Purpose This study examines the entrepreneurial experiences of displaced women in Ethiopia through an intersectional lens, analysing how gender, displacement, religion and socio-economic status shape their agency and constraints. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative research design, employing in-depth interviews with displaced women entrepreneurs. Thematic analysis was used to explore how intersecting identities influence their entrepreneurial trajectories. Findings Findings reveal that displaced women entrepreneurs navigate overlapping layers of disadvantage – including patriarchal norms, economic precarity and religious expectations – while also exercising agency within these constraints. Many women reinterpret religious and cultural norms as enablers rather than barriers to entrepreneurship, demonstrating a nuanced negotiation of empowerment. Additionally, systemic barriers such as legal illiteracy, financial exclusion and ethnic discrimination exacerbate their economic vulnerability, necessitating tailored policy interventions. This study identifies the importance of context-specific support mechanisms that acknowledge the paradox of entrepreneurship as both an opportunity and a mechanism reinforcement of pre-existing inequalities. Research limitations/implications While this study provides valuable insights, its findings are context-specific and may not be generalisable to all displaced women entrepreneurs. Future research should explore diverse displacement contexts and examine how intersectionality interacts with broader political and economic structures. Policymakers and practitioners should prioritise gender-responsive, culturally sensitive entrepreneurial programs that recognise displaced women's unique challenges and aspirations. Originality/value This study contributes to intersectionality and entrepreneurship scholarship by extending theoretical frameworks to displacement contexts, illustrating how simultaneity, complexity, irreducibility and inclusivity manifest in displaced women's entrepreneurial experiences. It challenges binary understandings of empowerment and oppression, emphasising how women construct entrepreneurial agency within structural limitations.

This chapter explores two cases of small towns as creative places in the Galloway and Borders regions of Scotland. It considers and compares their cultural development, economic contributions, resilience and sustainability. The chapter uses prior works on policy, theory, and creative rural economies as conceptual framing. The study is an empirical exploration, which used cultural observation as an interpretive method to undertake desk and field research in the two towns presented as cases, Wigtown (Scotland's National Book Town) and Coldstream. It offers findings related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative sector; cultural identity branding; the roles of anchor attractions and events; policy; digital economy; and cultural inclusion or exclusion. The conclusion is that creative placemaking is a medium-to-long term activity involving community and joint entrepreneurship between stakeholders to demonstrate sustainability and resilience. However, creative places need to be or become distinctive in some respects for the ingredients and enabling factors of placemaking to combine and sustain effectively as a destination.

Leicester is a Midlands city in the UK of around 368 000 people. In the 50 years between 1972 and 2022, it was transformed by the arrival and settlement of multiple ethnic minority groups. This created a unique multicultural community for a city of its size. The case study explores how Leicester has developed as an intercultural creative economy. It relates the story of the Ugandan Asians arriving in 1972, and the background of migration from the Indian subcontinent and other migration flows. It describes multicultural development and demographic changes over the 50 years to 2022. It discusses issues and changes in public policy and community relations that resolved conflicts and tensions. The main focus is the development of intercultural entrepreneurship, based on the diverse ethnic microcultures that settled in Leicester and the ways in which their activities have burgeoned in the creative economy and social spaces, enabling innovation and the urban transformation from a monoculture in 1972 to the highly diverse city of today. This convergence of interculturality enabled Leicester to become energized through intercultural entrepreneurship, creating a unique international identity, and attracting students, migrants and entrepreneurs worldwide. Despite lockdowns in the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020-21, Leicester is now a globally branded city, known for its distinctive ethnic, food, music, costume, festivals and sporting cultures.

Purpose - This paper aims to introduce the concept of Entrepreneurial Collective Intelligence (ECI) as a means of understanding how communities of entrepreneurial actors learn to act both collectively and knowingly. It explores how connections between processes of CI, agency and action can explain and enable the development entrepreneurial community organisations.Design/methodology/approach - There is a selective literature review of prior works on the related fields of community and collective entrepreneurship; collectives and intelligence; agency and action. The review is used to propose a framework of collective entrepreneurial intelligence, agency and action. An interpretive approach is used to research four case studies of community organisations which use CI to generate entrepreneurial outcomes.Findings - The cases are compared with themes from prior literature to develop a conceptual model of four ECI processes which enable intelligence, agency and action: collaborative processes; distributed working; intelligence representations and organisation of infrastructures. These are theorised to discuss ideas, challenges, methods and questions to enhance entrepreneurial actions, based on sharing knowledge and learning, in the context of collective agency, action and intelligence.Research limitations/implications - The four processes, both together and separately, represent a coherent framework useful for further studies on the role of collectives in enterprising communities.Practical implications - The four processes each represent a central area of attention, not only for development, learning, decision-making and leadership within enterprising communities but also for entrepreneurship education in terms of alternative didactics, pedagogies and learning forms.Social implications - The improved knowledge on the role of collective agency and CI within entrepreneurial processes is useful for strengthening civil activism and other fruitful forms of entrepreneurial collective processes. This may help solve complicated societal problems where traditional conceptions of entrepreneurship fail.Originality/value - The conceptual contribution is to explain the dynamic relationships between ECI and action, mediated by collective agency. The role of CI in informing entrepreneurial communities is explored and four enabling processes are proposed. This coherent framework is useful for further studies on the role of collectives in enterprising communities, whilst informing their learning, decision-making and leadership.

This paper demonstrates how the innovative application of a Collective Intelligence approach enhanced Local Skills Improvement Planning information for employers, education and skills training organisations and regional economic policy organisations. This took place within a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between a Chamber of Commerce and a University. This aimed to develop and deploy regional business intelligence for enhanced policy and decision-making in enterprise and economic development. The project converged knowledge from several research centres including economics, entrepreneurship and innovation, data science, and Artificial Intelligence. The paper presents a project case study which provides two contributions to applied knowledge. Firstly, it demonstrates how a Collective Intelligence (CI) approach can be applied to achieve rapid results in resolving the real-world problem of local skills information availability. Useful real-time data was gathered from employers in three sectors on skills requirements, supply and training. This was analysed using Artificial Intelligence tools, then shared publicly via an automated Internet portal, providing a scalable model for wider use. Secondly, it explores and evaluates how the knowledge exchange (KE) process can function effectively and quickly in applying CI-based innovation in practical ways which create new value, within a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between a University and Chamber of Commerce.environment.

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to develop new insights into the interplay between trust, indigenous institutions and weak/dysfunctional formal institutions using the Nigerian context – a developing country in Western Africa. It advances new understanding on how Nigerian entrepreneurs trust in their indigenous institutions such as family ties, kinship, chieftaincy, religion, cooperatives and trade associations to resolve disputes arising from their exporting activities as opposed to dormant formal institutions in their country.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study adopts an interpretive research paradigm, and it utilises a case study strategy. Data collected through observations, archival records and qualitative conversations with 36 exporting Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is analysed by utilising a combination of within and cross-case analysis techniques. Doing so enabled an in-depth study of the methods their owner-managers use in order to take advantage of the relationships they established through their long-standing cultural institutions in the place of weak formal institutions in their country.FindingsIndigenous institutions have evolved to replace formalised institutions within the business environment in Nigeria. They have developed to become an alternative and trusted arbiter for solving SMEs' export issues because of weak/dysfunctional formal institutions in the Western African country. The owner-managers of exporting SMEs perceive formal institutions as representing a fragmented system that does not benefit their export businesses.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate that there is need for policymakers to consider the role of informal institutions in the Nigerian context. Such an approach is essential given the economic importance and increasing number of SMEs that trade and export their goods through informal structures in Nigeria.Originality/valueThe study indicates that it is not just the void or absence of institutions that exist in a developing country such as Nigeria, but weak/dysfunctional formal institutions have been replaced by culturally embedded informal institutions. Thus, the study provides a new theoretical avenue depicting the concept of trusting in indigenous institutions.

Increasingly, businesses in the 21st century have to grapple with the challenges of operating in turbulent environments characterized by market volatility, political instability, and terrorism. Recently, a new interest has emerged in the role of spiritual capital – that is, the set of personal, intangible, and transcendent resources that emanate from an individual's spiritual or religious beliefs and experiences and that may be used in economic activity. Spiritual capital is especially relevant in sub-Saharan Africa where there are greater institutional voids, and religion and spirituality play a dominant role in society. This chapter proposes a conceptual framework that interrogates and integrates the relationships between spiritual capital, environmental turbulence, entrepreneurial resilience and firm survival. Finally, we test this theoretical model in an empirical study of 306 SMEs in Nigeria. The results of the hierarchical regression model indicate that faith beliefs have significant impact on entrepreneurial resilience, but prayer and worship do not.

Entrepreneurship as a socially engaged and responsible movement is increasingly conceptualised as creating multiple sources of value: social, environmental, technological, cultural as well as financial, all contributing to wider economic performance. There is a rapid growth in the availability and expectation of ‘Open’ tools and resources, including innovation; data; research access; source code; educational and learning materials; and government. There is an increasing interest in their potential for value creation, requiring research attention and clarity of what ‘Open’ means in this context.This chapter explores the following three dimensions of the ‘Open Space’ of freely available resources for entrepreneurship:(1) What is ‘Open’ in the context of entrepreneurship? (2) Why is Open Entrepreneurship (OE) important for conceptualisation, education and practice? (3) Can OE provide significant new opportunities for innovation, value creation and learning, and if so, how can these be realised? The chapter defines ‘OE’ as a unifying approach for value creation through a conceptual model combining ‘Open’ tools and resources. Open resources for digital and data-led entrepreneurship offer conditions for new, pervasive and distributed forms of value-creating entrepreneurial activity. These can create learning environments with rich access to data and resources, innovative connections and opportunities for co-creating value in multiple forms. This learning-centred approach builds on the concept of entrepreneurship as an educational philosophy of value creation for others. Without this, there are risks that entrepreneurial education, and the capabilities of micro-business owners and managers, may lag the development of an Open digital economy, rather than creating new forms of OE.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of peripherality and centrality in relation to entrepreneurial learning and development. Peripherality has previously been considered from a mainly geographical perspective as being remote, loosely connected and marginal. A broader conception of the topic is addressed, asking: in what ways is peripherality relevant to entrepreneurial learning? How can centre-peripheral connectivity enhance this? What are the implications for communities, learners and educators? Design/methodology/approach - Discourses of entrepreneurship development relating to policy, economics, geography and culture favour the concept of centres, which attract attention, resources, activities and people. Whilst peripherality is an enduring topic of interest in regional studies, it is widened through using the conceptualisation of legitimate peripheral participation in social learning as a methodological lens for the study. A case study of the technology sector in Cape Breton, Canada is included to illustrate peripheral entrepreneurship. Findings - The paper suggests ways in which peripheral-central relationships can be a positive factor in entrepreneurial learning. It suggests that rebalancing the bidirectional "flow" of knowledge, talent and resources between centres and peripheries can enhance the value of peripheral entrepreneurship, learning and innovation. Social implications - The paper connects with prior work on community economic development, offering observations for entrepreneurial learning and development of knowledge-intensive businesses in peripheral areas. Boundary-spanning leadership and skills are required to facilitate peripheral-central interaction and entrepreneurship. Originality/value - Peripherality is defined more widely than in prior work, suggesting peripheral learning is part of the fundamental human experience and offers new insights, innovations and opportunities which can create shared value. A conceptual framework for peripheral-central entrepreneurial learning is proposed, which may assist in rebalancing central-peripheral value creation, innovation and regeneration.

EasyJet has achieved significant growth since its formation in 1995 and has become the highest profile although not the largest operator in the European "no-frills" short-haul airline sector. Its assertive public profile and successful stock market flotation in November 2000 reinforced its reputation for focused and effective management. The transition from private ownership to public quotation is a significant one for a fast-growing business to make, given the need to recognize institutional investors' perceptions as well as those of the public and of employee shareholders. The paper proposes that EasyJet is a prime example of entrepreneurial management in both its strategy and practice and that the case study can contribute to the theoretical and practical understanding of entrepreneurial management.

This article explores the emerging contribution of leadership development to sustainable entrepreneurship. It addresses the need to develop research and effective practices, and suggests how this may be achieved in the context of the challenges organisations which aim for sustainability face in generating longer-term entrepreneurial leadership; in developing an entrepreneurial culture, and in facilitating people into leadership roles which bring about continuing innovation, development and growth. Based on a critical review of the relevant literature and on case-based research, a model for the development of sustainable entrepreneurial leadership is developed with four related themes of strategic direction, culture, community and entrepreneurial innovation. These are proposed as essential contributors to the development of leadership for longer-term sustainability of such organisations and to suggest a future research pathway. The article summarises four case studies developed from research with entrepreneurial leaders in sustainable community organisations, including private, 'for-profit', community, and social enterprise organisations, two in Canada and two in the UK. Interpretation of the cases identifies the importance of the leaders' principles and ethical values; community involvement; opportunity scanning; and social innovation.

This book explores the development of the rapidly evolving field of entrepreneurial learning by bringing together contributions from an international team of researchers, who offer new understanding of its emerging development and its potential scope for the future. Using the three domains of theory, education, and learning-in-practice, this book offers differing and complementary perspectives on entrepreneurial learning: •Conceptual work which reviews and summarises prior work in the field and advances theoretical understanding of entrepreneurial learning research, enabling a review of the development of research in this area over time. •Applied work around entrepreneurship education which develops understanding of teaching and learning practices in educational and institutional contexts. •Exploration of learning in ‘real’ business contexts, including new venture creation, family business and small business development, and ‘intrapreneurial’ learning in larger organisations. Using global perspectives, originating from the different cultural contexts of the USA, UK, Nordic and Chinese perspectives, the chapters converge to address issues, questions and opportunities for the future development of entrepreneurial learning. This book will be of interest to educators and researchers in the areas of entrepreneurship, enterprise education and entrepreneurial development, as well as policy makers and business advice and support agencies.

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