Journal of Enterprising Culture

This paper finds the role of perceived failure tolerance, communication openness, work discretion, and reward fairness in influencing the entrepreneurial behavior of employees. We also study the mediating role of affective commitment between entrepreneurial behavior and its antecedents. Data were collected using survey design from 381 telecommunication professionals in Pakistan. The analysis, using SEM, shows that predictor variables have a significant positive influence on organizational entrepreneurial behavior. Furthermore, affective commitment partially mediates the relationship between failure tolerance, communication openness, work discretion and organizational entrepreneurial behavior, whereas, it fully mediates the effect of reward fairness. On the basis of our results, managers are advised to lead their followers in such a way that the employees offer their innovative potential for the organization by becoming internal entrepreneurs.

The aim of this paper is to identify the adequate entrepreneurial support elements for business restarting after business failure. An exploratory study was conducted with fifteen SMEs within the interpretivist paradigm. The study reveals a matrix of factors that make for adequate entrepreneurial support to assist restarting business. In addition, this study shows that psychological coaching is an efficient remedy to reduce emotional shock after experiencing unplanned failure whereas social coaching is an efficient support of integrating successor following a planned failure in some social network. However, current thinking on incubation should be increased in order to help with business recovery especially as there is a high failure rate associated with startups.

This research attempts to ensure a possible relationship between entrepreneurial support practices and failing entrepreneurs’ needs.

Each year thousands of family business, mainly SMEs, fail in their succession process. Previous research holds that succession planning and management professionalization are the key elements for family business facing succession but tends to give little attention to the role of human resource management (HRM). This paper sheds light on the part that HRM can play to preserve family business at the risky stage of succession. A study was conducted with multiple qualitative case studies. The analysis was done at both intra-site and inter-site levels and based on the matrix analysis and display approach (Miles and Huberman, 2003). Our findings show that HRM can help to diminish the risk of family business succession by reducing the dependence to family management through personnel empowerment and improvement of organizational environment. However, potential positive HRM outcomes for succession are only possible given the condition of prior HRM professionalization and family management support.

Zeo, Inc. was one of the pioneer companies in the quantified self-industry offering a digital solution for individuals suffering from sleep problems. The company was founded by three undergraduate students who successfully raised capital, make strategic partnerships with major brands like the National Football League (NFL), and introduced their products in stores like Best Buy.

The collegiate founders recognized their lack of knowledge and skills from the beginning. To address this gap, they developed an advisory board to guide them on scientific matters. Later, they hired a seasoned executive with industry experience to run and grow the company. Zeo, Inc. also was getting favorable attention among leading sleep experts with publications in scientific journals about the promise of this innovative technology. Zeo, Inc. was positioned to potentially disrupt the technological and business model of the sleep industry at the time.

Suddenly, Zeo, Inc. announced it was shutting down the company. Technology pundits, the media and customers were surprised, “Why would a fast-rising company shut down?” Given the lack of board and senior leadership transparency, many speculated as to why Zeo, Inc. closed. The reasons ranged from a lack of a focus on the business model to not keeping up with new entrants into the digital health space such as FitBit. This case highlights for students the growth stages of startups with an emphasis of how a widely acclaimed startup can fail and the lessons to be learned from failure.