Purpose This study aims to examine the factors that have a role in the empowerment as well as social and economic well-being of the women entrepreneurs based in the rural areas of eastern India. The women entrepreneurs in the region operate in harsh conditions and are underrepresented in academic research. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative research design in general and thematic analysis in particular. The information was collected from the semi-structured interviews from 18 respondents. Thereafter, inductive thematic analysis was employed. Findings There were six themes that emerged from the analysis. This study reveals that women entrepreneurship in rural areas is driven by economic needs and community support. The women entrepreneurs utilize traditional skills while seeking modern business training. The issues related to gender biases, infrastructure and market access coupled with limited financial access hinder growth. Entrepreneurship significantly improves the social and economic well-being of rural women. Respondents face primarily downstream marketing constraints rather than production barriers. These are middleman dependence, weak positioning against substitutes and gendered marketplace exclusion. Practical implications Policymakers should focus on inclusive financial policies, effective business training and improved market access to empower rural women entrepreneurs. It is important to address gender discrimination and infrastructure challenges through strengthening community support. Support programs should prioritize marketing, digital channels, collective branding and women’s access to trade forums. Originality/value This study uniquely combines multiple theories to show how social structures impact women entrepreneurship in rural areas. It highlights the balance between personal agency and social barriers. The study emphasizes the importance of family support that reveals persistent gender biases. It further advocates for policies that promote gender equality.
Purpose This study aims to examine how brand activism manifests in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) when it grows out of founder values and effectuation principles, and it asks whether activism rooted in those values proves more durable than the institutional activism of large corporations. The 2025 corporate retreat from diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments showed how fragile institutional activism can be: several large corporations dropped activist positions once they came under political pressure, a pattern that suggests their activism functioned as strategic calculation rather than a genuine commitment to values. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on 14 in-depth interviews with founders and managers of Portuguese footwear and accessories SMEs. Concentrating on a single national sector holds market conditions broadly constant and permits closer examination of the internal drivers of activism. Findings Activist positioning in these firms works through mechanisms that differ from those of large corporations. Founders treat their personal values as an entrepreneurial means, a sense of “what I believe” and build activist identities out of the resources already at hand rather than from a predetermined strategic plan. Three themes emerged: values as an authentic activist identity, narrative coherence as a means of amplifying a small brand and activism as a source of internal cohesion. The analysis also identifies a values-capital tension: when activist SMEs seek growth capital, investor priorities can collide with founder values in ways that are difficult to reconcile. Research limitations/implications The findings identify sustainability challenges when activism depends on non-transferable founder embodiment, raising questions about organizational continuity beyond founding leadership. Practical implications This study advances marketing–entrepreneurship interface scholarship while offering strategic guidance for values-driven SME founders navigating the tension between authentic activism and capital growth requirement. Originality/value This paper contributes to scholarship at the marketing–entrepreneurship interface by treating personal values as a distinct entrepreneurial means, by proposing narrative coherence as a value-creation mechanism and by identifying the sustainability problem that arises when activism rests on a founder who cannot easily be replaced.
Purpose The specific mechanisms that transform entrepreneurs’ intentions into realized entrepreneurial behaviors remain a novel subject of ongoing investigation. Therefore, achieving insights into this process will be critical for expanding theory and informing practices. Furthermore, this study aims to address the gaps in existing research by examining the mediating impact of entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in shaping entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial behavior. Design/methodology/approach A PLS-based structural equation model was used, based on data collected from 405 randomly selected aspiring entrepreneurs at the start-up stage in Saudi Arabia. Findings This study found that entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy significantly and positively mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial behaviors, independently and serially. Remarkably, entrepreneurial alertness emerged as the strongest predictor among all variables in the conceptual model influencing entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial behavior. Research limitations/implications This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by empirically substantiating the sequential role of two critical cognitive elements in materializing entrepreneurial intentions into entrepreneurial actions. Originality/value Besides bridging critical research gaps, this study’s findings offer useful implications for practice and policymakers to nurture entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy to promote entrepreneurship.
Purpose Drawing on the social cognitive theory, this study aims to examine how and when parasocial relationships with social media influencers shape e-entrepreneurial intentions. Specifically, the authors investigate entrepreneurial opportunity recognition as a mediating mechanism and self-efficacy as a boundary condition that strengthens this process. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 367 active social media users in Pakistan using a two-wave, time-lagged survey design. The authors tested the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modeling. Findings The results reveal that parasocial relationships with social media influencers positively influence e-entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurial opportunity recognition mediates this relationship, and self-efficacy strengthens the indirect effect, such that the relationship is stronger among individuals with higher self-efficacy. Originality/value This study contributes by leveraging social cognitive theory to explain how parasocial relationships with social media influencers function as a social learning mechanism that enhances opportunity recognition and shapes e-entrepreneurial intentions. It also bridges the marketing and entrepreneurship literature by revealing the mechanisms through which influencer engagement shapes e-entrepreneurial intentions.
Purpose This study aims to explore the complex combinations of factors associated with nascent entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a sample of 1,314 individuals from five Nigerian universities. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach is used to analyse the data. Findings Nascent entrepreneurship is associated with three sufficient configurations. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) appears in all three configurations, while creativity appears in two alternative pathways when combined with either favourable attitudes or supportive subjective norms. A third pathway combines ESE, favourable attitudes and supportive subjective norms, indicating that high creativity is not required in every configuration. Originality/value Entrepreneurship is vital for economic welfare. A range of factors influences entrepreneurial behaviour. Understanding these factors has been a focus of research. However, previous studies often examined individual influences in isolation, undermining theory development. To address this, this study offers a novel perspective that captures the potential complexities underlying the creativity–nascent entrepreneurship nexus.
