Businessman or host? Individual differences between entrepreneurs and small business owners in the hospitality industry

L, Shetty DK. Women entrepreneurial motivation and business performance: the role of learning motivation and female entrepreneurial competencies

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model that explains how necessity and opportunity start-up motivation affects firm performance among women entrepreneurs (WEs) through the mediating influences of motivation to learn (MtL) and women entrepreneurial competencies (WEC).

Design/methodology/approach

Necessity (NEC) and Opportunity (OPP) motivation is used as the guiding theory to acknowledge the contraries of women entrepreneurial motivation. Female Entrepreneurial Competency (FEC) framework is used as a basis for WEC. Embedded in this reasoning, MtL and FECs are integrated into the conceptual model to understand the connection between start-up motivation and business performance among WEs in a developing economy.

Findings

To date, there is a limited understanding of how learning motivation and competencies together explain the business performance of WEs through the lens of their differences in start-up motivation. In this respect, this conceptual model advances scholarly insights by conceptualizing the relationship between NEC and OPP motivation, and business performance through the mediating influences of MtL and WECs.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed conceptual model does not consider any aspects other than entrepreneurial motivation, learning motivation and competencies related to business performance such as access to finance, sociocultural aspects and personality traits.

Practical implications

The proposed conceptual model can contribute to academics by adding to the body of knowledge on women entrepreneurship. It can also aid policymakers in understanding the critical link between differentials in start-up motivation and firm performance through the mediating influences of learning motivation and competencies, thus potentially providing a basis for formulating focused skilling strategies for WEs.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a unique conceptual framework that incorporates theories of learning motivation and FECs to examine the critical link between start-up motivation and business performance among WE.

Business Model, Open Innovation, and Sustainability in Car Sharing Industry—Comparing Three Economies

This paper discusses dynamics and differences of business models in the car-sharing industry and focuses on open innovation as the trigger of diverse business models among Uber in the U.S., DiDi Chuxing in China, and KakaoT in Korea. We seek to answer the following two questions: What creates the differences in the business models of the car-sharing industry? Do the differences in open innovation motivate the diversity of business models among Uber, DiDi Chuxing, and KakaoT? We incorporated participatory observation, interviews, and semi-structured questionnaire methods in our study. We used two-step participatory observation and interview methods, hence carrying out observation and interviews two times by different researchers with Uber drivers in the U.S., DiDi-Chuxing drivers in Beijing, and KakaoT taxi drivers in Korea to confirm the interview and participatory observation results. First, business models of the car-sharing firms Uber, DiDi-Chuxing, and KakaoT are not fixed but rather are dynamically changing. Second, business models of car-sharing firms are the result of interaction with government regulations, the taxi industry, public transportation, and the automotive car industry. Third, open innovation strategies of car-sharing firms determine the contents and dynamics of car-sharing business models, such as the revenue business model, responsibility business model, and system business model upon interaction with four agencies.

A University Training Programme for Acquiring Entrepreneurial and Transversal Employability Skills, a Students’ Assessment

The objective of this paper is to analyze university graduate students’ assessments of the attainment of skills acquired in a Training Programme (TP) to develop entrepreneurial skills and transversal employability competencies. Both are vital for the success of today’s societies and play an important role in the sustainable development agenda. The TP was a 12-week programme with six modules combining entrepreneurship training and traditional teaching methods. There were nine editions and 148 students worked in teams preparing business plans to present to consultants and potential investors. First, the nominal group technique was used to identify which competencies can be acquired through TP. Second, a survey was designed to identify the level to which the competences were attained. The results suggest that the students attained two types of skills, acquiring a higher level of proficiency in entrepreneurial skills and those transversal competencies. Additionally, different levels of attainment of entrepreneurial skills were found in different groups of students. We provide new evidence that TPs, as compulsory subjects in the core curriculum of degree programmes, will help accomplish both objectives: the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills and generic university educational competencies. The overall outcome of this research highlights the value added by the TPs.

Exploring the Enablers of Strategic Orientation for Technology-Driven Business Innovation Ecosystems

The present study explores the impacts of corporate strategic orientation on innovation ecosystems through the perspective of systems thinking. Multiple-cases method was adopted to analyze three representative companies of different industries. In terms of academic contribution, the results of this study verify an innovation ecosystem model in a generalized manner, and find that market orientation, interaction orientation, and entrepreneurial orientation generate a positively reinforcing effect on the paths of the innovation ecosystem model in all phases, thus, diversifying the available literature of innovative ecosystems. In terms of practical contribution, this study presents a dynamic context of the development of new business, and describes the links between innovative activities and the market. Enterprises can refer to the proposed framework as well as strategic architecture in this study to effectively transform innovative activities into market performance.

Data on the relationships between financing strategies, entrepreneurial competencies and business growth of technology-based SMEs in Nigeria

The article presents data on the relationship between financing strategies, entrepreneurial competencies and business growth of technology-based SMEs in Nigeria. Copies of structured questionnaire were administered to 233 SME owners and financial managers. Using descriptive and standard multiple regression statistical analysis, the data revealed that venture capital and business donations significantly influences profit growth of technology-based SMEs. Moreover, the data revealed that technology-`based firms can enhance their access to financing through capacity building in entrepreneurial competencies, such as acquiring the right skills and attitude.

Enviropreneurial orientation in SME supply chains: construct measurement development

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model that is inclusive and practical because of the deficiencies in models for construct measurement. Further, the authors demonstrate the value of the proposed model by describing its application to the development and validation of a multi-dimensional construct, enviropreneurial orientation. Although used in the literature, enviropreneurial orientation had not been developed nor tested as a construct. The paper provides detailed explanation of development and validation processes exemplified by experiences of research into the factors that motivate individual enviropreneurial orientation among owner/managers in supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors review models of construct development and propose an eight step model to overcome the deficiencies in the existing models. The eight steps are: defining the construct; identifying its dimensions; generating measurement items for each dimension; pretesting the measurement items; collecting data; constructing scales; analysing reliability; and evaluating the relationships. Each step is explained through examples based on the authors’ experience in using the model to develop the new construct – enviropreneurial orientation.

Findings

All correlation results were positive and significant as were the multiple regression results with one exception, competitive aggressiveness.

Originality/value

The authors provide a practical model to guide new construct measurement development which can be used by researchers and research students for multi-dimensional constructs, especially they are constrained by time and financial resources. By using an example to demonstrate the applicability of the model, the authors go beyond the usual description of construct development models to make the proposed model more comprehensible and thus useful.

Green supply chain management practice adoption in Ugandan SME manufacturing firms

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to advance enviropreneurial orientation (EO) as a new internal driver for green supply chain practice adoption. Because manufacturing supply chains are major contributors to environmental pollution, green practice adoption is a means of reducing environmental pollution. However, why owner/managers adopt green practices remains uncertain. The concept of EO is a potential and important motivation for adoption of green supply chain practices that has yet to be explored. The study investigates the relationship between EO and green supply chain practice adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

– Cross-sectional survey design was employed to collect data from owners/managers of SME manufacturing firms in Uganda. The structural equation modelling was used to analyse results on the influence of each of nine EO on green supply chain practice adoption and the influence of EO dimensions on green supply chain practice adoption.

Findings

– Findings show that EO positively influences green supply chain practice adoption. All but two of nine dimensions of EO were significant predictors of green supply chain practice adoption. Competitive aggressiveness and perceived pressure from environmental regulations were not significant predictors for green supply chain practice adoption.

Research limitations/implications

– The study was cross-sectional. A longitudinal survey was more appropriate because of the presence of a behavioural variable green supply chain practice adoption. Further a comparative study is required because of the existence of differences in classifications of SMEs in both the developing and developed countries.

Originality/value

– The research contributes to further scholarly understanding of green practice adoption in SMEs through offering a new construct, EO, and its role in influencing green supply chain practice adoption. The authors develop EO as a construct, a concept that has not been developed for more than two decades.

Psychological distress, related work attendance, and productivity loss in small-to-medium enterprise owner/managers

Owner/managers of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) are an under-researched population in terms of psychological distress and the associated health and economic consequences. Using baseline data from the evaluation of the Business in Mind program, a mental health promotion intervention amongst SME owner/managers, this study investigated: (i) prevalence of high/very high psychological distress, past-month sickness absenteeism and presenteeism days in SME owner/managers; (ii) associated, self-reported lost productivity; and (iii) associations between work, non-work and business-specific factors and work attendance behaviours. In our sample of 217 SME owner/managers 36.8% reported high/very high psychological distress. Of this group 38.7% reported past-month absenteeism, 82.5% reported past-month presenteeism, and those reporting presenteeism were 50% less productive as than usual. Negative binomial regression was used to demonstrate the independent effects of socio-demographic, work-related wellbeing and health-related factors, as well as various individual and business characteristics on continuous measures of absenteeism and presenteeism days. Health-related factors (self-rated health and treatment) were the strongest correlates of higher presenteeism days (p < 0.05). Work-related wellbeing factors (job tension and job satisfaction) were the strongest correlates of higher absenteeism days (p < 0.05). Higher educational attainment, treatment and neuroticism were also correlated with more absenteeism days. SME-specific information about the occurrence of psychological distress, work attendance behaviour, and the variables that influence these decisions, are needed for the development of guidelines for managing psychological distress within this sector.