Despite growing interest in digital technology adoption among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), limited research examines how adoption translates into business resilience in marginalised, resource-constrained settings in developing economies. This study addresses that gap by examining the antecedents of digital technology adoption among marginalised SMEs in Ghana and how adoption builds business resilience. Drawing on the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework and resilience theory, a quantitative cross-sectional survey was administered to 145 enterprise owners and managers in rural and peri-urban Ghana, with data analysed using PLS-SEM. Results indicate that customer pressure and entrepreneurial orientation significantly and positively influence SMEs’ behavioural intention to adopt digital technologies, whereas perceived usefulness, technological complexity, internal digital skills, and government policies do not have significant effects. Behavioural intention positively and significantly enhances business resilience. Additionally, business size and longevity moderate some adoption relationships, highlighting the influence of contextual enterprise characteristics. This study contributes to the current body of knowledge by first extending the TOE framework by incorporating business resilience as a measurable post-adoption outcome. Second, the study provides empirical evidence from a marginalised enterprise context in sub-Saharan Africa and finally, the study introduces business size and longevity as moderating variables.
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into entrepreneurial processes necessitates a rethinking of entrepreneurship research. Whilst research widely acknowledges the potential of AI to enhance entrepreneurial processes, the theoretical implications remain fragmented. Emerging scholarly responses to the disruptions posed by AI appear to cluster around three interdependent views: tools-based, philosophical, and practice-based. Whilst each lens offers valuable insights, taken together, these perspectives highlight a set of conceptual challenges (alignment, ephemerality, constructs limitations, inclusivity, and contextual relevance) that remain underexplored and underscore the frontier for reimagining entrepreneurship research in the age of intelligent technologies.
Entrepreneurial intention (EI) to start a venture received enormous attention in entrepreneurship research, but relatively less scholarly research focused on examining intention to withdraw from entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur's intention to withdraw can have a serious consequence for a business. This study applies intention research based on individual beliefs to understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurial withdrawal intentions from the primary venture (EWI-PV). In particular, the influence of three measures of individual beliefs (behavioral, normative, and control) on withdrawal intentions is examined. Using survey data from 233 business founders, it was found that control beliefs and normative beliefs significantly reduced EWI-PV, but behavioral beliefs had no effect. In addition to its implications for the practice of entrepreneurship, the results of this research contribute by extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in demonstrating the importance of individual beliefs to explain EWI-PV.
Entrepreneurial hustle has quickly gained attention in entrepreneurship research. Yet, its rapid consolidation raises questions about how a concept originally framed as crisis-driven action has come to be treated as a positive, transferable individual trait. This essay presents a praxis-based view that emphasizes hustle's temporary, socially constructed, and context-dependent nature. Framing it as enacted action rather than a fixed pattern broadens the concept and surfaces its potential dark side.
Startups develop original, innovative knowledge in their initial trajectory. However, when startups partner with corporations, their innovation purpose is abandoned. Thus, the study outlined the main aspects of startup motivations and how the innovation trajectory changes in partnerships with large corporations. The methodology included a review of the literature to identify current knowledge gaps regarding the inhibitors of these partnerships, followed by a semi-structured qualitative questionnaire with founders of 18 startups and a qualitative content analysis to identify dominant patterns. The results demonstrated that, to build credibility and grow, startups begin to modify their original motivations, systematically altering their business models until they become closely aligned with those of corporates. These include the corporate bias dysfunction, the supervised creativity dysfunction, and the “bear hug.” Therefore, this article contributes by showing how understanding ecosystem dysfunctions can inform policies that foster more balanced innovation ecosystems.
Social enterprises exhibit distinct business model characteristics that differentiate them from traditional for-profit enterprises. Within social entrepreneurship, business models reconcile the dual imperative of balancing social impact with economic sustainability. The article examines the existing gap in research by analysing the key business model components of social enterprises, compared to traditional for-profit enterprises. The study applies content analysis of 77 business plans of social entrepreneurs, using a Buisness Model Canvas framework. The findings reveal a refined interpretation of the Business Model Canvas tailored to social entrepreneurship, showing how stakeholder complexity and mission orientation reshape traditional business model structures. This study advances theoretical and practical understanding of how social enterprises configure their business models to balance financial sustainability with social impact, contributing to ongoing debates on business model innovation, social entrepreneurship and sustainable value co-creation.
Digital entrepreneurship is increasingly prioritised by emerging economies as a driver of economic growth, resulting in a proliferation of initiatives to promote it by diverse stakeholders. Despite this, the structure, distribution and inclusivity of these initiatives remain underexplored. Drawing upon institutional theory and Isenberg's entrepreneurship ecosystem framework, this study develops and applies a systematic approach to mapping digital entrepreneurship initiatives (DEI) and applies it to Sarawak, Malaysia – a developing region undergoing strategic digital economic transformation. Using a two-phase method that combines desk study mapping analysis and structured interviews with initiative implementers and entrepreneurs, the study adapts Isenberg's entrepreneurship ecosystem framework for the mapping of digital entrepreneurship initiatives with an explicit target group dimension. The findings reveal fragmentation within the DEI ecosystem, particularly a concentration of financial support for technology-based ventures and limited provision for underserved entrepreneurs. Our study offers both empirical insights and a methodological contribution to ecosystem mapping in emerging economies, highlighting the need to address structural gaps and promote a more inclusive, ecosystem-oriented approach to digital entrepreneurship policy and implementation.
Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a critical mechanism for addressing complex societal challenges by balancing social and financial objectives and engaging diverse stakeholders in the co-creation of sustainable value. However, efforts to co-create value are not without risk. Social entrepreneurs frequently encounter tensions arising from opportunism, misaligned goals, lack of trust and unclear stakeholder expectations, which may undermine collaboration and lead to value diminishment or co-destruction. This Special Issue advances understanding of these challenges by examining how social entrepreneurs and social enterprises adopt, adapt and innovate value co-creation strategies to enhance stakeholder engagement and pursue long-term sustainability. Specifically, the Special Issue seeks to (a) explore mechanisms through which value co-creation can be effectively leveraged to support social and environmental outcomes, and (b) investigate strategies that mitigate the risks of value co-destruction. Collectively, the contributions provide theoretical and practical insights into how social enterprises sustain value across complex stakeholder ecosystems.
The legal service industry, which relies heavily on SMEs and their entrepreneurship capacity, faces more uncertainty than ever before. Global disruption events like Covid-19, wars and climate change, on the one hand and technocentric status quo disruptors like AI, digitalisation and remote working on the other have redefined law SMEs’ pathways to prosperity. The paper explores how senior legal professionals working in the UK law SMEs sector view these challenges by analysing 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews. Five diverse themes, around innovation and resilience, emerged from a six-step thematic analysis that was benchmarked against a theoretical framework mixing Resource- and Practice-Based Views. These themes are resistance to innovation, talent management, economic pressures, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance . The results highlight the need for improved access to technology, increased preparedness against cyber threats, remote working normalisation, more IT-focused education, life-long training initiatives, flexible and evidence-based regulations and more custom-tailored support from the relevant authorities.
How do market exchange audiences influence entrepreneurial framing strategies? Research to date has not adequately addressed how entrepreneurs use framing strategies with key market exchange audiences in mind - specifically, consumers and peer producers - when launching compelling collective identities that evolve fields. In this research note, I propose a unique audience-centred perspective of entrepreneurial framing that differs from the more actor-centred framing found in past literature. This research note outlines distinct entrepreneurial framing strategies - contesting, coexisting, inclusive or harmonizing framing - that help entrepreneurs navigate varying consumer and peer producer audience contexts when launching novel collective identities. Coexisting and contesting framing are oppositional in nature to incumbents but differ with regard to addressing incumbents in either a contesting or compatible manner. Inclusive and harmonizing framing aim to resonate or bridge new collective identities with existing ones to gain acceptance of that innovation by a wider, unreceptive audience. I also address the fluidity and challenges of these framing strategies in achieving and maintaining a collective identity's legitimacy over time. In so doing, I address an undertheorized topic of how entrepreneurial framing strategies can engage varying consumers and peer producer audience dynamics - both receptive and unreceptive ones - over time.
This paper examines the role of women entrepreneurs in advancing Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic diversification goals. While significant reforms have promoted gender equality, structural barriers continue to limit full participation. Framed by institutional theory and utilizing a mixed-methods approach that integrates quantitative World Bank survey data with qualitative insights from policy and literature analysis, this study explores the current status, challenges, and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs. Results show women own 4.9% of Saudi firms, while 2.8% of female-led businesses engage in R&D and 16.3% maintain an active online presence. By highlighting the persistent gap between policy goals and practical outcomes, the findings emphasize the need for an even more inclusive entrepreneurial environment. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to strengthen institutional support, as women entrepreneurs are expected to remain important contributors to the Kingdom's economic and social objectives.
Green start-ups are increasingly recognized as transformative agents addressing environmental and social challenges, operating within a multifaceted stakeholder environment where diverse interests shape their development. While existing literature covers a wide range of dimensions, a gap persists in understanding green start-ups’ sustainable value co-creation processes from a stakeholder-oriented perspective. To address this gap, we adopted a qualitative methodology based on in-depth interviews with founders of Austrian green start-ups, investigating how they engage with stakeholders and co-create value. Our findings reveal a dynamic process in which green start-ups initiate sustainable value co-creation through opportunity recognition and dual economic and sustainability goals. They iteratively adjust strategies based on stakeholder feedback, engaging with a broad set of stakeholders that includes the natural environment, society, employees, customers, and business partners. Through continuous learning, partnership development, and customer-oriented adaptation, these ventures co-create four types of value: economic, relational stakeholder, sustainable, and innovation. These insights contribute to sustainable entrepreneurship by elucidating co-creative entrepreneurial adjustment and to stakeholder theory by demonstrating how green start-ups treat the natural environment and society as legitimate co-creation partners. This research provides a foundation for future studies on sustainable value co-creation in entrepreneurial contexts.
International firms in emerging economies have developed dynamic international capabilities to cope with resource constraints and the uncertainty of global markets. This research focuses on two dynamic capabilities: International ambidexterity and international open innovation. It also assessed the impact of international entrepreneurial culture (IEC) on both capabilities, as well as the mediating role of absorptive capacity and the moderating effect of environmental dynamism. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire completed by 400 international companies in Colombia of varying sizes and sectors. Structural equation modeling revealed that IEC has a positive influence on IAI but a negative influence on IAC. Absorptive capacity was found not to mediate the relationship between IEC and either capability, and the moderating role of environmental dynamism was not confirmed. This study offers theoretical and managerial implications by identifying the dynamic capabilities that companies develop to operate in international markets.
This note proposes expanding the selling research agenda beyond the dominant customer-centric paradigm to incorporate a seller-centric perspective, emphasising benefits to sellers alongside customer value. While customer-centric selling has advanced understanding of how to meet buyer needs, build trust and enhance customer outcomes, it often overlooks the equally important gains that sellers realise through the selling process. This includes skill development, resilience, identity amongst others. Drawing on research highlighting the transferable skills and benefits that sales encounters offer sellers, this note argues that recognising these seller-centric benefits enriches the conceptualisation of selling, especially in entrepreneurial contexts. By integrating seller outcomes, selling research can more comprehensively address the dual nature of sales as a relational exchange that simultaneously empowers buyers and sellers. This broader perspective invites future research to explore how seller credibility, skill acquisition and entrepreneurial advancement interrelate with customer-centric strategies, ultimately contributing to more holistic research on selling.
Despite its relevance, migrant entrepreneurship beyond ethnic niches remains underexplored. To address this gap, this paper investigates the antecedents that enable migrants to establish businesses in mainstream markets. Adopting an inductive approach, the study develops the Migrant Employee Spinout (MES) framework to interpret the transition from employment to entrepreneurship. Semi-structured interviews were held with 24 migrant entrepreneurs operating in three strategic sectors of the Italian economy. Findings reveal that migrants leveraged prior employment in native-owned firms to acquire technical and managerial competencies and access professional networks embedded in the local business ecosystem. Moreover, the organisational environment of the parent firm, combined with migrants’ agency, shaped their entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, some context-specific factors, such as institutional proximity, fostered migrants’ entrepreneurial transition, whereas the contribution of ethnic communities was marginal. This study highlights growing similarities between migrant and native firms, particularly in the role of employment as a pathway to entrepreneurship.
Service entrepreneurs continue to drive the global economy, but the ability of these entrepreneurs to sustain economic growth depends on their entrepreneurial innovativeness. Yet what prepares service entrepreneurs to innovate remains underexplored in entrepreneurship literature. Informed by contingency theory, this study explores entrepreneurial readiness to innovate. Based on semi-structured interviews with 30 Kuwaiti service entrepreneurs, the study finds seven core themes for a NES-CAFE multi-factor model. The themes involve: (i) a triad of NES (niche and need-noticing, ecosystems and environment-enabling and spirit and success-seeking) contingency factors for entrepreneurial innovativeness, along with (ii) a tetrad of CAFE (competences and cultivating connections, awareness and analysing advancements, fearlessness and forgiving failures and experiences and embracing evolutions) determining factors of entrepreneurial readiness to innovate. Theoretically, the study contributes to a contingency theory of individual-level entrepreneurial readiness for service businesses with personal, entrepreneurial and societal dimensions. By theorising on readiness as a critical antecedent for entrepreneurship in the service sector, our findings reveal that service innovation is contingent upon an alignment between entrepreneurial readiness and innovativeness. Managerially, our research recommends the cultivation of regional policies for entrepreneurial spirit among citizens and entrepreneurial orientations for developing fearlessness, experiences and awareness within service entrepreneurs.
Digitalization reshapes society, disrupting conventional business models and fostering opportunities for entrepreneurs in "digital entrepreneurship." This study explores its direct and indirect impacts on entrepreneurship via talent and economic competitiveness. This study analyzes data from 65 developing and developed countries over six years, constructing a structural equation model, and estimating it using (Maximum Likelihood). The study observed that institutions and human development play crucial roles in fostering levels of innovation. Furthermore, human development, innovation, and institutions emerged as primary drivers propelling societies towards digital transformation. Additionally, digital transformation generates various externalities, bolstering talent competitiveness, economic competitiveness sustainability, and entrepreneurial activities. Notably, economic competitiveness sustainability fosters entrepreneurship, whereas talent competitiveness negatively influences entrepreneurial endeavors. Our mediation analysis indicates that innovation partially mediates the relationship between human development, institutions, and digital transformation. Similarly, talent and economic competitiveness sustainability also partially mediate the connection between digital transformation and entrepreneurship. Moreover, we identified the indirect positive impact of determinants of digital transformation on talent, economic competitiveness sustainability, and entrepreneurship. These findings underscore the independent variable's mechanism of action, which provides an additional dimension to understanding causes and pathways of effects and informs the identification of more effective intervention strategies.
To advance sustainable development, it is essential to understand how technological entrepreneurship shapes not only the pace but also the quality of economic growth. Accordingly, this study examines its multidimensional effects on growth quality. By combining indicators from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor with a composite index of growth quality (TOPSIS method), and using data from 49 countries (2005-2018), the study highlights a significant regional heterogeneity in the effect of entrepreneurship. The adoption of technologies appears as a driver of growth-quality, promoting efficiency, and sustainability but potentially deteriorating short-term stability due to creative destruction. Granger causality tests often suggest that the improvement in the quality of growth, especially stability, precedes the development of technological entrepreneurship. The central role of institutional quality and macroeconomic stability is emphasized, implying that innovative economies must strengthen their entrepreneurial ecosystem, while less advanced economies must first consolidate their institutions.
