Search results for: social entrepreneurship

Authors: Brahim Ouzaka, Said Ouhadi

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Family businesses (FB) represent the oldest and most resilient form of organization. However, they are weakened by problems of entrepreneurial discontinuity. The objective of this paper is to analyze the problem of the succession of FBs created by senior entrepreneurs. This study analyzes and explores the constructs of senior entrepreneurship and the strategy and takeover policies of the Moroccan Family owned Small and Medium-Sized Businesses. Our main research question is formulated as follows: how does senior entrepreneurship promote the takeover of Moroccan family SMEs? So we aim through this study to analyze the challenge of the takeover of the FB created by senior entrepreneurs in order to explore and understand the specificities, choices and strategies as well as the reality of the takeover process among this category of senior entrepreneurs. After a review of the literature on the relationship between the constructs of senior entrepreneurship and the takeover of FBs, the empirical study will consist of an exploratory qualitative approach of 3 family SMEs created by senior entrepreneurs and subsequently transmitted to their descendants. This qualitative research serves to explore the choices, the strategies as well as the specificities of the entrepreneurial acts and processes of this category of entrepreneurs. The interviews were conducted with senior entrepreneurs and successors of three Moroccan family SMEs, focusing on the specificity of entrepreneurial actions and strategies in the case of SMEs launched by senior entrepreneurs and on the reality of the conduct and preparation of the takeover process, the methods of socialization and training of buyers in the context of these companies.

Keywords: senior entrepreneurship, family SME, family business, takeover

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Authors: Fawaz Saad, Hamid Alalwany

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Sweden has succeeded to maintain a high level of growth and development and has managed to sustain highly ranked position among the world’s developed countries. In this regard, Swedish universities are playing a vital role in supporting innovation and entrepreneurship at all levels and developing Swedish knowledge economy. This paper is aiming to draw on the experiences of two leading Swedish universities, addressing their transformation approach to create entrepreneurial universities and fulfilling their objectives in the era of knowledge economy. The objectives of the paper include: (1) Introducing the Swedish higher education and its characteristics. (2) Examining the infrastructure elements for innovation and Entrepreneurship at two of the Swedish entrepre-neurial universities. (3) Addressing the key aspects of support systems in the initiatives of both Chalmers and Gothenburg universities to support innovation and advance entrepreneurial practices. The paper will contribute to two discourses: (1) Examining the relationship between support systems for innovation and entrepreneurship and the Universities’ policies and practices. (2) Lessons for University leaders to assist the development and implementation of effective innovation and en-trepreneurship policies and practices.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial University, Chalmers University, Gothenburg University, innovation and entrepreneurship policies, entrepreneurial transformation

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Authors: Filipa Lancastre, Carmen Lages, Filipe Santos

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The concept of social entrepreneurship (SE) remains ambiguous and deprived of a widely accepted operational definition. We argue that an awareness about the consensual constituent elements of SE from all key players from its ecosystem as well as a deeper understanding of apparently divergent perspectives will allow the different stakeholders (social entrepreneurs, corporations, investors, policymakers, the beneficiaries themselves) to bridge and cooperate for societal value co-creation in trying to solve our most pressing societal issues. To address our research question –what are the dimensions of SE that are consensual and controversial across existing perspectives? – We designed a two-step qualitative study. In a first step, we conducted an extensive literature review, collecting and analyzing 155 different SE definitions. From this initial step, we extracted and characterized three consensual and six controversial dimensions of the SE concept. In a second step, we conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with practitioners that are actively involved in the SE field. The goal of this second step was to verify if the literature did not capture any key dimension, understand how the dimensions related to each other and to understand the rationale behind them. The dimensions of the SE concept were extracted based on the relevance of each theme and on the theoretical relationship among them. To identify the relevance, we used as a proxy the frequency of each theme was referred to in our sample of definitions. To understand relationships, as identified in the previous section, we included concepts from both the management and psychology literature, such as the Entrepreneurial Orientation concept from the entrepreneurship literature, the Subjective Well Being construct from psychology literature, and the Resource-Based Theory from the strategy literature. This study has two main contributions; First, the identification of (consensual and controversial) dimensions of SE that exist across scattered definitions from the academic and practitioner literature. Second, a framework that parsimoniously synthesizes four dominant perspectives of SE and relates them with the SE dimensions. Assuming the contested nature of the SE concept, it is not expected that these views will be reconciled at the academic or practitioner field level. In future research, academics can, however, be aware of the existence of different understandings of SE and avoid bias towards a single view, developing holistic studies on SE phenomena or comparing differences by studying their underlying assumptions. Additionally, it is important that researchers make explicit the perspective they are embracing to ensure consistency among the research question, sampling procedures and implications of results. At the practitioner level, individuals or groups following different logics are predictably mutually suspicious and might benefit from taking stock of other perspectives on SE, building bridges and fostering cross-fertilization to the benefit of the SE ecosystem for which all contribute.

Keywords: social entrepreneurship, conceptualization, dimensions, perspectives

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Authors: Omar Romero-Hernandez, Federico Castillo, Armando Sanchez, Sergio Romero, Andrea Romero, Michael Mitchell

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Environmental policies for resource conservation in rural areas include subsidies on services and social programs to cover living expenses. Government's expectation is that rural communities who benefit from social programs, such as payment for ecosystem services, are provided with an incentive to conserve natural resources and preserve natural sinks for greenhouse gases. At the same time, global climate change has affected the lives of people worldwide. The capability to adapt to global warming depends on the available resources and the standard of living, putting rural communities at a disadvantage. This paper explores whether rural entrepreneurship can represent a solution to resource conservation and global warming adaptation in rural communities. The research focuses on a sample of two coffee communities in Oaxaca, Mexico. Researchers used geospatial information contained in aerial photographs of the geographical areas of interest. Households were identified in the photos via the roofs of households and georeferenced via coordinates. From the household population, a random selection of roofs was performed and received a visit. A total of 112 surveys were completed, including questions of socio-demographics, perception to climate change and adaptation activities. The population includes two groups of study: entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Data was sorted, filtered, and validated. Analysis includes descriptive statistics for exploratory purposes and a multi-regression analysis. Outcomes from the surveys indicate that coffee farmers, who demonstrate entrepreneurship skills and hire employees, are more eager to adapt to climate change despite the extreme adverse socioeconomic conditions of the region. We show that farmers with entrepreneurial tendencies are more creative in using innovative farm practices such as the planting of shade trees, the use of live fencing, instead of wires, and watershed protection techniques, among others. This result counters the notion that small farmers are at the mercy of climate change and have no possibility of being able to adapt to a changing climate. The study also points to roadblocks that farmers face when coping with climate change. Among those roadblocks are a lack of extension services, access to credit, and reliable internet, all of which reduces access to vital information needed in today’s constantly changing world. Results indicate that, under some circumstances, funding and supporting entrepreneurship programs may provide more benefit than traditional social programs.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, global warming, rural communities, climate change adaptation

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Authors: Mohit Taneja, Ravi Kiran, S. C. Bose

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Entrepreneurs’ role in achieving Sustainable development goals is crucial as the growth potential of any region depends upon the number and the success rate of entrepreneurial firms. This paper is an effort to examine the relationship between Sustainable growth (SG) with Entrepreneurial attitude (EA) and Entrepreneurial intention (EI) in the context of the Indian economy. The mediation effect of EI between EA and SG has been considered. Partial least square (PLS) –Structural Equation Model (SEM) software was used to design the framework. Students enrolled in entrepreneurship courses of higher educational institutes (HEI) of Punjab, Haryana, and the National Capital Region NCR were contacted for data collection. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) framework was used in selecting HEIs and data collected from 589 students was considered for analysis. McGee’s multi-dimensional scale for measuring ESE and the scale of Linan & Chen for measuring EI & ES (SG) was used. Results highlight that EA has a strong impact on EI (p≤ 0.001) and EI has a positive and strong relationship with SG (ES) as β value for the same is 0.683 (p≤ 0.001). The current study also reflects the mediating effect of EI among EA and ES, as the results show that the combined β value of both EA and EI (i.e.0.684*0.683= 0.467) is more than the direct influence of EA on ES (β=0.265). EA, with the mediating effect of EI can enhance the opportunity for achieving SG, which suggests that in order to increase the venture success rate and to attain SG, emphasis should be given to EI along with EA. The study has been investigated in three regions of India. Future studies can be extended to other South Asian countries for generalization.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, sustainable growth, entrepreneurship intention, entrepreneurship attitude

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Authors: Sumita Srivastava

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Despite several measures taken by the Government of India, entrepreneurship is still not perceived as a viable career option by the young generation. Although the rate of startups has improved a little after the penetration of e portals as business platforms, still the numbers are not very significant. It is also important to note that entrepreneurial initiatives are mostly taken up by graduates of premier institutions of India like Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). The scenario is not very satisfactory amongst the masses graduating from mainstream universities of the country. Indian youth at large are not attracted towards entrepreneurship as a career choice. The reason probably lies in the social fabric of the country and inappropriate education system which does not support the entrepreneurship at large amongst youth in the country. Education is critical to the development of an economy from the poverty level to the level of self-sustenance and development. The current curriculum in the majority of business schools in India prepares the average graduate to become employed by the available firms or business owners in society. For graduates in other streams, employment opportunities are very limited. The aim of this study was to identify and design entrepreneurship education contents to encourage undergraduates to pursue entrepreneurship as a career choice. This comprehensive study was conducted in multiple stages. Extensive research was conducted at each stage with an appropriate methodology. These stages of the project study were interconnected with each other, and each preceding stage provided inputs for the following stage of the study. In the first stage of the study, an empirical analysis was conducted to understand the current state of entrepreneurial intentions of undergraduates of Agra city. Various stakeholders were contacted at the stage, including students (n = 500), entrepreneurs (n = 20) and academicians and field experts (n = 10). At the second stage of the project study, a systems science technique, Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to identify the critical elements of entrepreneurship education in India based upon the findings of stage 1. The application of the Nominal Group Technique involved a workshop format; 15 domain experts participated in the workshop. Throughout the process, a democratic process was followed to avoid individual dominance and premature focusing on a single idea. The study obtained 63 responses from experts for effective entrepreneurship education in India. The responses were reduced to seven elements after a few thematic iterations. These elements were then segregated into content (knowledge, skills and attitude) and learning interaction on the basis of experts’ responses. After identifying critical elements of entrepreneurship education in the previous stage, the course was designed and validated at stage 3 of the project. Scientific methods were used at this stage to validate the curriculum contents and training interventions experimentally. The educational and training interventions designed through this study would not only help in developing entrepreneurial intentions but also creating skills relevant to the local entrepreneurial opportunities in the vicinity.

Keywords: curriculum design, entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneuship education, nominal group technique

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Authors: Cristina Costa-Lobo, Sandra Fernandes, Miguel Magalhães, José Dinis-Carvalho, Alfredo Regueiro, Ana Carvalho

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This paper is a report on the findings of the construction and the validation of a questionnaire monetized in a portuguese higher education context with undergraduate students. The Questionnaire for the Evaluation of Entrepreneurship Project Psychopedagogical Practices consists of six scales: Critical appraisal of the project, Developed Learning and Skills, Teamwork, Teacher and Tutor Roles, Evaluation of Student Performance, and Project Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Methodology. The proceedings of its construction are analyzed, and the validity and internal consistency analysis are described. Findings indicate good indicators of validity, good fidelity and an interpretable factorial structure.

Keywords: entrepreneurship project, higher education, psychopedagogical practices, teacher and tutor roles

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Authors: Naziema Begum Jappie

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Leadership and entrepreneurship in higher education have become critical components in navigating the evolving landscape of academia in the 21st century. This abstract explores the multifaceted relationship between leadership and entrepreneurship within the realm of higher education, emphasizing their roles in fostering innovation and sustainability. Higher education institutions, often characterized as slow-moving and resistant to change, are facing unprecedented challenges. Globalization, rapid technological advancements, changing student demographics, and financial constraints necessitate a reimagining of traditional models. Leadership in higher education must embrace entrepreneurial thinking to effectively address these challenges. Entrepreneurship in higher education involves cultivating a culture of innovation, risk-taking, and adaptability. Visionary leaders who promote entrepreneurship within their institutions empower faculty and staff to think creatively, seek new opportunities, and engage with external partners. These entrepreneurial efforts lead to the development of novel programs, research initiatives, and sustainable revenue streams. Innovation in curriculum and pedagogy is a central aspect of leadership and entrepreneurship in higher education. Forward-thinking leaders encourage faculty to experiment with teaching methods and technology, fostering a dynamic learning environment that prepares students for an ever-changing job market. Entrepreneurial leadership also facilitates the creation of interdisciplinary programs that address emerging fields and societal challenges. Collaboration is key to entrepreneurship in higher education. Leaders must establish partnerships with industry, government, and non-profit organizations to enhance research opportunities, secure funding, and provide real-world experiences for students. Entrepreneurial leaders leverage their institutions' resources to build networks that extend beyond campus boundaries, strengthening their positions in the global knowledge economy. Financial sustainability is a pressing concern for higher education institutions. Entrepreneurial leadership involves diversifying revenue streams through innovative fundraising campaigns, partnerships, and alternative educational models. Leaders who embrace entrepreneurship are better equipped to navigate budget constraints and ensure the long-term viability of their institutions. In conclusion, leadership and entrepreneurship are intertwined elements essential to the continued relevance and success of higher education institutions. Visionary leaders who champion entrepreneurship foster innovation, enhance the student experience, and secure the financial future of their institutions. As academia continues to evolve, leadership and entrepreneurship will remain indispensable tools in shaping the future of higher education. This abstract underscores the importance of these concepts and their potential to drive positive change within the higher education landscape.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, higher education, innovation, leadership

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Authors: Oktay Emir

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The objective of this study is to determine how entrepreneurs perceive the economic, social and physical impacts of tourism. The study was conducted in the city of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, which is rich in thermal tourism resources and investments. A survey was used as the data collection method, and the questionnaire was applied to 472 entrepreneurs. A simple random sampling method was used to identify the sample. Independent sampling t-tests and ANOVA tests were used to analyse the data obtained. Additionally, some statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found based on the participants’ demographic characteristics regarding their opinions about the social, economic and physical impacts of tourism activities.

Keywords: tourism, perception, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs, structural equation modelling

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Authors: S. Muogbo Uju, U. Akpunonu Evan

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The prevailing harsh environment factors coupled with high poverty rate and unemployment propels a high rate of entrepreneurial activities in developing economies. Women entrepreneurs operate with gender bias among other constraints that can constitute a threats or create opportunity for women entrepreneurs. This empirical paper investigates and critically examines women entrepreneurship as an inventive approach to ensure a sustainable development in Anambra state. The study used descriptive statistics (frequencies, mean, and percentages) to answer the three research questions posed. Hypotheses testing were done with Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression were employed in data analysis. Consequently, the finding of this study portrayed a significant impact between women entrepreneurship activity, job creation and wealth creation.

Keywords: women entrepreneurs, skill acquisition, sustainability, wealth creation, job creation, economic development

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Authors: Balram Bhushan

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The emergence of social entrepreneurship challenges the strict categorization of not-for-profit, for-profit and hybrid organizations. Although the blurring of boundaries helps social entrepreneurial organizations (SEOs) make better use of emerging opportunities, it poses a significant challenge while mobilizing money from different sources. Additionally, for monetary resources, the legal framework of the host country may further complicate the issue by imposing strict accounting standards. Under such circumstances, the resource providers fail to recognize the suitable engagement strategy with the SEO of their choice. Based on the process of value creation and value capture, this paper develops a guiding framework for resource providers to design an appropriate mix of engagement with the identified SEOs. Essentially, social entrepreneurship creates value at the societal level, but value capture is a characteristic of an organization. Additionally, SEOs prefer value creation over value capture. The paper argued that the nature of the relationship between value creation and value capture determines the extent of blurred boundaries of the organization. Accordingly, synergistic, antagonistic and sequential relationships were proposed between value capture and value creation. When value creation is synergistically associated with value creation, the preferred nature of such action falls within the nature of for-profit organizations within the strictest legal framework. Banks offering micro-loans are good examples of this category. Opposite to this, the antagonist relationship between value creation and value capture, where value capture opportunities are sacrificed for value creation, dictates non-profit organizational structure. Examples of this category include non-government organizations and charity organizations. Finally, the sequential relationship between value capture opportunities is followed for value creation opportunities and guides the action closer to the hybrid structure. Examples of this category include organizations where a non-for-profit unit controls for-profit units of the organization either legally or structurally. As an SEO may attempt to utilize multiple entrepreneurial opportunities falling across any of the three relationships between value creation and value capture, the resource providers need to evaluate an appropriate mix of these relationships before designing their engagement strategies. The paper suggests three guiding principles for the engagement strategy. First, the extent of investment should be proportional to the synergistic relationship between value capture and value creation. Second, the subsidized support should be proportional to the sequential relationship. Finally, the funding (charity contribution) should be proportional to the antagonistic relationship. Finally, the resource providers are needed to keep a close watch on the evolving relationship between value creation and value capture for introducing appropriate changes in their engagement strategy.

Keywords: social entrepreneurship, value creation, value capture, entrepreneurial opportunity

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Authors: Xiaoming Yang, Abby Folberg, Carey Ryan, Lwetzel, Tgoering

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We examined gender differences in entrepreneurial career interests drawing on goal congruity theory, which posits that people adopt gender-stereotypic goal orientations in response to social pressures to conform to traditional gender roles. Aspiring entrepreneurs (N = 351) first wrote three to five sentences about what they believed made an entrepreneur successful. They then completed measures of agentic and communal goal orientations (i.e., male and female stereotypic orientations, respectively) and indicated their interests in starting ventures in stereotypically feminine (e.g., salon), masculine (e.g., auto-repair) and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM; e.g., software developer) ventures. Qualitative analyses demonstrated that participants ascribed agentic and, more specifically, dominance, attributes to entrepreneurs; few participants ascribed communal attributes (e.g., warmth). Bifactor structural equation modeling indicated that, as expected, agentic goal orientations included dimensions of competence, self-direction, and dominance orientations and communal goal orientations were unidimensional. Further, as expected, dominance and communal orientations partially accounted for gender differences in all three career types. We discuss implications for entrepreneurial education and practice from a goal congruity perspective and the use of bifactor modeling to improve the measurement of goal orientations.

Keywords: gender, entrepreneurship, gender stereotypes, agentic and communal goal orientations, entrepreneurship education

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Authors: Lamia Emam

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The attractiveness of entrepreneurship education stems from its perceived value as a venue through which students can develop an entrepreneurial mindset, skill set, and practice, which may not necessarily lead to them starting a new business, but could, more importantly, be manifested as a life skill that could be applied to all types of organizations and career endeavors. This, in turn, raises important questions about what happens in our classrooms; our role as educators, the role of students, center of learning, and the instructional approach; all of which eventually contribute to achieving the desired EE outcomes. With application to an undergraduate entrepreneurship course -Entrepreneurship as Practice- the current paper aims to explore the effect of entrepreneurship education on the development of students’ general entrepreneurial tendencies. Towards that purpose, the researcher herein uses a pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental research design where the Durham University General Enterprising Tendency Test (GET2) is administered to the same group of students before and after course delivery. As designed and delivered, the Entrepreneurship as Practice module is a highly applied and experiential course where students are required to develop an idea for a start-up while practicing the entrepreneurship-related knowledge, mindset, and skills that are taught in class, both individually and in groups. The course is delivered using a combination of short lectures, readings, group discussions, case analysis, guest speakers, and, more importantly, actively engaging in a series of activities that are inspired by diverse methods for developing successful and innovative business ideas, including design thinking, lean-start up and business feasibility analysis. The instructional approach of the course particularly aims at developing the students' critical thinking, reflective, analytical, and creativity-based problem-solving skills that are needed to launch one’s own start-up. The analysis and interpretation of the experiment’s outcomes shall simultaneously incorporate the views of both the educator and students. As presented, the study responds to the rising call for the application of experimental designs in entrepreneurship in general and EE in particular. While doing so, the paper presents an educator’s perspective of EE to complement the dominant stream of research which is constrained to the students’ point of view. Finally, the study sheds light on EE in the MENA region, where the study is applied.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, andragogy and heutagogy, scholarship of teaching and learning, experiment

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Authors: Rudainah Alkhazam, Özlem Yaşar Uğurlu

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Immigrant entrepreneurship arises from the start of entrepreneurial activity by immigrants in the country they relocate to. The future prosperity and stability of the refugee-hosting countries depends on the mutual social and economic benefits between the residents and the refugees. Syrian refugees and workers in host countries necessitate efforts to assist their residents and refugees in meeting their daily needs, contributing lawfully to local and possibly regional economies through trade, and instilling hope in their future. This study investigates the effects of Syrian refugee entrepreneurs on host communities' business sectors, focusing on Turkey. Specifically, we examine entrepreneurship in general and its role in the country's economy. Because Turkey is the most popular resettlement destination for Syrian refugees, this study will shed light on the challenges of successful migrant entrepreneurship in Turkey and their role in the business sector. The research relies on a mixed-method approach which helps identify recurring themes, favorable results, and conflicting results across methods, allowing us to draw accurate conclusions. The study will adopt a quantitative method in collecting numerical data from Syrian refugees in Turkey. The self-administered survey would be translated into Arabic to ensure that the respondents understood the questions and possible replies. The research will use survey questionnaires to gather the majority of the data. These surveys would have closed-ended questions with nominal ratio and Likert scales. The data will be analyzed using linear regression and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to ascertain the role of Syrian entrepreneurs in the business sectors of Turkey. The research will use the findings to make future recommendations. Syrian entrepreneurs, among the migrant entrepreneurs, contribute to the labor market, the majority of whom are young people. This research noted the significant participation of Syrian immigrant women in the entrepreneurship sector. The previous experience of Syrians in the field of trade and running their own business plays a vital role in the success of their business in the host countries. The study shows that Syrian entrepreneurs could integrate effectively into the various Turkish business sectors and could rely on themselves, open and manage their projects, and market them in the Turkish market. Syrian entrepreneurs consider that the investment and labor laws, commercial arrangements, and facilities for obtaining financial resources in Turkey need to be more flexible and available to immigrant entrepreneurs.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, immigration, Syrian, Turkey, refugees, investors, socio-economic benefits, unemployment

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Authors: Festus M. Epetimehin

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Resources are essential materials required for production of goods and services. Effective allocation of these resources can engender the success of current business activities and its sustainability for future generation. The study examined effect of resource allocation of small agribusinesses on entrepreneurship development in Southwest Nigeria. Sample size of 385 was determined using Cochran’s formula. 350 valid copies of questionnaire were used in the analysis. In order to achieve the objective, research design (descriptive and cross sectional designs) was used to gather data for the study through the administration of questionnaire to respondents. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to investigate the objective of the study. The result obtained indicated that resource allocation by small agribusinesses had a substantial positive effect on entrepreneurship development with the p-value of (0.0000) which was less than the 5.0% critical value with a positive regression coefficient of 0.53. The implication of this is that the ability of the entrepreneurs to deploy their resources efficiently through adequate realization of better gross margin could enhance business activities and development. The study recommends that business owners still need some level of serious training and exposure on how to manage modern small agribusiness resources to enhance business performance. The intervention of Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and other Agricultural institutions are needed in this regard.

Keywords: resource, resource allocation, small businesses, agriculture, entrepreneurship development

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Authors: Susan Cardillo

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This research will consider ways to bridge the gap between Computer Science and Media Communications and while doing so create Social Entrepreneurship for student success. New Media, as it has been referred to, is considered content available on-demand through Internet, a digital device, usually containing some kind of interactivity and creative participation. It is the interplay between technology, images, media and communications. The next generation of the newspaper, radio, television, and film students need to have a working knowledge of the technologies that are available for the creation of their work and taught to use this knowledge to create a voice. The work is interdisciplinary; in communications, we understand the necessity of reporting and disseminating information. In documentary film we understand the instructional and historic aspects of media and technology and in the non-profit sector, we see the need for expanding outlets for good. So, the true necessity is to utilize ‘new media’ technologies to advance social causes while reporting information, teaching and creating art. Goals: The goal of this research is to give communications students a better understanding of the technology that is both, currently at their disposal, and on the horizon, so that they can use it in their media, communications and art endeavors to be a voice for their generation. There is no longer a need to be a computer scientist to have a working knowledge of communication technologies and how they will benefit our work. There are many free and easy to use applications available for the creation of interactive communications. Methodology: This is Qualitative-Case Study that puts these ideas into action. There is a survey at the end of the experiment that is qualitative in nature and allows for the participants to share ideas and feelings about the technology and approach.

Keywords: interactive storytelling, web documentary, mass communications, teaching

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Authors: Abeba Nigussie Turi, Xiangming Samuel Li

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Data-driven business models are more typical for established businesses than early-stage startups that strive to penetrate a market. This paper provided an extensive discussion on the principles of data analytics for early-stage digital entrepreneurial businesses. Here, we developed data-driven decision-making (DDDM) framework that applies to startups prone to multifaceted barriers in the form of poor data access, technical and financial constraints, to state some. The startup DDDM framework proposed in this paper is novel in its form encompassing startup data analytics enablers and metrics aligning with startups' business models ranging from customer-centric product development to servitization which is the future of modern digital entrepreneurship.

Keywords: startup data analytics, data-driven decision-making, data acquisition, data generation, digital entrepreneurship

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Authors: Kenechukwu Ikebuaku

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Entrepreneurship has long been offered as the panacea for poor economic growth and high rate of unemployment. Business incubation is considered an effective means for enhancing entrepreneurial actitivities while engendering socio-economic development. Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator (iDEA), is a software business incubation programme established by the Nigerian government as a means of boosting digital entrepreneurship activities and reducing unemployment in the country. This study assessed the contribution of iDEA Nigeria’s entrepreneurship programmes towards enhancing the capabilities of its tenants. Using the capability approach and the sustainable livelihoods approach, the study analysed iDEA programmes’ contribution towards the expansion of participants’ entrepreneurial capabilities. Apart from identifying a set of entrepreneurial capabilities from both the literature and empirical analysis, the study went further to ascertain how iDEA incubation has helped to enhance those capabilities for its tenants. It also examined digital entrepreneurship as a valued functioning and as an intermediate functioning leading to other valuable functioning. Furthermore, the study examined gender as a conversion factor in digital entrepreneurship. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for the study, and measurement of key variables was made. While the entire population was utilised to collect data for the quantitative research, purposive sampling was used to select respondents for semi-structured interviews in the qualitative research. However, only 40 beneficiaries agreed to take part in the survey while 10 respondents were interviewed for the study. Responses collected from questionnaires administered were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS. The study developed indexes to measure the perception of the respondents, on how iDEA programmes have enhanced their entrepreneurial capabilities. The Capabilities Enhancement Perception Index (CEPI) computed indicated that the respondents believed that iDEA programmes enhanced their entrepreneurial capabilities. While access to power supply and reliable internet have the highest positive deviations around mean, negotiation skills and access to customers/clients have the highest negative deviation. These were well supported by the findings of the qualitative analysis in which the participants unequivocally narrated how the resources provided by iDEA aid them in their entrepreneurial endeavours. It was also found that iDEA programmes have a significant effect on the tenants’ access to networking opportunities, both with other emerging entrepreneurs and established entrepreneurs. While assessing gender as a conversion factor, it was discovered that there was very low female participation within the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem. The root cause of this gender disparity was found in unquestioned cultural beliefs and social norms which relegate women to a subservient position and household duties. The findings also showed that many of the entrepreneurs could be considered opportunity-based entrepreneurs rather than necessity entrepreneurs, and that digital entrepreneurship is a valued functioning for iDEA tenants. With regards to challenges facing digital entrepreneurship in Nigeria, infrastructural/institutional inadequacies, lack of funding opportunities, and unfavourable government policies, were considered inimical to entrepreneurial capabilities in the country.

Keywords: entrepreneurial capabilities, unemployment, business incubators, development

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Authors: Shadreck Muchaku, Grey Magaiza, Jerit Dube

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The high insolvency rate of female-led emerging enterprises in the Southern African mountain region reflects the various vulnerabilities that exist. Although this is the case, there is a limited understanding of how these vulnerabilities influence entrepreneurship failure. This paper focuses on female entrepreneurs because of their role in economic development. Emerging female entrepreneurs in this region often operate in uncertain environments, which makes it difficult for them to thrive. The form and nature of entrepreneurial opportunities rural women of the Afro Montane region engage in are largely unsustainable as a lot of women struggle with confidence, and they need help with understanding their skills. However, there is still a gap in the existing literature on women entrepreneurship resilience and vulnerability reduction in the Afromontane. Furthermore, a major problem is the lack of empirical studies on this matter and limited studies indicating a general profile of emerging female entrepreneurs in this region. This systematic literature review attempts to fill in the gap of knowledge on entrepreneurship resilience and vulnerability reduction of emerging female entrepreneurs in the Afromontane regions and other similar precarious environments. In this review, we focus much on highlighting the nexus between entrepreneurship resilience and vulnerability reduction of emerging female entrepreneurs in academic literature through a chronological dispersal of publications in developing countries. This review adopts an ATLAS ti.22 software-based thematic analysis to analyze results obtained from reviewed academic journal articles. As research on entrepreneurship resilience and vulnerability reduction is still developing in the Sothern African mountain region, the results of this review will contribute to the body of literature and provide recommendations and a foundation for future research. This systematic review paper provides valuable insights and methodological approaches to scholarship in a nascent area of emerging female entrepreneurs in the Afromontane.

Keywords: entrepreneurship resiliency, vulnerability reduction, female entrepreneurs, mountain regions

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Authors: Eno Jah Tabogo

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The aim of this research is to identify and examine current deficiencies in entrepreneurial training in improving the performance of small businesses in sub Saharan Africa economies. This research achieves this by examining the course content, training methods, and profiles of trainers and trainees of small business service providers in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) to identify training deficiencies in improving small businesses. Data was for the analysis was collected from a sample of four entrepreneurial training providers in SSA. These four providers served an average of 1,500 trainees. Questionnaire was used to collect data via face to face and through telephone. Face validity was determined by distributing the questionnaire among a group of colleagues, followed by a group discussion to strengthen the validity of the questionnaire. Interviews were also held with managers of training programs. Content and descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data collected. The results indicated only 25% of the training content were entrepreneurial. In terms of service provided, both business, entrepreneurial, technical and after-care services were identified. It was also discovered that owners of training firms had no formal entrepreneurship background. The paper contributes by advocating for a comprehensive entrepreneurship-training program for successful small business enterprises. Recommendations that could help sustain emerging small business enterprises and direction for further research are presented.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, emerging markets, small business, training

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Authors: Berrachid Dounia, Bellihi Hassan

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The financial crisis made a barrier in front of small projects that are looking for funding, but in the other hand it has had at least an interesting side effect which is the rise of alternative and increasingly creative forms of financing. The traditional forms of financing has known a recession due to the new difficult situation of economical recession that all parts of the world have known. Having an innovating idea that has an effect on both sides, the economic one and social one is very beneficial for those who wants to get rid of the economical crisis. In this case, entrepreneurs who want to be successful are looking for the means of financing that are going to get their projects to the reality. The financing could be various, whether the entrepreneur can use his own resources, or go to the three “Fs”(Family, friends, and fools),look for Angel Investors, or try for the academic solution like universities and private incubators, but sometimes, entrepreneurs feels uncomfortable about those means and start looking to newer, less traditional forms of financing their projects. In the last few years, people have shown a great interest to the use of internet for many reasons (information, social networking, communication, entertainment, transaction, etc.). The use of internet facilitates relations between people and eases the maintenance of existing relationships ,it increases also the number of exchanges which leads to a “collective creativity”, moreover, internet gives an opportunity to create new tool for mobilizing civil society, which makes the participation in a project company much easier. The new atmosphere of business forces the project leaders to look for new solution of financing that cut out the financial intermediaries. Using platforms in order to finance projects is an alternative that is changing the traditional solutions of financing projects. New creative ways of lending money appears like Peer to Peer (person to person or P2P)lending. This digital directly intermediary got his origins from microcredit principles. Crowdfunding also, like P2P, involves getting individuals to pool their resources to finance a project without a typical financial intermediary. For Lambert and Schwienbacher "Crowdfunding involves an open call, essentially through the Internet, for the provision of financial resources either in the form of donations (without rewards) or in exchange for some form of reward and/or voting rights in order to support initiatives for specific purposes". The idea of this proposal for investors and entrepreneurs is to encourage small contributions from a large number of funders "the crowd" in order to raise money to fund projects. All those conditions made from crowdfunding a useful alternative to project leaders, and especially the ones who are carrying special ideas that need special funds. As mentioned before by Laflamme. S. et Lafortune. S. internet is a tool for mobilizing civil society. In our case, the crowdfunding is the tool that funds social entrepreneurship, in the case of not for profit organizations, it focuses his attention on social problems which could be resolved by mobilizing different resources, creating innovative initiatives, and building new social arrangements which call up the civil society. Social entrepreneurs are mostly the ones who goes onto crowdfunding web site, so they propose the amount which is expected to realize their project and then they receive the funds from crowd funders. Something the crowd funders expect something in return, like a product from the business (a sample from a product (case of a cooperative) or a CD (in the case of films or songs)), but not their money back. Thus, we cannot say that their lands are donations, because a donator did not expect anything back. However, in order to encourage "crowd-funders", rewards motivates people to get interested by projects and made some money from internet. The operation of crowd funding is making all parts satisfied investors, entrepreneurs and also crowdfunding sites owners. This paper aims to give a view of the mechanism of crowdfunding, by clarifying the techniques and its different categories, and social entrepreneurship as a sponsor of social development. Also, it aims to show how this alternative of financing could be beneficial for social entrepreneurs and how it is bringing a solution to fund social projects. The article concludes with a discussion of the contribution of crowdfunding in social entrepreneurship especially in the Moroccan context.

Keywords: crowd-funding, social entrepreneurship, projects funding, financing

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Authors: Diana Mitova, Krassimir Mitrev

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To prepare the current generation for the future, education systems need to change. It implies a way of learning that meets the demands of the times and the environment in which we live. Productive interaction in the educational process implies an interactive learning environment and the possibility of personal development of learners based on communication and mutual dialogue, cooperation and good partnership in decision-making. Students need not only theoretical knowledge, but transferable skills that will help them to become inventors and entrepreneurs, to implement ideas. STEM education , is now a real necessity for the modern school. Through learning in a "learning company", students master examples from classroom practice, simulate real life situations, group activities and apply basic interactive learning strategies and techniques. The learning company is the subject of this study, reduced to entrepreneurship training in STEM - technologies that encourage students to think outside the traditional box. STEM learning focuses the teacher's efforts on modeling entrepreneurial thinking and behavior in students and helping them solve problems in the world of business and entrepreneurship. Learning based on the implementation of various STEM projects in extracurricular activities, experiential learning, and an interdisciplinary approach are means by which educators better connect the local community and private businesses. Learners learn to be creative, experiment and take risks and work in teams - the leading characteristics of any innovator and future entrepreneur. This article presents some European policies on STEM and entrepreneurship education. It also shares best practices for training company training , with the integration of STEM in the learning company training environment. The main results boil down to identifying some advantages and problems in STEM entrepreneurship education. The benefits of using integrative approaches to teach STEM within a training company are identified, as well as the positive effects of project-based learning in a training company using STEM. Best practices for teaching entrepreneurship through extracurricular activities using STEM within a training company are shared. The following research methods are applied in this research paper: Theoretical and comparative analysis of principles and policies of European Union countries and Bulgaria in the field of entrepreneurship education through a training company. Experiences in entrepreneurship education through extracurricular activities with STEM application within a training company are shared. A questionnaire survey to investigate the motivation of secondary vocational school students to learn entrepreneurship through a training company and their readiness to start their own business after completing their education. Within the framework of learning through a "learning company" with the integration of STEM, the activity of the teacher-facilitator includes the methods: counseling, supervising and advising students during work. The expectation is that students acquire the key competence "initiative and entrepreneurship" and that the cooperation between the vocational education system and the business in Bulgaria is more effective.

Keywords: STEM, entrepreneurship, training company, extracurricular activities

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Authors: Akumeyam Elvis Akum, Njanjo Thecla Anyongo Mukete, Fonkeng George Epah

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Globally, the goal of higher education is to enhance graduate employability skills. Paradoxically, Cameroon’s graduate employability rate is far below the graduation rate. This worrisome situation caused the researcher to hypothesize that the teaching and learning experiences account for this increasing disparity. The study sought to investigate the effect on graduate employability of the teaching of organizational, problem-solving, innovation, and risk management skills on graduate employability. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a quantitative approach. Data was collected by quantitative techniques from a random sample of 385 graduates using closed-ended structured questionnaire. Generally, findings revealed that entrepreneurship education does not sufficiently enhance graduate employability in the University of Buea. Specifically, the teaching of organizational skills does not significantly enhance their employability, as an average of 55% of graduates indicated that the course did not sufficiently help them develop skills for planning, management of limited resources, collaboration, and the setting of priorities. Also, 60% of the respondents indicated that the teaching of problem-solving skills does not significantly enhance graduate employability at the University of Buea. Contrarily, 57% of the respondents agreed that through their experiences in entrepreneurship education, their innovation skills were improved. The study recommended that a practical approach to teaching should be adopted, with attention to societal needs. A framework to ensure the teaching of entrepreneurship to students at the undergraduate level is recommended, such that those who do not continue with university studies after their Bachelor’s degree would have acquired the needed skills for employability.

Keywords: employability, entrepreneurship education, graduate, innovative skills, organizational skills, problem-solving skills, risk management skills

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Authors: Benabdelaziz Soufyane

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The process of developing the activity of small and medium-sized enterprises(SME), and increasing the entrepreneurial sense, is becoming at the current period as one of the main bets, where many countries around the world try to give it the great importance because of their positive role in improving the economic development indicators in these countries. As a result of the sequential changes that international economic environment lives, the biggest global economic entities has become threatened because of different secretions financial crises and economic disorders. For this lots of countries tended to search for a mechanism to help it for creating new jobs and to spur the economy in order to face the foreign competition, fot this, we find the process of creating innovative entrepreneurial activity comes at the forefront of solutions for the purpose of achieving that. For the purpose of highlighting the role of this process and its future in the economy, this study seeks to consolidate the innovation’s concept and innovative entrepreneurship, then the success’s conditions of these entrepreneurships, to conclude with recommendations , solutions and important results.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, innovation, performance, vigilance, modernity, technology, business incubators

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Authors: Shpetim Rezniqi

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Over the years has increased, and increasingly has become necessary to make audit of financial statements. An auditor to perform an audit, should plan its audit in order to provide a high-quality audit and to be performed in an economic, efficient, effective and timely. This phase of the audit is also important stages of reach to the final goal of an audit to be professional and based in Kosovo and International Standards on Auditing. Always considering Kosovo as a new state and once out of war, where everything in its entrepreneurship started from the lowest stage of economic development and aim at development and regional and European integration, planning and performing audit becomes even more important.

Keywords: control, accounting, planning, analysis

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Authors: Eunice Oluwakemi Chukwuma-Nwuba

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Nigeria is a developing country with an increasing rate of graduate unemployment. This has triggered successive government administrations to promote the variety of programmes to address the situation. However, none of these efforts yielded the desired outcome. Accordingly, in 2006 the government included entrepreneurship module in the curriculum of universities as a compulsory general programme for all undergraduate courses. This is in the hope that the programme will help to promote entrepreneurial mind-set and new venture creation among graduates and as a result reduce the rate of graduate unemployment. The study explores the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in promoting entrepreneurship. This study is significant in view of the endemic graduate unemployment in Nigeria and the social consequences such as youth restiveness and militancy. It is guided by the theory of planned behaviour. It employed the two-stage structural equation modelling (AMOS) to model entrepreneurial intentions as a function of innovative teaching methods, traditional teaching methods and culture Personal attitude and subjective norm are proposed to mediate the relationships between the exogenous and the endogenous variables. The first stage was tested using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) framework to confirm that the two groups assign the same meaning to the scale items and to obtain goodness-of-fit indices. The multi-group confirmatory factor analysis included the tests of configural, metric and scalar invariance. With the attainment of full configural invariance and partial metric and scalar invariance, the second stage – the structural model was applied hypothesising that, the entrepreneurial intentions of graduates (respondents who have participated in the compulsory entrepreneurship programme) will be higher than those of undergraduates (respondents who are yet to participate in the programme). The study uses the quasi-experimental design. The samples comprised 409 graduates (experimental group) and 402 undergraduates (control group) from six federal universities in Nigeria. Our findings suggest that personal attitude is positively related with entrepreneurial intentions, largely confirming prior literature. However, unlike previous studies, our results indicate that subjective norm has significant direct and indirect impact on entrepreneurial intentions indicating that reference people of the participants have important roles to play in their decision to be entrepreneurial. Furthermore, unlike the assertions in prior studies, the result suggests that traditional teaching methods have indirect effect on entrepreneurial intentions supporting that since personal characteristics can change in an educational situation, an education purposively directed at entrepreneurship might achieve similar results if not better. This study has implication for practice and theory. The research extends to the theoretical understanding of the formation of entrepreneurial intentions and explains the role of the reference others in relation to how graduates perceive entrepreneurship. Further, the study adds to the body of knowledge on entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities and provides a developing country perspective. It proposes further research in the exploration of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions of graduates from across the country’s universities as necessary and imperative.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial intention, structural equation modeling, theory of planned behaviour

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Authors: Daniel K. Gameti

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The paper explored the effects of active and passive entrepreneurship education methods on the venture creation intention of undergraduate students in Ghana. The study also examined the moderating effect of gender and negative personal characteristics (risk tolerance, stress tolerance and fear of failure) on students’ venture creation intention. Deductive approach was used in collecting quantitative data from 555 business students from one public university and one private university through self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistic was used to determine the dominant method of entrepreneurship education used in Ghana. Further, structural equation model was used to test four hypotheses. The results of the study show that the dominant method of education used in Ghana was lectures and the least method used was field trip. The study further revealed that passive methods of education are less effective compared to active methods which were statistically significant in venture creation intention among students. There was also statistical difference between male and female students’ venture creation intention but stronger among male students and finally, the only personal characteristics that influence students’ intention was stress tolerance because risk tolerance and fear of failure were statistically insignificant.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, Ghana, moderating variables, venture creation intention, undergraduate students

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Authors: Muhammad Ali, Aamir Sohail, Umair Malik

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Research in entrepreneurship has gained much attention in current academic environment. Youngsters are taking interest to start their own business in spite of risk matter. The objective of the study is to explain how various personality traits (personal attitude, locus of control, instrumental readiness and perceived behavioral control) are affecting entrepreneurial intention of students. The theory of planned behavior supports out study which explains that personal attractiveness, social norms and feasibility are the main factors that affect intentions of an individual. The sample data of 120 is collected from graduating batch of three reputed universities of Islamabad through questionnaires. Our results support the hypothesis that personality traits positively influence the entrepreneurial intention. We conclude from the study that many graduating students are willing to start a new venture, but most of them are likely to do a job in their respective fields. Risk factor also exists in their minds because in our country most people are risk-averse and they do not want to lose their money in case of loss.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, instrumental readiness, locus of control, personal attitude

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Authors: Patrick Ebong Ebewo

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The trend of high unemployment levels globally is a growing concern, which suggests that university students especially those studying the creative industries are most likely to face unemployment upon completion of their studies. Therefore the effort of university in fostering entrepreneurial knowledge is equally important to the development of student’s soft skill. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance of perceived university environment and perceived educational support that influencing University students’ intention in starting their own business in the future. Thus, attempting to answer the question 'How does perceived university environment affect students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship as a career option, perceived entrepreneurial abilities, subjective norm and entrepreneurial intentions?' The study is based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour model adapted from previous studies and empirically tested on graduates at the Tshwane University of Technology. A sample of 150 graduates from the Arts and Design graduates took part in the study and data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Our findings seem to suggest the indirect impact of perceived university environment on entrepreneurial intention through perceived environment support and perceived entrepreneurial abilities. Thus, any increase in perceived university environment might influence students to become entrepreneurs. Based on these results, it is recommended that: (a) Tshwane University of Technology and other universities of technology should establish an ‘Entrepreneurship Internship Programme’ as a tool for stimulated work integrated learning. Post-graduation intervention could be implemented by the development of a ‘Graduate Entrepreneurship Program’ which should be embedded in the Bachelor of Technology (B-Tech now Advance Diploma) and Postgraduate courses; (b) Policymakers should consider the development of a coherent national policy framework that addresses entrepreneurship for the Arts/creative industries sector. This would create the enabling environment for the evolution of Higher Education Institutions from merely Teaching, Learning & Research to becoming drivers for creative entrepreneurship.

Keywords: business venture, entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial intent, university environment

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Authors: Palak Sadhwani, Susie Pryor

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This paper investigates interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in the context of entrepreneurship education. Collaboration has been found to enhance problem solving, leverage expertise, improve resource allocation, and create organizational efficiencies. However, research suggests that successful collaboration is hampered by individual and organizational characteristics. IPC occurs when two or more professionals work together to solve a problem or achieve a common objective. The necessity for this form of collaboration is particularly prevalent in cross-disciplinary fields. In this study, we utilize social exchange theory (SET) to examine IPC in the context of an entrepreneurship living learning community (LLC) at a large university in the Western United States. Specifically, we explore these research questions: How are rules or norms established that govern the collaboration process? How are resources valued and distributed? How are relationships developed and managed among and between parties? LLCs are defined as groups of students who live together in on-campus housing and share similar academic or special interests. In 2007, the Association of American Colleges and Universities named living communities a high impact practice (HIP) because of their capacity to enhance and give coherence to undergraduate education. The entrepreneurship LLC in this study was designed to offer first year college students the opportunity to live and learn with like-minded students from diverse backgrounds. While the university offers other LLC environments, the target residents for this LLC are less easily identified and are less apparently homogenous than residents of other LLCs on campus (e.g., Black Scholars, LatinX, Women in Science and Education), creating unique challenges. The LLC is a collaboration between the university’s College of Business & Public Administration and the Department of Housing and Residential Education (DHRE). Both parties are contributing staff, technology, living and learning spaces, and other student resources. This paper reports the results an ethnographic case study which chronicles the start-up challenges associated with the co-creation of the LLC. SET provides a general framework for examining how resources are valued and exchanged. In this study, SET offers insights into the processes through which parties negotiate tensions resulting from approaching this shared project from very different perspectives and cultures in a novel project environment. These tensions occur due to a variety of factors, including team formation and management, allocation of resources, and differing output expectations. The results are useful to both scholars and practitioners of entrepreneurship education and organizational management. They suggest probably points of conflict and potential paths towards reconciliation.

Keywords: case study, ethnography, interprofessional collaboration, social exchange theory

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