The effect of entrepreneurship education on nascent entrepreneurship

The literature has been enriched by studies examining the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial or goal intention. Yet, few articles have considered how entrepreneurship education affects nascent entrepreneurship as a more sought-after outcome. Similarly, some scholars assess entrepreneurship education as an aggregate rather than a multidimensional construct comprised of alternative methods with peculiar characteristics yielding distinct student outcomes. Possibly, the present shortage of specificity in the investigation of methods in entrepreneurship education reduces empirical understanding of efficacious teaching and learning modes for optimising entrepreneurial behaviour. Hence, by way of contribution, this inquiry isolates and measures the direct effect of courses, workshops, guest speakers and simulations on new venture creation among UK students. It also measures indirect influence in the same relationships, with self-efficacy as a mediator. A structural equation analysis is performed and the findings show that discretely, in this order, simulations, workshops and courses stimulate nascent entrepreneurship. However, there is particular insignificance in the direct link between guest speakers and nascent entrepreneurship, and further dissociation in the indirect link between workshops and simulations leading to self-efficacy. Theoretical implications arise for future correlation and configurational studies, as well as practical ramifications for entrepreneurship education practitioners, simulation developers and public institutions

The effect of government support on Bureaucracy, COVID-19 resilience and export intensity: Evidence from North Africa.

The literature on the imperativeness of government support for firm survival since the onset of COVID-19 is vast, but scholars have scarcely considered the impact of such assistance on managers' time, nor the extent to which support measures induce resilience and export activity. Accordingly, this study assesses the impact of government support on (1) bureaucracy and (2) resilience using data from 535 Moroccan SMEs. It further evaluates the influence of resilience on direct versus indirect exports, and espouses the institutional voids, resource-based and strategy-creation view to explain the associations through a contingency lens. The results demonstrate that (1) government support increases bureaucracy which, (2) surprisingly triggers and enhances resilience. Furthermore, (3) resilience has a positive impact on direct exports but (4) adversely affects indirect exports. Theoretically, the findings acquiesce extant calls for measurement specificity in export performance. Practically, stakeholders' attention is drawn to the value of managers' time well spent

Revisiting innovation practices in subsistence farming: the net effects of land management, pesticide, herbicide and fungicide practices on expected crop harvest in Ethiopia

To settle inconsistent findings in the farming innovation and productivity nexus, this inquiry examines the land management practices of 7,625 households in rural Ethiopia. Specifically, the net effects of (1) improved seeds, (2) mixed cropping and (3) row planting on the use of (4) pesticides, (5) herbicides and (6) fungicides are assessed. Using a structural equation technique, the study probes how these six practices predict households' expected harvest. It is found that while improved seeds increase pesticide, herbicide and fungicide use, mixed cropping and row planting generally reduce these practices. Moreover, mixed cropping moderately increases expected harvest while improved seeds and row planting have the reverse effect. The interrelations of these factors increase knowledge in contingency-driven agronomics, and provoke reflection on the sustainability of land management practices. Particularly, opposed to prevailing views, it is demonstrated that sowing traditional seeds will reduce households' reliance on pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. The inherent findings speak to policy-makers tasked with supporting peasant life in rural Ethiopia and similar contexts

A gender-based approach to the influence of personality traits on entrepreneurial intention

While previous studies have demonstrated the importance of personality traits in the decision to pursue a career in entrepreneurship, more empirical evidence is needed to explain the mechanism through which entrepreneurial intention (EI) is strengthened. Accordingly, espousing a gender-based perspective, the current paper identifies characteristics that positively affect EI in a sample of 531 students in France. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is performed yielding four alternate combinations that are likely to lead to high EI, of which two are gender specific. The inherent findings advance previous studies by offering entrepreneurship educators in France and similar contexts a new understanding of entrepreneurial intention from a gender perspective. Similarly, the results offer first-hand evidence to inform university students’ career choices

The net effects of land management, pesticide, herbicide and fungicide practices on expected crop harvest in Ethiopia

To settle inconsistent findings in the farming innovation and productivity nexus, this inquiry examines the land management practices of 7,625 households in rural Ethiopia. Specifically, the net effects of (1) improved seeds, (2) mixed cropping and (3) row planting on the use of (4) pesticides, (5) herbicides and (6) fungicides are assessed. Using a structural equation technique, the study probes how these six practices predict households' expected harvest. It is found that while improved seeds increase pesticide, herbicide and fungicide use, mixed cropping and row planting generally reduce these practices. Moreover, mixed cropping moderately increases expected harvest while improved seeds and row planting have the reverse effect. The interrelations of these factors increase knowledge in contingency-driven agronomics, and provoke reflection on the sustainability of land management practices. The inherent findings speak to policy-makers tasked with supporting peasant life in rural Ethiopia and similar contexts

The determinants of SMEs’ export entry: A systematic review of the literature

Despite the plethora of studies on SMEs’ export performance and survival, empirical works on export initiation are relatively limited. Thus far, extant literature has fallen short of determining a comprehensive set of factors affecting firms’ entry to export markets. For these reasons, building on from previous reviews involving export entry, we review 82 papers related to the determinants of SMEs’ export entry published between 2008 and 2019, in order to develop a holistic framework. We provide a comprehensive model that encompasses the key factors associated with this behaviour. We also discuss key issues and propose areas of future research

The Psychological Drivers of Entrepreneurial Resilience in the Tourism Sector

Although resilience is assumed to play a crucial role in entrepreneurship, the factors leading to entrepreneurial resilience in the tourism sector remain relatively unknown. To address this issue, this study adopts a novel configuration approach to assess psychological traits that are likely to result in resilient entrepreneurial behaviour in tourism. It approaches this by conceptualising personality traits through the big five model which is widely espoused in the psychology discipline. Then, using fuzzy-set analysis, a sample of 180 bazaar owner/managers in Egypt is investigated from which three distinct profiles likely to exhibit high levels of entrepreneurial resilience are determined. The findings of this paper advance scholars’ theoretical understanding and offer intelligence to policymakers and training institutions in the Egyptian tourism scene. Particularly, they help bazaar owner/managers reflect on their predispositions as a means for increasing resilience

Women in social housing and the pursuit of entrepreneurship

Women’s engagement in entrepreneurship from a social housing perspective has scarcely been explored in the literature. Thus, insights into how the social housing system may condition participation in entrepreneurship have been excluded from empirical understanding. In order to address this gap, we assess the entrepreneurial intention of women in a deprived area of one of the UK’s largest cities. Through an inductive analysis, we develop a conceptual model in which attitude towards entrepreneurship, self-efficacy and subjective norms emerge as mediators of entrepreneurial intention. Our findings pose theoretical implications for future variance-based analyses, as well as practical implications for social housing providers and the role of public institutions in fostering entrepreneurial outcomes

Implementing smart factory: A fuzzy-set analysis to uncover successful paths

Despite the pervasiveness of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, few studies have examined the adoption of smart factories. Scholars have long examined firms' willingness to adopt smart factories. Thus, this study heeds this call by investigating the factors driving the adoption of smart factories. It employs a fuzzy-set configuration approach to capture the complex interactions underlying these drivers in the context of South Korean marine equipment firms. Based on data from a sample of 180 respondents, the findings revealed four complex paths with factors including government support, the entrepreneurial spirit of top management, efficiency expectation, and financial preparedness shaping the high and low implementation of smart factories. Theoretically, the findings are an exception to extant technology acceptance models. Practically, the attention of practitioners in South Korea and other similar contexts was drawn