Cognitions Affecting Innovation Among Generation Z Entrepreneurs: The External Enablement of Digital Infrastructure

Objective: The current research aimed to investigate the external enablement role of Digital Infrastructures (DI) in the interplay of entrepreneurial cognitions and innovation. Methodology: Data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) were used for analyses. This yielded a sample of 8601 Generation Z entrepreneurs operating in 25 European countries. Results: Applying hierarchical moderated regressions showed that socio-cognitive components of an entrepreneurial mindset (self-efficacy, risk propensity, opportunity identification) affect innovation among Generation Z entrepreneurs. More importantly, DI plays an external enablement role in the interplay of cognitions and innovation among Generation Z entrepreneurs. Originality/Value: We contribute to the socio-cognitive theory of entrepreneurship by integrating an external enablement perspective into the study of cognitions and entrepreneurial outcomes (here, innovation). We contribute to the digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship by connecting the conversation about the socio-cognitive perspective of entrepreneurship regarding the role of cognitions in innovation to the conversation in information systems (IS) regarding technology affordances and constraints. We extend the application of the external enabler framework to the post entry stage of entrepreneurial activity and integrate a generational perspective into it

Innovation and growth ambition of female entrepreneurs: a comparison between the MENA region and the rest of the world

The aim of the current paper was to compare the regional differences in innovation and the resulting growth expectation among female entrepreneurs in the MENA region as compared with the rest of the world. Data on innovation and growth aspirations of 162,752 female entrepreneurs in 109 countries was extracted from GEM annual surveys in 2002-2016. A hierarchical linear modelling technique was used to analyse the data. Interestingly, results indicated that female entrepreneurs in the MENA region are more innovative than their peers in the rest of the world; however, there is no difference between the MENA female entrepreneurs and their counterparts in the rest of the world in terms of growth ambitions and benefiting from innovation for growth. Innovation was found to be positively related to shaping growth ambitions in female entrepreneurs

Collective Action; A Mechanism Toward Development of Productive Entrepreneurship

Today entrepreneurship has become one of the most important factors affecting economic development in many countries. However, it is very important to direct entrepreneurial actions toward productive activities. Baumol's theory of productive versus unproductive entrepreneurship highlights the role of institutional environment in directing entrepreneurial actions toward either productive, unproductive, or even destructive outcomes. So, to establish institutions that support productive entrepreneurship, it is necessary to find the means which have an impact on institutional and regulatory environment. Although many studies have been conducted based on Baumol's theory so far, only a small number of researches proposed solutions for establishment of legal and regulatory institutions required for the development of productive entrepreneurship. Hence, this study is aimed at proposing a synthesized theory derived from Baumol's theory of entrepreneurship and the theory of collective action. Our synthesized theory can be utilized as a rule-making approach to address this challenge. This synthesized theory highlights the role of both the government’s and entrepreneurs’ collective action in formation of regulatory and legal institutions which in turn can influence productive entrepreneurship. The proposed theory suggests that the order which is created upon the collective action can play an effective role in emergence and expansion of productive economic development

Human capital and entrepreneurial career choices of immigrants originating from emerging economies : The liability of foreignness perspective

The current study investigates how institutional differences between home and host country can affect the benefit of education for entrepreneurial intention among immigrants originating from emerging economies. Using a sample of adult immigrants from emerging economies, we compared the effect of education on entrepreneurial intention and underlying mechanisms between those who migrate to emerging economies and those who migrate to developed economies. Findings show that for migrants who migrate to developed economies, education indirectly influences entrepreneurial intention - moreover, the effect of education on entrepreneurial intention channels through entrepreneurial competence. In contrast, immigrants who migrated to emerging economies benefit from education to start a business directly. Theoretical contributions and policy implications have been discussed

Extending the potential of Baumol’s entrepreneurial allocation theory: Toward the entrepreneur-institution nexus

Purpose - The underlying assumptions of Baumol’s theory of entrepreneurial allocation limits its potential to answer some key questions related to the entrepreneurship allocation. Hence, this paper aims to highlight the inherent limits of Baumol’s theory and suggest a new approach for understanding the entrepreneur-institution relationship and their functions.Design/methodology/approach - This is a conceptual paper with a narrow focus on the literature.Findings - The paper argues that Baumol’s adherence to neoclassic economics assumptions about entrepreneur and institution, such as entrepreneurs as rational choice taker with predetermined goals or institutions as exogenous, limits the potential of his theoretical framework to explain productive entrepreneurship in weak institutional settings. As such, underlying on Austrian economics assumptions about entrepreneur and his/her agency, this paper proposes a reconceptualization of productive entrepreneurship as an outcome of the interaction between entrepreneur and context.Practical implications - Going beyond Baumol’s main proposition of one-sided influence of institutions on entrepreneurship allocation, this research highlights the influence of individual factors and entrepreneurial action on choosing entrepreneurial paths by entrepreneurs. So, future policies to stimulate productive entrepreneurship should consider these factors and go beyond Baumol’s mere focus on institutional improvement.Originality/value - Going beyond one-sided influence of institutions on entrepreneurship allocation, this paper suggests an interaction centric approach which considers the role of actors and institutions as the co-creator of each other in the social process and argues that any effort for explaining the entrepreneurship should consider the co-creative nature of the actors and institutions as well as the endogenous nature of institutions. The proposed approach will help expanding entrepreneurship literature through finding answers to some key under-examined questions in the promising research stream of entrepreneurship allocation

Formal sources of finance boost innovation : Do immigrants benefit as much as natives?

Objective: The article investigates the relative benefit of formality/informality of finance sources for innovation and compares this benefit amongst immigrant and native entrepreneurs. The authors investigate whether formal finance (here, bank loan) benefit innovation more than informal sources (personal savings and friend/family loan). Then, they explore whether an entrepreneur's status strengthens or weakens the benefit finance sources for innovation. Research Design & Methods: This study applies a quantitative approach to conduct the research. The data of 15,850 entrepreneurs surveyed by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in 2015 were analysed using the hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) technique. Findings: Results indicated that formal finance benefits innovation more than informal sources, and this advantage is the same for both immigrant and native entrepreneurs. Implications & Recommendations: Despite the prevalence of some stereotypes regarding the simplistic and repetitive nature of immigrants ' businesses, the study recommends that financial institutions and policymakers plan to enhance entrepreneurs ' access to formal financial resources irrespective of their migrant status. Policymakers also can plan to increase the immigrant entrepreneurs ' access to the formal sources of finance by tailored educations to boost innovation. Contribution & Value Added: The results highlight that immigrant entrepreneurs benefit from formal finance towards innovation similarly to their native counterparts. Such a clarification informs the studies on the liability of foreignness and innovation finance that immigration status cannot be a barrier to innovation as portrayed and conceptualized by some studies

The effect of innovation on growth aspirations and internationalization in firms: Africa compared to the Protestant Europe

The aim of the current study was to investigate if and how context accounts for differ- ences in the innovation, growth and export in African firms compared to firms in protestant Europe. Data extracted and recoded from a sample of firms in 20 countries (7 Protestant Europe and 13 African countries) participated in Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) surveys from 2001 to 2013 and this yielded a sample of 10981 firms. Analyses were done applying hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) due to the use of vari- ables in different levels of analysis (firm level and regional level). Interestingly, the re- sults showed that African firms don’t differ in terms of their innovation, growth and in- ternationalization level with the Protestant world but, if innovate, African companies expect less growth and internationalization from their innovation. Indeed, the results indicated that innovation exerts a significant positive influence on growth expectations and internationalization of the firms. The paper contributes to the existing literature by contextualizing the interplay of firm innovation, growth and internationalization. Keywords: Innovation, growth, export, internationalizatio

Innovation amplifies growth ambitions of early-stage female entrepreneurs: More in Nordics, less in MENA region

The current research investigates the regional differences in benefiting from innovation toward growth ambitions in a sample of female entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Nordic region. A sample of 4,048 early-stage female entrepreneurs from these two regions who were participated in annual surveys of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor was selected for further analysis. The results of data analysis using hierarchical linear modeling (mixed models) revealed that innovation benefits growth ambitions of early-stage female entrepreneurs. Further, the regional differences affect the benefit of innovation in shaping growth ambitions, so that, in Nordic region, the early-stage female entrepreneurs expect more growth out of their innovation as compared with their counterparts in MENA region. These results have been discussed regarding to existing literature, and future research directions have been suggested based on the results

Radical Subjectivism as the Epistemological Foundation of Novel Entrepreneurial Action

Explaining change has always been one of the greatest challenges in social sciences. With a particular focus on economic change, Schumpeter introduced novelty as the key to fundamental changes and subsequent economic development. Recognizing the corresponding epistemological foundations of a novel phenomenon is the starting point for understanding itself, its process, conditions, and prerequisites. Hence, in this paper, first we discuss the assumptions governing novelty and novel phenomena. Then, we compare the three major approaches used to explain entrepreneurial phenomena in the literature, namely neoclassic, neo-Austrian, and radical subjectivism, and we explain the appropriate novelty-based epistemological foundation of entrepreneurship. To better understand radical subjectivism, we discuss its five fundamental assumptions, namely “imaginative choice,” “plans based on past experiences and future expectations”, “heterogeneity and in equilibrium”, “the metaphor of the world as a kaleidoscope” and “the creation of order”. finally, the implications of these assumptions are set forth for future research on economics and entrepreneurship