The economic advancement of a country necessitates the promotion and support of the entrepreneurial spirit, especially for young female entrepreneurs. The objectives of this study are to explore the key factors shaping the entrepreneurial spirit of young female entrepreneurs, to develop a model that reflects the relationships among the antecedents of entrepreneurial spirit, and to test the mediating role of social media. Based on the ‘positivism’ research philosophy, this study has used a quantitative methodology. It has utilized convenient sampling with a cross-sectional design to collect data from 212 women entrepreneurs. This research has developed a conceptual model based on social cognitive theory (SCT) and tested the hypothesized relationships using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). This study reveals the impact of entrepreneurs’ personal traits, environmental factors and digital competence on entrepreneurial spirit. This study also finds that social media mediates the relationship between digital competence and the entrepreneurial spirit of young female entrepreneurs. The empirical data have supported all the hypotheses of this research. The study has provided theoretical and practical implications that will serve as a guide for academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, based on the suggested framework for entrepreneurship development. This study has suggested future research directions for comparative studies and for research on the impact of advanced digital tools on entrepreneurial spirit.
Extant literature on female entrepreneurship frequently overlooks the nuanced cognitive and structural mechanisms driving entrepreneurial intentions among structurally marginalized cohorts, such as housewives within informal economies. Grounded in the push-pull theory of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial cognition perspective, this study establishes a comprehensive framework to examine how technological competence, economic necessity, and opportunity recognition concurrently shape the entrepreneurial intentions of Malaysian housewives. Employing a cross-sectional research design, empirical data were gathered from 410 housewives via a purposive sampling technique and subjected to partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The structural model assessment reveals that technological competence exerts a significant direct influence on both economic necessity and opportunity recognition, while also maintaining a direct pathway to entrepreneurial intention. Crucially, the bootstrapping results confirm that both economic necessity and opportunity recognition act as significant parallel mediating mechanisms bridging capabilities and intent. Notably, the indirect path via opportunity recognition displays a profoundly stronger effect magnitude compared to the necessity-driven pathway. These findings advance the theoretical discourse on informal entrepreneurship by demonstrating that digital capability subtly reshapes socio-economic push factors while unlocking cognitive pull dynamics. Consequently, this study offers critical empirical insights for policymakers designing digital inclusion strategies and inclusive micro-entrepreneurship frameworks aimed at empowering vulnerable domestic cohorts.
Entrepreneurship is the primary engine of global economic growth. However, for a long time, the representation of women in business and entrepreneurship has been a challenge that must be addressed. Although many women possess immense entrepreneurial potential, factors such as gender bias, limited access to capital, and cultural barriers often pose significant obstacles. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationships among public policy, national culture, entrepreneurial competencies, gender inequality, and the sustainable performance of women entrepreneurs from low-income backgrounds (B40) with household incomes of RM5,249 or less per month. This research also aims to investigate the mediating role of entrepreneurial competencies and the moderating role of gender inequality, using statistical analysis based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and AMOS software. The study sample consisted of 389 women entrepreneurs, selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Research indicates that public policy, national culture, entrepreneurial competencies, and gender inequality are significantly associated with sustainable entrepreneurship performance. The study also revealed that entrepreneurial competencies significantly mediated the relationships between public policy (β = 0.109, p < 0.001) and national culture (β = 0.094, p < 0.01) with sustainable entrepreneurship performance, indicating partial mediation. Next, gender inequality significantly moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and sustainable entrepreneurship performance (β = −0.091, p < 0.01), such that the relationship is weaker at the higher levels of gender inequality. As a result, a supportive ecosystem for successful entrepreneurs is needed, including a pro-entrepreneurial, gender-balanced environment, as well as active entrepreneurship development programs which positively linked with entrepreneurial competencies.
Entrepreneurial failure is prevalent among student entrepreneurs, particularly in resource-constrained regions. Drawing on social capital theory and resilience theory, this study explores how family, institutional, and peer support influence the resilience and re-entrepreneurial intentions of failed student entrepreneurs in Guizhou, China. Based on data from 407 valid questionnaires analysed using structural equation modelling, the results reveal that all three types of support positively predict resilience and that resilience partially mediates the relationship between these support systems and re-entrepreneurial intention. Beyond merely combining two theories, this study contextualises the integrated framework for underdeveloped regions and clarifies the internal mechanisms underlying post-failure entrepreneurial recovery. Practically, the findings suggest that entrepreneurship support programmes should place greater emphasis on failure recovery rather than focusing solely on venture establishment.
Entrepreneurship serves as a vital force that drives economic development and creates employment opportunities while fostering innovation, especially in developing countries such as India. Higher education institutions play a pivotal role in shaping the entrepreneurial aspirations of young graduates. The present study examines how entrepreneurial education, entrepreneurial culture, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions operate together among postgraduate management students in India. The data were collected from 575 respondents through a structured questionnaire which was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with the help of IBM SPSS 20 and AMOS 26. The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The structural model revealed that entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial culture exert significant positive effects on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, which in turn strongly predicts entrepreneurial intention. The model explained 25
This study explores the impact of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) implementation on the quality of financial reporting among Saudi Arabian SMEs and how institutional pressures, economic factors and firm characteristics combine to influence the outcome of adoption. Quantitative data was gathered using a mixed-method design and 312 SME operators, finance managers, and accountants were surveyed using structured questionnaires, with semi-structured interviews with 25 key informants. The relationships between perception, perceived advantages, implementation obstacles and reporting quality expectations were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings reveal that favourable perceptions of IFRS for SMEs strongly predict anticipated reporting quality improvements (β = 0.490, p < 0.01), while a significant positive relationship exists between perceived advantages and implementation obstacles (β = 0.426, p < 0.05), indicating an engagement-awareness trade-off. Firm maturity (years in operation) positively influences perception (β = 0.344, p < 0.05), whereas nominal exposure measures such as accounting services provision and self-reported information level show negligible direct effects. The study concludes that without addressing institutional and resource constraints, IFRS adoption remains symbolic rather than substantive for Saudi SME reporting quality. The paper recommends capacity-building programmes that strengthen absorptive capacity, streamline disclosure requirements, incorporation of IFRS compliance into credit-rating systems of financial institutions, and sector-targeted training of Monshaat and SOCPA. This study adds to the institutional theory by illustrating the interplay between coercive, normative and mimetic pressures and firm level capacity in the determination of reporting quality outcomes, which presents one of the first empirical evaluations of the adoption of IFRS among SMEs in Saudi Arabia.
In the ever-changing and dynamic business environment, information technology (IT) capabilities and strategic planning play a pivotal role in shaping the entrepreneurial performance of higher education institutions. This study examines the relationship between IT capabilities, strategic planning, and entrepreneurial performance in Palestinian universities during the ongoing war in Gaza (2023–2024). A descriptive-analytical quantitative approach was employed, and data were collected from 300 participants across different universities through stratified random sampling. Data were gathered between October 2023 and January 2024, during the height of the conflict, using a structured questionnaire whose measures were grounded in established theoretical frameworks. The analysis, conducted using IBM SPSS Amos v26, included descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Results revealed a modest but significant direct effect of IT capabilities on entrepreneurial performance (β = 0.120, p < 0.05) and a strong mediating role of strategic planning (β = 0.876, p < 0.001). The findings underscore the necessity of prioritizing IT investments and embedding proactive strategic planning to counteract severe disruptions caused by war and resource scarcity. By fostering strategic planning, the study provides practical recommendations for policymakers and university leaders, emphasizing the importance of resilience-building, diversification of funding sources, and the adoption of innovative IT-driven educational models.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between entrepreneurship and internship programmes and graduate employability in Indonesia, mediated by students’ adoption of authentic leadership. A total of 760 first-, second-, third-, and final-year students, as well as recent graduates from various universities in Indonesia, participated in the study. A survey was used to collect data from a sample comprised of students from various public and private universities in Indonesia. Structural equation modelling with SmartPLS 4.0 was utilised to answer the research hypotheses. The results showed the direct effect of entrepreneurship and internship programmes on the employability of graduates and students’ authentic leadership on graduates’ employability, and a significant mediation of students’ authentic leadership between entrepreneurship, internship programmes, and graduates’ employability was also found. The findings of this study demonstrate how entrepreneurship and internships can enhance employability and highlight the significant direct and indirect roles of authentic leadership. Given the local and global contexts of graduate unemployability, these findings extend existing theories by emphasising the importance of graduate employability in developing human capital, skilled labour, and supporting the economy in Indonesia and beyond.
The present article aims to investigate whether acquaintance with information and communication technology (ICT) and freedom of mobility (FM) impact ever-married women entrepreneurs’ intentions to expand their businesses directly or indirectly in the presence of subjective norms (SN). A two-stage purposive sampling method was used to gather a sample of 175 small women entrepreneurs from the three districts of Barak Valley of Assam, India. The entrepreneurial growth intention (EGI), along with its drivers, viz., SN, ICT, and FM, are conceived as latent variables and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to analyse the relationships between them. Our findings suggest that both ICT and FM mediate the relationship between SN and EGI. Additionally, we find that while both ICT and FM directly impact EGI, ICT has a stronger impact than FM and hence adequate measures to familiarise women entrepreneurs with the benefits of using ICT in business should be taken. Our study is novel since it has attempted to measure both the direct as well as indirect impact of information and communication technology and freedom of mobility on women’s entrepreneurial growth intention, which has not yet been explicitly studied in the literature.
Entrepreneurial mindset (EM) has become a cornerstone of entrepreneurship research, serving as a differentiating factor between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Despite its importance, existing studies remain fragmented, often focusing on students and individual-level models while paying limited attention to organizational and contextual dimensions. This study was conducted to provide a comprehensive review of EM research, clarify what is already known, and identify future directions. To achieve this, we systematically reviewed 436 papers published between 1988 and 2024 in the Scopus database. Using bibliometric methods and thematic map analysis with VOSviewer and R software, we mapped the intellectual and scientific structures of EM research. The TCCM-ADO framework (Theory, Concept, Context, Method–Antecedents, Decisions, Outcomes) was applied to uncover research gaps and propose a structured agenda for future inquiry. Findings reveal five intellectual clusters—engineering education, EM models and measurement, entrepreneurial intention, experiential learning, and EM impacts—and five scientific clusters, including self-efficacy, innovation, faculty-driven promotion, and design thinking. Results show that EM research is concentrated in specific regions and relies heavily on quantitative approaches, underscoring the need for methodological diversity. Importantly, the findings also align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): embedding EM into curricula supports SDG 4 (Quality Education), fostering entrepreneurial activity advances SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and linking EM to innovation and design thinking contributes to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). Moreover, inclusive pedagogy and resilience align with SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Communities), underscoring EM’s role in promoting sustainable, inclusive growth at regional and global levels. Key gaps and future directions include expanding analysis from individuals to teams and organizations, broadening EM dimensions such as resilience and adaptability, diversifying geographic scope to underexplored regions (e.g., MENA, factor-driven economies), adopting experimental and neuroscience methods, and examining EM evolution across novice, experienced, and corporate entrepreneurs. By addressing these gaps, this study provides a roadmap for advancing EM scholarship and offers practical implications for educators, policymakers, and practitioners.
Performance measurement in newly created enterprises poses significant challenges due to conceptual ambiguities and methodological complexities. This paper offers a systematic conceptual review of how performance is defined, operationalized, and evaluated in early-stage ventures, drawing on strategic management and entrepreneurship literatures. Three interrelated contributions structure this review: (1) a critical synthesis of the conceptual tensions underlying performance definitions in startup contexts; (2) an integrative analysis of methodological challenges—including temporal instability, data accessibility, and multidimensionality—that complicate measurement; and (3) a proposed integrative evaluation framework combining survival thresholds, financial trajectory, strategic positioning, and entrepreneurial satisfaction. The paper explicitly acknowledges the social construction of performance and the legitimate diversity of stakeholder perspectives. By engaging with both foundational works and recent developments—including lean startup metrics, Balanced Scorecard adaptations, and OKR-based frameworks—this review contributes to a more nuanced understanding of evaluation practices suited to newly created ventures. Emerging 2025–2026 scholarship on startup incubator effectiveness (Seitz et al., 2026), performance management system development (Mancebo et al., 2025), and sustainable venture performance (Zangara et al., 2026; Almeida, 2026) is integrated to update the review. Practical implications are developed for researchers, support organizations, and policymakers. Limitations of the review approach, including its predominantly conceptual scope and the need for empirical validation of the proposed framework, are discussed.
In an increasingly complex world, exploring alternatives for generating and developing proposals to address social problems is necessary, mainly because models such as philanthropy and altruism are not sustainable. This article presents a comparative analysis of the perceived achievement of social entrepreneurship competency among students attending two private universities, one in Mexico and the other in Chile, after an ideation of entrepreneurial projects. The total population comprised 51 students: 28 from Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico, and 23 from Universidad Concepcion de Chile. The gender distribution was 24 men and 27 women; the average age was 21. The results showed that students from Universidad Concepcion de Chile excelled in the sub-competencies of control and social value, while Tecnologico de Monterrey students excelled in leadership, social innovation, and financial sustainability. The only statistically significant difference was in the social value and social awareness sub-competency, with a higher mean attained by students at Universidad de Concepcion de Chile. The study's findings have significant implications for entrepreneurial practice and research, showing that relevant environmental factors can modify students' perceptions regarding innovative actions. Although these results are not exhaustive, they have intriguing value for the design of future studies on this topic.
The analysis investigates the AI adoption behavior, the development of capabilities, and the differences in performance between 302 active venture founders affiliated with Mexico’s Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), a theoretically strategic sample similar to the few that can be used because the high technical literacy setting permits isolating cognitive and normative adoption barriers from the digital access constraints. The integrated framework, which combines the TOE model, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Institutional Theory, the Resource-Based View, Self-Efficacy Theory, and the Productivity J-Curve, posits that AI Implementation Self-Efficacy (AISE) is the key mediating factor between organizational resources and adoption outcomes. Data from the research were collected through an online questionnaire with a satisfaction coefficient of 0.84 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, k-means clustering (silhouette coefficient = 0.64), and ordinal logistic regression. Statistics reveal that almost 90
This research investigates the impact of socio-cultural, economic, political/legal, and technological contexts on the entrepreneurial potential of homestay owners in Uttarakhand, India. This research emphasizes contextual embeddedness as the primary determinant of entrepreneurial development, contrasting with prior studies that primarily attribute this phenomenon to individual traits or digital infrastructures. Utilizing Institutional Theory, Social Capital Theory, and the Contextual Approach, we construct and evaluate a structural model based on data from 349 homestay owners, analyzed via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that socio-cultural, political/legal, and economic factors significantly enhance entrepreneurial potential, while technological readiness exhibits a weak and statistically insignificant effect. The findings indicate that community legitimacy, trust networks, and regulatory clarity play a more critical role than the adoption of technology in influencing entrepreneurial readiness in semi-rural settings. This study presents a model of contextual embeddedness regarding entrepreneurial potential and claims that enhancing social and institutional infrastructures could be more effective than interventions focused solely on technology-driven entrepreneurship.
Returnee entrepreneurship serves as a dynamic source of cross-border knowledge exchange, offering strategic value to developing countries navigating volatile business environments. Returnee Entrepreneurs (REs) contribute technological knowledge acquired through international experience, while local firms provide complementary market knowledge grounded in home-country institutional contexts. The networking between REs and local firms in the home country represents a critical yet underexplored research area. This study aims to dynamically investigate the factors shaping knowledge exchange within these entrepreneurial networks. We develop an agent-based simulation model, to analyze the social behaviors and knowledge interactions. Empirical data were collected from 30 returnee-founded companies and 30 local firms in a technology park (TP) in Iran. We explore three scenarios to enhance business-to-business strategic interactions through knowledge coordination, relationship coordination, and combined coordination mechanisms. Findings reveal that the involvement of an institutional intermediary agent significantly amplifies knowledge exchange frequency, highlighting the role of governance and network orchestration in fostering strategic alliances. This research contributes to strategy literature by modeling the dynamic interactions between returnee entrepreneurial ventures and local firms, emphasizing knowledge transfer as a key driver of sustained competitive advantage. Additionally, we demonstrate how institutional factors embedded in communication networks can facilitate collaboration and innovation within entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Microfinance plays a crucial role in enhancing economic growth, social development, and women’s empowerment of Self-Help Group (SHG) women, ultimately contributing to their decision-making ability and overall well-being. This study investigates the effect of sequential mediation of economic and social outcomes on the decision-making abilities of these women. Data was collected from 306 SHG women residing in villages near Pink City, Jaipur, Rajasthan (India), all registered members of the NGO Pitambara Foundation, using purposive sampling. The study employed Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM) using AMOS to test the hypotheses. Results suggest that the influence of microfinance on decision-making is primarily mediated by improvements in economic and social outcomes rather than being a direct result of accessing financial services alone. Policymakers and SHG programme designers should strengthen microfinance interventions by integrating skill development, health awareness, and social empowerment components alongside credit access, to maximise women’s decision-making ability and household well-being. This further strengthens their role within their families as well as communities at large. This research contributes to financial inclusion literature by enhancing the generalizability of the proposed framework and informing policy decisions for sustainable economic and social development.
This study empirically investigates the effect of entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) factors on the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of tourism students in India, with gender as a moderating variable. The data were collected from 300 students using a structured questionnaire and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesised relationships. The study’s findings show that students’ perceptions of access to finance, cultural factors, and education and training have a strong and positive impact on their EI. In contrast, government policies and regulations, government programmes and support, and physical infrastructure were not significantly related to EI. Most importantly, the social factor exhibited a significant but negative relationship with EI, suggesting potential social risk aversion towards entrepreneurial careers. Further, multi-group analysis (MGA) revealed no significant gender-based differences. The study contributes to entrepreneurial ecosystem research by extending it to a sector-specific educational context and offers nuanced insights into how ecosystem perceptions shape entrepreneurial cognition among tourism students. Practical implications are discussed for universities, policymakers, and tourism ecosystem stakeholders.
By analyzing indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), trade volume, Human Development Index (HDI), internet usage, high-technology exports, and patent registrations, the research seeks to identify the key determinants that support sustainable entrepreneurial activities. These determinants are used since they collectively indicate a country’s economic capability, human development, technological progress, and innovation potential, all of which are structural to sustainable entrepreneurial activities. Employing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), this study evaluates data from 47 nations. The analysis indicates that higher GDP, increased trade volumes, elevated HDI scores, widespread internet access, substantial high-technology exports, and a larger number of patent registrations significantly enhance sustainable entrepreneurial activities. The scope of the study is limited to 47 countries, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings to other regions. Furthermore, the use of national-level indicators may overlook subnational variations and nuances that could affect sustainable entrepreneurship. Policymakers aiming to nurture sustainable entrepreneurship should focus on enhancing economic performance, improving social development, and advancing technological infrastructure. Strategies may include investing in education to boost HDI, expanding internet accessibility, promoting high-tech industries to increase exports, and supporting research and development to stimulate patent registrations. This study adds to the theoretical understanding of sustainable entrepreneurship by providing empirical evidence on the combined effects of economic, social, and technological factors across multiple countries. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to advance sustainable entrepreneurial initiatives globally.
In the entrepreneurship literature, the concepts of entrepreneurial exit and the exit process are increasingly recognised as an important component of the entrepreneurial cycle. The exit phase is not the end of the entrepreneurial process, but also the beginning of new opportunities. In this context, entrepreneurial exits are seen as an important part of the business life cycle. This is because exit has implications not only for the entrepreneur’s career but also for the company, industry, and the economy in general. In the literature, entrepreneurial exit is generally considered a complementary element of the entrepreneurial process, and scholars emphasize the need to expand our understanding of this subject. To address this gap, this study employs a bibliometric mapping method to evaluate how entrepreneurial exit is handled in the economics literature. Specifically, by analysing 111 academic articles indexed in the Web of Science (WOS) database between 2009 and 2024, the research provides a comprehensive assessment covering keywords, authors, studies, institutions, and countries. In addition to identifying the most influential author, most frequently used key concept, influential institution and country in the field, the study is an important reference source for future studies by analysing the most highly cited studies in the field.
This study examines how digital transformation helps Vietnamese entrepreneurs after COVID-19, addressing challenges such as outdated technology, weak regulation, and limited digital literacy. A systematic literature review (SLR) of 48 articles from 2000 to 2024 reveals that 75
