Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship

This study investigates gender differences in the effects of entrepreneurial impetus and human capital on habitual entrepreneurship, defined as starting multiple new ventures in a serial or portfolio manner. Using the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II (PSED II) data on nascent entrepreneurs, the effects of three impetus factors (business opportunity, mentors and nature of work) and four human capital factors (education, employment breadth, managerial experience and entrepreneurial capabilities) are explored in terms of the differential effects they have on habitual entrepreneurship in men and women. Results show an overall greater effect of human capital on women's habitual entrepreneurship than on men's, and that different human capital factors appear to drive multiple startups for women and for men. Analyses also show that different impetus factors drive women and men to start new repeat ventures. Results are discussed in the context of learning theory and entrepreneurial activity.

Most of the prior research on entrepreneurial risk concentrates on entrepreneur behavioral characteristics, personality traits and characteristics. Very little of the body of research examines the market behavior of the firm and its risk patterns that can cause business failure. The purpose of this research was to develop a taxonomy of entrepreneurial risk behaviors and examine their effect on small business enterprises (SME). The study was the development and administration of the Entrepreneurial Risk Survey (ERS) instrument. ERS was used to empirically examine a sample (N = 201) of SMEs across 11 industries for the proposed taxonomy of 22 risk variables. An exploratory factor analysis methodology was conducted for the study. The principle component analysis was conducted and resulted in an eight-factor solution. A multivariate regression analysis was also used to measure the industry type as a predictor variable. The results of the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) indicated there are eight factors of entrepreneurial risk that affect SMEs.

This paper examines the nature of the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories that occurred post Oslo Agreement. The paper has two main objectives: first, to examine with empirical evidence the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth; second, to explore the effect of two control variables on the relationship — checkpoints and international aid — which are unique to this particular study. Using data spanning over a course of sixteen years, various statistical methods were applied to explain the effect of variant levels of entrepreneurial activity on GDP and unemployment. The results show that contrary to a reservoir of research, entrepreneurship appeared to have no significant impact on economic growth. This can be explained by the fact entrepreneurial activity is expected to decrease as a result of growth in the economy as new jobs are created.

Many emerging economies seek multiple and diversified means of economic development, including openness to inward foreign direct investment. However, some scholars and protectionists claim this hosting of economic activity on the part of multinational corporations (MNCs) might in fact be detrimental to economic development. This paper seeks to address these concerns by using panel data from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and South Africa to investigate a mediational relationship among inward foreign direct investment, skilled labor supply and entrepreneurial activity in the emerging economy context. Our results provide empirical evidence of later stage entrepreneurial activity as a spillover effect of inward foreign direct investment and that this indirect effect is fully mediated by the pool of factory workers.

Whereas prior research has investigated the relationship between the belief in one's abilities (entrepreneurial self-efficacy) and the intent to form a new business as a discrete event, little research has investigated the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and his or her focus and commitment (entrepreneurial intensity). Consequently, potential meaningful theoretical and pedagogical aspects remain less well understood. This study addresses this void explicitly by employing a pre-post design that investigates both the dynamics of the relationships between entrepreneurial self-efficacy, intent and intensity, as well as the moderating influence of different training methodologies. Our results suggest a change in focus from intent to intensity produces important theoretical and practical insights about the dynamics of early stage decision making.

The paper examines variables stated to be central to entrepreneurial success and reports differences between black male and black female entrepreneurs. Variables studied include task-specific efficacy, firm performance and opportunity recognition. Using a sample of 85 males and 58 females, results indicated that although black male and female entrepreneurs are somewhat similar in terms of business environment and demographics (e.g., education levels, years of business industry experience, likelihood of having a business mentor, etc.), black females trailed black male entrepreneurs in firm performance, task-specific efficacy and opportunity recognition. Overall, findings suggest an expressed need to enact specific-policies to increase success rates among this group of understudied entrepreneurs, black females.

Failure among SMEs has been attributed to size, age, location and being part of particular industries and not part of a network. These determinants, if used as surrogates for resources, suggest firms that lack such resources are more susceptible to failure. Using the resource-based view of the firm, this paper aims to do a post-mortem examination on the attributes of failed SMEs by analyzing data of more than 13,000 failed firms in the UK between 1999 and 2009. The findings reveal that failure is not merely a function of lack of resources. Although these findings shed new light on attributes of failed SMEs, there are still some limitations to the work that must be taken into consideration when applying the results.