Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship

Using National Family Business Panel data combined with national natural disaster and federal disaster assistance data, the purpose of the study was to investigate relative contributions of human, social and financial capital; natural disaster exposure; and federal disaster assistance to business-owning family resilience over time for male and female family business owners. With a theoretical foundation of Sustainable Family Business and Conservation of Resources theories, the study examined 311 small family firms from the National Family Business Panel. Federal disaster assistance explained a significant amount of variance in firm-owning resilience. Higher levels of federal disaster assistance were associated with lower family firm resilience for male-owned businesses and higher family firm resilience for female-owned businesses. This study advances knowledge of firm sustainability after natural disasters by adding to the conceptualization and measurement of family firm resilience; by having baseline firm financial data prior to disaster exposure; by utilizing a national, representative, longitudinal family firm sample; by including a range of natural disasters and federal disaster assistance; and by including family resilience over time.

Participating in inter-firm networks has become increasingly popular to enhance corporate entrepreneurship. Trust, relationship diversity and knowledge transfer are considered some of the prominent cornerstones of well-functioning networks. Using longitudinal survey data covering a population of 41 firms operating in two SME networks, we examine cause–effect relationships between interorganizational trust, relationship diversity and knowledge transfer, and corporate entrepreneurship among networking firms. We found a causal influence of knowledge transfer and relational diversity on corporate entrepreneurship. Our approach also identified self-enforcing spirals between network constructs and corporate entrepreneurship. Firms displaying high corporate entrepreneurship may stimulate the creation of relationships such as those characterized by high knowledge transfer that, in turn, are relationship characteristics that stimulate corporate entrepreneurship.

This article examines the speed of internationalization by newly established firms operating in the rapidly changing environment of a country undergoing radical systemic transition, as exemplified by Poland. A longitudinal analysis of the speed of internationalization, measured by the time between the year of establishment and the year of the first export sale, identified three interesting patterns. First, both incumbent state-owned firms and private companies operating under communism played marginal roles in the internationalization process after transition to the market economy system. Second, the entrepreneurial start-ups typically embarked on exports shortly after their establishment. Third, the entrepreneurial start-ups that focused initially on the domestic market were rarely engaging in export operations later on. This aspect of the internationalization process has not been adequately explained by the extant mainstream management theories (new institutional economics, transaction cost and resource-based view). This paper offers an alternative theoretical framework for the internationalization of entrepreneurial start-ups in transition economies by extending Shapero's social psychological model of entrepreneurial events.

This research sought to provide insight on those strategies and business activities associated with successful micro-retail entrepreneurs, specifically in arts-related firms where minimal research has been conducted. The relationship with gender was also investigated. A series of empirical analyses was conducted, including factor analysis, cluster analysis and correlations. Initially, four diverse groups of micro-retailers were identified from self-definitions of success. More successful micro-retailers were found to value both personal satisfaction and financial success as indicators of success. Each of the four groups of micro-retailers who perceived themselves to be more successful engaged in distinct business strategies and activities. Results drawn from this study reveal that those micro-entrepreneurs seeking greater success should develop a strong customer satisfaction orientation and offer differentiated products that are more unique and of higher quality and priced appropriate to quality. Additionally, one strategy found to be unique to successful craft micro-retailers is to educate consumers about crafts and/or craft artisans and the region's culture.

This article has been retracted. Please contact jde@wspc.com

This paper sets out to analyze social entrepreneurship in the Central America Learning Alliance, in the context of recent literature on entrepreneurship and learning. Drawing on a recent and rapidly growing literature that describes entrepreneurship as a process that is inherently dynamic and experimental, with learning as a core component, we focus on social entrepreneurship in development as a catalyst of social transformation. A case study of a multi-stakeholder network focused on promoting processes of rural enterprise development, known as the Central America Learning Alliance, is used to illustrate social entrepreneurship in the context of the framework for innovation and learning that is developed in the first part of the paper. We conclude that the key concepts underlying entrepreneurial learning have important implications for social entrepreneurship in the context of building dynamic livelihoods for the poor of Central America.