecosystems including the biological, structural and innovation approaches; reveals the methodological peculiarities of entrepreneurship ecosystems’ formation; discusses the major trends in entrepreneurship ecosystems that are beyond the scope of mere response and adaptation of business. We distinguish between four types of managerial business strategies – Cheburashka, Cloning, Sly fox and Hunting for elephant – and look at their distinguishing characteristics. The distinctive feature of management, which is based on participation of entrepreneurial structures in ecosystems, lies in coordinating environmental changes with companies’ activity through introduction of relevant business strategies. The authors prove that companies demonstrate a high positive potential for participating in entrepreneurship ecosystems but it is not uncommon that they do not use it as a means of corporate governance in the conditions of environmental challenges.

This business research case introduces Cogent Labs, a Japanese high-tech start-up that provides AI-driven technologies, is making the critical transition from an entrepreneur-driven to a mature management-run organization, the company’s business context and technology development. That requires to harmonize the entrepreneurial and managerial capacity, by a collaborative approach integrating cross-functional product teams. The high-tech start-up has demonstrated ability to overcome the transitional stage of the first entrepreneurship to stability and sustainability through the management, while at the same time keeping innovation by adding Natural Language Processing and Times-Series developments, and creativity; rapidly developing new products. The business case demonstrates that in the start-up to managerial transition of a high-tech start-up the key success factor lies in the motivation and coordination of the different professional cultures -scientific and engineering- that should collaborate in the AI research and fast development of viable products. The method is based on interviews conducted with key executives and a strategic analysis of the firm and its rapidly evolving context in terms of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning. The start-up company develops AI-based applications like Tegaki AI, supporting their initial clients from the financial sector in the incremental automation of business processes, based on AI-and Internet of Things (IoT)-driven business processes. Tegaki AI triggers non-strategic business decisions through optical character recognition (OCR) and optical handwriting recognition (OHR) algorithms that show 99.2% accuracy. This business case describes the context of entrepreneurship ecosystems in Japan and the economic emergence of business smartization solutions through the new AI paradigm and OHR.

Start-up relationships with business angel and/or venture capital are similar to a marriage – but with a divorce in mind. The latter necessitates a proper prenuptial agreement signing at the very beginning of the relations. In case of business angel and/or venture capital we are speaking about Term sheet, determining pricing, powers and duties of the board, as well as information, participation and protective rights for the partners. Standard Term sheet consists of three buckets of provisions, defining: (i) terms impacting start-up valuation and economic division of profits and proceeds upon a liquidity event, (ii) terms impacting control over decision making and (iii) investor protection terms. This article focuses on financial and economic aspects of funding agreement, exposing some tricky parts of the Term sheet, threatening to transform potential win-win deals into rupture of relations, crash of the company or even legal battles. The results of the analysis are used to substantiate growing in popular appeal thesis that raising too much money can be detrimental for a startup.

The objective of this work is a literature review of the relationship between management control systems and why the use of them in newly created companies. To this end, we have reviewed 24 articles published in 11 journals in the period 1967-2015. The results are defined in three categories: the reasons for adoption, they are and how they work variables promoting the adoption, and the consequences. The current status of research and future research collected by the literature collected is analyzed.

Abstract The vital role of entrepreneurship for economic growth and its impact for job creation in mature and developing economies is widely recognized and quantified (OECD, Entrepreneurship and Business Statistics, 2015). According to Get2growth data (How Many Startups Are There?, 2015), 100 million start-ups are created each year of which 1.35% are technology-based companies, and according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity (Fairlie, 2013), almost a quarter of new businesses in the USA were started by entrepreneurs aged 55 and older. Survival following failure data for start-ups are numerous and complex in the interpretation, and data presented by the Statistic Brain (Startup business failure rate by industry, 2015) show a 55% failure rate within the fifth year. Entrepreneurship is important for growth but sustainable entrepreneurship is hard to achieve. This paper, by means of a case study of a German private art museum “Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund”, analyzes the disruptive methods, both atypical and contrary to the mainstream art industry, developed to ensure the sustainable success of such an innovative endeavor. Our analyses and results contribute to the understanding of the building blocks and roadmap designed by the Kunstmuseum to successfully enter the elitist contemporary art industry, as an outsider, and provide an early indication that such methods can be theoretically replicated in other industries by other entrepreneurs.

This paper treats the role of business incubators in the increase of small and middle enterprises in Kosovo. Business incubators offer the opportunity of growth of SMEs in the start-up phase by creating a comfortable supportive environment for a certain time since their establishment. According to the literature, the business incubator is an important instrument for local, national and beyond economic development. Knowing the difficulties that start-ups face, business incubators enable start-ups to have access in: managerial assistance, mentorship, finances, Office space for the lower price than the market price, flexible rental, technical support services, common management services and secretary as well as other support services. Their opportunities are welcomed and hopeful for the initial phases of the development of SME in Kosovo. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the role of incubators and their impact on business development in Kosovo using the analytical approach. To achieve the objective of this paper, we have analyzed data from existing literature of various authors and reports for the role of business incubators. According to results derived from this paper, we came to a conclusion that business incubators are the main factor for the development of SME and consequently, overall economic growth in Kosovo.

Entrepreneur self-efficacy is the level to which people perception of their capacities to successfully perform the various roles and tasks of entrepreneurship (Chen et al., 1998; De Noble et al., 1999, Foleide, 2011). The research sampled students from two universities in Cyprus. The data was collected through a questionnaire. Statistical Package for Social Science software was used for data analysis. It was discovered that, in exception of motive toward business success and status in the society, emerging small and medium size enterprise do not have motive for economic growth, though the significant relationship between status in the society and self-efficacy were discussed. Conclusively, there exist a negative relationship between self-efficacy and desire for status among entrepreneurs.

Start-ups, often seen as sources of innovation and change, are prone to failure and accordingly they are attracting considerable attention not least from policy makers and Government officials. However, the various new venture creation studies that have emerged since the early 1980s lack cohesiveness, and the domain remains controversial. This article not only exposes the limitations of the existing body of understanding on the topic but attempts to develop a more comprehensive and comprehendible framework for start up (new venture) creation. To do so it uses the frameworks proposed by Whetten, and March and Smith to develop 11 propositions. The resultant model suggests that the creation of a start up involves the identification of an idea or opportunity by an entrepreneur who subsequently organizes a series of activities, mobilizes resources and creates competence using his/her networks in an environment in order to create value. It sheds light on the start-up (new venture) creation process and has relevance for entrepreneurs, policy makers and researchers.

A relatively new concept for the Russian market is considered - coworking. The history of the appearance and dynamics of the development of the main elements of the innovation infrastructure is briefly touched. The issues of the formation of the global industry of coworking and their popularization are touched upon. The deep essence of the concept of coworking, its advantages in comparison with other elements are revealed. The actualization of this development concept in the modern world is justified. In this article, сoworking is presented as one of the components of the formation of an effective innovative infrastructure, its place is defined. A modern business model of coworking is developed for the conditions of Russian reality, for which various behavioral models of its residents are analyzed in detail. The conditions for the effective functioning of such models are formulated. The discrepancies in the terminology of the concept of “coworking” are analyzed. The analysis of the applicable terms in Russian and English is carried out. It is proved that both in the creation and in the description of the elements of innovative infrastructure, the marketing approach prevails, which puts in the first place the requirement of attractiveness of the object for potential customers and investors. And only coworking satisfy the requirements of a wide and convenient horizontal interaction of residents - free entrepreneurs working in the field of innovative business. In this plane of research, coworking is presented as a phenomenon that reflects a certain stage in the development of the infrastructure for supporting a small, usually innovative, business. A good adaptation of the coworking model in Russia and the public interest in it are shown. Consider the different behavioral patterns of coworking residents that are directly experienced by users. The problems of adaptation of small and medium-sized businesses to the lack of office infrastructure in connection with the development of business mobility are described, when the use of infrastructure turns from a permanent function over a long period of time into a function that can be considered discrete. The conditions are described under which authorities should be interested in organizing PR promotion of coworking in the regions in order to attract new entrepreneurs and customers for residents of coworking. The possibility of using coworking as a platform for posting relevant information on the state order and holding events aimed at attracting residents to carry out projects in the interests of government bodies and state organizations is shown. The effectiveness of the use of coworking as an infrastructure element to support innovative business has been proved.

Research Question: This paper explores the potential of new start-ups and spin-offs within the university capacity and their impact on the process of creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Motivation: The research presented in this paper is motivated by the desire to analyse the role of university in entrepreneurial ecosystem based on the real case of the University of Novi Sad. An insight into relevant literature sources revealed that there exists a large influence of university’s new companies in developing the entire business environment and business sustainability. This example could be relevant to similar universities in the other developing countries, because current literature covers only examples from developed countries. One of this is a research paper conducted by the Stanford University under the name “An analysis of the entrepreneurial activity of the Stanford community over 50 years”. Idea: The main idea is to present the importance of University’s new companies in creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem, and their impact on the creation of economic activity and sustainable development. Data: This research includes economic activity data of business entities at the University of Novi Sad. This paper presents data on new companies within the University of Novi Sad in the period 1990-2015 which were available, as well as data on companies in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, Vojvodina region and the City of Novi Sad. In this analysis, 123 companies from the University of Novi Sad were included. Tools: In this paper comparative statistics was used based on collected data of the total number of companies and the number of employees according to company’s size and geographical location. For the purpose of this research, we used interactive internet portals Trading Economics and IvanStat. Findings: According to the analysis, the University of Novi Sad is a prominent example of the establishment and operation of new companies founded within it. The percentage of companies that have survived in the observed period is high and it is approximately 63%. Contribution: This paper gives us an overview of newly founded companies (start-ups and spin-offs) within the University of Novi Sad, especially focusing on economic activity and creating conditions for sustainable development.

Crowdfunding jest innowacyjną metodą finansowania, która polega na pozyskiwaniu środków finansowych za pośrednictwem internetu w celu realizacji projektów zarówno o charakterze filantropijnym, jak i komercyjnym. Dotychczas odgrywał on niewielką rolę w porównaniu z innymi, innowacyjnymi formami finansowania, z pominięciem tradycyjnych pośredników. Wynika to z jego względnie krótkiej historii funkcjonowania, słabej znajomości jego zalet i ograniczeń oraz braku w wielu krajach odpowiednich uregulowań prawnych i przekonania o jego skuteczności. Odnosi się to szczególnie do krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej, w tym Polski. Kraje te ze względu na pozostawanie przez długi czas w izolacji od światowej gospodarki rynkowej tylko stopniowo i z opóźnieniem adaptują jej instrumenty, w tym innowacyjne metody finansowania. Wynika z tego potrzeba upowszechnienia wiedzy na ten temat i wykazania, że crowdfunding może mieć istotne znaczenie dla rozwoju szczególnie młodych firm – start-upów, jako komplementarne, a niekiedy także substytucyjne źródło ich finansowania. Tezę tę autor artykułu udowadnia, posługując się empirycznymi, teoretycznymi i ogólnologicznymi metodami badawczymi, wykorzystując dostępna literaturę przedmiotu, raporty organizacji międzynarodowych i internet.

Young entrepreneurs and start-up founders are considered to be a drivers of innovation which is an important element of knowledge economy and competitiveness of each country. But their early age could be perceived as a factor causing the increasing impact of the credit risk because young entrepreneurs usually have a short company history, weak capital power and a lack of the guarantees. The main objective of this paper is to bring scientific evidence that the age of the entrepreneur should be considered as a factor with the significant impact on one part of the credit risk of a company– the risk of a change of the interest rate. The research was carried out among 438 Slovak companies in 2016. Based on Pearson´s chi-square analysis of the results of our research, we bring statistical evidence that age has a significant impact on the ability of the company to protect the firm against the change of the interest rate. We also found out that there is dependence between the age of the owner and the opinion that SMEs in the other EU countries have better loan conditions, especially lower interest rates, than Slovak SMEs. Research findings indicate that young entrepreneurs have problems with obtaining capital and increasing interest rates and collaterals because of their higher risk profile. But effective state support of young and innovative companies through venture financing can lead to increasing global competitiveness of the Slovak Republic.

This paper focuses on an unexplored aspect of the history of international business in Greece, the presence of international shareholders in Greek Joint stock company start-ups. Our main findings are that these investors participated in numerous such firms usually as minority shareholders in capital and or knowledge intensive firms. Rarely did they opt for the exclusive international ownership of a joint stock company in Greece and the dividing line between foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment was not always clear. It is also the case that international capital inflow into the nascent corporate sector involved a mosaic of collaborating actors including not only the foreign but also the diasporic.

Since the development of the idea of dynamic capabilities by Teece, Pisano, and Shuen (1997), it has been broadly discussed. However, there is no general view regarding the types of competencies that can be called dynamic capabilities. Teece et al. (1997) asserted that dynamic capabilities are one of the roles of organizational processes. Moreover, they asserted that organizational processes include static concepts, such as integration and coordination. This fact caused some confusion. Helfat and Winter (2011) contrasted the two concepts of operational and dynamic capabilities. They noted that the source of confusion was the fact that some competencies possess the nature of both concepts. In other words, three types of capabilities exist: pure operational, pure dynamic, and hybrid capabilities possessing both features. Helfat and Winter (2011) presented the example of corporate growth, such as an expansion in retail stores, an area where pure dynamic capabilities without any operational capabilities can be observed. Therefore, if pure dynamic capabilities are the pure competencies necessary for corporate growth, it is highly likely that these are the same competencies posited by Penrose (1959), who differentiated between economies of growth and economies of size. Takahashi (2015) conjectured that competencies that become resources unused for anything but growth are, more specifically, “competencies for start-up experts.”

Purpose: Innovativeness and development have become one of the greatest competitive advantage of all organisations. In order to develop innovations, human resources and their development are the main sources of creativity and new ideas, skills and their application. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate and identify approaches to enterpeneurship innovativeness. Furthwermore, paper develops current success criteria of start-ups based on qualitative research made with start-up leaders. Methodology/Approach: The data were collected by means of a quantitative questionnaire research carried out among employees of organisations across sectors who take part in a talent programme in the Czech Republic. Moreover, qualitative research of start-up projects by means of content analysis was carried out among start-up organisations. For the analysis key words and short phrases were selected to find success criteria of start-ups. For the purposes of testing, the Pearson’s chi-square test and the association test were employed. Findings: The results have shown statistically significant differences between the age category and creativity (p = 0.048) and the length of job history and the creativity demonstrated when performing job (p = 0.012). Furthermore, education plays role in innovativeness. University education may cause lowering of creativity by teaching standardized thinking. Moreover, results of study have shown that key success criteria (p = 0.000) of successful start-ups are: use of education and training, development, partners, theoretical mapping, use of expert help, use of concrete technologies, knowledge of project management, project functionality, personal interest in project delivery and efficiency of solution. Research Limitation/implication: The results develop practice in defining key success criteria of innovative approach in enterpreneurships, start-ups and innovative-oriented organisations. The limits of the article can be deemed to consist in a relatively small sample of respondents; however, with respect to the exclusive approach to the talent management in the Czech Republic the sample can be described as sufficient. The results may inspire other researches to conduit further research in other conditions and deepen knowledge about this phenomenon. Originality/Value of paper: The contribution of the article lies in identification and evaluation of the factors of innovativenes of enterpreneurships. Furthermore, practical contribution lies in identification and evaluation of the areas of the sustainable development of social start-ups. Practical contribution lies in presenting the concrete results from real start-up projects and innovative-oriented organisations. The results are important for development of new start-up ideas and project while their main efficient approaches are presented.

With renewed interest by the European Union in enlarging the bloc to include the countries of the Western Balkans comes the challenge for all countries to meet up to the competitiveness demands of the EU’s internal market. While youth entrepreneurship is increasingly considered an opportunity in building more entrepreneurial and job-generating economies, the paper argues for more order in the policy environment to maximize the potential of young people to the wider competitiveness drive. This includes defining more precisely in age terms who are young entrepreneurs and the recognition of both necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship to each country’s socio-economic development. Secondly, the case is put for more developed data and intelligence on youth entrepreneurship to support evidence-based policy-making, including improved capacity to monitor and evaluate, and independent research to support policy-makers. Finally, the paper recommends a better differentiation in start-up support including more customized finance options for young entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]