Purpose Social network structures significantly impact business opportunity recognition, but existing evidence reveals that not all social network structures work in favor. This study aims to examine the effects of international entrepreneurs’ network centrality and constraints on opportunity recognition in a host country. Also, it analyzes the contextual mechanism of the home country’s cultural tightness and looseness on the relationships between network structures and opportunity recognition. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a quantitative research approach, using survey data from 220 international entrepreneurs in China to test the hypotheses through multiple regression analysis. Findings This research finds that international entrepreneurs’ network centrality (not the network constraints) in the host country positively contributes to opportunity recognition. Furthermore, this study suggests that international entrepreneurs’ home country cultural tightness negatively moderates the relationship between network centrality and opportunity recognition. Originality/value This study contributes a novel integrative framework to international entrepreneurship by linking entrepreneurs’ social network structures (centrality and constraint) with their home country cultural tightness. Unlike prior studies that view networks or culture in isolation, this paper demonstrates the cross-level contingency effect between individual embeddedness and societal norms. It responds to recent calls for contextualized models in international opportunity recognition (Pidduck et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2019).

Purpose This study aims to examine how noneconomic goals, specifically those related to socioemotional wealth (SEW), influence the process of selecting strategic partners for collaborative innovation (CI) in family firms. In doing so, it contributes to the literature with a nuanced process view from the non-Western context. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a qualitative, single case study methodology to explore the process of partner selection for CI in a Malaysian family firm operating in the oil and gas industry. This approach allows for an in-depth examination of how family-specific values and SEW influence decisions on the identification and selection of external partners for CI. Findings Findings show that the selection process of strategic partners for CI is predominantly influenced by family-specific values and the preservation of SEW, a clan-like behavior. The family firm’s reliance on a close-knit network of trusted partners, driven by cultural norms of reciprocity and loyalty, often leads to the exclusion of potentially beneficial new partnerships. The findings underscore the tension between maintaining family control and pursuing opportunities, where family goals and SEW can significantly limit the firm’s openness to external collaboration, subsequently impacting its innovation capabilities. Research limitations/implications Future research could expand on these findings by adopting multiple case studies across diverse contexts to extend the insights gained. In addition, exploring the long-term outcomes of CI partnerships in family firms would gain a more nuanced understanding of the implications of SEW-driven decisions. Originality/value This study addresses gaps in the literature by providing a nuanced understanding of how cultural norms, family values, family goals and SEW shape CI in family businesses, particularly in non-Western context. It highlights the role of cultural norms like guanxi in influencing strategic decisions in family firm, addressing the contradictory findings in existing literature and offering theoretical and practical contributions.

Purpose This study examines the role of monetary and fiscal policies in shaping innovation for a balanced panel sample of seven emerging and five advanced Asian economies. Design/methodology/approach Using the Driscoll–Kraay estimator as a baseline technique and panel-corrected standard errors and kernel-based regularised least squares as robust methods, this study explores the factors that influence innovation in both emerging and advanced Asian economies from 1990 to 2021. Based on the Morgan Stanley Capital International categorisation, this study has used a sample of seven emerging and five advanced Asian nations to empirically understand the factors shaping innovation. Findings The findings indicate that broad money and economic growth have positive effects on innovation, whereas tax revenue, governance quality and economic globalisation indicate negative effects in emerging Asia. The findings further indicate that tax revenue, economic growth, governance quality and economic globalisation favour innovation in advanced Asia. The authors also find an adverse impact of broad money on total innovation in advanced Asia. Originality/value These findings are quite helpful for the stakeholders and policymakers looking for efficient and long-lasting innovation initiatives.

Purpose The importance of sustainable development has become increasingly significant in today’s fast-paced world. The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) aim to solve a range of environmental, economic and social challenges, which requires global collaboration among governments and private organisations. In light of this, social entrepreneurship has garnered significant attention as it combines the social purpose of non-profits with the market-driven approach of for-profits to address SDG goals. Yet the cognitive processes underpinning the career decisions of social entrepreneurs remain underexplored. This study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure social entrepreneurial career decisions based on the appraisal of perceived challenges. Design/methodology/approach The study followed the steps of tool development and was carried out in three phases: item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Findings The final 20-item scale focuses on the appraisal components in pre-entry social entrepreneurial career decision-making and has four factors, which are relevance, coping potential, knowledge and resources and normative significance. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial cognition, specifically focusing on social entrepreneurship. The scale could guide model testing and quantitative research in social entrepreneurial cognition. The four-dimensional structure identified in the study may also have implications for researchers interested in the antecedents and effects of social entrepreneurial decision-making. Practical implications Accurate measurement of cognitive appraisal is necessary to understand the perceived challenges and thought processes of potential social entrepreneurs. The scale could be used to examine the cognitive appraisal patterns among students. Social entrepreneurship educators and policymakers can use the scale to design and assess educational programs. Originality/value Distinct from existing studies, this scale offers a multidimensional approach that captures the stages of career decision-making, providing a robust tool to enhance our understanding of the decision-making dynamics in social entrepreneurship.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find and prioritize human factors affecting entrepreneurial resilience.Design/methodology/approachThe statistical population consists of prominent Iranian university professors in this field, and the statistical sample is ten of them randomly. A researcher-made questionnaire was used for data collection. After a comprehensive review of the theoretical foundations, the research model was formed with 5 main indices and 21 sub-indices. Fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-based (DANP) technique and MATLAB software was used for analysis.FindingsIndicators of Values and Beliefs (A3) and Motivation Index (E5) as Influential Indicators and indicators of personal attributes (S1), formal and informal relationships (R2) and human capital (C4) are effective indicators of entrepreneurial resilience. In the final rankings, formal and informal relationships had the highest weight with 0.263 and the lowest with priority and motivation index with 0.080. In addition to the final rankings of the sub-indices, the indicators of first-hand experience, recognition of opportunities and consulting services were given the highest weight.Practical implicationsThis study proposes that resilience is a real-life process and not just a list of each characteristic. All human beings have an innate ability to be resilient, but resilience is a learned and learned behavior, and the emphasis of experts is on the learning of various resilience skills.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the field of entrepreneurship by examining the institutional backgrounds of entrepreneurship resilience.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand whether entrepreneurial education imbibes entrepreneurial orientation (EO) among engineering students. The authors wanted to test whether students’ performance in the Technology Entrepreneurship Programme (TEP) influences the propensity of entrepreneurial firms to hire them. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 1,296 students who were enrolled with the two-year TEP during the academic year 2016–2018 using structured questionnaires. Multinomial and Ordinary Least Squares regressions were used to examine the hypotheses. Findings The findings of this study suggest that superior student performance in the programme is positively correlated with the students being hired by entrepreneurial firms. Practical implications This study identifies aspects of EO that relates with employability. The positive relationship found between student performance in the programme and chances of getting hired insists on the need to inculcate entrepreneurial values among students at the college level. The findings will also provide valuable insights for graduate entrepreneurs, policymakers, corporates and educators on multiple dimensions for customizing EO among students during their study at college level. Originality/value The authors used a live intervention titled TEP as empirical context to explore how training in entrepreneurial, design and management concepts influences EO. The authors also tracked the success of the programme through actual job offers made to the participants of the programme.

Purpose Low-income households form a significant portion of the Malaysian population. To improve the socio-economic condition of low-income households, development organizations in Malaysia offer a wide range of development trainings, discussions and group or center meetings. This study aims to examine the impact of enterprise development training programs on entrepreneurial competencies among Peninsular Malaysia microentrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a cross-sectional design, the authors collected data from 300 randomly selected microentrepreneurs from the list of microentrepreneurs provided by eKasih (the National Poverty Data Bank), across four states of Peninsular Malaysia. Quantitative data were collected through structured interviews with the respondents from October to November 2017. Findings The findings revealed that enterprise development training programs significantly affected three of six entrepreneurial competencies (i.e. opportunity recognition competency, organizing competency and relationship competency). These findings highlight the importance of enterprise development training programs towards microentrepreneurs in increasing their competencies. Originality/value Through its insights, the study enriches the understanding of low-income communities in emerging economies, while offering significant practical implications. Based on findings, it is recommended that development organizations should therefore continue the current microenterprise development training programs. With improved entrepreneurial competencies, microentrepreneurs can thrive amidst competition yet sustaining business performance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the entrepreneurial characteristics among university students in India studying business and also comparing the levels of entrepreneurial characteristics between entrepreneurially inclined and entrepreneurially not inclined students.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors included six entrepreneurial characteristics, namely, risk taking propensity, innovativeness, locus of control, need for achievement, general self-efficacy and tolerance for ambiguity to define the entrepreneurial profile of students. Convenient sampling was used for collecting the data using a seven-point Likert scale based on 38-items self-administered questionnaire. Data were collected from three universities of different cities, namely, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, CSJM University, Kanpur and KMCUAF University, Lucknow. In total, 300 questionnaires were distributed in each of the universities, and 719 questionnaires were found statistically suitable for the study. Students were asked the question “What career option are you planning to choose after completing your graduation?” to know the inclination of the students.FindingsResults of thet-test confirmed that levels of all the entrepreneurial characteristics are higher in entrepreneurially inclined students when compared to entrepreneurially not inclined students except in terms of general self-efficacy. Thus, entrepreneurially inclined students carry higher risk taking propensity, innovativeness, locus of control, need for achievement and tolerance for ambiguity.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is confined only to undergraduate students from business background, and only three universities were included in the sample. Further research can be done taking students from different streams, namely, engineering, science and technology and arts etc. University-wise studies can also be conducted with the view to bring comparability among the students in terms of levels of entrepreneurial characteristics based upon the inclination shown.Practical implicationsThis research provides the deeper understanding about what course contents are effective in developing entrepreneurial characteristics among the students and what are to be added with the view to raise potential entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to establishing the differences across different entrepreneurial characteristics between entrepreneurially inclined and non-inclined undergraduate students.

Purpose While the literature has described social entrepreneurs as overwhelmingly occupying a pivotal role in social entrepreneurship (S-ENT) process, there is a high inconsistency prevailing with respect to entrepreneurial traits, attitudes and skills of social entrepreneurs. One explanation for this may be the lack of a suitable scale measuring entrepreneurship orientation of social entrepreneurial individuals. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by proposing an initial assessment tool for individual S-ENT orientation (ISEO). Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods research design, along with a two-stage Delphi process, helped in generating appropriate constructs for ISEO. While the items for the first dimension of scale were directly derived from the Delphi study, the items of the remaining dimensions were mainly found based on the three individual entrepreneurial orientation dimensions presented by Bolton and Lane. By means of exploratory factor analysis, the final examination of the ISEO items was undertaken through a survey of 71 social entrepreneurs across India. The process eventually resulted in reliable and valid measures for four dimensions of ISEO. Findings The scale-development process eventually resulted in a 13-item scale, measuring four dimensions of ISEO (social passion, innovativeness, risk-taking and pro-activeness). By developing a set of relevant ISEO indicators, the study answers the call for a scale development of ISEO in S-ENT literature. Research limitations/implications There is a need to further validate this instrument among other stakeholders (students) as well as in samples with different demographic characteristics across different regions of the country and the world. To further evaluate the reliability and validity properties and to confirm the newly established subscales and their relationship with the ISEO construct, there is need for conducting a confirmatory factor analysis using larger sample sizes. Practical implications The measurement of SEO at an individual level will assist in S-ENT education, training and development of present and prospective social entrepreneurs, as well as assist individuals who want to assess the strength of their orientation towards S-ENT. The understanding of ISEO at the individual level will be equally useful for S-ENT incubators, the government and other S-ENT stakeholders who are considering supporting S-ENT proposals. Originality/value The paper is the first to develop an ISEO scale which is based on empirical data in S-ENT field.

Purpose Nowadays in the competitive economy, the field of entrepreneurship and particularly female entrepreneurship is rapidly advancing, and its contribution to the economy is imperative. Consequently, the female business students’ factors and university support factors are imperative to nurture the entrepreneurial intentions, but the literature does not address them at large. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of proactive personality, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perceived university support factors on female student’s entrepreneurial intentions. Design/methodology/approach The data from a total of 306 female students from the business schools of universities of Pakistan is collected through the personal physical-survey questionnaires. The data were then analyzed through Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique for results. Findings The results indicate that the proactive personality, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and university support factors are the significant predictors of entrepreneurial intentions of female students. Moreover, the results also support that entrepreneurial self-efficacy partially mediates the relationship between proactive personality and entrepreneurial intentions of female students. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, the study originality lies in the testing of university support factors and individual personality factors (entrepreneurial self-efficacy and proactive personality) as the predictors of entrepreneurial intentions. Moreover, the present study provides the useful insight for the policymakers in formulating, delivering and evaluating educational policies into the universities for female students.