Abstract There are occasions where entrepreneurs encounter public, identity-threatening setbacks that extend beyond business failure. These moments, such as being removed from leadership, losing investor confidence, or facing product collapse, can evoke humiliation, a powerfully negative emotional event rooted in ego threat, social exposure, and the painful revelation of personal flaws. Although research has examined entrepreneurial grief, identity threat, and recovery from failure, humiliation remains an understudied emotional experience impacting the entrepreneurial mindset despite its prevalence in the entrepreneurial landscape. This paper develops a theoretical perspective on how entrepreneurs interpret and respond to humiliation and why some ultimately emerge stronger while others unravel. We identify three post-humiliation trajectories— self-destruction, self-delusion, and self-recovery —each shaped by how the entrepreneur processes the emotional aftershock of public exposure and ego injury. Drawing on a comparative case method, we examine fifteen well-documented entrepreneurial humiliation events to build theory through systematic within-case and cross-case comparison. The cases were selected using theoretically informed criteria centered on public exposure and identity disruption. This conceptual design allows us to identify patterned differences in post-humiliation actions and emotional processing that distinguish self-destruction, self-delusion, and self-recovery paths. On the upside, we argue that humiliation can serve as a revelatory event that surfaces personal vulnerabilities. The entrepreneur’s willingness to confront and integrate this painful information determines whether the experience leads to decline or to heightened metacognition, discernment, and resilience.

Abstract Rural communities in developing regions are increasingly vulnerable to economic and social shocks, particularly where institutional support is limited. Through a focused case study of Tribal Textiles in rural Zambia during the COVID-19 pandemic, we adopt a deductive thematic approach to examine how social enterprises can strengthen community resilience during crises. We draw on (1) interviews with entrepreneurs and leadership, (2) field observations, and (3) relevant documentation; we find that effective community resilience emerges through the interaction of two mechanisms—embedded organizational values and adaptive creativity. These operate across four dimensions: resource mobilization, mental outlook, community networks, and economic investment, representing the elements of the community resilience framework that were most strongly evidenced in our data. Using these insights, we develop a framework that demonstrates how social enterprises can bridge institutional gaps while preserving cultural heritage in rural communities. This study advances theory by challenging the view that rural constraints are merely barriers to overcome. Instead, we reveal how deeply embedded social enterprises can transform apparent limitations into sources of community resilience. Our framework offers practical guidance for policymakers and development practitioners seeking to strengthen rural economic ecosystems through culturally authentic, socially embedded enterprise development.

Abstract Rural areas in most of the world are facing a multi-crisis related to climate change, regional inequalities, and increasing political unrest. This calls for rethinking and exploring forms of entrepreneurial action that can engage with these crises. In this conceptual paper, we conduct a Weberian ideal type analysis and suggest that the prevailing ideal types of rural entrepreneurship run the risk of an epistemic fallacy and of inadvertently legitimizing centralizing policies. To address this, we propose a new ideal type of “entrepreneurship for the rural” that highlights the need to engage with issues of spatial justice, which lie at the heart of the conflicts and potentials that constitute the current multi-crisis. The ideal type of “entrepreneurship for the rural” emphasizes institutional and political forms of entrepreneurship that seek to create changes in the structural conditions of regional inequality and spatial patterns of opportunity. Further research into this type of entrepreneurship is recommended.

Abstract Understanding how sustainable entrepreneurs can effectively drive change is inherently tied to the institutional environment, as incentives, regulations, and social norms can either be supportive or hindering. Moreover, individual-level factors, such as beliefs, values, and perceptions, shape behaviours, especially in the sustainability domain. Using original empirical data and drawing on a mixed-methods approach that includes 205 survey responses, 7 in-depth interviews, and secondary data from Catalonia in Spain, a region known for strong sustainable initiatives and entrepreneurial vibrancy, this study analyses founders’ perceptions of institutional dimensions (normative, cultural-cognitive, and regulative) and their role in shaping sustainable entrepreneurship. Results show that both perceptions on the normative dimension, reflected in a strong sustainability culture, and on the cultural-cognitive dimension, understood as the abilities and knowledge to address sustainability issues, positively influence sustainable entrepreneurship. Results show that both perceptions of the normative dimension, reflected in a strong sustainability culture, and of the cultural-cognitive dimension, understood as the abilities and knowledge to address sustainability issues, positively influence sustainable entrepreneurship. In contrast, perceptions of the regulative dimension, measured through government support, show an unexpected negative effect, with increased government support associated with lower levels of sustainable entrepreneurship. The results underscore the need to move the sustainability debate beyond technological and regulative fixes, instead highlighting the underlying sociocultural imaginaries that drive meaningful, sustainable change. These findings could be instrumental for policymakers in re-politicising economic activity, embedding sustainability knowledge into business education, and realigning regulatory frameworks to better support sustainable entrepreneurship.

Abstract This study investigates how entrepreneurs’ growth aspirations relate to the adoption of environmental actions and how national environmental regulations moderate this relationship. We argue that growth-oriented entrepreneurs are more likely to adopt environmentally oriented behaviors due to long-term investment logic and legitimacy-seeking considerations. Moreover, we propose that stringent environmental regulations strengthen this relationship by reinforcing both mechanisms. Using a multisource dataset and applying a multilevel analysis, we find support for our hypotheses. The findings highlight the importance of both entrepreneurial growth aspirations and regulatory environments in shaping entrepreneurs’ engagement in environmental actions.

Abstract We analyze how patents, R&D subsidies, and subsidized R&D collaborations influence firm survival in the German photovoltaics industry. We collected data on 154 firms, covering the whole industry life cycle from the emergence of the industry in 1964 until 2016, including the industry’s shakeout and decline. We utilize time-variant data for these measures for innovation activity and use discrete-time hazard models to estimate their relationship with firm survival. Our results show that patenting increases a firm's probability of survival. In contrast to previous findings, process patents do not increase survival, but product patents do. Furthermore, we do not find a relationship between public R&D subsidies or subsidized R&D collaboration and firm survival. Other factors, such as entry timing, the dynamics in the industry, and demand-side policies, show expected relationships. We provide recommendations for managers and policy makers who seek to engage in innovative activities to enhance firm survival.