Purpose This study aims to examine how different forms of human capital (experience, education and business scope) shape enterprise performance among ethnically diverse South African entrepreneurs. While disadvantage theory predicts that structural inequality constrains entrepreneurial outcomes, this study investigates whether specific forms of human capital can offset these constraints. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey of 312 entrepreneurs in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg was conducted. Data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling with bootstrapping at 5,000 resamples. Findings Education, experience, business scope and ethnicity shape enterprise performance. Crucially, entrepreneurial experience operates as an ethnically neutral performance driver, whereas formal education’s returns are mediated by ethnic classification. Experience emerges as the strongest predictor, operating independently of ethnic mediation and compensating for limited formal education. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design limits causal inference, and broad ethnic categories may obscure intra-group differences. Longitudinal designs and disaggregated ethnic classifications are recommended. Practical implications Policies building human capital, especially entrepreneurial experience and education, are more effective for improving performance than those based solely on ethnic classification. Mentorship, training and experiential learning can yield broad performance gains. Social implications Accumulated experience is a powerful resource unconstrained by ethnic boundaries, offering pathways to equitable enterprise development for historically disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Originality/value This paper refines disadvantage theory by demonstrating that not all human capital operates identically in stratified contexts. It shows that experiential learning can transcend ethnic boundaries, offering a compensatory mechanism for disadvantaged background.
Purpose Prevailing applications of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in sustainable consumption often overlook culturally embedded drivers that shape consumer decision-making in emerging economies. This study aims to address this theoretical gap by extending TPB to incorporate risk perceptions and relational trust factors inadequately conceptualized within the model’s traditional cognitive framework. Focusing on Indian lifestyles of health and sustainability (LOHAS) consumers, the authors introduce trust, transparency and perceived risk as pivotal antecedents and moderators in shaping attitudes and behavioral intentions toward upcycled products. Design/methodology/approach Empirical analysis using partial least squares structural equation modelling reveals that while circularity, trust and perceived value significantly enhance positive attitudes, the influence of carbon neutrality labeling is limited in this context. Critically, perceived risk not only dampens the effect of circularity but also amplifies the compensatory role of trust and transparency, underscoring the necessity of relational assurances in low-trust, high-uncertainty markets. Findings By situating TPB within the cultural and institutional realities of an emerging market, this research advances the theoretical understanding of sustainable consumption and demonstrates that effective models must account for contextual risk and relational dynamics, thereby extending the boundaries of TPB and supporting broader SDG 3 objectives in sustainable health and well-being. Originality/value This study offers fresh empirical insights into the evolving domain of sustainable consumption, particularly in the Indian context. By highlighting the moderating influence of perceived risk, it enriches the theoretical understanding of upcycling behavior among LOHAS consumers and provides actionable guidance for marketers and sustainability practitioners.
Purpose This study examines how organizational resilience develops in project-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through interconnected capability-building processes rather than isolated antecedents. Although prior research has identified numerous structural and strategic correlates of SME resilience, limited attention has been paid to how resilience emerges from learning, cultural embedding and adaptive capability development. Addressing this gap, the study develops and tests a process-based capability-development framework linking operational practices, organizational learning, organizational culture, dynamic capabilities and organizational resilience. The purpose of this study is to clarify the selective pathways through which SMEs build adaptive capacity under conditions of environmental uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The study uses survey data from 124 Canadian project-based SMEs and applies partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine the proposed capability-development relationships. The model tests the direct and indirect associations among operational practices, organizational learning, organizational culture, dynamic capabilities and resilience. Methodological rigor is ensured through reliability and validity assessments, non-response bias testing, marker-variable and common-latent-factor procedures and bootstrapped mediation analysis. The cross-sectional design supports the estimation of theoretically grounded associations while acknowledging limitations regarding temporal ordering. Findings Dynamic capabilities emerge as the most immediate organizational mechanism associated with resilience. Organizational learning is positively associated with organizational culture, organizational culture is positively associated with dynamic capabilities and project management and risk management are positively associated with learning. Diversification is positively associated with dynamic capabilities and indirectly associated with resilience through dynamic capabilities. In contrast, longer sequential mediation pathways were not supported, indicating that capability development is selective rather than universal. The results highlight how adaptive capacity develops through specific organizational processes rather than through broad, multi-stage capability chains. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design limits causal inference and prevents examination of how resilience unfolds over time. The sample is restricted to Canadian project-based SMEs, which may limit generalizability to other institutional contexts. Future research should use longitudinal or mixed-method designs to capture temporal dynamics, explore cross-country variation and examine how digital transformation and external shocks interact with internal capability-building processes. The findings refine process-based resilience theory by identifying which capability pathways matter most and which assumed sequential mechanisms do not hold empirically. Practical implications The findings suggest that SME resilience is strengthened primarily through internal capability-building rather than through external support alone. Managers should invest in project management routines, risk management practices, organizational learning mechanisms and adaptive cultural norms that facilitate knowledge integration and capability development. Policymakers should prioritize interventions that enhance managerial training, learning infrastructures and collaborative knowledge-sharing platforms. Because diversification contributes indirectly through dynamic capabilities, strategic variety should be accompanied by deliberate capability development to ensure adaptive benefits. Originality/value This study reframes SME resilience as a process-based organizational outcome emerging from learning, cultural embedding and dynamic capability development rather than as a direct consequence of resources or external support. It advances dynamic capabilities theory by examining learning and culture as microfoundational processes in project-based, resource-constrained SMEs. The capability-development architecture provides a nuanced explanation of how SMEs sustain adaptive continuity within enterprising communities. By identifying both supported and unsupported pathways, the study offers a refined, empirically grounded perspective on how resilience develops through selective organizational processes.
Purpose This study aims to examine how livelihood dependency, local resources and stakeholder relations shape youth entrepreneurship in four coastal villages in Takalar Regency, Indonesia, and how these conditions informed a locally grounded business-incubator framework. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative, participatory rural appraisal-informed participatory co-design approach. Fieldwork was conducted from March to July 2025 in Boddia, Palalakkang, Tamalate and Tamasaju. Thirty-four adult coastal youth aged 18–30 participated in four village focus groups, while 16 key informants contributed through semi-structured interviews. Observation, document review, resource mapping, village-level problem ranking, livelihood-flow analysis, stakeholder mapping, matrix scoring, force-field analysis and validation discussions connected diagnosis to model refinement. Village problem-ranking scores are treated as facilitated group judgements rather than individual responses or formal consensus measures, while incubator-component totals represent comparative planning priorities across four equally weighted criteria. Findings Difficult access to formal finance and the absence of sustained mentoring received the highest cross-village totals (19 of 20), followed by weak digital marketing (17). Participatory livelihood analysis showed that patron-client relations provide boats, equipment, work and emergency finance, while simultaneously limiting asset accumulation, pricing autonomy and enterprise diversification. Co-design shifted the proposed intervention from generic, one-off training towards sustained product mentoring, practical digital support, phased local finance, explicit stakeholder roles and safeguards against elite capture. Originality/value The study advances entrepreneurial-ecosystem and stakeholder-governance arguments into a peripheral maritime setting by demonstrating how bonding ties can be protective and restrictive at the same time. Its immediate contribution is a participatively refined intervention framework and prospective six-month implementation targets; it does not claim evidence of incubator effectiveness or causal livelihood impact.
Purpose This study aims to explore how technical university students in Latvia, Poland and Ukraine perceive the dark sides of entrepreneurship, defined as the negative financial, psychological, ethical and social dimensions often associated with starting and running a business. It addresses the lack of research on how potential future entrepreneurs understand these challenges, an area that has received relatively little attention, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, a region with high entrepreneurial potential but limited empirical insight into how emerging entrepreneurs interpret such risks. Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-national survey design, the study gathered responses from 768 students enrolled in business and economics programs at technical universities, who evaluated 22 items reflecting the dark sides of entrepreneurship on a five-point Likert scale. These items were developed by the authors and informed by previous findings and existing literature on the financial, psychological, ethical and social challenges of entrepreneurship. The underlying structure was first examined through exploratory factor analysis and then tested using confirmatory factor analysis, with measurement invariance testing establishing the cross-national comparability of the instrument. National and gender differences were examined using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, t-tests and latent mean comparisons. Findings Three dimensions of perceived dark sides were identified and internally validated: financial and structural burdens, work–life and emotional imbalance and relational and role management challenges. The three-factor structure was consistent across the three national groups. Polish and Latvian students demonstrated higher overall sensitivity, especially regarding financial risks and regulatory constraints, while Ukrainian students exhibited comparatively lower concern. Gender analyses showed small differences, with female participants rating the dark sides as somewhat more significant than male participants, most clearly in relation to work–life and emotional imbalance. The ethical aspect included in the initial conceptualization was not retained in the final structure. Originality/value This study contributes to growing research on the challenges of entrepreneurship by focusing on a group that has received little attention but holds strong potential to become future founders: technical university students in Central and Eastern Europe. Its main contribution is to show that the anticipated dark side is perceived as a structured set of distinct concerns, and to map how these concerns converge and diverge across three national contexts. The findings offer new insights into how young people understand entrepreneurial risk and help broaden the way we think about entrepreneurship by moving beyond opportunity and innovation to include the real-life difficulties many entrepreneurs face.
