Journal of Enterprising Culture

Explaining individual’s entrepreneurial intention is a central element in entrepreneurship research. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that role models have an indirect effect on students’ entrepreneurial intention. We draw on a sample of 266 individuals and apply structural equation modeling. Our results show that role models have a positive and significant influence on entrepreneurial intention via the antecedents described in the theory of planned behavior, the entrepreneurial event model, and the integrated version of these models. With our study, we aim to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the path through which role models influence entrepreneurial intention.

The concept of metacompetencies has not much attracted entrepreneurship research though indicated having a fundamental role in successful entrepreneurial activity. The few studies have so far based on student samples only, so there is no empirical data demonstrating how this theoretical construct is practically used in entrepreneurship. Moreover, the question being in the focus of this paper, is how metacompetencies differ when comparing groups of entrepreneurs and students. This study aims to look into these gaps.

Assessing metacompetencies empirically by employing the phenomenological mode of enquiry we can explore the phenomena of metacompetencies in an entrepreneurial setting by studying thirty in-depth interviews with active entrepreneurs. It appears that metacompetencies are in frequent practical use and, more specifically this paper establishes how metacognition, meta-affection, and metaconation interact within the environment of entrepreneurship. Confronted with similar results from student reflections, the comparison reveals important discrepancies in terms of procedural knowledge and an awareness of motivation and temperament for educators to address in order to foster entrepreneurial behaviour.

This research attempted to connect the links between leadership styles and virtual team effectiveness. Linking leadership styles with virtual team effectiveness can result in virtual esprit de corps, which has been ignored in the literature. A theoretical model is provided and presents these links based on leadership style characteristics. Each style characteristic is matched with an effectiveness dimension, which was culled from supporting studies in the virtual domain. What this research provides, that others did not, is a topical view of leadership in a virtual context. The conceptualization and development of these links contribute to researchers, team leaders and managers, organizational theory, small business strategy, and policy makers involved in virtual configurations.

By focusing on family owners’ perceptions and dynamics the aim of this paper is to understand the specific goals associated to their ownership status and whether and to what extend they impact on family firms’ growth and continuity. We use survey data on Finnish family firms and identify a set of differentiated family owners’ goals. Our findings contribute to the debate on differentiating socioemotional wealth by untangling the existence of variations in family principals’ goal setting and the importance to also consider that financial motives could determine family owners’ goals.