Journal of Enterprising Culture

This article uses theoretical approaches from cognitive psychology to examine the basis for entrepreneurial alertness and to connect it to existing theories of attention in strategic management and decision-making. It thereby provides a theoretical basis for understanding how entrepreneurial alertness leads the individual to pay attention to new opportunities. A model is developed to show how attention and entrepreneurial alertness work together to support the recognition or creation of opportunities. Entrepreneurial alertness is believed to be a manifestation of differences in the schemata and cognitive frameworks that individuals use to make sense of changes in the environment. This suggests that entrepreneurial alertness mediates the impact of observed phenomena upon the situated attention of individual decision-makers.

The objective of this study is to explore entrepreneurial motivation in a least developed country (LDC), which can be divided into push factors and pull factors, without a priori separation between those which are necessity-driven and those which are opportunity-driven. This study shows that the premise "For people who start their own business in an LDC, push factors are more important than pull factors" can be rejected. In contrast to the findings from prior studies on entrepreneurship in LDCs, this study shows that push factors and pull factors are not mutually exclusive. In addition, this study shows that pull factors are even more important than push factors, and that therefore push factors only play a minor role for entrepreneurs. The overall implications are that motivation is a more combined, and nuanced construct, and that the Western concept of entrepreneurial motivation and method of measuring entrepreneurial motivation, are globally applicable.

In many rural and remote communities, residents have traditionally relied on jobs in natural resource-based industries. Over the years, employment has been steadily reduced due to changes in these industries. Both the communities, faced with declining populations as a result, and the residents are examining the potential of small business to create economic development. However, these locations create challenges for small business operators. Some communities experience accessibility and transportation issues and often lack standard business infrastructure. At the same time, the very nature of these rural areas can become components of a marketing strategy. This paper will examine three conceptualizations of rural and the commodification process and propose a framework for positioning the concept of rural as part of a marketing strategy. Three case studies from a rural region in Canada will be presented and analyzed within this framework. The paper concludes with recommendations for rural businesses, communities and governments and other interested parties within the context of rural economic development.

This paper examines the impact of motivation (i. e., "need for achievement") and, personality traits (i. e., "individualism/collectivism", "introversion/extraversion") on entrepreneurial potential (EP). The study draws on a sample of 503 students enrolled in business courses at a university in the United Arab Emirates. Statistical analysis reveals that need for achievement is the most significant determinant of entrepreneurial potential. Extraversion is also significantly related to entrepreneurial potential. Statistical examination of interactions (i. e., combined effects) of variables reveals that entrepreneurial potential is explained by the interactive effects of need for achievement, extraversion and collectivism. Surprisingly, and contrary to general expectations, greater entrepreneurial potential is not explained by individualistic aspirations, nor is it found to be gender-related. Practical and theoretical implications of the main findings are discussed.

The development of female entrepreneurs in Indonesia is an integral part of Muslim women's economic contributions and empowerment. However, there is a lack of reliable research about female entrepreneurship and how gender may affect the experiences of business ownership in Indonesia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the challenges encountered by these women entrepreneurs on a daily basis. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 female Indonesian entrepreneurs. Participants were recruited using theoretical and maximum variation sampling techniques. Content analysis was then used to analyze the data. Results revealed high levels of variations, both within and between women, suggesting that the quality of business entrepreneurship and success depended largely on the personal characteristics of these women, rather than on any system of formal education or training. This study also found that many women displayed resilient coping strategies when dealing with business failures. As a consequence, they were able to thrive despite restrictive social, cultural and political constraints. The paper highlights the importance of the experiences of female entrepreneurs in a developing country and the need to integrate the development of female entrepreneurship as a part of women empowerment effort.