assignment

relationship between problem solving and entrepreneurship

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

4.1 Problem Solving to Find Entrepreneurial Solutions

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Define problem solving in the context of entrepreneurship
• Describe and compare the adaptive model and the innovative model of problem solving
• Identify the skills entrepreneurs need for effective problem solving
• Identify types of problem solvers

As you’ve learned, entrepreneurs often visualize an opportunity gap, a gap between what exists and what could exist, as Hirabayashi and Lidey did with Shine. Entrepreneurial problem solving is the process of using innovation and creative solutions to close that gap by resolving societal, business, or technological problems. Sometimes, personal problems can lead to entrepreneurial opportunities if validated in the market. The entrepreneur visualizes the prospect of filling the gap with an innovative solution that might entail the revision of a product or the creation of an entirely new product. In any case, the entrepreneur approaches the problem-solving process in various ways. This chapter is more about problem solving as it pertains to the entrepreneur’s thought process and approach rather than on problem solving in the sense of opportunity recognition and filling those gaps with new products.

For example, as we read in Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunity, Sara Blakely (as shown in Figure 4.2) saw a need for body contouring and smoothing undergarments one day in the late 1990s when she was getting dressed for a party and couldn’t find what she needed to give her a silhouette she’d be pleased with in a pair of slacks. She saw a problem: a market need. But her problem-solving efforts are what drove her to turn her solution (Spanx undergarments) into a viable product. Those efforts came from her self-admitted can-do attitude: “It’s really important to be resourceful and scrappy—a glass half-full mindset.” [1] Her efforts at creating a new undergarment met resistance with hosiery executives, most of whom were male and out of touch with their female consumers. The hosiery owner who decided to help Blakely initially passed on the idea until running it by his daughters and realizing she was on to something. That something became Spanx, and today, Blakely is a successful entrepreneur. [2]

Before getting into the heart of this chapter, we need to make a distinction: Decision making is different from problem solving. A decision is needed to continue or smooth a process affecting the operation of a firm. It can be intuitive or might require research and a long period of consideration. Problem solving, however, is more direct. It entails the solution of some problem where a gap exists between a current state and a desired state. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers who offer solutions using creativity or innovative ventures that exploit opportunities. This chapter focuses on different approaches to problem solving and need recognition that help potential entrepreneurs come up with ideas and refine those ideas.

Two Problem Solving Models: Adaptive and Innovative

There are two prominent established problem-solving models: adaptive and innovative. A renowned British psychologist, Michael Kirton, developed the Kirton Adaption-Innovation (KAI) Inventory to measure an individual’s style of problem solving. [3] Problem-solving preferences are dependent on the personality characteristics of originality, conformity, and efficiency, according to Kirton. The KAI inventory identifies an individual’s problem-solving approach by measuring agreement with statements that align with characteristics, such as the ability to produce many novel ideas, to follow rules and get along in groups, and to systematically orient daily behavior. The results categorize an individual as an innovator or an adaptor. Innovators are highly original, do not like to conform, and value efficiency less than adaptors.

The first and more conservative approach an entrepreneur may use to solve problems is the adaptive model. The adaptive model seeks solutions for problems in ways that are tested and known to be effective. An adaptive model accepts the problem definition and is concerned with resolving problems rather than finding them. This approach seeks greater efficiency while aiming at continuity and stability. The second and more creative approach is the innovative model of entrepreneurial problem solving, which uses techniques that are unknown to the market and that bring advantage to an organization. An innovative problem-solving style challenges the problem definition, discovers problems and avenues for their solutions, and questions existing assumptions—in a nutshell, it does things differently. It uses outside-the-box thinking and searches for novel solutions. Novelty is a shared trait of creative entrepreneurship, and it’s why entrepreneurs gravitate toward this method of problem solving. According to Dr. Shaun M. Powell, a senior lecturer at the University of Wollongong, Australia: “Creative entrepreneurs are notable for a distinctive management style that is based on intuition, informality and rapid decision making, whereas the more conventional thinking styles are not in accord with the unique attributes of creative entrepreneurs.” [4] This way of problem solving doesn’t alter an existing product. It is the creation of something entirely new.

For example, healthcare facilities have long been known as a source of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a deadly infection that can have long-term effects on patients. Vital Vio, led by Colleen Costello, has developed white light technology that effectively disinfects healthcare facilities by targeting a molecule specific to bacteria. The light, safe to humans, can burn constantly to kill regenerative bacteria. An adaptive problem-solving model would seek to minimize harm of MRSA within a hospital—to respond to it—whereas the Vital Vio is an entirely new technique that seeks to eliminate it. Adaptive solutions to MRSA include established processes and protocols for prevention, such as having doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers clean their hands with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub before and after patient care, testing patients to see if they have MRSA on their skin, cleaning hospital rooms and medical equipment, and washing and drying clothes and bed linens in the warmest recommended temperatures. [5]

Link to Learning

Visit Inc. Magazine for support and advice for up-and-coming startups to learn more. Examples of how “Dorm Room” entrepreneurs spot and pursue opportunities are shared along with tips and advice for making your startup a success.

Problem-Solving Skills

While identifying problems is a necessary part of the origin of the entrepreneurial process, managing problems is an entirely different aspect once a venture is off the ground and running. An entrepreneur does not have the luxury of avoiding problems and is often responsible for all problem solving in a startup or other form of business. There are certain skills that entrepreneurs possess that make them particularly good problem solvers. Let’s examine each skill (shown in Figure 4.3) .

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the complex analysis of a problem or issue with the goal of solving the problem or making a decision. The entrepreneur analyzes and peels away the layers of a problem to find the core of an issue facing a business. The entrepreneur focuses on the heart of the problem and responds reasonably and openly to suggestions for solving it. Critical thinking is not only important for developing entrepreneurial ideas: it is a sought-after asset in education and employment. Entrepreneur Rebecca Kantar dropped out of Harvard in 2015 to found the tech startup Imbellus, which aims to replace standardized college admissions tests like the SAT with interactive scenarios that test critical-thinking skills. Many standardized tests may include multiple choice questions asking for the answer to a straightforward knowledge question or math problem. Kantar seeks to create tests that are more concerned with the analytic ability and reasoning that goes into the process of solving the problem. Imbellus says it aims to test “how people think,” not just what they know. The platform, which has not yet launched, will use simulations for its user assessments. [6]

Read more about problem solving and EnterpriseWorks/Vita’s story at Harvard Business Review.

Communication

Communication skills, the ability to communicate messages effectively to an intended recipient, are the skills entrepreneurs use to pool resources for the purposes of investigating solutions leading to innovative problem solving and competitive advantage. Good communication allows for the free association of ideas between entrepreneurs and businesses. It can illustrate a problem area or a shared vision, and seeks stakeholder buy-in from various constituencies. Networking and communication within an industry allow the entrepreneur to recognize the position of an enterprise in the market and work toward verbalizing solutions that move an organization beyond its current state. By “verbalizing,” we mean communication from and with the company/entity. Internal communications include company emails, newsletters, presentations, and reports that can set strategic goals and objectives, and report on what has been accomplished and what goals and objectives remain, so that employees within an organization are knowledgeable and can work on solving problems that remain within the organization. External communications could include press releases, blogs and websites, social media, public speeches, and presentations that explain the company’s solutions to problems. They could also be investor pitches complete with business plans and financial projections.

Ideation exercises, such as brainstorming sessions, are good communication tools that entrepreneurs can use to generate solutions to problems. Another such tool is a hackathon—an event, usually hosted by a tech company or organization, which brings together programmers and workers with other degrees of specialization within the company, community, or organization to collaborate on a project over a short period of time. These can last from twenty-four hours to a few days over a weekend. A hackathon can be an internal company-wide initiative or an external event that brings community participants together. A business model canvas can be used internally or externally to identify problems and work toward creating a viable solution.

Networking is an important manifestation of useful communication. What better method is there of presenting one’s concept, gaining funding and buy-in, and marketing for the startup than through building a network of individuals willing to support your venture? A network may consist of potential employees, customers, board members, outside advisors, investors, or champions (people who just love your product) with no direct vested interest. Social networks consist of weak ties and strong ties. Sociologist Mark Granovetter studied such networks back in the 1970s, and his findings still apply today, even if we include social media networks in the definition too. Weak ties facilitate flow of information and community organization, he said, whereas strong ties represent strong connections among close friends, family members, and supportive coworkers.7 [7] Strong ties require more work to maintain than weak ties (as illustrated by the strong lines and weak dotted lines in Figure 4.4) and in a business context, they don’t lead to many new opportunities. Weak ties, in contrast, do open doors in that they act as bridges to other weak ties within functional areas or departments that you might not have had access to directly or through strong ties. [8]

In fact, many young entrepreneurs, including tech entrepreneur Oliver Isaacs, realize college is a great place to begin building teams. Isaacs is the founder of viral opinion network Amirite.com, which is widely credited as the place where Internet memes started and online slang got a foothold. [9] Amirite.com consists of a large network of pages and partnerships on Facebook and Instagram that reach 15 million users each month. Isaacs recommends using your alumni network to build a team and customer base for your own venture because you never know if you’re talking to a future employee or partner.

Sharing of ideas and resources is highly valued in the entrepreneurial process. Communication is a vital skill in problem solving because the ability to identify and articulate the problem (define the problem space) is necessary to adequately address a problem. A problem can be too vague or broad or narrow. Thus, communicating the problem is important, as is conveying the solution.

Decisiveness

Decisiveness is as it sounds: the ability to make a quick, effective decision, not letting too much time go by in the process. Entrepreneurs must be productive, even in the face of risk. They often rely on intuition as well as on hard facts in making a choice. They ask what problem needs to be solved, think about solutions, and then consider the means necessary to implement an idea. And the decisions must be informed with research.

For example, as explained in Adam Grant’s book The Originals, the co-founders of Warby Parker, a venture-backed startup focused on the eyewear industry, started their company while they were graduate students. At the time they knew little about the industry, but after conducting some detailed research, they learned that the industry was dominated by one major player—Luxottica. They used this information and other data to refine their strategy and business model (focusing mainly on value, quality, and convenience via an online channel). By the time they decided to launch the business, they had thought through the key details, and they attained rapid early success. Today Warby Parker has over 100 retail stores in the US, is profitable, and is valued at almost $2 billion.

Decisiveness is the catapult to progress. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos preaches the importance of decisiveness throughout his organization. Bezos believes that decisiveness can even lead to innovation. Bezos advocates for making decisions after obtaining 70 percent of the information you need to do so: “Being wrong may be less costly than you think, whereas being slow is going to be expensive for sure,” Bezos wrote in a 2017 annual letter to stockholders. [10]

Read this LinkedIn blog post on decisiveness to learn more. The 3 Big Reasons People Aren’t Decisive – And How to Overcome Them by Paul Petrone

Ability to Analyze Data

Data analysis is the process of analyzing data and modeling it into a structure that leads to innovative conclusions. Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunity covered much of the sources of data that entrepreneurs might seek. But it is one thing to amass information and statistics. It is another to make sense of that data, to use it to fill a market need or forecast a trend to come. Successful founders know how to pose questions about and make meaning out of information. And if they can’t do that themselves, they know how to bring in experts who can.

In addition to public sources of broad data, a business can collect data on customers when they interact with the company on social media or when they visit the company website, especially if they complete a credit card transaction. They can collect their own specific data on their own customers, including location, name, activity, and how they got to the website. Analyzing these data will give the entrepreneur a better idea about the interested audience’s demographic.

In entrepreneurship, analyzing data can help with opportunity recognition, creation, and assessment by analyzing data in a variety of ways. Entrepreneurs can explore and leverage different data sources to identify and compare “attractive” opportunities, since such analyses can describe what has happened, why it happened, and how likely it is to happen again in the future. In business in general, analytics is used to help managers/entrepreneurs gain improved insight about their business operations/emerging ventures and make better, fact-based decisions.

Analytics can be descriptive, predictive, or prescriptive. Descriptive analytics involves understanding what has happened and what is happening; predictive analytics uses data from past performance to estimate future performance; and prescriptive analytics uses the results of descriptive and predictive analytics to make decisions. Data analysis can be applied to manage customer relations, inform financial and marketing activities, make pricing decisions, manage the supply chain, and plan for human resource needs, among other functions of a venture. In addition to statistical analysis, quantitative methods, and computer models to aid decision-making, companies are also increasingly using artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze data and make quick decisions.

Understanding of Business and Industry

Entrepreneurs need sound understanding of markets and industries. Often times, they are already working in a large organization when they see growth opportunities or inefficiencies in a market. The employee gains a deep understanding of the industry at hand. If the employee considers a possible solution for a problem, this solution might become the basis for a new business.

For example, consider a marketing agency that used traditional marketing for thirty years. This agency had an established clientele. An executive in the organization began studying social media analytics and social media. The executive approached the owner of the business to change processes and begin serving clients through social media, but the owner refused. Clients within the agency began to clamor for exposure on social media. The marketing executive investigated the possibility of building an agency in her locale servicing clients who wish to utilize social media. The marketing executive left the organization and started her own agency (providing, of course, that this is in compliance with any noncompete clauses in her contract). Her competitive advantage was familiarity with both traditional and social media venues. Later, the original agency started floundering because it did not offer social media advertising. Our intrepid executive purchased the agency to gain the clientele and serve those wishing to move away from traditional marketing.

A similar experience occurred for entrepreneur Katie Witkin. After working in traditional marketing roles, the University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, pictured in Figure 4.5, left agency life behind four years out of college to cofound her own company, AGW Group. In 2009, Witkin had been interning at a music marketing agency that didn’t have a social media department. She knew, both from her time at college and from observing industry trends, that social media was changing the way companies connected with customers. For her own venture, she expanded the focus to all supporting brands to manage all things digital. Today, the cultural and marketing communications agency has fifteen employees and big-name clients ranging from HBO to Red Bull. [11]

Resourcefulness

Resourcefulness is the ability to discover clever solutions to obstacles. Sherrie Campbell, a psychologist, author, and frequent contributor to Entrepreneur magazine on business topics, put it this way:

“There is not a more useful or important trait to possess than resourcefulness in the pursuit of success. Resourcefulness is a mindset, and is especially relevant when the goals you have set are difficult to achieve or you cannot envision a clear path to get to where you desire to go. With a resourcefulness mindset you are driven to find a way. An attitude of resourcefulness inspires out-of-the-box thinking, the generation of new ideas, and the ability to visualize all the possible ways to achieve what you desire. Resourcefulness turns you into a scrappy, inventive and enterprising entrepreneur. It places you a cut above the rest.” [12]

Entrepreneurs start thinking about a business venture or startup by talking to people and procuring experts to help create, fund, and begin a business. Entrepreneurs are risk takers, passionate about new endeavors. If they don’t have a college degree or a great deal of business experience, they understand there are many resources available to support them in the endeavor, such as the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). There are many sources available to fund the business with little or no debt and options. The entrepreneur follows a vision and researches opportunities to move toward a dream.

For example, in the late 1990s, Bill McBean and his business partner Billy Sterett had an opportunity to buy an underperforming auto dealership that would make their company the dominant one in the market. Neither wanting to take cash from other ventures nor wanting to borrow more money and tie themselves to more debt, the entrepreneurs were resourceful by finding another path forward to obtaining the money necessary for the acquisition they both coveted. They changed banks and renegotiated their banking payback requirements, lowering their interest payments, reducing fees, and lowering their monthly payments, ultimately freeing up a significant amount of cash that allowed them to buy the new company. [13]

Types of Problem Solvers

Entrepreneurs have an insatiable appetite for problem solving. This drive motivates them to find a resolution when a gap in a product or service occurs. They recognize opportunities and take advantage of them. There are several types of entrepreneurial problem solvers, including self-regulators, theorists, and petitioners.

Self-Regulating Problem Solvers

Self-regulating problem solvers are autonomous and work on their own without external influence. They have the ability to see a problem, visualize a possible solution to the problem, and seek to devise a solution, as Figure 4.6 illustrates. The solution may be a risk, but a self-regulating problem solver will recognize, evaluate, and mitigate the risk. For example, an entrepreneur has programmed a computerized process for a client, but in testing it, finds the program continually falls into a loop, meaning it gets stuck in a cycle and doesn’t progress. Rather than wait for the client to find the problem, the entrepreneur searches the code for the error causing the loop, immediately edits it, and delivers the corrected program to the customer. There is immediate analysis, immediate correction, and immediate implementation. The self-regulating problem solvers’ biggest competitive advantage is the speed with which they recognize and provide solutions to problems.

Theorist Problem Solvers

Theorist problem solvers see a problem and begin to consider a path toward solving the problem using a theory. Theorist problem solvers are process oriented and systematic. While managers may start with a problem and focus on an outcome with little consideration of a means to an end, entrepreneurs may see a problem and begin to build a path with what is known, a theory, toward an outcome. That is, the entrepreneur proceeds through the steps to solve the problem and then builds on the successes, rejects the failures, and works toward the outcome by experimenting and building on known results. At this point, the problem solver may not know the outcome, but a solution will arise as experiments toward a solution occur. Figure 4.7 shows this process.

For example, if we consider Marie Curie as an entrepreneur, Curie worked toward the isolation of an element. As different approaches to isolating the element failed, Curie recorded the failures and attempted other possible solutions. Curie’s failed theories eventually revealed the outcome for the isolation of radium. Like Curie, theorists use considered analysis, considered corrective action, and a considered implementation process. When time is of the essence, entrepreneurs should understand continual experimentation slows the problem-solving process.

Petitioner Problem Solvers

Petitioner problem solvers (Figure 4.8) see a problem and ask others for solution ideas. This entrepreneur likes to consult a person who has “been there and done that.” The petitioner might also prefer to solve the problem in a team environment. Petitioning the entrepreneurial team for input ensures that the entrepreneur is on a consensus-driven path. This type of problem solving takes the longest to complete because the entrepreneur must engage in a democratic process that allows all members on the team to have input. The process involves exploration of alternatives for the ultimate solution. In organizational decision-making, for example, comprehensiveness is a measure of the extent a firm attempts to be inclusive or exhaustive in its decision-making. Comprehensiveness can be gauged by the number of scheduled meetings, the process by which information is sought, the process by which input is obtained from external sources, the number of employees involved, the use of specialized consultants and the functional expertise of the people involved, the years of historical data review, and the assignment of primary responsibility, among other factors. Comprehensive decision-making would be an example of a petitioner problem-solving style, as it seeks input from a vast number of team members.

A charette—a meeting to resolve conflicts and identify solutions—is another example that employs a petitioner problem-solving approach. Often times, a developer of a new project might hold a community charette to aid in the design of a project, hoping to gain approval from elected officials. In the building example, this could consist of the developer and his team of architects, project designers, and people with expertise in the project working alongside community members, business executives, elected officials, or representatives like staff members or citizen-appointed boards like a planning board. Such an activity is representative of a petitioner problem-solving approach, as opposed to a developer representative designing the project with no input from anyone else.

In summary, there is no right or wrong style of problem solving; each problem solver must rely on the instincts that best drive innovation. Further, they must remember that not all problem-solving methods work in every situation. They must be willing to adapt their own preference to the situation to maximize efficiency and ensure they find an effective solution. Attempting to force a problem-solving style may prevent an organization from finding the best solution. While general entrepreneurial problem-solving skills such as critical thinking, decisiveness, communication, and the ability to analyze data will likely be used on a regular basis in your life and entrepreneurial journey, other problem-solving skills and the approach you take will depend on the problem as it arises.

There are a number of resources online that can help analyze your problem-solving abilities. Mindtools.com is one such resource. These are useful to learn your general problem-solving tendencies before being called upon to apply them in a real-world setting. One of the problem-solving techniques available from mindtools.com offers that problems can be addressed from six different perspectives. Called CATWOE, the approach is an acronym for Customers, Actors (people within the organization), Transformative, Worldwide, Owner, and Environment (organizational).

Learn more about the CATWOE technique for problem solving.

Chapter Credit

Portions of the material in this section are based on original work by Geoffrey Graybeal and produced with support from the Rebus Community. The original is freely available under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license at https://press.rebus.community/media-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/.

• Helen Lock. “‘I Put My Butt on the Line’: How Spanx Took Over the World.” The Guardian. July 11, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2016/jul/11/put-butt-on-the-line-how-spanx-world ↵
• Gary Keller. “Business Success Series, Part 1: Sara Blakely-Spanx.” The One Thing. n.d. https://www.the1thing.com/blog/the-one-thing/business-success-series-part-1-sara-blakely-spanx/ ↵
• “Characteristics of Adaptors and Innovators.” Kirton KAI Inventory Tool. n.d. http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/archive/ci/31/i11/html/11hipple_box3.ci.html ↵
• Shaun Powell. “The Management and Consumption of Organisational Creativity.” Journal of Consumer Marketing 25, no. 3 (2008): 158–166. ↵
• N.C Healthcare-Associated Infections Prevention Program. Healthcare-Associated Infections in North Carolina: 2014 Annual Report, Healthcare Consumer Version. April 2015. https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/hai/figures/hai_apr2015_consumers_annual.pdf ↵
• Romesh Ratnesar. “What If Instead of Taking the SAT You Got to Play a Video Game?” Bloomberg BusinessWeek. March 19, 2019. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-03-19/a-harvard-dropout-s-plan-to-fix-college-admissions-with-video-games ↵
• Mark Granovetter. “The Strength of Weak Ties.” American Journal of Sociology 5 (1973): 1360–1380. ↵
• Jacob Morgan. “Why Every Employee Should Be Building Weak Ties at Work.” Forbes. March 11, 2014. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/03/11/every-employee-weak-ties-work/#277851063168 ↵
• John White. “Top UK Influencer Oliver Isaacs Reveals What It Takes to Go Viral.” Inc. August 6, 2017. https://www.inc.com/john-white/top-uk-influencer-oliver-isaacs-reveals-what-it-ta.html ↵
• Erik Larson. “How Jeff Bezos Uses Faster Better Decisions to Keep Amazon Innovating.” Forbes. September 24, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriklarson/2018/09/24/how-jeff-bezos-uses-faster-better-decisions-to-keep-amazon-innovating/#492c351b7a65 ↵
• Stephanie Schomer. “How Getting Laid Off Empowered This Entrepreneur to Start Her Own Award-Winning Marketing Agency.” Entrepreneur. January 15, 2019. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326212 ↵
• Sherrie Campbell. “6 Characteristics of Resourceful People That Bring Them Success.” Entrepreneur. March 10, 2016. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/272171 ↵
• “Resourcefulness Is More Important Than Resources.” The Ecommerce Mindset: How Successful Store Owners Think. n.d. https://www.oberlo.com/ebooks/mindset/resourceful-entrepreneur ↵

NSCC Foundations of Entrepreneurship Copyright © 2022 by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

EDITORIAL article

Editorial: creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship: the learning science toward higher order abilities.

• 1 School of Information Technology in Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
• 2 Department of Building and Real Estate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
• 3 Department of Technology Application and Human Resource Development, Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
• 4 School of Education, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY, United States

Editorial on the Research Topic Creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship: The learning science toward higher order abilities

Creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship are emphasized as the major power in driving the development of our fast-changing world. Especially in the era of Industry 4.0, where intelligent manufacturing plays an important role, creative and entrepreneurial talents have gained more attention than ever before. Cultivating and educating those talents has become a key issue that needs to be solved. However, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, as higher-order abilities of talents, are not achieved overnight, because they may be affected by a variety of complex factors, including innate and acquired. Available knowledge about the teaching and learning of students' higher order abilities is still insufficient and the challenges of linking theories and practices claim more research efforts into mature pedagogies, effective teaching aids, and accurate evaluation tools. Hence, the present Research Topic on “Creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship: The learning science toward higher order abilities” contributes with updates and different perspectives on innovation-oriented education, representing the effort of 29 academic papers from 91 authors in total. The following section will elaborate contributions of these papers to the Research Topic.

Creativity and innovation

Creativity is regarded as the fountainhead of human civilizations, different strategies, and technologies were introduced to facilitate it.

Game playing is seen as a potential way to engender greater fun and thus more creativity may be facilitated. Mun conducted two experiments on university students to explore the effect of game playing and goal orientation on creativity. Results showed that the cognitive game that engendered the greatest degree of fun led to more creative outcomes. In Experiment 1, the cognitive game that engendered greater degree of fun resulted in more creative outcomes on a subsequent new product development task, compared with the control group and the cognitive game that did not engender as much fun. Results of Experiment 2 showed the effects of goal orientations on creative outcomes (i.e., focus on the process of playing the game vs. focus on the outcome of winning) in terms of novelty, usefulness, and overall creativity. It confirmed that individuals who participated in the process of goal-oriented cognitive game that engendered a high degree of fun were more creative on the subsequent toy design task than those who were given an outcome goal orientation.

Zhan et al. explored the effectiveness of product-based pedagogy (PBP) on high school students' creativity and innovative thinking in an artificial intelligence course. After employing a seven-step teaching model (i.e., phenomenon, problem, plan, prototype, product, presentation, price) in accordance with PBP, in which the key function of the product as a linkage between creativity and innovation was emphasized, positive results were found in the treatment group students' project management skills, creativity, and innovative thinking. In future, more AI curriculum are expected to be developed for students to participate easily in the process of product creation, and learn more effectively to develop creativity and innovative thinking.

To cultivate senior high school students' creativity, Wang et al. conducted a study about maker teaching activity design in general technology course. By three rounds of action research, a teaching model was proposed to improve students' creativity effectively, which synthesized the Four Periods of Creative Process (i.e., preparation, gestation, enlightenment and verification) and the Five Stages of Creative Problem Solving (i.e., discovering facts, discovering problems, seeking ideas, seeking solutions and seeking acceptance). Finally, according to the comparative experimental study, it was found that the teaching model could improve students' creativity significantly and effectively. Significant positive improvement was also found on students' adventurous, curiosity, imagination and challenge.

Yan et al. addressed that it was a worthy topic on developing sustainable interventions to promote students' self-efficacy in creativity without generating excessive workload for teachers. In their study, the self-assessment mind maps were employed as instructional intervention, and their effects on students' self-efficacy in creativity, self-efficacy in learning English, and academic performance in English language tests were examined. Empirical study was conducted in a Hong Kong primary school. Results showed that, after the intervention, while students' self-efficacy and test performance in English learning were not improved, there was significant positive effect on self-efficacy in creativity.

Fan and Ye focused on the application of inquiry-based teaching and learning in project design courses at university level in Taiwan. Quasi-experimental design method was adopted to examine the effect of two inquiry models. Results of five questionnaire surveys during the design project process showed positive effect on students' curriculum interest, curriculum value perception, and curriculum confidence.

Zhang et al. conducted a review on problem-based learning (PBL) research conducted over the past 40 years (from 1981 to 2021). They analyzed a total of 2,790 articles and reviews, and concluded that current research hotspots focus on the extensions of PBL teaching mode, application of PBL teaching method, and reform of PBL. Major contributors, key researchers and publishers were also listed. Overall, research on PBL has continued to increase over the past few decades. The authors highlighted that setting the right questions are the core of PBL, setting up the curriculum, and designing the questions according to the learning objectives are the key issues in PBL.

According to Chen et al. , while students' creative behaviors were not significantly improved, the argument map (AM)-supported online group debate activities were helpful for college students' critical thinking, including their depth and phases of critical thinking. They also emphasized on teachers' real-time feedback for students' improvements of high-level thinking skills and progress of the activity.

Referring to the theory of planned behavior, Tzeng et al. adopted self-evaluation as an intermediate variable to predict college students' adoption of technology for self-directed learning. In total of 285 college students participated in their survey, and the authors found that self-evaluation enhanced the influence of intentions on behavior and improved the accuracy of predictions of college students' adoption of technology for self-directed learning. They highlight the importance of students' attitudes and perceived behavioral control on intention.

Based on self-determination theory, Han et al. proposed that psychological safety positively affects students' creativity through psychological empowerment, and fault-tolerant culture also played a positive role in it. They conducted questionnaire survey on 238 students in China, and confirmed a positive correlation between psychological safety and creativity. The mediating role of psychological empowerment in the relationship between them was also revealed. Moreover, results showed that a fault-tolerant culture played a moderating role between psychological safety and psychological empowerment. Specifically, the fault-tolerant culture enhanced the direct influence of psychological safety on psychological empowerment and the indirect influence of psychological safety on creativity.

Creative role identity is also seen as an important antecedent for the encouragement of individuals to produce innovative behaviors. Deng et al. analyzed the psychological mechanism (flow as a mediator) of the influence of innovation climate on individual creative role identity of university students. Results of the questionnaire survey data collected from 226 students confirmed that an innovation climate has a significant positive impact on the identity of individual creative roles, and flow mediated the relationship between innovation climate and creative role identity.

Cui et al. formed a research framework to explore the correlations among hands-on making attitude, Interest type Epistemic Curiosity (IEC) and Deprived type Epistemic Curiosity (DEC), and career interest. They collected data from 220 participants in the 2021 Taiwan International Exhibition of Young Inventors (IEYI), in which young students were encouraged to make innovative projects by applying STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) knowledge and collaborative design. Results showed positive correlations between hands-on making attitude and the two types of epistemic curiosity. There were also positive correlations between STEM career interest and the two types of epistemic curiosity, and DEC had a higher coefficient on STEM career interest than IEC. In addition, both types of epistemic curiosity had a mediating role between hands-on making attitude and STEM career interest.

Jónsdóttir and Macdonald introduced a model that could help teachers to identify and analyze their teaching and learning process to support students' creativity at any school level and in any subject. The model was found based on the sociologist, Basil Bernstein's concepts, and drew on sociological concepts such as “framing and classification” and “power and control” in school settings.

Combining microcomputer interfaces and network communication technologies as well as virtual instrumentation, Wang designed an internet-based psychophysiological response testing and analysis system for creative learning. Differed from questionnaires and self-assessments, the system could be used to collect information on learners' psychophysiological responses and real-time performance of student participants during creative learning; especially when stress might affect creativity, the system was designed to investigate the relationship between different stress levels and performance on different creative learning tasks.

In addition to individuals' creativity, team creativity was also investigated in this Special Issue. To investigate the impact of leadership behavior to team creativity in startup teams, Antonio et al. proposed two mediator variables: Team Climate and Team Ambidexterity, and conducted an empirical quantitative research with more than 434 participants, aggregated into 145 teams. Samples are early startup teams in several cities in Indonesia, ran and led by young people. The result showed that Team Climate and Team Ambidexterity are good mediators of Servant and Transformational leadership behaviors to Team Creativity in startup teams. Kim and Kim discussed the public innovation capacity in Korea. They topologized public innovation capacity in terms of individuals, middle managers, and organizations' levels through mini-round Delphi analysis. They validated public innovation capacity through a questionnaire survey of 477 public employees from 30 agencies.

Considering that creativity does not always lead to positive outcomes, Dou et al. conducted a qualitative comparative analysis of negative and malevolent creativity. They concluded that negative creative thinking is a kind of native thinking based on personal interests that are developed to emphasize the benefits of an individual's interests, while malevolent creative thinking is a kind of native thinking based on the value-added of personal interests and is deliberately harmful. Identify the similarities (e.g., share a value orientation, environmental stimulation, and subjective motivation) and differences (e.g., differ in terms of value goals, ways of thinking, and the scale of the subject) in connotations among them, they proposed the Negative-Malevolent Thinking Interconnection Model (NMTIM), a linkage model of negative creative thinking and malevolent creative thinking to better show the bidirectional linkage mechanism.

Entrepreneurship

Exploring the factors influencing entrepreneurial intention is crucial to entrepreneurial practices and education.

Luo et al. studied the mediation effects of social capital and human capital on the relationship between proactive personality and entrepreneurial intentions in college students. After testing a sample of 300 Chinese college students, results showed that college students' proactive personality exerted a significant and positive impact on their entrepreneurial intentions. Social capital and human capital both played a partial mediating role between the proactive personality and entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, the study further discovered the chain mediating role of social capital and human capital between proactive personality and entrepreneurial intention. It was believed that Chinese college students' social capital will significantly influence their human capital. In other words, college students with a higher level of proactive personality will have more social capital and human capital, facilitating their generation of entrepreneurial intentions.

Considering personal values in an entrepreneurial process, Li et al. explored the relationship between materialism and college students' entrepreneurial intention through a serial mediation model. In total of 1,002 Chinese university students participated in the online survey and completed the measurement of entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial attitude, materialism, and achievement motivation. The study found that materialism positively predicted college students' entrepreneurial intention, and this relationship was serially mediated through achievement motivation and entrepreneurial attitude.

Mei et al. studied the mediating role of commitment and moderating role of family support on university students' successive development from entrepreneurial intention to behavior. In total of 469 valid responses were obtained by a survey conducted among university students from six major universities in South China. Results showed both direct and indirect positive effects between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial behavior, while entrepreneurial commitment and family support played mediating and moderating role between them respectively. It was concluded that entrepreneurial commitment bridged the path from entrepreneurial intention to behavior, and family support created the boundary effect.

Wang and Huang analyzed the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and prosocial tendency in the relation between college students' post-traumatic growth and entrepreneurial intention in the post-COVID-19 era. They collected data from 690 Chinese undergraduates, and concluded that in the post-COVID-19 era, the post-traumatic growth of college students would have a significant and positive effect on their entrepreneurial intentions. Besides, results indicated the mediation role of students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy and prosocial tendencies between post-traumatic growth and entrepreneurial intentions, and the chain mediating effect between students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy and prosocial tendencies was also established.

Li et al. focused the effect of university entrepreneurship education on independent student entrepreneurship. They discussed the correlation between three factors (i.e., entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial opportunity identification, entrepreneurial experience) and independent entrepreneurship. The authors collected questionnaire survey data from 1,424 fresh graduates who have received entrepreneurship education in China. Results showed that entrepreneurship theory-based courses could promote independent entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship practice training surprisingly failed to promote. It reflected that graduates who have received entrepreneurial practice training might be more objective to evaluate the risks and difficulties of entrepreneurship, leading to more cautious considerations in choosing independent entrepreneurship. They also indicated that entrepreneurial opportunity identification mediated only between theory-based courses and independent entrepreneurship.

Li et al. explored the mediating role of creativity on the relationship between personality traits and entrepreneurial intention. In total of 674 valid questionnaires were collected from college students in China. Results showed that neuroticism in personality traits had significant negative impact on entrepreneurial intention and creativity, while conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion had significant positive impact. Creativity had significant positive impact on entrepreneurial intention, it had partial mediating role between neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, and entrepreneurial intention along with complete mediating role between openness and entrepreneurial intention. Gao and Huang studied the mediation role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy between narcissistic personality and entrepreneurial intention. By conducting questionnaire survey sampled from 252 vocational college students in China, they found that narcissistic personality had a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy had a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial intention and played a partial mediation role in the relationship between narcissistic personality and entrepreneurial intention.

Shadiev et al. studied students' creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in a telecollaborative project. Participants were at different age levels; one group was junior high school students from China ( n = 15) and another group was university students from Indonesia ( n = 10). Supported by the 360-degree video technology, students created cultural learning content and communicated with their international partners through a telecollaborative platform. Results showed that participants' creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship were improved, and positive learning experiences were perceived.

Peng et al. studied the impact of resource bricolage on entrepreneurial orientation in startups. The moderating roles of top management team (TMT) heterogeneity and TMT behavioral integration were tested from the data of 295 startups. Results showed that the entrepreneurial orientation was positively correlated with the strategy of resource bricolage, and the relationship is positively moderated by TMT heterogeneity, while negatively moderated by TMT behavioral integration.

Yu et al. discussed the influence of knowledge management process and intellectual capital on innovation with the mediating effect of entrepreneurial orientation and moderating role of leaders' education levels. Based on the data of 393 IT firms in Pakistan, they discovered that innovation was positively correlated with knowledge management process and intellectual capital, and confirmed that entrepreneurial orientation partially mediated the relationship between knowledge management and intellectual capital on innovation. Moreover, it was confirmed that the moderation effect of leaders' education on intellectual capital and innovation relationship was insignificant.

Considering the gap in knowledge sharing in information system integration service industry, Hong et al. developed a research model to explore the mediating role of four types of knowledge sharing (i.e., automatic response, rational reflection, ridiculed reflection, and stolen reflection) in the relationship between problem solving self-efficacy (PSSE) and IT workers' job performance. Questionnaire results from 307 system integration IT workers showed that PSSE could positively predict four knowledge sharing types. Except for stolen reflection, job performance was positively predicted by the other three knowledge sharing types. It was concluded that supported by PSSE, job performance could be enhanced by automatic response systems and rational reflection systems in knowledge sharing.

New product development is a creative activity that requires to empathize users' needs. To this end, Chen et al. explored the impact of scenarios on the performance of entrepreneurial imaginativeness. Results confirmed that familiar scenarios that matched designers' background (including knowledge, expertise, and experience) could inspire entrepreneurial imaginativeness more than unfamiliar scenarios. They suggested that individuals utilize different familiar scenarios to foster their entrepreneurial imaginativeness. For team compositions, they proposed leaders to select members who were familiar with the task scenarios and had high entrepreneurial imaginativeness to ensure that the knowledge, expertise, and experience of the members could benefit the creative tasks.

Peljko and Antončič focused on entrepreneurial openness and creativity on entrepreneurial level relative to business growth. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze survey data obtained from 851 entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) in three countries. Results indicated that creativity of the entrepreneur was positively correlated with entrepreneurial openness and creative personality, and the growth of the firm was positively correlated with the entrepreneur's creativity. In addition to direct effects, some smaller indirect effects were detected in the model for the indirect effect of entrepreneurial openness and creative personality on growth through the creativity of the entrepreneur. The three cross-national comparative study contributes to comparative international entrepreneurship research.

Based on previous research results, we believe that these researches solve some important research gaps and have important contributions in the field of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. However, some good research suggestions for further studies are also proposed in these researches. It is suggested that we could make more efforts based on these valuable research suggestions. Lastly, we extend deep gratitude to all authors and reviewers participated in this special issues. We value your articles and comments, and remain committed to striving for excellence in the future.

Author contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation in China (62277018 and 62237001), Ministry of Education in China Project of Humanities and Social Sciences (22YJC880106), the Major Project of Social Science in South China Normal University (ZDPY2208), and the Major Basic Research and Applied Research Projects of Guangdong Education Department (#2017WZDXM004).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Keywords: creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, learning science, higher order abilities

Citation: Zhan Z, Fong PSW, Lin K-Y, Zhong B and Yang HH (2022) Editorial: Creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship: The learning science toward higher order abilities. Front. Psychol. 13:1063370. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1063370

Received: 07 October 2022; Accepted: 17 November 2022; Published: 29 November 2022.

Edited and reviewed by: Pei Sun , Tsinghua University, China

Copyright © 2022 Zhan, Fong, Lin, Zhong and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Zehui Zhan, zhanzehui@m.scnu.edu.cn

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

What Is The Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Thinking And Problem Solving

Entrepreneurial thinking and problem solving are two essential skills that are required for success in the modern business world. This blog post will explore the relationship between the two, including how they can work together to help entrepreneurs identify and solve problems in the most effective way possible.

The benefits of entrepreneurial thinking

Entrepreneurial thinking is the process of recognizing a problem and coming up with innovative solutions to address it. This type of thinking is often linked to problem solving, as the two go hand in hand.

Entrepreneurial thinking is also a great way to stay ahead of the curve and come up with creative solutions to any new challenges that arise.

The role of problem solving in entrepreneurial thinking

Entrepreneurial thinking and problem solving go hand in hand. By definition, entrepreneurial thinking is the process of recognizing and capitalizing on opportunities, while problem solving is the process of identifying, analyzing, and resolving issues. As such, problem solving is an essential component of entrepreneurial thinking, as it enables entrepreneurs to identify and create solutions to the challenges they face.

Through problem solving, entrepreneurs can develop innovative strategies and business models to achieve success. Problem solving also helps entrepreneurs develop the skills necessary to manage resources, make decisions, and take risks.

Techniques to foster entrepreneurial thinking

It is widely accepted that entrepreneurial thinking and problem solving are inextricably linked. Problem solving involves the identification and analysis of problems and obstacles, followed by the development of a solution. Entrepreneurial thinking, on the other hand, is the mindset that allows one to identify opportunities, define solutions, and take action to bring them to fruition.

Both are essential skills for any successful business venture, and there are various techniques that can be employed to foster both problem solving and entrepreneurial thinking. These techniques include brainstorming and idea generation, research and analysis, testing and experimentation, and goal setting.

Strategies for effective problem solving

Entrepreneurial thinking and problem solving go hand in hand. Having an entrepreneurial mindset can help you become a better problem solver, allowing you to identify opportunities, come up with creative solutions, and take calculated risks.

Entrepreneurial thinking involves looking at the big picture, being able to think outside the box, and taking the initiative to make a positive change. When it comes to problem solving, it requires a deep understanding of the issue, an ability to analyze the situation, and a creative approach to finding a solution. Entrepreneurial problem solvers have the ability to think strategically, break down complex problems into manageable tasks, and identify the resources needed to bring the solution to life.

The impact of entrepreneurial thinking on problem solving

The relationship between entrepreneurial thinking and problem solving is incredibly powerful. Entrepreneurial thinking encourages creativity and out-of-the-box solutions, while problem solving requires the ability to identify and analyze problems and develop effective strategies to tackle them.

By combining these two skills, entrepreneurs can come up with innovative solutions to even the most complex problems. When entrepreneurs apply entrepreneurial thinking to problem solving, they are able to think outside of the box, identify potential opportunities, and develop creative solutions that may not have been considered before. This type of thinking can lead to new and improved products, services, and processes that can benefit both the entrepreneur and the customer.

In conclusion, entrepreneurial thinking and problem solving go hand-in-hand. Entrepreneurial thinking helps to spark the creative process and identify potential solutions, while problem solving is the process of developing and implementing those solutions.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

4.2 Creativity, Innovation, and Invention: How They Differ

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Distinguish between creativity, innovation, and invention
• Explain the difference between pioneering and incremental innovation, and which processes are best suited to each

One of the key requirements for entrepreneurial success is your ability to develop and offer something unique to the marketplace. Over time, entrepreneurship has become associated with creativity , the ability to develop something original, particularly an idea or a representation of an idea. Innovation requires creativity, but innovation is more specifically the application of creativity. Innovation is the manifestation of creativity into a usable product or service. In the entrepreneurial context, innovation is any new idea, process, or product, or a change to an existing product or process that adds value to that existing product or service.

How is an invention different from an innovation? All inventions contain innovations, but not every innovation rises to the level of a unique invention. For our purposes, an invention is a truly novel product, service, or process. It will be based on previous ideas and products, but it is such a leap that it is not considered an addition to or a variant of an existing product but something unique. Table 4.2 highlights the differences between these three concepts.

Concept	Description
Creativity	ability to develop something original, particularly an idea or a representation of an idea, with an element of aesthetic flair
Innovation	change that adds value to an existing product or service
Invention	truly novel product, service, or process that, though based on ideas and products that have come before, represents a leap, a creation truly novel and different

One way we can consider these three concepts is to relate them to design thinking. Design thinking is a method to focus the design and development decisions of a product on the needs of the customer, typically involving an empathy-driven process to define complex problems and create solutions that address those problems. Complexity is key to design thinking. Straightforward problems that can be solved with enough money and force do not require much design thinking. Creative design thinking and planning are about finding new solutions for problems with several tricky variables in play. Designing products for human beings, who are complex and sometimes unpredictable, requires design thinking.

Airbnb has become a widely used service all over the world. That has not always been the case, however. In 2009, the company was near failure. The founders were struggling to find a reason for the lack of interest in their properties until they realized that their listings needed professional, high-quality photographs rather than simple cell-phone photos. Using a design thinking approach, the founders traveled to the properties with a rented camera to take some new photographs. As a result of this experiment, weekly revenue doubled. This approach could not be sustainable in the long term, but it generated the outcome the founders needed to better understand the problem. This creative approach to solving a complex problem proved to be a major turning point for the company. 7

People who are adept at design thinking are creative, innovative, and inventive as they strive to tackle different types of problems. Consider Divya Nag , a millennial biotech and medical device innovation leader, who launched a business after she discovered a creative way to prolong the life of human cells in Petri dishes. Nag’s stem-cell research background and her entrepreneurial experience with her medical investment firm made her a popular choice when Apple hired her to run two programs dedicated to developing health-related apps, a position she reached before turning twenty-four years old. 8

Creativity, innovation, inventiveness, and entrepreneurship can be tightly linked. It is possible for one person to model all these traits to some degree. Additionally, you can develop your creativity skills, sense of innovation, and inventiveness in a variety of ways. In this section, we’ll discuss each of the key terms and how they relate to the entrepreneurial spirit.

Entrepreneurial creativity and artistic creativity are not so different. You can find inspiration in your favorite books, songs, and paintings, and you also can take inspiration from existing products and services. You can find creative inspiration in nature, in conversations with other creative minds, and through formal ideation exercises, for example, brainstorming. Ideation is the purposeful process of opening up your mind to new trains of thought that branch out in all directions from a stated purpose or problem. Brainstorming , the generation of ideas in an environment free of judgment or dissension with the goal of creating solutions, is just one of dozens of methods for coming up with new ideas. 9

You can benefit from setting aside time for ideation. Reserving time to let your mind roam freely as you think about an issue or problem from multiple directions is a necessary component of the process. Ideation takes time and a deliberate effort to move beyond your habitual thought patterns. If you consciously set aside time for creativity, you will broaden your mental horizons and allow yourself to change and grow. 10

Entrepreneurs work with two types of thinking. Linear thinking —sometimes called vertical thinking —involves a logical, step-by-step process. In contrast, creative thinking is more often lateral thinking , free and open thinking in which established patterns of logical thought are purposefully ignored or even challenged. You can ignore logic; anything becomes possible. Linear thinking is crucial in turning your idea into a business. Lateral thinking will allow you to use your creativity to solve problems that arise. Figure 4.5 summarizes linear and lateral thinking.

It is certainly possible for you to be an entrepreneur and focus on linear thinking. Many viable business ventures flow logically and directly from existing products and services. However, for various reasons, creativity and lateral thinking are emphasized in many contemporary contexts in the study of entrepreneurship. Some reasons for this are increased global competition, the speed of technological change, and the complexity of trade and communication systems. 11 These factors help explain not just why creativity is emphasized in entrepreneurial circles but also why creativity should be emphasized. Product developers of the twenty-first century are expected to do more than simply push products and innovations a step further down a planned path. Newer generations of entrepreneurs are expected to be path breakers in new products, services, and processes.

Examples of creativity are all around us. They come in the forms of fine art and writing, or in graffiti and viral videos, or in new products, services, ideas, and processes. In practice, creativity is incredibly broad. It is all around us whenever or wherever people strive to solve a problem, large or small, practical or impractical.

We previously defined innovation as a change that adds value to an existing product or service. According to the management thinker and author Peter Drucker , the key point about innovation is that it is a response to both changes within markets and changes from outside markets. For Drucker, classical entrepreneurship psychology highlights the purposeful nature of innovation. 12 Business firms and other organizations can plan to innovate by applying either lateral or linear thinking methods, or both. In other words, not all innovation is purely creative. If a firm wishes to innovate a current product, what will likely matter more to that firm is the success of the innovation rather than the level of creativity involved. Drucker summarized the sources of innovation into seven categories, as outlined in Table 4.3 . Firms and individuals can innovate by seeking out and developing changes within markets or by focusing on and cultivating creativity. Firms and individuals should be on the lookout for opportunities to innovate. 13

Source	Description
The unexpected	Looking for new opportunities in the market; unexpected product performance; unexpected new products as examples
The incongruity	Discrepancies between what you think should be and what is reality
Process need	Weaknesses in the organization, product, or service
Changes in industry/market	New regulations; new technologies
Demographics	Understanding needs and wants of target markets
Changes in perceptions	Changes in perceptions of life events and values
New knowledge	New technologies; advancements in thinking; new research

One innovation that demonstrates several of Drucker’s sources is the use of cashier kiosks in fast-food restaurants. McDonald’s was one of the first to launch these self-serve kiosks. Historically, the company has focused on operational efficiencies (doing more/better with less). In response to changes in the market, changes in demographics, and process need, McDonald’s incorporated self-serve cashier stations into their stores. These kiosks address the need of younger generations to interact more with technology and gives customers faster service in most cases. 15

Another leading expert on innovation, Tony Ulwick , focuses on understanding how the customer will judge or evaluate the quality and value of the product. The product development process should be based on the metrics that customers use to judge products, so that innovation can address those metrics and develop the best product for meeting customers’ needs when it hits the market. This process is very similar to Drucker’s contention that innovation comes as a response to changes within and outside of the market. Ulwick insists that focusing on the customer should begin early in the development process. 16

Disruptive innovation is a process that significantly affects the market by making a product or service more affordable and/or accessible, so that it will be available to a much larger audience. Clay Christensen of Harvard University coined this term in the 1990s to emphasize the process nature of innovation. For Christensen, the innovative component is not the actual product or service, but the process that makes that product more available to a larger population of users. He has since published a good deal on the topic of disruptive innovation, focusing on small players in a market. Christensen theorizes that a disruptive innovation from a smaller company can threaten an existing larger business by offering the market new and improved solutions. The smaller company causes the disruption when it captures some of the market share from the larger organization. 17 , 18 One example of a disruptive innovation is Uber and its impact on the taxicab industry. Uber’s innovative service, which targets customers who might otherwise take a cab, has shaped the industry as whole by offering an alternative that some deem superior to the typical cab ride.

One key to innovation within a given market space is to look for pain points, particularly in existing products that fail to work as well as users expect them to. A pain point is a problem that people have with a product or service that might be addressed by creating a modified version that solves the problem more efficiently. 19 For example, you might be interested in whether a local retail store carries a specific item without actually going there to check. Most retailers now have a feature on their websites that allows you to determine whether the product (and often how many units) is available at a specific store. This eliminates the need to go to the location only to find that they are out of your favorite product. Once a pain point is identified in a firm’s own product or in a competitor’s product, the firm can bring creativity to bear in finding and testing solutions that sidestep or eliminate the pain, making the innovation marketable. This is one example of an incremental innovation , an innovation that modifies an existing product or service. 20

In contrast, a pioneering innovation is one based on a new technology, a new advancement in the field, and/or an advancement in a related field that leads to the development of a new product. 21 Firms offering similar products and services can undertake pioneering innovations, but pioneering the new product requires opening up new market space and taking major risks.

Entrepreneur In Action

Pioneering innovation in the personal care industry.

In his ninth-grade biology class, Benjamin Stern came up with an idea to change the personal care industry. He envisioned personal cleaning products (soap, shampoo, etc.) that would contain no harsh chemicals or sulfates, and would also produce no plastic waste from empty bottles. He developed Nohbo Drops , single-use personal cleansing products with water-soluble packaging. Stern was able to borrow money from family and friends, and use some of his college fund to hire a chemist to develop the product. He then appeared on Shark Tank with his innovation in 2016 and secured the backing of investor Mark Cuban . Stern assembled a research team to perfect the product and obtained a patent ( Figure 4.6 ). The products are now available via the company website.

Is a pioneering innovation an invention? A firm makes a pioneering innovation when it creates a product or service arising from what it has done before. Pokémon GO is a great example of pioneering innovation. Nintendo was struggling to keep pace with other gaming-related companies. The company, in keeping with its core business of video games, came up with a new direction for the gaming industry. Pokémon GO is known worldwide and is one of the most successful mobile games launched. 22 It takes creativity to explore a new direction, but not every pioneering innovation creates a distinctly new product or capability for consumers and clients.

Entrepreneurs in the process of developing an innovation usually examine the current products and services their firm offers, investigate new technologies and techniques being introduced in the marketplace or in related marketplaces, watch research and development in universities and in other companies, and pursue new developments that are likely to fit one of two conditions: an innovation that likely fits an existing market better than other products or services being offered; or an innovation that fits a market that so far has been underserved.

An example of an incremental innovation is the trash receptacle you find at fast-food restaurants. For many years, trash cans in fast-food locations were placed in boxes behind swinging doors. The trash cans did one job well: They hid the garbage from sight. But they created other problems: Often, the swinging doors would get ketchup and other waste on them, surely a pain point. Newer trash receptacles in fast-food restaurants have open fronts or open tops that enable people to dispose of their trash more neatly. The downside for restaurants is that users can see and possibly smell the food waste, but if the restaurants change the trash bags frequently, as is a good practice anyway, this innovation works relatively well. You might not think twice about this everyday example of an innovation when you eat at a fast-food restaurant, but even small improvements can matter a lot, particularly if the market they serve is vast.

An invention is a leap in capability beyond innovation. Some inventions combine several innovations into something new. Invention certainly requires creativity, but it goes beyond coming up with new ideas, combinations of thought, or variations on a theme. Inventors build. Developing something users and customers view as an invention could be important to some entrepreneurs, because when a new product or service is viewed as unique, it can create new markets. True inventiveness is often recognized in the marketplace, and it can help build a valuable reputation and help establish market position if the company can build a future-oriented corporate narrative around the invention. 23

Besides establishing a new market position, a true invention can have a social and cultural impact. At the social level, a new invention can influence the ways institutions work. For example, the invention of desktop computing put accounting and word processing into the hands of nearly every office worker. The ripple effects spread to the school systems that educate and train the corporate workforce. Not long after the spread of desktop computing, workers were expected to draft reports, run financial projections, and make appealing presentations. Specializations or aspects of specialized jobs—such as typist, bookkeeper, corporate copywriter—became necessary for almost everyone headed for corporate work. Colleges and eventually high schools saw software training as essential for students of almost all skill levels. These additional capabilities added profitability and efficiencies, but they also have increased job requirements for the average professional.

Some of the most successful inventions contain a mix of familiarity and innovation that is difficult to achieve. With this mix, the rate of adoption can be accelerated because of the familiarity with the concept or certain aspects of the product or service. As an example, the “videophone” was a concept that began to be explored as early as the late 1800s. AT&T began extensive work on videophones during the 1920s. However, the invention was not adopted because of a lack of familiarity with the idea of seeing someone on a screen and communicating back and forth. Other factors included societal norms, size of the machine, and cost. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that the invention started to take hold in the marketplace. 24 The concept of a black box is that activities are performed in a somewhat mysterious and ambiguous manner, with a serendipitous set of actions connecting that result in a surprisingly beneficial manner. An example is Febreeze, a chemical combination that binds molecules to eliminate odors. From a black box perspective, the chemical engineers did not intend to create this product, but as they were working on creating another product, someone noticed that the product they were working on removed odors, thus inadvertently creating a successful new product marketed as Febreeze.

What Can You Do?

Did henry ford invent the assembly line.

Very few products or procedures are actually brand-new ideas. Most new products are alterations or new applications of existing products, with some type of twist in design, function, portability, or use. Henry Ford is usually credited with inventing the moving assembly line Figure 4.7 (a) in 1913. However, some 800 years before Henry Ford, wooden ships were mass produced in the northern Italian city of Venice in a system that anticipated the modern assembly line.

Various components (ropes, sails, and so on) were prefabricated in different parts of the Venetian Arsenal, a huge, complex construction site along one of Venice’s canals. The parts were then delivered to specific assembly points Figure 4.7 (b) . After each stage of construction, the ships were floated down the canal to the next assembly area, where the next sets of workers and parts were waiting. Moving the ships down the waterway and assembling them in stages increased speed and efficiency to the point that long before the Industrial Revolution, the Arsenal could produce one fully functional and completely equipped ship per day . The system was so successful that it was used from the thirteenth century to about 1800.

Henry Ford did not invent anything new—he only applied the 800-year-old process of building wooden ships by hand along a moving waterway to making metal cars by hand on a moving conveyor ( Figure 4.7 ).

Opportunities to bring new products and processes to market are in front of us every day. The key is having the ability to recognize them and implement them. Likewise, the people you need to help you be successful may be right in front of you on a regular basis. The key is having the ability to recognize who they are and making connections to them. Just as those ships and cars moved down an assembly line until they were ready to be put into service, start thinking about moving down the “who I know” line so that you will eventually have a successful business in place.

The process of invention is difficult to codify because not all inventions or inventors follow the same path. Often the path can take multiple directions, involve many people besides the inventor, and encompass many restarts. Inventors and their teams develop their own processes along with their own products, and the field in which an inventor works will greatly influence the modes and pace of invention. Elon Musk is famous for founding four different billion-dollar companies. The development processes for PayPal , Solar City , SpaceX , and Tesla differed widely; however, Musk does outline a six-step decision-making process ( Figure 4.8 ):

• Ask a question.
• Gather as much evidence as possible about it.
• Develop axioms based on the evidence and try to assign a probability of truth to each one.
• Draw a conclusion in order to determine: Are these axioms correct, are they relevant, do they necessarily lead to this conclusion, and with what probability?
• Attempt to disprove the conclusion. Seek refutation from others to further help break your conclusion.
• If nobody can invalidate your conclusion, then you’re probably right, but you’re not certainly right.

In other words, the constant underlying Musk’s decision process is the scientific method. 25 The scientific method , most often associated with the natural sciences, outlines the process of discovering an answer to a question or a problem. “The scientific method is a logical organization of steps that scientists use to make deductions about the world around us.” 26 The steps in the scientific method line up quite nicely with Musk’s decision-making process. Applying the scientific method to invention and innovation makes sense. The scientific method involves becoming aware of a problem, collecting data about it by observing and experimenting, and coming up with suggestions on how to solve it.

Economists argue that processes of invention can be explained by economic forces. But this hasn’t always been the case. Prior to 1940, economic theory focused very little on inventions. After World War II, much of the global economy in the developed world needed to be rebuilt. New technologies were developing rapidly, and research and development investment increased. Inventors and economists alike became aware of consumer demand and realized that demand can influence which inventions take off at a given time. 27 However, inventors are always up against an adoption curve. 28

The Rogers Adoption Curve was popularized through the research and publications of the author and scientist Everett Rogers . 29 He first used it to describe how agricultural innovations diffused (or failed to) in a society. It was later applied to all inventions and innovations. This curve illustrates diffusion of an innovation and when certain people will adopt it. First is the question of who adopts inventions and innovations in society: The main groups are innovators, early adopters, early and late-majority adopters, and “laggards” (Rogers’s own term). 30 The innovators are the ones willing to take a risk on a new product, the consumers who want to try it first. The early adopters are consumers who will adopt new inventions with little to no information. Majority adopters will adopt products after being accepted by the majority. And finally, laggards are often not willing to readily adopt change and are the hardest to convince to try a new invention. 31

Rogers’s second way of looking at the concept is from the point of view of the invention itself. A given population partially or completely adopts an invention or rejects it. If an invention is targeted at the wrong population or the wrong population segment, this can dramatically inhibit its chances of being adopted widely. The most critical point of adoption often occurs at the end of the early adoption phase, before the early majority steps in and truly confirms (or not) the diffusion of an invention. This is called the diffusion chasm (though this process is usually called the diffusion of innovations , for our purposes, it applies quite well to new inventions as we define them here).

The diffusion curve depicts a social process in which the value of an invention is perceived (or not) to be worth the cost ( Figure 4.9 ). Early adopters generally pay more than those who wait, but if the invention gives them a perceived practical, social, or cultural advantage, members of the population, the popularity of the invention itself, and marketing can all drive the invention over the diffusion chasm. Once the early majority adopts an innovation (in very large numbers), we can expect the rest of the majority to adopt it. By the time the late majority and the laggards adopt an innovation, the novelty has worn off, but the practical benefits of the innovation can still be felt.

Inventors are constantly trying to cross the diffusion chasm, often with many products at a time. Crossing the diffusion chasm is a nearly constant concern for business-focused or outcomes-focused inventors. Inventors put many of their resources into an invention during the innovation and early adoption stages. Inventions may not turn a profit for investors or the inventors themselves until they are well into the early majority stage of adoption. Some inventors are pleased to work toward general discovery, but most in today’s social and cultural context are working to develop products and services for markets.

One shortcoming of the diffusion of innovations model is that it treats inventions and innovations as though they are finished and complete, though many are not. Not all inventions are finished products ready for market. Iterative development is more common, particularly in fields with high levels of complexity and in service-oriented ventures. In the iterative development process, inventors and innovators continuously engage with potential customers in order to develop their products and their consumer bases at the same time. This model of business learning, also known as the science of customer development, is essential. 32 Business learning involves testing product-market fit and making changes to an innovation or invention many times over until either investment funding runs out or the product succeeds. Perhaps the most accurate way to summarize this process is to note that many inventions are hit-or-miss prospects that get only a few chances to cross the diffusion chasm. When innovators follow the build-measure-learn model (discussed in detail in Launch for Growth to Success ), they try to work their way across the diffusion chasm rather than making a leap of faith.

Work It Out

The safety razor was an innovation over the straight razor. Safety razor blades are small enough to fit inside a capsule, and the location and type of handle was altered to suit the new orientation of handle to blade ( Figure 4.10 ). Most contemporary razors are themselves innovations on the safety razor, whether they have two, three, four, or more blades. The method of changing razor blades has evolved with each innovation on the safety razor, but the designs are functionally similar.

The electric razor is a related invention. It still uses blades to shave hair off the face or body, but the blades are hidden beneath a foil or foils. Hairs poke through the foils when the razor is pressed against the skin, and blades moving in various directions cut the hairs. Although electric razors use blades as do mechanical razors, the new design and the added technology qualified the electric razor as an invention that offered something new in the shaving industry when Jacob Schick won the patent for a shaving machine in 1930. 33 Still other innovations in the shaving genre include gender-specific razors, beard trimmers, and, more recently, online clubs such as Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s Shave Club .

Think about the conceptual difference between innovation and invention. Is the safety razor a pioneering innovation or an incremental one? What makes the electric razor an invention, as we define it here? What makes it stand out as a leap from previous types of razors? Do you think the electric razor is a “sure thing”? Why or why not? Consider the availability of electricity at the time the first electric razors were being made. Why do you think the electric razor made it over the diffusion chasm between early adopters and early majority adopters? Do you think the electric razor was invented iteratively with small changes to the same product in response to customer preferences? Or did it develop in a series of black box inventions, with each one either diffusing or not?

• 7 “How Design Thinking Transformed Airbnb from Failing Startup to Billion Dollar Business.” First Round Review . n.d. https://firstround.com/review/How-design-thinking-transformed-Airbnb-from-failing-startup-to-billion-dollar-business/
• 8 “Divya Nag, 26.” Fortune . n.d. http://fortune.com/40-under-40/2017/divya-nag-27/
• 9 Rikke Dam and Teo Siang. “Introduction to the Essential Ideation Techniques Which Are the Heart of Design Thinking.” Interaction Design Foundation . April 2019. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/introduction-to-the-essential-ideation-techniques-which-are-the-heart-of-design-thinking
• 10 Dawn Kelly and Terry L. Amburgey. “Organizational Inertia and Momentum: A Dynamic Model of Strategic Change.” Academy of Management Journal 34, no. 3 (1991): 591–612.
• 11 Ian Fillis and Ruth Rentschler. “The Role of Creativity in Entrepreneurship.”  Journal of Enterprising Culture  18, no. 1 (2010): 49–81.
• 12 P. F. Drucker. Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practices and Principles . New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1986.
• 13 P. F. Drucker. Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practices and Principles . (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1986), 35.
• 14 P. F. Drucker. Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practices and Principles . New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1986.
• 15 Blake Morgan. “5 Fresh Examples of Customer Service Innovation.” Forbes . July 17, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2017/07/17/5-fresh-examples-of-customer-experience-innovation/#3ae5a46e5c18
• 16 Tony Ulwick. “Reinventing Innovation for 25 Years.” Strategyn . n.d. https://strategyn.com/tony-ulwick/?network=g&matchtype=p&keyword=tony%20ulwick&creative=268244402567&device=c&devicemodel=&placement=&position=1t1&campaignid=1394486829&adgroupid=57939305027&loc_physical_ms=9015694&loc_interest_ms=&gclid=CjwKCAjw29vsBRAuEiwA9s-0B2jD3BYbm-BEiPWHKfd6R6mnW4XCHuhXbX_JhUof76IdXh6joIzlWRoCqJAQAvD_BwE
• 17 Chris Larson. “Disruptive Innovation Theory: What It Is & 4 Key Concepts.” Harvard Business School . November 15, 2016. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/4-keys-to-understanding-clayton-christensens-theory-of-disruptive-innovation
• 18 Rosamond Hutt. “What Is Disruptive Innovation?” World Economic Forum . June 25, 2016. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/what-is-disruptive-innovation/
• 19 Lloyd Waldo. “What’s a Pain Point? A Guide for Startups.” StartupYard Seed Accelerator . December 1, 2016. https://startupyard.com/whats-pain-point/
• 20 Abdul Ali, Manohar U. Kalwani, and Dan Kovenock. “Selecting Product Development Projects: Pioneering versus Incremental Innovation Strategies.”  Management Science  39, no. 3 (1993): 255–274.
• 21 Abdul Ali. “Pioneering versus Incremental Innovation: Review and Research Propositions.”  Journal of Product Innovation Management  11, no. 1 (1994): 46–61.
• 22 JV Chamary. “Why ‘Pokémon GO’ Is the World’s Most Important Game.” Forbes . February 10, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2018/02/10/pokemon-go-science-health-benefits/#2b6f07fd3ab0
• 23 Morten Thanning Vendelø. “Narrating Corporate Reputation: Becoming Legitimate through Storytelling.”  International Studies of Management & Organization  28, no. 3 (1998): 120–137.
• 24 Thomas J. Fitzgerald. “For the Deaf: Communication without the Wait.” The New York Times . December 18, 2003. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/18/technology/for-the-deaf-communication-without-the-wait.html
• 25 Abby Jackson. “Elon Musk Uses This 6-Step Process to Make Decisions.” Business Insider . November 16, 2017. https://www.inc.com/business-insider/how-elon-musk-makes-decisions-rolling-stone.html
• 26 Joan Whetzel. “Formula for Using the Scientific Method.” Owlcation . February 11, 2017. https://owlcation.com/academia/FormulaForUsingScientificMethod
• 27 N. Rosenberg. “Science, Invention and Economic Growth.”  The Economic Journal  84, no. 333 (1974): 90–108.
• 28 Everett M. Rogers.  Diffusion of Innovations , 5th ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010.
• 29 John-Pierre Maeli. “The Rogers Adoption Curve & How You Spread New Ideas Throughout Culture.” The Political Informer . May 6, 2016. https://medium.com/the-political-informer/the-rogers-adoption-curve-how-you-spread-new-ideas-throughout-culture-d848462fcd24
• 30 Everett M. Rogers.  Diffusion of Innovations , 5th ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010.
• 31 Wayne W. LaMorte. “Diffusion of Innovation Theory.” September 9, 2019. http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/SB/BehavioralChangeTheories/BehavioralChangeTheories4.html
• 32 Eric Ries. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses . Largo, Maryland: Crown Books, 2011.
• 33 “Jacob Schick Invents the Electric Razor.” Connecticut History . May 13, 2017. https://connecticuthistory.org/jacob-schick-invents-the-electric-razor/

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/entrepreneurship/pages/1-introduction

• Authors: Michael Laverty, Chris Littel
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Entrepreneurship
• Publication date: Jan 16, 2020
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/entrepreneurship/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/entrepreneurship/pages/4-2-creativity-innovation-and-invention-how-they-differ

© Jun 26, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

More From Forbes

How to become an entrepreneur: find a problem and be the solution.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Mitigate Partners act as the problem-solvers, consulting with businesses on employee benefits, risk ... [+] management, and cost containment.

Entrepreneurship isn’t an easy or simple profession, but as with any field, there are basic principles that govern success. The most fundamental truth in entrepreneurship is this: find a problem and be the solution. If you want to become a successful entrepreneur, your business must fill a gap, solve an issue, or provide a product that didn’t previously exist. 

That’s exactly what entrepreneurs Carl C. Schuessler, Jr. and Barry Murphy did. They understood that the healthcare crisis in America is ongoing and many employers are struggling to navigate it. They found that employer-provided health insurance can be a confusing road to navigate, and it is difficult for employers to provide quality benefits at a cost that respects the corporate bottom line. With failed solutions from traditional health insurance carriers, many employers have given up on trying to find good, yet affordable, coverage for their staff.

This is the problem Mitigate Partners set out to solve. Now, they act as the problem-solvers, consulting with businesses on employee benefits, risk management, and cost containment. Their success—they have 30 independent offices across the United States—can be attributed to that basic entrepreneurship principle. They are the solution to a problem many business owners are facing. 

Hopeful entrepreneurs can learn from Mitigate Partners’ experience and take these three steps toward building a business that solves people’s problems.

Be on the lookout for problems to solve

If you see something, say something—or, in this case, do something. Schuessler’s inspiration for founding Mitigate Partners came after reading the Time magazine article by Steven Brill,   America’s Bitter Pill , which uncovered America’s broken healthcare system. At the time, it was the longest article ever published by Time Magazine. The article gave fuel to Schuessler’s frustrations of being unable to help his clients with their healthcare costs using traditional carrier approaches. He also became aware of many other advisors and consultants who were trying to reform the healthcare system.

Best Registered Agent Services Of 2021

Best llc services of 2021.

Identifying a problem and the dialogue around that problem is the first step toward becoming a solution. In your entrepreneurial journey, read magazines, newspapers, blogs, and social posts to understand what issues people are facing in modern society. Use these as a starting point for your business.

Connect the problem to your passion

One thing is for sure: you cannot sustain a career as an entrepreneur if you are not passionate about your work. This is another principle of entrepreneurship that Schuessler finds important. He was extremely passionate about the healthcare system and about providing solutions for employers. Enthusiasm for his field is what drives him and motivates him to spread the message of his business.

As you take up your journey to entrepreneurship, take time to identify your passions and your strengths. There will always be an intersection between a societal problem and a passion of yours. Perhaps you are deeply passionate about food, and you discovered that your local community faces high rates of food insecurity. There is an intersection between a problem and your passion that makes room for innovation, growth, and creativity. 

Be convicted, committed, and creative

Once you have identified where your passion connects to a larger problem, it’s time to start the brainstorming process. Let your passion drive you to come up with innovative solutions to the problem you’ve identified. Write out ideas, talk about them with friends, and run them by people you trust. Schuessler says pushback is inevitable and every entrepreneur should be prepared to champion their ideas and their dreams, even when others doubt them.

Mitigate Partners devotes much of their time to changing how people think about insurance and healthcare. If you’ve found a major problem in society, it’s likely that you’ll spend a large part of your journey convincing people that old ways of thinking are coming up short. Know that this is the hard work of entrepreneurship, but it’s also the meaningful work that motivates change. 

Entrepreneurship is an incredibly rewarding field that gives people the power to make measurable changes. Stay informed about your community and the world around you, and identify where your passions can solve problems in society.

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Join The Conversation

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. 

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

• False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
• Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
• Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
• Content that otherwise violates our site's  terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

• Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
• Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
• Actions that otherwise violate our site's  terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

• Stay on topic and share your insights
• Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
• ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
• Protect your community.
• Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service.

Unlocking the Power of Entrepreneurship: The Synergy Between Innovation and Business

Are you ready to unlock the power of entrepreneurship and unleash your innovative potential?

In this article, we will delve into the synergy between innovation and business, exploring how entrepreneurship drives economic growth and fosters personal and professional development.

As an entrepreneur, you possess a unique mindset characterized by creativity, risk-taking, and adaptability. By embracing challenges and navigating uncertainty, you have the opportunity to bring inventions to market, challenge the status quo, and create job opportunities.

Get ready to embark on a journey of innovation and discover the fulfillment that entrepreneurship can bring.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• Entrepreneurship is a state of mind that involves starting or bringing experience to companies.
• Invention is a part of entrepreneurship, but not all entrepreneurs are inventors.
• Entrepreneurship drives innovation and economic growth, creating job opportunities and contributing to the economy.
• Entrepreneurship enhances personal growth and self-confidence, offering a platform for personal and professional fulfillment.

The Definition and Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur, you possess strong leadership and decision-making skills that are essential for navigating through challenges and driving success in business.

Your entrepreneurial mindset is characterized by innovation and creativity, allowing you to think outside the box and come up with new ideas.

You are not afraid to take risks and embrace uncertainty, as you understand that it is through these challenges that innovation and growth are born.

Your ability to adapt and find solutions to problems sets you apart from others.

With your passion for your ideas and your drive for success, you have the power to disrupt industries and challenge the status quo.

Your entrepreneurial spirit encourages creativity and problem-solving, making you a valuable asset in the business world.

The Relationship Between Entrepreneurship and Invention

Utilize your inventions to create business opportunities and bring them to market as an entrepreneur. The relationship between entrepreneurship and invention is crucial in driving technological advancements.

As an entrepreneur, you have the power to transform your innovative ideas into tangible products or services. By commercializing your inventions, you not only create business opportunities but also contribute to the overall progress of technology.

Patents play a significant role in protecting your inventions and giving you a competitive advantage in the market.

Entrepreneurship fuels the development and adoption of new technologies, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. By embracing the entrepreneurial mindset, you can make a lasting impact on society through your inventions and contribute to the continuous evolution of technology.

The Importance of Entrepreneurship in Business

Entrepreneurs drive economic growth and job creation by fostering innovation and challenging industry norms. They are the catalysts of change and progress, bringing new ideas and solutions to the table. The benefits of entrepreneurship in society are vast, and the impact on local communities is significant.

Here are three ways entrepreneurship is important in business:

Economic Growth: Entrepreneurs stimulate economic growth by creating new businesses and expanding existing ones. This leads to increased productivity, higher employment rates, and a stronger economy overall.

Job Creation: Entrepreneurs are job creators. By starting their own businesses, they provide employment opportunities for others, reducing unemployment rates and improving the standard of living in local communities.

Innovation: Entrepreneurship fuels innovation. Entrepreneurs are constantly pushing boundaries, developing new products, services, and technologies that disrupt industries and drive progress. Their innovative mindset inspires others and fosters a culture of creativity and problem-solving.

Entrepreneurship is a powerful force that brings about positive change, benefiting society as a whole and leaving a lasting impact on local communities.

The Role of Entrepreneurship in Personal and Professional Development

Developing an entrepreneurial mindset can significantly enhance your personal and professional growth, allowing you to cultivate a wide range of skills and seize opportunities for success.

Entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in your personal development by fostering self-confidence and resilience. As an entrepreneur, you have the opportunity to develop essential professional skills such as leadership, negotiation, and problem-solving.

Through entrepreneurship, you can expand your network and collaborate with like-minded individuals, opening doors to new opportunities.

Embracing an entrepreneurial mindset also provides you with the platform to fulfill your personal and professional aspirations. By thinking innovatively and challenging the status quo, you can unlock your full potential and make a meaningful impact in your chosen field.

The Power of Innovation in Entrepreneurship

Embracing innovation as an entrepreneur empowers you to revolutionize industries, drive growth, and seize new opportunities. By harnessing the power of technology, you can transform the way businesses operate and connect with customers.

Technology plays a crucial role in entrepreneurship by enabling automation, streamlining processes, and enhancing productivity. It allows you to reach a wider audience, expand your market, and create scalable business models.

Moreover, the impact of social entrepreneurship cannot be underestimated. By addressing social and environmental challenges, you not only make a positive difference in the world but also build a strong brand and attract socially conscious consumers.

As an entrepreneur, embracing technology and adopting a social entrepreneurial mindset will propel your business forward and position you as a leader in the ever-evolving market.

The Synergy Between Entrepreneurship and Business Growth

By seizing opportunities and having a growth mindset, you can propel your business forward as an entrepreneur. The synergy between entrepreneurship and scalability is crucial for market disruption and industry transformation.

As an entrepreneur, you have the power to disrupt industries and challenge the status quo. By embracing innovation and taking calculated risks, you can create new business opportunities and drive economic growth.

The role of entrepreneurship in market disruption cannot be underestimated. Through your entrepreneurial endeavors, you can transform industries, change the way things are done, and pave the way for innovation.

By constantly seeking out new ideas and approaches, you can unlock the power of entrepreneurship and propel your business to new heights. Embrace the challenge, embrace the possibilities, and embrace the synergy between entrepreneurship and business growth.

The future is yours to shape.

The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Driving Success Through Innovation

Now that we’ve explored the synergy between entrepreneurship and business growth, let’s dive into the entrepreneurial mindset and its role in driving success through innovation.

As an entrepreneur, you possess a unique set of skills and qualities that enable you to thrive in the ever-changing business landscape. Here are three key aspects of the entrepreneurial mindset:

Fostering adaptability and resilience: In the face of challenges and setbacks, entrepreneurs embrace change and quickly pivot their strategies. They have the ability to adapt to new circumstances and bounce back from failures.

Embracing innovation: Innovation is at the core of entrepreneurial success. Entrepreneurs constantly seek new and creative solutions to problems, driving the development of groundbreaking products, services, and business models.

Embracing uncertainty: Entrepreneurs are comfortable with ambiguity and risk. They understand that taking calculated risks is necessary for growth and are not afraid to step out of their comfort zones.

Entrepreneurship and the Creation of Business Opportunities

To create business opportunities, you must recognize the potential in existing inventions and utilize them effectively. As an entrepreneur, it is crucial to understand the importance of market analysis and how it can give you a competitive advantage.

By conducting thorough market research, you can identify gaps in the market and discover untapped customer needs. This information allows you to tailor your products or services to meet those demands, giving you an edge over your competitors.

Additionally, market analysis helps you understand your target audience, their preferences, and purchasing behaviors. Armed with this knowledge, you can develop effective marketing strategies and position your business in a way that resonates with your customers.

How Entrepreneurship Fuels Economic Growth and Job Creation

Utilizing your entrepreneurial skills and mindset, you can drive economic growth and create job opportunities in your community. As an entrepreneur, you have the power to make a significant social impact and contribute to the global economy.

Here’s how entrepreneurship fuels economic growth and job creation:

Innovation: Through your innovative ideas and solutions, you can disrupt industries, challenge the status quo, and drive economic progress.

Job Creation: By starting and growing your own business, you can create job opportunities for others, reducing unemployment rates and improving the overall prosperity of your community.

Economic Growth: Entrepreneurship stimulates economic growth by promoting competition, attracting investments, and fostering technological advancements.

Developing Essential Skills: Leadership and Decision-Making in Entrepreneurship

By developing your leadership and decision-making skills, you can effectively navigate the challenges and uncertainties of entrepreneurship. In the fast-paced world of innovation, strong leadership is essential for success.

As an entrepreneur, you must inspire and motivate your team, making critical decisions that can shape the direction of your business. Leadership development is crucial in honing your ability to communicate your vision, delegate tasks, and adapt to changing circumstances.

Additionally, effective decision-making strategies are vital for seizing opportunities and mitigating risks. You must be able to analyze information, weigh different options, and make informed choices that align with your goals.

Developing these essential skills will not only enhance your ability to lead, but also increase your chances of achieving innovation and entrepreneurial success.

Embracing Challenges and Navigating Uncertainty in Entrepreneurship

Embracing challenges and navigating uncertainty in entrepreneurship requires you to have a proactive mindset and embrace the unknown. To succeed in this fast-paced and ever-changing landscape, you must be willing to take risks and overcome obstacles.

Here are three key strategies for embracing uncertainty and overcoming challenges in entrepreneurship:

Embrace uncertainty as an opportunity for growth and innovation. Rather than fearing the unknown, view it as a chance to learn, adapt, and find new solutions.

Foster a culture of resilience and perseverance. Recognize that setbacks and failures are a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey. Stay determined and use these experiences as stepping stones to success.

Seek support and collaboration. Surround yourself with a network of like-minded individuals who can provide guidance, mentorship, and fresh perspectives. Collaboration can lead to new ideas and opportunities.

Fostering Creativity and Problem-Solving in Entrepreneurship

To foster creativity and problem-solving in entrepreneurship, you must cultivate a mindset that embraces new perspectives and encourages thinking outside the box. By fostering collaboration in entrepreneurship, you can tap into the collective intelligence and diverse perspectives of others, leading to innovative solutions and breakthrough ideas.

Collaboration allows for the pooling of different skills, experiences, and knowledge, enabling entrepreneurs to tackle complex problems more effectively. Additionally, creativity plays a crucial role in problem-solving in entrepreneurship. It allows entrepreneurs to approach challenges from unique angles and find unconventional solutions.

Creative problem-solving enables entrepreneurs to adapt to changing circumstances, identify opportunities, and stay ahead of the competition. By embracing creativity and fostering collaboration, entrepreneurs can unlock the full potential of their ventures and drive impactful innovation in their industries.

The Fulfillment and Rewards of Entrepreneurship

Now that you have learned about fostering creativity and problem-solving in entrepreneurship, let’s explore the fulfillment and rewards that come with being an entrepreneur.

• The Rewards of Entrepreneurship

Financial Independence: As an entrepreneur, you have the potential to create your own wealth and financial freedom.

Personal Growth: Entrepreneurship allows you to continuously learn and develop new skills, expanding your knowledge and capabilities.

Impact and Legacy: Building a successful business gives you the opportunity to make a lasting impact on society and leave a meaningful legacy.

Finding fulfillment in business

Pursuing your Passion: Entrepreneurship allows you to turn your passion into a business, doing what you love every day.

Autonomy and Control: Being your own boss gives you the freedom to make decisions and shape the direction of your business.

Work-Life Balance: As an entrepreneur, you have the flexibility to create a work-life balance that aligns with your personal priorities.

Embrace the rewards and find true fulfillment by venturing into the world of entrepreneurship.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does entrepreneurship contribute to economic growth and job creation.

Entrepreneurship fuels economic growth by stimulating innovation and creating job opportunities. As an entrepreneur, you have the power to disrupt industries, drive competitiveness, and contribute to the economy through your innovative ideas and business ventures.

What Essential Skills Are Developed Through Entrepreneurship, Particularly in Leadership and Decision-Making?

Develop your leadership and decision-making skills through entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur, you’ll learn to make tough decisions, take risks, and lead with confidence. Unlock your potential and drive innovation in your business.

How Does Entrepreneurship Foster Creativity and Problem-Solving in Business?

Entrepreneurship unlocks the creative potential within business, like a spark igniting a wildfire of innovation. It fosters creative thinking and problem-solving, encouraging entrepreneurs to approach challenges strategically and find unique solutions for success.

What Are the Rewards and Fulfillment Associated With Entrepreneurship?

The rewards and fulfillment associated with entrepreneurship are vast. You have the opportunity to create something meaningful, challenge yourself, and achieve personal and professional success. It’s a journey that brings both financial and personal satisfaction.

How Does Innovation Play a Role in Entrepreneurship and Business Growth?

Innovation is the catalyst for entrepreneurship and the key to business growth. By embracing an entrepreneurial mindset, you unlock the power to drive innovation and propel your business forward in today’s ever-evolving market.

UNLOCK YOUR COPY

Entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, competencies and performance: A study of micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia

Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

ISSN : 2398-7812

Article publication date: 27 March 2019

Issue publication date: 30 April 2019

This study aims to examine the effect of entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientations and networking on entrepreneurial competency and performance of micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a cross-sectional design, this paper collected data through structured interviews from 403 micro-entrepreneurs from “Majlis Amanah Rakyat,” Kelantan and “Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat,” Kelantan.

The findings reveal that entrepreneurial skills, market orientation and networking have a positive effect on entrepreneurial competency. Then, entrepreneurial competency, entrepreneurial skills and networking have a positive effect on enterprise performance. The findings show a significant mediation effect of entrepreneurial competency on the relationships between entrepreneurial skills, market orientation and networking and enterprise performance.

Originality/value

Addressing the understudied “human factor” in entrepreneurship, this paper extends the resource-based view and enriches the existing entrepreneurship literature in Malaysia. It provides useful insights into the improvement of micro-enterprise performance, which is crucial for promoting entrepreneurial activities and for enhancing socio-economic conditions among low-income households in Malaysia. Thus, the government and developmental organizations should focus on the development of entrepreneurial skills, market-oriented approach, networking traits and entrepreneurial competencies and subsequently encourage poor households to perform entrepreneurial activities.

• Performance
• Market orientation
• Sales orientation

Al Mamun, A. , Fazal, S.A. and Muniady, R. (2019), "Entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, competencies and performance: A study of micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia", Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship , Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 29-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJIE-11-2018-0067

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Abdullah Al Mamun, Syed Ali Fazal and Rajennd Muniady.

Published in Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of thislicence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

Entrepreneurial activities in both formal and informal sectors are immensely significant for economic growth and national development ( Al-Mamun et al. , 2016 ). Specifically, micro and small enterprises, as the drivers of indigenous entrepreneurship, play a key role in developing the global economy by improving technological capability building, diffusion of innovations and capital mobilization ( Nabiswa and Mukwa, 2017 ). At the same time, firms at the global level are facing many challenges in the forms of market uncertainty, human and financial capital and increase in both local and international competitors ( Raghuvanshi and Garg, 2018 ). This is why OECD and its participating countries emphasize on entrepreneurship, not only by increasing the number of entrepreneurs but also by creating more enterprises and employment growth for a social safety net. Al-Mamun et al. (2016) highlighted that economic activities of micro-enterprises can facilitate national development of Malaysia, with nearly 1.3 million individuals (9.7 per cent of the total workforce) actively engaged in micro-economic operations. Aziz et al. (2017) also indicated that micro-enterprises in Malaysia are small businesses with less than five full-time employees and an annual turnover of less than RM 300,000. Normally, these businesses have small-scale operations, such as food stalls, night market vendors, grocery stalls, construction and service contractors. Wahid et al. (2017) noted that micro-enterprises represented 75 per cent of the small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.

Entrepreneurial competencies, on the other hand, refer to a specific set of competencies for operationalizing entrepreneurship in a new enterprise ( Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2010 ). According to Al-Mamun et al. (2016) , entrepreneurial competencies are defined as the abilities to use resources for improving micro-enterprise performance. Bird (1995) revealed that entrepreneurial competencies had a relationship with the start-up, growth and sustainability of an enterprise. Similarly, Lewis and Churchill (1983) indicated that entrepreneurial competencies can determine successful business. Besides, an individual’s competencies can boost his or her personal strength in managing an enterprise efficiently ( Man et al. , 2002 ). Gerli et al. (2011) asserted that it is important for entrepreneurs to enhance certain competencies that can facilitate firm performance. Mitchelmore and Rowley (2013) claimed that entrepreneurial competencies can improve enterprise performance, growth and economic development.

Although the role of an entrepreneur on firm outcome is well documented, it is interesting to explore the influence of entrepreneurial competencies on firm performance ( Gerli et al. , 2011 ). Mitchelmore and Rowley (2010) stressed that although entrepreneurial competencies are used as a catalyst for business success and economic development, it is possible to look into their core concept, measurement and association with entrepreneurial performance and enterprise success. As stated by Andrews et al. (2011) , it is crucial to identify the factors of entrepreneurial competencies that predict business success. However, inadequate human competencies are the main challenges micro-enterprises need to overcome to survive ( Wahid et al. , 2017 ). Thus, it is important to understand the key factors that affect entrepreneurial competencies and enterprise performance of low-income households who have limited qualifications, skills and access to working capital and enterprise training ( Al-Mamun et al. , 2016 ). To address the gaps in the literature, this study examined factors (i.e. entrepreneurial skills, market and sales orientations and networking) that influenced entrepreneurial competencies and micro-enterprise performance in Kelantan, Malaysia. This study was crucial for suggesting possible ways to improve the socio-economic conditions of low-income households through micro-enterprise performance.

Literature review

Resource-based view, entrepreneurial competency and enterprise performance.

Resource-based view (RBV) proposes that competitive advantages can be achieved by firms from their unique resources to perform better than their competitors in the same industry ( Amoah-Mensah, 2013 ; Barney, 1991 ; Beard and Sumner, 2004 ; Kraaijenbrink et al. , 2010 ; Nabiswa and Mukwa, 2017 ; Runyan et al. , 2006 ). When a firm is different from its rivals in terms of resources, it can easily obtain competitive advantage ( Barney, 1991 ). According to the RBV, the process of value creation is strictly linked to the ability of managers to procure, develop and deploy resources ( Barney, 1991 ; Grant, 1991 ; Tehseen and Ramayah, 2015 ). In fact, entrepreneurial competencies are related to a manager’s knowledge, skills and capabilities as intangible and valuable resources that can contribute to a firm’s sustainable competitive advantage ( Tehseen and Ramayah, 2015 ). Undoubtedly, every individual’s competencies are unique that are difficult to be imitated by rivals because of the ambiguity regarding their origin and embeddedness with the specific individuals ( Gerli et al. , 2011 ; Tehseen and Ramayah, 2015 ).

In the context of this study, RBV was applicable to explain that the survival of micro-enterprises is highly reliant on their human resource endowment and inimitable resources that assist them in seizing opportunities as uncertain micro-enterprises’ operations require a capable human resource team to manage ( Nabiswa and Mukwa, 2017 ). RBV also asserts that micro-enterprises are entities that can survive in underprivileged socio-economic environments with their unique skills, market-sales-oriented approaches and networking activities that enhance an entrepreneur’s competencies and enterprise performance.

Entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial competencies

Entrepreneurial skills refer to the activities or know-how that can establish and operate an enterprise successfully ( Liñán and Chen, 2009 ). On the other hand, entrepreneurial competencies are considered a specific set of quality characteristics that represent the capability of an entrepreneur to perform a job ( Man et al. , 2002 ; Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2013 ). In this study, skills refer to the possibility of learning and adopting exclusive characteristics that are essential for performing entrepreneurial tasks that involve interactions within a social and material environment ( Pyysiäinen et al. , 2006 ). Theoretically, RBV was applied to explain the benefits of entrepreneurial competencies on entrepreneurial skills as practices and know-how instigate unique capabilities in the organization, thus gaining competitive advantage from non-replicable and inimitable resources ( Barney, 1991 ; Grant, 1991 ).

Entrepreneurial skills have a positive influence on entrepreneurial competencies among micro-enterprises.

Entrepreneurial skills and enterprise performance

Entrepreneurial skills have a positive influence on enterprise performance among micro-enterprises.

Market orientation and entrepreneurial competencies

Market orientation has a positive influence on entrepreneurial competencies among micro-enterprises.

Market orientation and enterprise performance

Market orientation has a positive influence on enterprise performance among micro-enterprises.

Sales orientation and entrepreneurial competencies

Sales orientation has a positive influence on entrepreneurial competencies among micro-enterprises.

Sales orientation and enterprise performance

Sales orientation has a positive influence on entrepreneurial performance among micro-enterprises.

Networking and entrepreneurial competencies

Networking has a positive influence on entrepreneurial competencies among micro-enterprises.

Networking and enterprise performance

Networking has a positive influence on enterprise performance among micro-enterprises.

Entrepreneurial competencies and enterprise performance

Entrepreneurial competencies have a positive influence on enterprise performance among micro-enterprises.

The mediating effect of entrepreneurial competencies

Entrepreneurial competencies mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial skills and enterprise performance among micro-enterprises.

Entrepreneurial competencies mediate the relationship between market orientation and enterprise performance among micro-enterprises.

Entrepreneurial competencies mediate the relationship between sales orientation and enterprise performance among micro-enterprises.

Entrepreneurial competencies mediate the relationship between networking and enterprise performance among micro-enterprises.

Research methodology

This study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data through structured interview to measure the effect of entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientation and networking on entrepreneurial competency and performance of micro-enterprises owned by low-income households in Kelantan, Malaysia (see Figure 1 ). The sample was micro-entrepreneurs. The list of these registered micro-entrepreneurs was obtained from two governmental organizations that fostered socio-economic development. Particularly, “ Majlis Amanah Rakyat” provided a list of 2690 micro-entrepreneurs, whereas “ Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat ” provided a list of 105 micro-entrepreneurs. With a total of 2795 low-income micro-entrepreneurs, 425 of them were randomly selected from nine districts in Kelantan, particularly Tumpat, Bachok, Jeli, Machang, Gua Musang, Kuala Krai, Pasir Puteh, Pasir Mas and Tanah Merah. Prior to data collection, potential respondents were selected to explain the purpose of doing this survey and make an appointment with them for the interview. The data collection started from September to November 2017. A total of 403 respondents allowed researchers to visit their enterprises and collect data from them through structured interview.

Sample size

The sample size was determined through G-Power version 3.1. Based on the power of 0.95 (should be more than 0.80 in social and behavioral science research) with an effect size of 0.15, a sample size of 138 were needed to test the model with five predictors. To use PLS-SEM, the minimum sample is 100 ( Reinartz et al. , 2009 ). Therefore, this study collected 403 samples.

Research instrument

Questionnaire items were adapted from the literature with minor revisions (See Appendix). We translated the questionnaire by professional language translator before conducting the interview. Items that measured entrepreneurial skills were adopted from Linan (2008) . Items that measured market orientation were adopted from Kohli et al. (1993) . Next, items that measured sales orientation were derived from Saxe and Weitz (1982) . To measure networking, items were adopted from Witt (2004) . Moreover, items that measured entrepreneurial competency were derived from Man et al. (2008) . To measure enterprise performance, items were obtained from Morgan and Strong (2003) . A seven-point Likert scale (from “1-Strongly disagree” to “7-Strongly agree”) was used to respond to entrepreneurial competency. Similarly, a seven-point Likert scale (from “1-Very poor” to “7-Very good”) was used to respond to micro-enterprise performance. On the other hand, a five-point Likert scale (from “1-Strongly disagree” to “5-Strongly agree”) was used to respond to all independent variables.

Common method variance (CMV)

Organizing the items is one of the methods to minimize common method variance (CMV), the respondents were also “ informed that the responses will be evaluated anonymously and there are no right or wrong answers” ( Podsakoff et al. , 2003 ). To identify CMV, Harman’s (1976) one-factor test was used to extract one factor from all constructs to explain the variance for less than 50 per cent. The analysis showed that one component explained 26.32 per cent of the variance. Furthermore, CMV can be detected when the correlation between the constructs is higher than 0.9 ( Bagozzi et al. , 1991 ). In this study, the highest correlation between the constructs (the relationship between entrepreneurial competency and micro-enterprise performance) was 0.53, which indicated a minimum CMV.

Multivariate normality

This study used the Web Power online tool to test multivariate normality. Web Power calculated the Mardia’s multivariate skewness and kurtosis coefficients. As a result, the p -value showed lower than 0.05 and confirmed the existence of multivariate non-normality.

Empirical results

Demographic characteristics.

Of 403 micro-entrepreneur respondents, 51.6 per cent were males and the rest were females. The majority of the respondents aged between 20 and 30 (29.5 per cent). Most of them (79.9 per cent) were married. More than half (58.1 per cent) of the respondents completed their secondary school education, followed by 19.9 per cent of them completed their STPM or Diploma. However, 10.2 per cent of the respondents were degree holders, 5.5 per cent of them received their primary school education. Only 1.2 per cent of the respondents never received any level of education. In addition, most respondents were involved in service sector (41.9 per cent). The remaining were involved in retailing (32.5 per cent), manufacturing (16.4 per cent), wholesaling (6.5 per cent), livestock (1.7 per cent), agriculture (0.5 per cent) and poultry (0.5 per cent) ( Table I ).

Reliability and validity

Table II presents the descriptive statistics and the reliability of the items. The descriptive statistics showed that the mean and standard deviation of the variables (entrepreneurial skills, market orientations, sales orientations, networking, entrepreneurial competency and micro-enterprise performance). As depicted in Table II , the mean value for sales orientation was lower and the standard deviation was relatively higher than other constructs. In other words, some entrepreneurs had different level of sales orientation.

Fundamentally, Cronbach’s alpha is used as a conservative measure of internal consistency reliability. The analysis showed that the Cronbach’s alpha values for all variables were greater than 0.7. This proved that all items were reliable. Moreover, it is possible to apply another measure of internal consistency reliability, known as composite reliability ( Hair et al. , 2013 ). The minimum value for achieving composite reliability is 0.7 ( Hair et al. , 2011 ). As shown in Table II , the composite reliability values for all variables were greater than 0.8. Besides, the Dillon-Goldstein rho values for all indicators were greater than 0.7. To fulfill convergent validity, the AVE value should be greater than 0.50. The analysis showed that the AVE values for all variables were greater than 0.50, which indicated acceptable convergent validity. Also, variance inflation factors (VIF) was performed to detect multicollinearity and the VIF values for all variables were lower than 3.3. Therefore, there was no multicollinearity issue in this study.

As portrayed in Table III , the values showed that all indicator loadings were higher than 0.7, except three items with more than 0.5. According to Chin (1998) , items with standardized loadings for less than 0.7 were retained for subsequent analysis, and those items with loadings greater than 0.5 should be remained. In Table III , the loadings of all indicators were higher than the total cross-loadings. This confirmed the existence of discriminant validity. Based on the Fornell-Larcker criterion, the AVE for each indicator should be greater than the construct’s highest squared correlation with another. As a result, all variables fulfilled this criterion. Besides, the Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT) looks into the correlation between constructs, paralleling the disattenuated construct score. Referring to the threshold value of 0.9, it was concluded that there was no evidence of a lack of discriminant validity.

Path analysis

In Table IV , the coefficient value for the effect of entrepreneurial skills on entrepreneurial competency ( H1 ) was 0.246 with the p -value of 0.000. This indicated that there was a positive effect of entrepreneurial skills on entrepreneurial competency. However, the f 2 value of 0.054 indicated a small effect of entrepreneurial skills on entrepreneurial competency among micro-entrepreneurs. The coefficient value for the effect of entrepreneurial skills on enterprise performance ( H2 ) was 0.149 with the p -value of 0.011. This indicated a positive effect of entrepreneurial skills on enterprise performance, with the f 2 value of 0.023.

In addition, the coefficient of market orientation showed a positive ( β = 0.178) ( p -value of 0.011) effect on entrepreneurial competency ( H3 ). The f 2 value of 0.028 indicated a low effect size of market orientation on entrepreneurial competency. Besides, the path coefficient value for the effect of market orientation on enterprise performance ( H4 ) was 0.165 with the p -value of 0.012. In other words, market orientation had a positive effect on enterprise performance, with the f 2 value of 0.029.

Furthermore, the coefficient for sales orientation showed a positive ( β = 0.052) but statistically not significant ( p -value of 0.401) effect on entrepreneurial competency ( H5 ), with the f 2 value of 0.003. This indicated that there was a very low effect of sales orientation on entrepreneurial competency. Clearly, the path coefficient value for the effect of sales orientation on enterprise performance ( H6 ) was 0.024 with the p -value of 0.710. Being said that, there was a positive effect of sales orientation on enterprise performance, but was not statistically significant. However, the f 2 value of 0.001 had a nearly zero effect of sales orientation on enterprise performance.

Apart from that, the coefficient for networking showed a positive ( β = 0.114) ( p -value of 0.024) effect on entrepreneurial competency ( H7 ), with the f 2 value of 0.012. This meant that there was a small effect of networking on entrepreneurial competency. In contrast, the path coefficient value for the effect of networking on enterprise performance ( H8 ) was (0.024) with the p -value of 0.642. This implied there was no significant effect of networking on enterprise performance, with the f 2 value of 0.001. Next, the path coefficient values recorded a positive ( β = 0.642) and significant ( p -value of 0.000) effect of enterprise competency on enterprise performance ( H9 ), with the f 2 value of 0.234. This indicated a moderately high effect of entrepreneurial competency on enterprise performance.

In this case, 18.9 per cent of the variation in entrepreneurial competency was explained by entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientation and networking. Moreover, 35.5 per cent of the variation in enterprise performance was explained by entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientation, networking and entrepreneurial competency. Besides, the Q 2 value of 0.111 indicated that entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientation and networking had low predictive relevance for entrepreneurial competency. Similarly, the Q 2 value of 0.210 indicated that these factors had a moderate predictive relevance for enterprise performance.

Mediating effects

Regarding the mediating effects of entrepreneurial competency, the study presented the indirect effect coefficients, confidence intervals and p- values (see Table V ). The result revealed that entrepreneurial skills, market orientation and networking had a ( p- values less than 0.05) positive indirect effect on enterprise performance among micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia. However, there was no significant (5 per cent level of significance) effect of entrepreneurial competency on the relationship between sales orientation and enterprise performance.

Discussion and implication

Undeniably, entrepreneurial competencies are crucial for low-income households who rely heavily on their micro-enterprise income. Hence, this study examined entrepreneurial competencies and enterprise performance. The finding of this research revealed that entrepreneur skills had a positive effect on entrepreneurial competencies, which was consistent with past studies ( Phelan and Sharpley, 2012 ; Teece, 2012 ). In fact, entrepreneurs required various skills to develop specific competencies for managing an enterprise. The finding also revealed a positive effect of entrepreneurial skills on enterprise performance, which was in line with many studies ( Bird, 1995 ; Chandler and Jansen, 1992 ; Cooper et al. , 1994 ; Lerner and Almor, 2002 ; Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2010 ).

In addition, market orientation had a positive effect on entrepreneurial competencies. This finding was congruent with several past studies ( Baker and Sinkula, 2009 ; Kohli and Jaworski, 1990 ; Narver and Slater, 1990 ; Slater and Narver, 1995 ) which confirmed the importance of market orientation in strengthening entrepreneurial competency. Further, market orientation had a positive effect on enterprise performance. This finding agreed with earlier studies ( Baker and Sinkula, 2009 ; Boso et al. , 2013 ; Morgan et al. , 2009 ), which found market orientation increased business performance by creating value for buyers through competitive advantage.

Furthermore, this study found a positive but insignificant effect of sales orientation on entrepreneurial competencies. The results of this study confirmed that sales-oriented approach was not necessarily important for firm, but also for salesperson’s performance ( Wachner et al. , 2009 ). Next, the finding showed a positive effect of networking on entrepreneurial competencies, which extended the studies by Bird (1995) and Ahmad et al. (2010) .

Conversely, networking had an insignificant relationship with enterprise performance. Although networking was crucial for developing entrepreneurial competencies, it did not guarantee micro-enterprises performance. Drawing upon the RBV, this study found a positive effect of entrepreneurial competencies on enterprise performance. In a nutshell, entrepreneurial competencies were valuable capabilities that determined organizational performance ( Al-Mamun et al. , 2016 ; Ahmad et al. , 2010 ; Barney, 1991 ; Gerli et al. , 2011 ; Grant, 1991 ; Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2013 ; Tehseen and Ramayah, 2015 ).

Last but not the least, the findings showed a significant indirect effect of entrepreneurial skills, market orientation and networking on enterprise performance. According to the RBV and existing studies, this finding indicated that entrepreneurial skills, market orientation and networking were additional entrepreneurial competency that facilitated micro-enterprise performance ( Baum and Locke, 2004 ; Barney, 1991 ; Gerli et al. , 2011 ; Grant, 1991 ; Narver and Slater, 1990 ).

To address the limitations of the literature ( Gerli et al. , 2011 ; Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2010 ), this study investigated the influence of entrepreneurial competencies on enterprise performance among low-income households. Particularly, this study contributed to the RBV through the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and enterprise performance. This study also contributed to the literature by examining both direct and indirect effect of entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientation and networking on enterprise performance. The result of the path analysis and mediation test substantiated that entrepreneurial skills and market orientation were resources of the firms, thereby affecting performance directly and indirectly. Moreover, networking was a unique resource that influenced enterprise performance through entrepreneurial competencies. Although this finding disagrees with the proposed hypothesis, it contributed to the literature of RBV in specific.

In terms of practical implications, the findings provided insights into the improvement of micro-enterprise performance to promote entrepreneurial activities. Policymakers can use the findings as reference to address the economic issues among low-income households. Therefore, the government and socio-economic developmental organizations should enhance the entrepreneurial skills, market-oriented approach, networking traits and entrepreneurial competencies through suitable policies and training programs. Efforts should focus on providing know-how knowledge to carry out business operations. Micro-entrepreneurs strive and put in lots of hard work in order free themselves from the poverty trap, where learning and adopting entrepreneurial skills might be an added burden. Government agencies and development organization should be able to identify and provide specific training programs to increase the survival of these micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Market orientation often involves market intelligence, which might never hear by those micro-entrepreneurs or practiced in the establishments. Again, their circumstances might play a role in it. Without information on environment, businesses fail to respond to changes, where we have seen MNCs closing down as a result of being not responsive to the changes in market. To save guard micro establishments, they have to be introduced on how to identify and respond to their environmental changes. On top of that, the concept of networking should be introduced to give micro-entrepreneurs to provide them access to better resources. General understanding is that, SMEs and large-scale firms are well connected among them and the formal networks is facilitated through associations. This form of networking platforms is not readily available for micro level players, thus efforts to be placed to the creation of platforms for micro-entrepreneurs to network. Perhaps education institutions promoting entrepreneurship should be involved in these joint efforts, as in enhancing entrepreneurial capabilities, entrepreneurial universities play are major role in knowledge transfer ( Afzal et al. , 2018 ). Regarding the limitation of this study, other possible factors were not included to predict enterprise performance. As this study focuses on low-income households in a single state, it reduces the generalizability of the findings. Hence, future researchers can examine entrepreneurial behavior among different income groups across countries to deepen our understanding about its antecedents and consequences.

Research framework

Profile of the respondent

Demographic characteristics		(%)
Male	208	51.6
Female	195	48.4
Total	403	100.0
20-30 years old	68	16.9
31-40 years old	119	29.5
41-50 years old	118	29.3
51-60 years old	78	19.4
61 years old and above	20	4.9
Total	403	100.0
Single	53	13.2
Married	322	79.9
Divorced	13	3.2
Widowed	15	3.7
Total	403	100.0
Never attended school	5	1.2
Primary school	22	5.5
Secondary school	234	58.1
STPM/Diploma	80	19.9
Undergraduate degree	41	10.2
Master’s degree	3	0.7
Others	18	4.5
Total	403	100.0
Manufacturing	66	16.4
Retailing	131	32.5
Wholesaling	26	6.5
Agriculture	2	0.5
Livestock	7	1.7
Poultry	2	0.5
Services	169	41.9
Total	403	100.0

Variables	Items	Mean	SD	CA	DG	CR	AVE	VIF
Entrepreneurial skills	4	4.124	0.4926	0.722	0.725	0.828	0.546	1.476
Market orientations	4	4.178	0.4784	0.749	0.750	0.841	0.570	1.463
Sales orientations	4	3.202	0.9928	0.849	0.716	0.862	0.614	1.037
Networking	6	4.078	0.6637	0.868	0.885	0.901	0.603	1.334
Entrepreneurial competency	4	5.879	0.6777	0.802	0.812	0.870	0.627	1.247
Micro-enterprise performance	5	5.857	0.7398	0.868	0.872	0.905	0.655	–

Notes: (DG ); composite reliability (CR); average variance extracted (AVE); variance inflation factors (VIF)

Author(s) own compilation

Items and Variables	ES	MO	SO	NE	EC	EP
Entrepreneurial Skills – Item 1		0.352	0.115	0.273	0.210	0.294
Entrepreneurial Skills – Item 2		0.338	0.052	0.320	0.298	0.281
Entrepreneurial Skills – Item 3		0.355	0.165	0.318	0.321	0.302
Entrepreneurial Skills – Item 4		0.387	0.060	0.285	0.299	0.275
Market Orientation – Item 1	0.394		0.126	0.346	0.248	0.326
Market Orientation – Item 2	0.322		0.151	0.310	0.248	0.261
Market Orientation – Item 3	0.348		0.072	0.350	0.283	0.258
Market Orientation – Item 4	0.393		0.023	0.278	0.284	0.306
Sales Orientation – Item 1	−0.055	0.044		0.082	0.004	−0.043
Sales Orientation – Item 2	0.086	0.024		0.063	0.095	0.084
Sales Orientation – Item 3	0.134	0.170		0.206	0.122	0.110
Sales Orientation – Item 4	0.044	0.063		0.087	0.043	0.025
Networking – Item 1	0.297	0.340	0.153		0.158	0.141
Networking – Item 2	0.320	0.340	0.109		0.247	0.165
Networking – Item 3	0.328	0.344	0.042		0.205	0.178
Networking – Item 4	0.312	0.339	0.128		0.284	0.248
Networking – Item 5	0.326	0.336	0.161		0.264	0.178
Networking – Item 6	0.320	0.295	0.165		0.199	0.188
Ent. Competency – Item 1	0.300	0.319	0.033	0.179		0.455
Ent. Competency – Item 2	0.248	0.220	0.075	0.184		0.407
Ent. Competency – Item 3	0.311	0.258	0.050	0.309		0.339
Ent. Competency – Item 4	0.352	0.306	0.212	0.271		0.502
Enterprise Performance – Item 1	0.367	0.336	0.049	0.182	0.502
Enterprise Performance – Item 2	0.280	0.318	0.142	0.207	0.464
Enterprise Performance – Item 3	0.251	0.337	0.039	0.122	0.380
Enterprise Performance – Item 4	0.334	0.276	0.103	0.204	0.392
Enterprise Performance – Item 5	0.335	0.280	0.127	0.250	0.449
Entrepreneurial Skills (ES)	0.739
Market Orientation (MO)	0.484	0.755
Sales Orientation (SO)	0.134	0.121	0.784
Networking (NE)	0.406	0.425	0.161	0.777
Entrepreneurial Competencies (EC)	0.386	0.352	0.125	0.298	0.792
Enterprise Performance (EP)	0.390	0.383	0.114	0.240	0.545	0.809
Entrepreneurial Skills (ES)	–
Market Orientation (MO)	0.656	–
Sales Orientation (SO)	0.148	0.148	–
Networking (NE)	0.515	0.531	0.164	–
Entrepreneurial Competencies (EC)	0.497	0.449	0.125	0.349	–
Enterprise Performance (EP)	0.489	0.472	0.109	0.270	0.639	–

Note:

Author’s data analysis

Hypothesis		Coefficient		Decision			Q
	ES → EC	0.246	0.000			0.054
	MO → EC	0.178	0.011			0.028
	SO → EC	0.052	0.401		0.189	0.003	0.111
	NE → EC	0.114	0.024			0.012
	ES → EP	0.149	0.011			0.023
	MO → EP	0.165	0.012			0.029
	SO → EP	0.024	0.710		0.355	0.001	0.210
	NE → EP	−0.024	0.642			0.001
	EC → EP	0.642	0.000			0.234

Notes:

Author(s) own compilation

Entrepreneurial skills (ES); market orientation (MO); sales orientation (SO); networking (NE); entrepreneurial competencies (EC); enterprise performance (EP)

Afzal , M. , Mansur , K. and Manni , U. ( 2018 ), “ Entrepreneurial capability (EC) environment in ASEAN-05 emerging economies ”, Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship , Vol. 12 No. 2 , pp. 206 - 221 .

Ahmad , N.H. , Ramayah , T. , Wilson , C. and Kummerow , L. ( 2010 ), “ Is entrepreneurial competency and business success relationship contingent upon business environment? A study of Malaysian SMEs ”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research , Vol. 16 No. 3 , pp. 182 - 203 .

Aldrich , H. , Zimmer , C. and Jones , T. ( 1986 ), “ Small business still speaks with the same voice: a replication of ‘the voice of small business and the politics of survival’ ”, The Sociological Review , Vol. 34 No. 2 , pp. 335 - 356 .

Ali , G.A. , Hilman , H. and Gorondutse , A.H. ( 2017 ), “ The effect of entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, total quality management and organizational culture on the SMEs performance: a theoretical framework ”, Journal of Business and Retail Management Research , Vol. 12 No. 1 , pp. 26 - 40 .

Al Mamun , A. and Fazal , S. ( 2018 ), “ Effect of entrepreneurial orientation on competency and micro-enterprise performance ”, Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship , Vol. 12 No. 3 , pp. 379 - 398 .

Al-Mamun , A. , Nawi , N.B.C. and Zainol , N.R.B. ( 2016 ), “ Entrepreneurial competencies and performance of informal micro-enterprises in Malaysia ”, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences , Vol. 7 No. 3 , pp. 273 - 281 .

Amoah-Mensah , A. ( 2013 ), “ Strategic resources and performance of rural SMEs ”, International Journal of Business and Social Research , Vol. 3 No. 4 , pp. 106 - 119 .

Anderson , A.R. , Dodd , S.D. and Jack , S. ( 2010 ), “ Network practices and entrepreneurial growth ”, Scandinavian Journal of Management , Vol. 26 No. 2 , pp. 121 - 133 .

Andrews , D. Caldera Sarnchez , A. and Johansson , A. ( 2011 ), “ Towards a better understanding of the informal economy ”, OECD Economics Department Working Papers No 873 , OECD Publishing , Paris .

Atuahene-Gima , K. and Ko , A. ( 2001 ), “ An empirical investigation of the effect of market orientation and entrepreneurship orientation alignment on product innovation ”, Organization Science , Vol. 12 No. 1 , pp. 54 - 74 .

Aziz , N.N.A. , Halim , R.A. and Wahid , N.A. ( 2017 ), “ Networking and innovation performance in micro-enterprise in Malaysia ”, Advanced Science Letters , Vol. 23 No. 8 , pp. 7374 - 7377 .

Bagozzi , R.P. , Yi , Y. and Phillips , L.W. ( 1991 ), “ Assessing construct validity in organizational research ”, Administrative Science Quarterly , Vol. 36 No. 3 , pp. 421 - 458 .

Baker , W.E. and Sinkula , J.M. ( 2009 ), “ The complementary effects of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on profitability in small businesses ”, Journal of Small Business Management , Vol. 47 No. 4 , pp. 443 - 464 .

Barney , J. ( 1991 ), “ Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage ”, Journal of Management , Vol. 17 No. 1 , pp. 99 - 120 .

Baron , R.A. and Markman , G.D. ( 2003 ), “ Beyond social capital: the role of entrepreneurs’ social competence in their financial success ”, Journal of Business Venturing , Vol. 18 No. 1 , pp. 41 - 60 .

Baron , R.M. and Kenny , D.A. ( 1986 ), “ The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations ”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , Vol. 51 No. 6 , p. 1173 .

Baum , J.A.C. , Calabrese , T. and Silverman , B.S. ( 2000 ), “ Don’t go it alone: alliance network composition and start-ups’ performance in canadian biotechnology ”, Strategic Management Journal , Vol. 21 No. 3 , pp. 267 - 294 .

Baum , J.R. and Locke , E.A. ( 2004 ), “ The relationship of entrepreneurial traits, skill, and motivation to subsequent venture growth ”, Journal of Applied Psychology , Vol. 89 No. 4 , pp. 587 - 598 .

Beard , J.W. and Sumner , M. ( 2004 ), “ Seeking strategic advantage in the post-net era: viewing ERP systems from the resource-based perspective ”, The Journal of Strategic Information Systems , Vol. 13 No. 2 , pp. 129 - 150 .

Bird , B. ( 1995 ), “ Towards a theory of entrepreneurial competency ”, Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth , Vol. 2 No. 1 , pp. 51 - 72 .

Boles , J.S. , Howard , W.G. and Donofrio , H.H. ( 2001 ), “ An investigation into the inter-relationships of work-family conflict, family-work conflict and work satisfaction ”, Journal of Managerial Issues , Vol. 13 No. 3 , pp. 376 - 390 .

Boso , N. , Story , V.M. and Cadogan , J.W. ( 2013 ), “ Entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, network ties, and performance: study of entrepreneurial firms in a developing economy ”, Journal of Business Venturing , Vol. 28 No. 6 , pp. 708 - 727 .

Campbell , B.A. , Ganco , M. , Franco , A.M. and Agarwal , R. ( 2012 ), “ Who leaves, where to, and why worry? Employee mobility, entrepreneurship and effects on source firm performance ”, Strategic Management Journal , Vol. 33 No. 1 , pp. 65 - 87 .

Chandler , G.N. and Jansen , E. ( 1992 ), “ The founder’s self-assessed competence and venture performance ”, Journal of Business Venturing , Vol. 7 No. 3 , pp. 223 - 236 .

Chin , W.W. ( 1998 ), “ The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling ”, Modern Methods for Business Research , Vol. 295 No. 2 , pp. 295 - 336 .

Churchill , G.A., Jr , Ford , N.M. , Hartley , S.W. and Walker , O.C. Jr ( 1985 ), “ The determinants of salesperson performance: a meta-analysis ”, Journal of Marketing Research , Vol. 22 No. 2 , pp. 103 - 118 .

Cho , Y. and Lee , J. ( 2018 ), “ Entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial education and performance ”, Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship , Vol. 12 No. 2 , pp. 124 - 134 .

Colombo , M.G. and Grilli , L. ( 2005 ), “ Founders’ human capital and the growth of new technology-based firms: A competence-based view ”, Research Policy , Vol. 34 No. 6 , pp. 795 - 816 .

Cooper , A.C. , Gimeno-Gascon , F.J. and Woo , C.Y. ( 1994 ), “ Initial human and financial capital as predictors of new venture performance ”, Journal of Business Venturing , Vol. 9 No. 5 , pp. 371 - 395 .

Entrialgo , M. and Iglesias , V. ( 2016 ), “ The moderating role of entrepreneurship education on the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention ”, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , Vol. 12 No. 4 , pp. 1209 - 1232 .

Gerli , F. , Gubitta , P. and Tognazzo , A. ( 2011 ), “ Entrepreneurial competencies and firm performance: an empirical study ”, VIII International Workshop on Human Resource Management Conference Proceedings , Seville .

Grant , R.M. ( 1991 ), “ The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: implications for strategy formulation ”, California Management Review , Vol. 33 No. 3 , pp. 114 - 135 .

Hair , J.F. , Ringle , C.M. and Sarstedt , M. ( 2011 ), “ PLS-SEM: indeed a silver bullet ”, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice , Vol. 19 No. 2 , pp. 139 - 152 .

Hair , J.F. , Ringle , C.M. and Sarstedt , M. ( 2013 ), “ Partial least squares structural equation modeling: rigorous applications, better results and higher acceptance ”, Long Range Planning , Vol. 46 Nos No. 1-2 , pp. 1 - 12 .

Harman , H.H. ( 1976 ), Modern Factor Analysis , University of Chicago Press , Chicago, IL .

Hult , G.T.M. and Ketchen , D.J. ( 2001 ), “ Does market orientation matter? A test of the relationship between positional advantage and performance ”, Strategic Management Journal , Vol. 22 No. 9 , pp. 899 - 906 .

Jaramillo , F. , Ladik , D.M. , Marshall , G.W. and Mulki , J.P. ( 2007 ), “ A meta-analysis of the relationship between sales orientation-customer orientation (SOCO) and salesperson job performance ”, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing , Vol. 22 No. 5 , pp. 302 - 310 .

Jaworski , B.J. and Kohli , A.K. ( 1993 ), “ Market orientation: antecedents and consequences ”, The Journal of Marketing , Vol. 57 No. 3 , pp. 53 - 70 .

Johannisson , B. and Mønsted , M. ( 1997 ), “ Contextualizing entrepreneurial networking: the case, of scandinavia ”, International Studies of Management and Organization , Vol. 27 No. 3 , pp. 109 - 136 .

Kim , G. , Shin , B. , Kim , K.K. and Lee , H.G. ( 2011 ), “ IT capabilities, process-oriented dynamic capabilities, and firm financial performance ”, Journal of the Association for Information Systems , Vol. 12 No. 7 , pp. 487 - 512 .

Kohli , A.K. and Jaworski , B.J. ( 1990 ), “ Market orientation: the construct, research propositions, and managerial implications ”, The Journal of Marketing , Vol. 54 No. 2 , pp. 1 - 18 .

Kohli , A.K. , Jaworski , B.J. and Kumar , A. ( 1993 ), “ MARKOR: a measure of market orientation ”, Journal of Marketing Research , Vol. 30 No. 4 , pp. 467 - 477 .

Kraaijenbrink , J. , Spender , J.C. and Groen , A.J. ( 2010 ), “ The resource-based view: a review and assessment of its critiques ”, Journal of Management , Vol. 36 No. 1 , pp. 349 - 372 .

Kutzhanova , N. , Lyons , T.S. and Lichtenstein , G.A. ( 2009 ), “ Skill-based development of entrepreneurs and the role of personal and peer group coaching in enterprise development ”, Economic Development Quarterly , Vol. 23 No. 3 , pp. 193 - 210 .

Larson , A. ( 1992 ), “ Network dyads in entrepreneurial settings: a study of the governance of exchange relationships ”, Administrative Science Quarterly , Vol. 37 No. 1 , pp. 76 - 104 .

Lee , D.Y. and Tsang , E.W. ( 2001 ), “ The effects of entrepreneurial personality, background and network activities on venture growth ”, Journal of Management Studies , Vol. 38 No. 4 , pp. 583 - 602 .

Lerner , M. and Almor , T. ( 2002 ), “ Relationships among strategic capabilities and the performance of women‐owned small ventures ”, Journal of Small Business Management , Vol. 40 No. 2 , pp. 109 - 125 .

Lewis , V.L. and Churchill , N.C. ( 1983 ), “ The five stages of small business growth ”, Harvard Business Review , Vol. 61 No. 3 , pp. 30 - 50 .

Linan , F. ( 2008 ), “ Skill and value perceptions: how do they affect entrepreneurial intentions? ”, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , Vol. 4 No. 3 , pp. 257 - 272 .

Liñán , F. and Chen , Y.W. ( 2009 ), “ Development and cross‐cultural application of a specific instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions ”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , Vol. 33 No. 3 , pp. 593 - 617 .

Man , T.W. , Lau , T. and Chan , K.F. ( 2002 ), “ The competitiveness of small and medium enterprises: a conceptualization with focus on entrepreneurial competencies ”, Journal of Business Venturing , Vol. 17 No. 2 , pp. 123 - 142 .

Man , T.W. , Lau , T. and Snape , E. ( 2008 ), “ Entrepreneurial competencies and the performance of small and medium enterprises: an investigation through a framework of competitiveness ”, Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship , Vol. 21 No. 3 , pp. 257 - 276 .

Markman , G.D. ( 2007 ), “ Entrepreneurs’ competencies ”, The Psychology of Entrepreneurship , Psychology Press , Abingdon , pp. 67 - 92 .

Mitchelmore , S. and Rowley , J. ( 2010 ), “ Entrepreneurial competencies: a literature review and development agenda ”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research , Vol. 16 No. 2 , pp. 92 - 111 .

Mitchelmore , S. and Rowley , J. ( 2013 ), “ Entrepreneurial competencies of women entrepreneurs pursuing business growth ”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development , Vol. 20 No. 1 , pp. 125 - 142 .

Morgan , N.A. , Vorhies , D.W. and Mason , C.H. ( 2009 ), “ Market orientation, marketing capabilities, and firm performance ”, Strategic Management Journal , Vol. 30 No. 8 , pp. 909 - 920 .

Morgan , R.E. and Strong , C.A. ( 2003 ), “ Business performance and dimensions of strategic orientation ”, Journal of Business Research , Vol. 56 No. 3 , pp. 163 - 176 .

Nabiswa , F. and Mukwa , J.S. ( 2017 ), “ Impact of credit financing on human resource development among micro and small enterprises: a case study of Kimilili Sub County, Kenya ”, Asian Journal of Management Science and Economics , Vol. 4 No. 1 , pp. 43 - 53 .

Narver , J.C. and Slater , S.F. ( 1990 ), “ The effect of a market orientation on business profitability ”, The Journal of Marketing , Vol. 54 No. 4 , pp. 20 - 35 .

O’Hara , B.S. , Boles , J.S. and Johnston , M.W. ( 1991 ), “ The influence of personal variables on salesperson selling orientation ”, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management , Vol. 11 No. 1 , pp. 61 - 67 .

Phelan , C. and Sharpley , R. ( 2012 ), “ Exploring entrepreneurial skills and competencies in farm tourism ”, Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit , Vol. 27 No. 2 , pp. 103 - 118 .

Podsakoff , P.M. , MacKenzie , S.B. , Lee , J.Y. and Podsakoff , N.P. ( 2003 ), “ Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies ”, Journal of Applied Psychology , Vol. 88 No. 5 , p. - 879 .

Pyysiäinen , J. , Anderson , A. , McElwee , G. and Vesala , K. ( 2006 ), “ Developing the entrepreneurial skills of farmers: some myths explored ”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research , Vol. 12 No. 1 , pp. 21 - 39 .

Raghuvanshi , J. and Garg , C. ( 2018 ), “ Time to get into the action ”, Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship , Vol. 12 No. 3 , pp. 279 - 299 .

Reinartz , W. , Haenlein , M. and Henseler , J. ( 2009 ), “ An empirical comparison of the efficacy of covariance-based and variance-based SEM ”, International Journal of Research in Marketing , Vol. 26 No. 4 , pp. 332 - 344 .

Runyan , R.C. , Huddleston , P. and Swinney , J. ( 2006 ), “ Entrepreneurial orientation and social capital as small firm strategies: a study of gender differences from a resource-based view ”, The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , Vol. 2 No. 4 , p. 455 .

Saxe , R. and Weitz , B.A. ( 1982 ), “ The SOCO scale: a measure of the customer orientation of salespeople ”, Journal of Marketing Research , Vol. 19 No. 3 , pp. 343 - 351 .

Scherer , R.F. , Brodzinski , J.D. and Wiebe , F. ( 1991 ), “ Examining the relationship between personality and entrepreneurial career preference 1 ”, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development , Vol. 3 No. 2 , pp. 195 - 206 .

Slater , S.F. and Narver , J.C. ( 1995 ), “ Market orientation and the learning organization ”, The Journal of Marketing , Vol. 59 No. 3 , pp. 63 - 74 .

Teece , D.J. ( 2012 ), “ Dynamic capabilities: Routines versus entrepreneurial action ”, Journal of Management Studies , Vol. 49 No. 8 , pp. 1395 - 1401 .

Tehseen , S. and Ramayah , T. ( 2015 ), “ Entrepreneurial competencies and SMEs business success: the contingent role of external integration ”, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences , Vol. 6 No. 1 , pp. 50 - 61 .

Venkatraman , N. and Ramanujam , V. ( 1986 ), “ Measurement of business performance in strategy research: a comparison of approaches ”, Academy of Management Review , Vol. 11 No. 4 , pp. 801 - 814 .

Wachner , T. , Plouffe , C.R. and Grégoire , Y. ( 2009 ), “ SOCO’s impact on individual sales performance: the integration of selling skills as a missing link ”, Industrial Marketing Management , Vol. 38 No. 1 , pp. 32 - 44 .

Wahid , N.A. , Aziz , N.N.A. and Halim , R.A. ( 2017 ), “ Networking and innovation performance of micro-enterprises in Malaysia: the moderating effects of geographical location ”, Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities , Vol. 25 , pp. 281 - 292 .

Witt , P. ( 2004 ), “ Entrepreneurs’ networks and the success of start-ups ”, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development , Vol. 16 No. 5 , pp. 391 - 412 .

Further reading

Diamantopoulos , A. and Siguaw , J.A. ( 2006 ), “ Formative versus reflective indicators in organizational measure development: a comparison and empirical illustration ”, British Journal of Management , Vol. 17 No. 4 , pp. 263 - 282 .

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia under the grant entitled “Developing a Comprehensive Rural Entrepreneurship Model for Poverty Eradication (REMODE)” (R/NRGS/A01.00/00047A/006/2014/000149).

Corresponding author

Related articles, all feedback is valuable.

Please share your general feedback

Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions

Contact Customer Support

• Architecture and Design
• Asian and Pacific Studies
• Business and Economics
• Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Computer Sciences
• Cultural Studies
• Engineering
• General Interest
• Geosciences
• Industrial Chemistry
• Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
• Jewish Studies
• Library and Information Science, Book Studies
• Life Sciences
• Linguistics and Semiotics
• Literary Studies
• Materials Sciences
• Mathematics
• Social Sciences
• Sports and Recreation
• Theology and Religion
• Publish your article
• The role of authors
• Promoting your article
• Abstracting & indexing
• Publishing Ethics
• Why publish with De Gruyter
• How to publish with De Gruyter
• Our book series
• Our subject areas
• Your digital product at De Gruyter
• Contribute to our reference works
• Product information
• Tools & resources
• Product Information
• Promotional Materials
• Orders and Inquiries
• FAQ for Library Suppliers and Book Sellers
• Repository Policy
• Free access policy
• Open Access agreements
• Database portals
• For Authors
• Customer service
• People + Culture
• Journal Management
• How to join us
• Working at De Gruyter
• Mission & Vision
• De Gruyter Foundation
• De Gruyter Ebound
• Our Responsibility
• Partner publishers

Your purchase has been completed. Your documents are now available to view.

Entrepreneurship in Times of Crisis: A Comprehensive Review with Future Directions

Despite an increased interest in crises within the field of entrepreneurship, there is still a lack of understanding about the interplay between different types of crises and entrepreneurship. In addition, the specific circumstances surrounding each type of crisis may also cause the conclusions of these studies to diverge or converge. To enhance our theoretical understanding of entrepreneurship during times of crisis, our review seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) How are the different types of crises addressed in entrepreneurship literature, and what similarities and differences exist? (2) How can we broaden our understanding and deepen our insights into the relationship between a crisis and entrepreneurship? In an effort to review the largest possible variety of crises that extends beyond political crises, natural disasters, and financial crises, we have also included a number of recent studies that examined COVID-19 from an entrepreneurial perspective. Following this, our study identifies six types of crises along with corresponding research themes, key findings, and critical shortcomings. This review also identifies multiple research gaps and suggests several future research directions, as well as theoretical approaches that researchers can take to build upon existing discussions surrounding entrepreneurship in times of crisis.

1 Introduction

Economically and socially disruptive crises, such as natural catastrophes, terrorist attacks, and financial collapse, have persisted throughout history. Such frightful occurrences impact the lives of many individuals, organizations, and the communities to which they belong, frequently culminating in large-scale global effects. The current COVID-19 situation exemplifies this type of crisis. The ongoing threat of invisible crises arising from both human and natural causes (i.e. global warming) has become a new normal for society ( Bendell et al. 2020 ). Such crises also have an effect on businesses, since typically, young and small businesses are more susceptible than large businesses to the challenges posed by shocks (i.e. Bărbulescu et al. 2021 ; Bartz and Winkler 2016 ). However, times of crisis can also provide a unique environment necessary for the emergence of entrepreneurial and prosperous organizations ( Cucculelli and Peruzzi 2018 ; Guo et al. 2020 ). For example, since the outbreak of COVID in 2019, the number of daily users of Zoom, a video teleconferencing software, has soared 30-fold, elevating the firm to its current position as a globally renowned, billion-dollar IT corporation ( Caminiti 2021 ). Beyond its monetary value, the realization of this particular entrepreneurial opportunity has had a significant impact on our society by altering how office meetings are held and how students learn through virtual classrooms across diverse nations.

Given this co-presence of both challenges and opportunities, scholars in the field of entrepreneurship have held a substantial interest in crises (i.e. Doern et al. 2018 ; Grube and Storr 2018 ; Williams and Vorley 2015 ). When an ambivalent and complex relationship exists, such as the relationship between a crisis and entrepreneurship, a review study can play a significant role in comparing and contrasting the findings of previous research ( Snyder 2019 ; Torraco 2005 ), thereby helping to resolve inherent theoretical tensions. Furthermore, a review is especially desired when the focal discipline strongly relates to social issues. According to Fischer et al. (2021) , a review is required to establish a robust theoretical base to generate trustworthy recommendations for solving real-world problems. In our case, the ultimate goal is to enlighten entrepreneurs and stakeholders (i.e. investors and governments) about the potential consequences that could result from how they choose to respond to unprecedented crises. This goal can be best served by integrating and comparing scattered findings about various crises that exist across entrepreneurial contexts. In order to robustly enhance our theoretical understanding in this area, our review seeks to answer two major research questions: (1) How are the different types of crises addressed in entrepreneurship literature, and what similarities and differences exist? (2) How can we broaden our understanding and deepen our insights into the relationship between a crisis and entrepreneurship? In this paper we attempt to answer these questions, ones that prior literature reviews have not yet been able to thoroughly address ( Doern et al. 2018 ; Grube and Storr 2018 ).

In an effort to review the largest possible variety of crises that extends beyond political crises (e.g. war), natural disasters (e.g. volcanic eruptions), and financial crises, we have also included a number of recent studies that examined COVID-19 from an entrepreneurial perspective. This inclusion is timely given that the global COVID-19 crisis, which began in 2019, has almost reached its conclusion. Since 2019, research on COVID-19 has proliferated across all academic disciplines ( Donthu and Gustafsson 2020 ; Holmes et al. 2020 ), including entrepreneurship. The influx of unique data pertaining to this crisis has allowed for numerous analyses to spring forth, especially those relating to the impact of the pandemic on entrepreneurship and subsequent entrepreneurial responses. However, if these findings are not consolidated in a timely manner, they may remain fragmented as purely ‘COVID-19 related’ studies, leaving them susceptible to becoming an episodic or obsolete topic of discussion within a few years, otherwise known as an ‘academic fad’ ( Wefald and Downey 2009 ). However, our review attempts to categorize COVID-19 alongside other crises as a sub-type of naturally-driven crises and places it within the broader framework of ‘ crisis and entrepreneurship ’. We strive to do this as the discussion surrounding COVID-19 continues to be a relevant key resource for future scholars interested in the crisis context.

The academic society’s desire for novel contributions from individual research is becoming stronger than ever ( Corley and Gioia 2011 ; Neubaum and Micelotta 2021 ). However, it is one of the most challenging goals for most scholars. A creative gaze does not arise suddenly, but rather, it is based on tedious efforts to learn about many existing works ( Sawyer 2011 ). A comprehensive review article that expands upon the different types of crises and their corresponding research themes will aid in understanding the vast discussions that exist in the field. In this regard, the identification of key research gaps is one of the primary benefits of review articles ( Paul and Criado 2020 ). To best serve this goal, we have organized our review according to underlying research themes rather than merely categorizing variables into antecedents and outcomes. Our review identifies multiple research gaps where we particularly encourage researchers to generate new contributions to the field by incorporating different components from the highlighted research themes among the different types of crises outlined in our paper. For example, in the literature on economic crises, a group of research showed that small businesses learn from crises and subsequently respond better than those without such experience (e.g. Brzozowski et al. 2019 ). By applying this theme to COVID-19, future research could investigate the resilience of entrepreneurial companies that have previously experienced multiple waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another essential benefit of a review is to draw researchers’ attention from existing theoretical approaches to fresh insights or perspectives for future research ( Paul and Criado 2020 ). To maximize this advantage, our discussion in the later part of this paper provides insights in three ways. First, the research themes are derived through an extensive review that includes the recent COVID-19 crisis, with research gaps and future directions presented for each theme. Second, we present overall, new research directions that either examine each theme more deeply or combine themes. Third, while the previous two insights are based on current literature, the third insight moves attention away from these traditional paths towards newer approaches. We propose two new avenues for researchers to consider: the third-party perspective approach and the quality-concerning approach, both of which emphasize the roles and perspectives of governments, regions, and investors surrounding entrepreneurial firms in crisis. Thus, these approaches can generate useful implications from a practical point of view, particularly to the parties that need to protect the entrepreneurship ecosystem into the future.

2 Crisis and a Contextualized Perspective on Entrepreneurship

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, it comes as no surprise that an understanding of the concept of a crisis has become critical to both scholars and practitioners. Although there are different definitions of a ‘crisis’, most studies define it as a disruptive event that occurs unpredictably and in a way that can significantly threaten the actor’s (i.e. an individual, organization, and/or community) normal functioning ( Doern et al. 2018 ; Williams et al. 2017 ). While the vast majority of scholars define a crisis as a disruptive event, some scholars view a crisis as more of a ‘process’ that evolves gradually before, during, and after a triggering event ( Bundy et al. 2017 ; Newman et al. 2022 ). Others have extended the concept of a crisis further by defining it as more of an expected challenge that entrepreneurs may face in their daily lives as their businesses evolve along with their life cycles ( Doern et al. 2018 ).

In terms of the different typologies for a crisis that have been put forth, the scope of the impact (i.e. from individual to global) and the cause of a crisis (i.e. human, natural, and technological) are critical features for classifying crises ( Bendell et al. 2020 ; Doern et al. 2018 ). The crises discussed in entrepreneurship literature can be categorized as different types of crises based on these two taxonomies (i.e. the scope of the impact and the primary causes of the crisis). Each crisis is fundamentally heterogeneous and some may also have common characteristics ( Rauch and Hulsink 2021 ). Although some papers provided a comprehensive review of the studies on entrepreneurship in the context of a crisis, our current knowledge on entrepreneurship in times of crisis is still limited as studies remain mostly fragmented based on a single type of crisis and there is also a lack of understanding concerning how crises can be similar or different. For example, Doern and colleagues (2018) provided an overview of the different definitions and typologies of a crisis in entrepreneurship and suggested that an entrepreneur’s experience, the business growth phase, and the type or phase of the crisis, all influence the entrepreneur’s crisis reaction. Korber and McNaugthon (2017) reviewed studies at the intersection of entrepreneurship and resilience and found that studies largely focused on ex-ante features of entrepreneurial individuals and firms amid a crisis, while few works studied post-disruption resilience dynamics. More recently, particular efforts have been made by scholars to systematically understand studies on entrepreneurship in the COVID-19 context (e.g. Belitski et al. 2022 ; Khlystova et al. 2022 ). Although these reviews are fruitful, the diversity and heterogeneity of a crisis remain largely undiscussed, even in light of the emerging contextualized perspective in entrepreneurship literature.

Studies in the field of entrepreneurship have moved towards approaches that are more focused on contextualization ( Welter et al. 2019 ). Researchers interested in entrepreneurship in times of crisis are also a part of this movement, resulting in a wide spectrum of focus on entrepreneurship in various types of crises. While COVID-19 and the 2007–2008 global financial crisis take on the majority of scholarly interest, there are also other types of crises that contribute to a more contextualized understanding of entrepreneurship in times of crisis. For example, studies focusing on the long-term dynamics and the trajectory of individuals within the broader business community following a natural disaster ( Dinger et al. 2019 ), the effects on emotional intelligence after suffering local shocks from an economic recession within a developing economy ( Quintillán and Peña-Legazkue 2019 ), and the entrepreneurial activities in communities under continuous threat of the Calbuco volcano eruptions in 2015 and 2016 in Chile ( Muñoz et al. 2019 ). From a contextualized perspective, there is merit in reviewing prior literature on entrepreneurship within a wide range of crises and in distinguishing the different types of crises, as such an approach invites us to have a more layered understanding of entrepreneurship in times of crisis where we might otherwise expect sameness across different types of crises ( Welter et al. 2019 ).

3 Methodology

A systematic review is defined as “a review of an existing body of literature that follows a transparent and reproducible methodology in searching, assessing its quality, and synthesizing it, with a high level of objectivity” ( Kraus et al. 2020 , 1026). To systematically review the literature of entrepreneurship in crisis and post-crisis contexts, this paper follows the methodologies suggested by Kraus et al. (2020) and Petticrew and Roberts (2006) . The review process comprises of four major stages: (1) review planning, (2) study identification and evaluation, (3) data extraction and integration, and (4) finding dissemination ( Kraus et al. 2020 ). In the planning stage, we reviewed a broad range of literature related to entrepreneurship and crises to clarify our research questions, as well as to develop a study protocol. To ensure a transparent and reproducible procedure, a review protocol was developed for implementation. Figure 1 shows the systematic review protocol.

Research protocol of a systematic review.

We limited our review to only include peer-reviewed journal articles across disciplines as they are considered to be both valid and reliable sources of knowledge ( Podsakoff et al. 2005 ). Thus, unpublished papers, book chapters, and conference papers were excluded from the review. To implement the search procedure, we used the Web of Science as it is one of the most comprehensive databases, covering an extensive range of quality journals across different academic disciplines. Within the Social Science Core Collection database of the Web of Science, we applied the Boolean search string “entrepreneurship AND (crisis OR covid OR shock OR disaster)” for studies written in English. The main search included studies published up until February 1, 2021, and this search was updated once in November 2022, to further include newly published articles between February 1, 2021, and October 31, 2022. With regards to the updated search, we limited the search to publications within the Web of Science meso-topics of Management or Economics, the categories of Business, Management, or Economics, and the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), in order to collect an initial data set of influential articles that would be most relevant to our research topic. After excluding any duplicates, the initial search yielded 918 studies in the primary search and 232 studies in the updated search, resulting in a data set of 1150 studies in total. Three additional steps were conducted to create the final data set. First, we read the titles and abstracts of selected articles and excluded studies that heavily focused on refugees, healthcare, and tourism or simply dealt with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with no relevance to entrepreneurship literature. We further validated the relevance of the articles by taking into account the research topic, which led to the selection of 206 studies. Second, we carefully read the full text of the articles to determine whether a study was suitable for the research objective and selected 97 articles. Finally, nine studies were further selected from a forward and a backward citation search, resulting in a final data set of 106 studies.

4 Results and Findings

Figure 2 illustrates the 106 research articles by year (the grey area indicates that only articles published up until October 31, 2022, are included in our review). An increasing interest in topics surrounding entrepreneurship and crises has taken place since 2015, with a slight decrease occurring after 2017. Following this, an upward, blossoming trend can be clearly seen following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 75 percent of papers (80) having been published since 2019.

Trends in publications by year.

Figure 3 shows the different types of crises described within the reviewed articles. Research was conducted utilizing very different contexts, including the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, the 1997 Asian financial crisis, local economic collapse (e.g. the 2012 economic breakdown in Greece), the current COVID-19 pandemic, environmental disasters (e.g. earthquakes, hurricanes), and political conflicts (e.g. war). The analysis revealed that the majority of studies covering both crises and entrepreneurship focused on external, major, and extreme events. These studies placed a strong emphasis on the influence that a crisis may have on the entrepreneurial behaviors and outcomes of people, organizations, and regions, as well as the characteristics that assist such actors in overcoming the crisis at hand. Most publications (60 percent) utilized quantitative methods, 20 percent of the articles utilized qualitative methods, and the remaining studies (20 percent) were literature reviews or conceptual papers. Table 1 shows that there are two main contexts upon which the reviewed articles are concentrated: COVID-19 (41 percent) and the global financial crisis of 2007–2008 (34 percent). While a quantitative approach was mostly used to study entrepreneurship in the context of the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, a variety of research methods were utilized in the studies that focused on COVID-19. With regards to empirical studies, most scholars drew primarily on individual (38%), organizational (25%), and mixed (15%) units of analysis, while other studies focused on country (11%), sub-national region (9%), and household (2%) units of analysis. A list of all 106 papers can be found in Table 2 .

Type of crisis reviewed. Articles (5) that handled a variety of crises were excluded in the figure above.

Articles by crisis with corresponding methodologies.

Full list of papers by crisis.

4.1 The 2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis

The global financial crisis, which began in late 2007, brought an end to an era of continuous economic progress and plunged many countries into the worst post-war economic calamity ever experienced. The 2007–2008 global financial crisis received considerable attention in crisis-related entrepreneurship research, with thirty-six (36) studies out of 106 focusing on it. Following a thorough review of these publications, it was determined that, despite differences in background countries or methodology, academics continue to engage in in-depth and ongoing discussions about some commonly appealing research themes. These themes mostly cover theoretical tensions and the question of whether or not there is a mutually intertwined influence among individuals, businesses, regions, and countries. The 2007–2008 financial crisis can also be viewed as an external occurrence with an impact at the ecosystem level that is beyond the control of individuals or businesses. As a result, paying attention to the effect of these macro-environmental components on entrepreneurial activities stems from an interactive viewpoint, as opposed to an obsolete perspective that views entrepreneurship as something that is simply driven by entrepreneurs. Although the research questions presented here do not cover the entirety of the research on entrepreneurship in the aftermath of the financial crisis, they have sparked the interest of numerous scholars. The research questions are listed in the order of greatest proportion, with some studies having addressed two or more research themes at the same time ( Arrighetti et al. 2016 ).

4.1.1 Did the Global Financial Crisis Stimulate or Reduce Entrepreneurial Activity?

There is little doubt that the global financial crisis had a negative influence on traditional, established enterprises. However, entrepreneurship literature contains contradictory theoretical tensions about the influence of the economic crisis on entrepreneurial enterprises. According to the pro-cyclical viewpoint, if the economic crisis affects demand for products and services, so too will it affect any possibilities for entrepreneurship. Counter-cyclical schools of thought, on the other hand, predict that the economic crisis will encourage more people to create their own businesses as employment opportunities within conventional organizations decline.

Scholars have been looking for empirical data to support these opposing viewpoints. First, Abdesselam et al. (2017) , as well as Vegetti and Adăscăliţei (2017) , stated that entrepreneurial activities will certainly decrease in response to the business cycle. While observing OECD countries’ entrepreneurial activities from 1999 to 2012, these analyses were divided into pre-crisis and post-crisis relative to 2008. Entrepreneurship, which developed alongside the settlement boom from 1999 to 2008, saw a dramatic decrease during the recovery period of 2010–2012, when the unemployment rate was higher than ever, however, the rate of self-employment did not rise. The authors termed this, ‘the break of entrepreneurship dynamics’, meaning that those who were unemployed did not jump into entrepreneurial activities. However, the loss of an entrepreneurial dynamic was relatively minor in countries that had focused on more traditional industries, such as agriculture, and that had little connection to the financial industry. González-Pernía et al. (2018) tried to showcase why economic crises reduce entrepreneurship and revealed that economic decline leads to lower perceptions of opportunity, which subsequently leads to lower entrepreneurial activity. Bakhtiari (2019) , who analyzed corporate-level data from 2002 to 2015 in Australia, also found that entrepreneurship had become less dynamic and riskier during the crisis. In particular, he said that immediately after the crisis, small enterprises experienced business failure and showed a significant increase in ‘exits’ from the market.

On the other hand, several scholars have argued that the economic crisis played a role in fostering the creation of new firms. Hundt and Sternberg (2014) , for example, observed entrepreneurial activities in Germany for 13 years before and after the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Their hypothesis, which stated that the financial crisis can in fact stimulate entrepreneurship, was supported. Contrary to their expectations, the financial crisis did not have a differential impact on necessity versus opportunity-based entrepreneurship. Also, they noted that the supported facilitation effect could vary depending on the local human capital context.

Mühlböck et al. (2017) explained this seemingly counterintuitive argument with the term, ‘desperate entrepreneurship’. A significant proportion of entrepreneurs start their business despite the negative perceptions of opportunity, which are even more likely to increase during times of crisis. Geographically, this trend is higher in countries that are more largely impacted by economic crises and have higher unemployment rates. Following this, desperate entrepreneurs can be said to have no other choice but to start a business, resulting in the crisis essentially fostering entrepreneurship.

4.1.2 Can Entrepreneurial Firms Survive Better in a Financial Crisis?

Scholars have been interested in how well existing entrepreneurial companies can survive during a severe crisis due to contradictory theoretical forecasts. In general, the smaller the company, the less likely it is to survive. This is due to the lack of human and financial resources at the firm’s disposal. According to Cucculelli and Peruzzi (2018) , large organizations can survive the crisis through cost reduction or branch reduction at the managerial level, however small businesses face a limitation in downsizing, with products and services having not yet been diversified, making the firm more vulnerable to crises.

According to the Schumpeterian view, which poses a differing perspective, the flexibility of small organizations can boost the viability of independent enterprises during an economic downturn. The hypothesis that the global economic crisis would have a negative impact was rejected by Davidsson and Gordon (2016) who stated that “for most nascent entrepreneurs and their ongoing start-up efforts, the (behavioral) effects of macroeconomic crises are far smaller than what is likely to be commonly believed” ( Davidsson and Gordon 2016 , 930). Simón-Moya et al. (2016) discovered, surprisingly, that entrepreneurial companies are more likely to survive the financial crisis since the crisis reduces the firm’s ‘opportunity costs’, leaving founders with no other choice but to persevere.

Bartz and Winkler (2016) provide a more sophisticated answer by distinguishing between the size and age of the entrepreneurial actor. That is, ‘small’ firms maintain higher growth rates than large firms in both times of stabilization and crisis given that flexibility becomes an advantage, however ‘young’ companies are overly market-dependent and their founder-owned characteristics are negatively affected by the crisis in a significant way.

Cefis and Marsili (2019) also investigated which company traits are more resistant to a crisis, departing from the one-size-fits-all theory that all small firms are more likely to survive in a crisis. Companies were more adaptable both during and after the crisis if innovation was incorporated within the first 2 years of the company’s inception. At this period, innovation was most effective when it focused on the technological aspect. Devece et al. (2016) made a similar point, finding that need-based entrepreneurs were ineffective in times of crisis, whereas those with a foundation of opportunity or innovation were more effective.

4.1.3 Does the Impact of a Crisis on Entrepreneurship Vary by Geography?

Recent research on entrepreneurship has increasingly shifted its emphasis to the effect of a mutual give and take exchange taking place between enterprises and the regions in which they are embedded. After summarizing the academic discussions on the subject, it is clear that corporations and their corresponding regions are developing constructive two-way relationships with one another. It was discovered that regional and national features can provide a ‘safety net’ for entrepreneurship ( Ruiz-Fuensanta and Bellandi 2019 ; Van Stel et al. 2014 ). For example, Jabłońska and Stawska (2020) discovered that in Poland and the Czech Republic, entrepreneurial activity was primarily stimulated by the level of spending on regional municipalities, social welfare, and R&D, as well as the proportion of the economically active population who were unemployed. As a result, the study advised entrepreneurs to pay attention to the unique conditions of where they belong. Goschin (2020) delved a bit deeper into the post-crisis impact, discovering that, among a variety of criteria, foreign direct investments, population expansion, and the agglomeration of active firms are key components in assisting new firm survival within the first 3 years.

Bishop and Shilcof (2017) and Pisá-Bó et al. (2021) focused on whether the region of interest (i.e. urban or rural) plays an important role in the crisis-entrepreneurship relationship and found that the more urban the area, such as London, the lesser the consequences suffered as a result of the economic crisis. In urban areas, the entrepreneurship dynamic was maintained even during the crisis, and in rural areas, more necessity-based start-ups were developed due to limited employment possibilities. Furthermore, Pinho and de Lurdes Martins (2020) , who investigated 44 countries during the economic crisis, argued that institutional elements inherent in a society, rather than geographical characteristics such as countries or regions, determine the genuine impact of an economic crisis. Countries that were struck more strongly by the crisis were distinguished from those that did not. The authors concluded that while the economic shock suffered by a country following a financial crisis does vary, institutional qualities (e.g. a start-up’s social image, education level, information governance) also have a key impact on new venture creation during such times.

It should be noted that some studies focused on the upward influence of entrepreneurial activity on a country or region, as opposed to a downward influence. According to Abdesselam et al. (2017) , small innovators, rather than large enterprises, fuel national growth during a recovery era. Armeanu et al. (2015) examined the Romanian economy before and after the financial crisis and discovered that entrepreneurship was the primary driver of the nations’ economic recovery. Bishop (2019) discovered that entrepreneurial competency assists communities in adapting to crises, where the size and diversity of local knowledge-based enterprises plays a mediating role. In other words, it was suggested that while nurturing start-ups, it is possible to strengthen the local economy’s sustainability in times of crisis by growing a mix of varied businesses, rather than cultivating clusters that are centered in a certain field.

4.1.4 How do Individual Entrepreneurs Deal With Crises?

Despite the previous emphasis on the influence of the macro-environment, local community, and region, the importance of ‘people,’ the focal actors of entrepreneurial activities, has not lessened ( Frese and Gielnik 2014 ; Mitchell et al. 2002 ). In this regard, there are research streams concerned with how global crisis conditions, such as the economic crisis, affect individual entrepreneurs. Meliou (2019) investigated women who decided to start a business during Greece’s financial crisis and discovered that material support from family members, particularly spouses, emotional support, and informational support through social connections, were all crucial. In a study focusing on developing countries, Quintillán and Pea-Legazkue (2019) discovered that the process of internationalization (i.e. whether they sell their products or services internationally) is dependent on the entrepreneurs’ emotional intelligence rather than traditional human assets, especially during the crisis. According to the finding, even in chaotic circumstances such as economic crises, the higher an individual’s emotional stability, the more likely they are to accept risky actions.

4.1.5 Crisis as a Moderator of the Previously Stated Relationship

Some research has focused on whether the association between variables that were discovered in previous entrepreneurship related literature is represented similarly or differently in the unique context of the global economic crisis ( Elitcha and Fonseca 2018 ; Kraus et al. 2011 ). Martínez-Rodriguez et al. (2020) , for example, discovered that the crisis had a moderating effect on how national accounting and fiscal policies influence opportunity or necessity-based entrepreneurship. Santos et al. (2017) , on the other hand, conducted an individual-level study to evaluate the effects of individual efficacy, opportunity perception, and role model perceptions on initial entrepreneurial activity and found that it stayed consistent regardless of the crisis. Giotopoulos et al. (2016) discovered that at the individual level, the influence of an individual’s gender, education level, and sense of opportunity on the level of entrepreneurship changes during a crisis. During a crisis, for example, the effect of gender and educational attainment on growth intention was stronger than in non-crisis times.

4.1.6 Does the Organization Learn From Crises?

Finally, although the number is small, there has been an increasing research concentration incorporating organizational learning theory and investigating whether or not entrepreneurs and their businesses can learn from crises. Both studies in this review that conducted research on this topic viewed the 2003 global economic slump as a precursor experience to the 2007–2008 global economic downturn. During the 2008–2009 period, Brzozowski et al. (2019) found interesting changes in corporate responses. Based on organizational learning theory, they investigated how the experience of the crisis in 2003 affected the company’s subsequent response to the economic crisis of 2007–2008, which revealed that firms took more active steps in the following crisis after taking a prudent stance in the previous crisis. In a similar vein, Cucculelli and Peruzzi (2018) reported that enterprises that modified their business models following the 2003 crisis fared better during the 2007–2008 crisis. This supports the idea that organizations learn from crises.

4.2 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

In times of crisis, ‘desperate entrepreneurship,’ defined as the phenomenon of individuals attempting to start a business despite lacking confidence in necessary skills and abilities to perceive opportunities ( Mühlböck et al. 2017 ), can lead to a ‘refugee effect’ in developing countries. Vial (2011) and Yindok (2021) utilized the 1997 Asian financial crisis as a contextual backdrop for their studies, which examined the factors that influenced the entry and survival of enterprises operating in developing countries during this time, as well as the factors affecting the revitalization of household entrepreneurship. Both studies compared rural areas and cities in developing countries during the financial crisis and discovered that a link exists between the formation of necessity-driven entrepreneurship and geographical and financial characteristics. First, micro-entrepreneurship is encouraged in areas with high-quality formal institutions and infrastructure ( Vial 2011 ). Second, the 1997 Asian financial crisis triggered a temporary surge in entrepreneurship participation, primarily in communities that suffered less of a drop in overall perceived, material well-being, as a result of the crisis. Thus, in the context of developing countries, entrepreneurship serves as a social safety net in times of crisis, particularly for wealthier households. It should be noted that wealthier household enterprises focusing on informal and low-technology were the ones to take on low-skilled workers engaged in service and trade, workers who not only found it difficult to find work during the financial crisis but also needed to fill the subsequent gap in income.

In terms of research methodology, these studies represent good examples of how to best approach a mixed-level analysis, whereby the influence of financial, human, and social capital, as well as the effect of the quality of institutions and infrastructure, were examined to see if a resulting effect on participation in entrepreneurship and on firm survival existed, both during and post-crisis. However, it is vital to explore more advanced research methods that incorporate both macro variables (i.e. quality of institutions and infrastructure) and meso variables (i.e. business ownership) simultaneously, similar to that seen in Vial (2011) , where the 1997 Asian financial crisis was treated as a moderating variable.

4.3 Local Economic Collapse

In the context of a local economic collapse, eight papers conducted an in-depth examination of micro- and meso-level factors that influenced entrepreneurship as part of an interconnected community. To be more specific, except for one qualitative study ( Weaven et al. 2021 ), if we classify based on the dependent variable, seven papers discussed micro-level entrepreneurship as: entrepreneurial intentions ( Arrighetti et al. 2016 ; Gil-Soto et al. 2022 ), entrepreneurial behaviors ( Rani et al. 2019 ; Williams and Vorley 2015 ), the attitudinal changes of entrepreneurial judgment and actions ( Liu et al. 2021 ), work and family balance ( Cesaroni et al. 2018 ), and female entrepreneurship ( Dal Mas and Paoloni 2019 ). Furthermore, three papers addressed the meso-level as community resilience ( Bakas 2017 ), as well as the financial and creative performance of firms ( Cannavale et al. 2020 ; Laskovaia et al. 2018 ) as part of a community with regional characteristics.

When entrepreneurial actors, as individuals or organizations, are able to successfully work together with local community resources, entrepreneurial actors can identify opportunities and implement the necessary remedies to enable long-term recovery following an economic collapse ( Bakas 2017 ; Cannavale et al. 2020 ; Laskovaia et al. 2018 ). As a consequence, the community’s competence and resources end up strengthening the entrepreneurial actors’ will and aptitude, allowing for them to effectively tackle any challenges they face, resulting in a virtuous cycle ( Arrighetti et al. 2016 ; Cesaroni et al. 2018 ). For example, according to Dal Mas and Paoloni’s (2019) study, which considered the financial crisis from an Italian context, potential female entrepreneurs were found to be more sensitive to the complexity of their efforts, making the strong relationship between relational capital and female entrepreneurs a sensitive component in the establishment of new businesses during this time. Similarly, Bakas (2017) found that female handicraft tourism entrepreneurs in Crete and Epirus, Greece, conceptualized their entrepreneurial involvement as being primarily for the community’s benefit, which in turn increased community resilience in the context of an economic crisis. On the other hand, studies focusing on the quality of local institutional norms and an entrepreneur’s behavior and decision-making during a crisis merits further investigation. Liu et al. (2020) examined how and why some foreign entrepreneurs adjust their attitudes towards local institutional norms, such as corruption, more than local entrepreneurs, particularly during a crisis. They employed system justification theory to understand why and how entrepreneurs differ in the extent of their attitudes towards entrepreneurial judgment and actions concerning corruption.

If future studies consider how the characteristics of each local community affect entrepreneurship after the current, global COVID-19 crisis, rather than the various financial crises that have taken place, the results of prior conflicting studies regarding the negative or positive impact of a crisis on entrepreneurship could be clarified.

4.4 The COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a crisis that has entirely changed people’s lives. Businesses have been shut down unexpectedly and people were forced to stay in their homes due to a lockdown enforced by governments around the world. A key observation from not only the 2007–2008 financial crisis but also the COVID-19 pandemic, is that the world is very much connected, so much so that the impact of such crises is only becoming more severe and far-reaching in geographic scope. Unlike the 2007–2008 financial crisis, COVID-19 produced a situation of limited movement and mobility as the threat of the spread of the disease increased, fuelling a severe disconnection in society between people and places. A set of papers (43) in this review investigated entrepreneurship in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We identified five research themes that are based on the key research questions addressed in these publications, which are outlined below.

Among the various disciplines of entrepreneurship, most studies mainly focus on entrepreneurial actors, such as entrepreneurs and young and small firms. Entrepreneurial actors represent a critical component for the potential sustainable development of the corresponding local communities and countries involved ( Cui et al. 2016 ; Geroski et al. 2010 ; Thornhill and Amit 2003 ). In particular, when entrepreneurial actors cooperate and share local knowledge with community members, they are able to recognize opportunities and implement the responses needed to ensure sustainable crisis recovery ( Korsgaard et al. 2020 ). However, despite some studies that emphasized the importance of local communities and ecosystems ( Bărbulescu et al. 2021 ; Bartz and Winkler 2016 ), research from a community-based perspective is still insufficient. Furthermore, given that the pandemic has prolonged over a significant amount of time, it appears necessary to take a more sophisticated approach in studying entrepreneurship during the pandemic by considering the time horizon throughout the different phases of the pandemic (i.e. before the crisis, the beginning of the crisis, during the crisis) as well as the severity of the pandemic over time.

4.4.1 How has the Pandemic Influenced Potential and Nascent Entrepreneurs’ Decisions to Start a New Business?

The first stream of literature investigates how potential and nascent entrepreneurs responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of new business creation. Studies in this stream of research particularly focused on entrepreneurial intention (e.g. Ruiz-Rosa et al. 2020 ) and entrepreneurial activities, such as the consideration of starting a new business by potential entrepreneurs, as well as early phase activities in new firm creation by entrepreneurs (e.g. Liñán and Jaén 2022 ). These studies showed that despite the unfavorable entrepreneurial environment as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, entrepreneurs still managed to start businesses. A crisis impacts the creation of new firms by fostering the necessity-driven motivations of entrepreneurs, motivations that are triggered when a crisis brings about a reduction in the number of suitable income alternatives ( Hundt and Sternberg 2014 ; Simón-Moya et al. 2016 ). Liñán and Jaén (2022) found that while there could be an initial decrease in overall entrepreneurial activity during the pandemic, the necessity-driven motives of entrepreneurs will likely increase soon afterward. On the other hand, Kuckertz (2021) suggested that habitual entrepreneurs, those who have established ventures several times, were the ones who sought opportunities to start new businesses even under rising uncertainty. The author confirmed that it was the entrepreneurs who perceived opportunities that were the ones to start innovative ventures during the COVID-19 crisis, despite the overall decline in entrepreneurial activities. A key, underlying theme tied to the impact of COVID-19 on entrepreneurship is that the entrepreneur’s perceptions of the crisis, and of the potential opportunities or threats at play, represented an important driver of entrepreneurship. Thus, these studies show that in addition to the various contexts and characteristics of the entrepreneurial environment that exist as a result of the crisis, how entrepreneurs perceived the environment surrounding them explained, to a large extent, their engagement in entrepreneurial activities during this time.

4.4.2 What Challenges and Opportunities did Young and Small Firms Face During the Pandemic?

Scholars found that many young and small firms, as opposed to established firms, are more vulnerable to the significant challenges brought about by shocks ( Bărbulescu et al. 2021 ; Brown et al. 2020 ; Lim et al. 2020 ). The major obstacles discussed in the literature included difficulties in managing supply chains and difficulties in acquiring capital. These challenges were observed at the firm level, as well as within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which includes private equity investors and venture capitalists. For example, Aftab et al. (2021) showed that small and medium-scale enterprises in Pakistan suffered from the lockdown, as well as from decreases in the demand for products and services, difficulties in managing the supply chain, challenges in maintaining employees, and from a subsequent decline in sales and profits. Brown et al. (2020) found that out of the different types of entrepreneurial finance available, seed financing was the most severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, meaning that entrepreneurial start-ups experienced the greatest challenges in obtaining capital.

On the other hand, studies also acknowledged the positive consequences of this global crisis. This perspective views times of crisis as something that can provide a unique environment necessary for the emergence of entrepreneurial and prosperous organizations ( Cucculelli and Peruzzi 2018 ; Davidsson et al. 2021 ; Guo et al. 2020 ). While various governments proactively drove initiatives to slow down the spread of the disease, a variety of innovative products (i.e. testing kits) were developed and growth opportunities were formed in non-contact industries, such as digital commerce, telemedicine, and automation ( Liu et al. 2020 ; Negrutiu 2021 ). In addition, some studies suggested that a crisis drives entrepreneurs to question their previously used responses, making it all the more important for them to develop ways to cope with external shocks ( Kwong et al. 2019 ). This might mean reconstructing organizational resources to stimulate growth, particularly when confronting change ( Dahles and Susilowati 2015 ). For example, Lim et al. (2020) suggested that a firm, as a bundle of resources, experiences a temporal imbalance of resources due to the crisis, which allows entrepreneurs to realign their firm’s resource system, allowing the firm to enter into the next phase of growth.

4.4.3 How did Young and Small Firms Respond to and Overcome the Pandemic?

A variety of studies in our review attempted to understand how young and small firms responded to, and broke through such difficult times, as not all firms enjoyed crisis-induced opportunities during the pandemic. Studies showed that a transformation of the firm represented a key factor in their entrepreneurial journey that allowed for such firms to consider new possibilities. This transformation was achieved through the adoption or innovation of business models (e.g. Guckenbiehl and de Zubielqui 2022 ) or technologies (e.g. Modgil et al. 2022 ), the adjustment of business plans (e.g. Stephan et al. 2020 ), and the reconstruction of resources and processes in combination with internal coordination and external support (e.g. Bărbulescu et al. 2021 ; Habiyaremye 2021 ; Meurer et al. 2022 ). Guckenbiehl and de Zubielqui (2022) , for example, suggested six start-up types, based on their responses to the pandemic: stable beneficiaries, business-as-usual continuers, digital adjusters, adversity survivors, opportunity graspers, and lemonade makers. They also showed that the start-ups that perceived opportunities, as well as adversity in the pandemic, were the ones that engaged in business model changes by adopting or innovating their business models. Considering resilience as a resource-based capability, Anwar et al. (2021) showed that both individual resilience and inter-functional coordination enhance organizational resilience, which in turn has a beneficial impact on sales revenue, sales growth, and client retention. Bărbulescu et al. (2021) found that although start-ups were vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis, their focus on an information and communication technology (ICT) based business allowed them to develop strong relationships with various actors both inside and outside the industry, thus further helping them to overcome challenges and to build a sustainable ecosystem in the long term. Studies showed that young and small firms, particularly those that utilized digital technologies and continuously strived for innovation, were better at responding to external shocks brought about by the pandemic ( Belitski et al. 2022 ; Habiyaremye 2021 ; Khlystova et al. 2022 ; Modgil et al. 2022 ). Given that a set of papers in this review frequently mention digitalization as a key factor tied to pandemic-induced transformation, we have separated the discussion on digitalization into its own research theme.

In addition to the organizational factors fostering the survival of small and young firms in times of crisis, other studies emphasized the role of the ecosystem ( Bărbulescu et al. 2021 ; Habiyaremye 2021 ; Ratten 2020a , 2020b , 2020c ), given that entrepreneurs and their firms are embedded in society and that actors within the ecosystem are interdependent with each other. Some studies noted that knowledge sharing and the construction of a strong ecosystem helped firms to achieve higher performance or experience long-term growth during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Bărbulescu et al. 2021 ; Habiyaremye 2021 ). For example, Habiyaremye (2021) found that enhanced knowledge sharing through cooperative learning fostered higher innovation performance and efficient resource use for the organization and its partners, both during and after the COVID-19 crisis. In summary, at an organizational level, a transformation of organizational resources and processes supported by cooperative members is needed to break through such difficult times and to allow for new opportunities. Furthermore, in the context of persistent threats as a result of a pandemic, the interconnected nature of the ecosystem can enable entrepreneurial actors to utilize local knowledge and benefit from the interdependence between actors so that they can construct the necessary responses within the community in crisis.

4.4.4 What Role did the Digital Capabilities of Young and Small Firms Play During the Pandemic?

As this long and unpredictable crisis continued, social actors struggled to gain the resiliency necessary for returning to the optimal, pre-pandemic state. Pursuing a path that returns to the former best state does not guarantee future success, especially when a crisis continues to progress. A variety of studies showed that the utilization of digital technology is a key that enables resilience as well as transformation during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies highlighted that digitalization assisted firms in using emergency responses as well as in responding strategically, quickly, and efficiently to societal crises, thus improving performance ( Belitski et al. 2022 ; Khlystova et al. 2022 ; Modgil et al. 2022 ). Moreover, digital technology helped entrepreneurs and their firms to not only bring about critical changes and increase efficiency during the crisis, but also to connect to necessary support, resources, and other ecosystem participants. For example, Ratten et al. (2021) found that co-creation opportunities are a common strategy for collaboration in the sports industry during times of crisis and engaging in online interactions helped sports entities to overcome the physical limitations brought about by social distancing policies. Meurer et al. (2022) showed that when access to help was significantly limited by social distancing tactics during the COVID-19 pandemic, entrepreneurs still sought and obtained support from online communities in resolving problems, collecting critical resources, evaluating ideas in early venture stages, understanding new emerging topics, and planning. As the pandemic froze the normal functioning of society, a transformation was needed to break through such difficult times. However, this transformation cannot be limited to merely returning to ‘the old good days’, especially when a crisis continues to progress. The studies in our review evidenced that digitalization allowed entrepreneurial actors to effectively gain the cooperation of others and to adjust to a new business environment.

4.4.5 How did the Institutional Environment Affect Entrepreneurship During the Pandemic?

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented, devastating effects across the world, all countries did not suffer in an identical manner ( Liñán and Jaén 2022 ; Liu et al. 2020 ). Scholars have come to realize that the institutional context has an important role in explaining such differences. In particular, studies have focused on formal institutions (e.g. the political system, government policy, and the quality of the business environment) rather than informal institutions (e.g. the level of corruption and cultural norms). For example, Liñán and Jaén (2022) emphasized the importance of the institutional context in transitioning entrepreneurial intention into realized behaviors. They highlighted that necessity-driven entrepreneurship is more prevalent in less favorable business environments (e.g. emerging countries, states with high fragility). Galindo-Martín et al. (2021) found that the countries that had higher levels of economic competitiveness before the pandemic also experienced more entrepreneurship and more sustained development during the pandemic due to their appropriate infrastructure, institutions, and educational and health systems.

Government policy received particular interest from these scholars as the pandemic brought about rapid government intervention from most countries to prevent the widespread transmission of the disease and to foster societal recovery. Lockdown policy, monetary policy, and fiscal policy are examples of such interventions. Stephan et al. (2020) found that the severity of country-level lockdowns had an impact on the degree of adversity faced by entrepreneurs and that those who were more severely affected enjoyed less hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, as well as more distress. Piva and Guerini (2022) showed that the reduction in new firm creation rates during the initial pandemic wave was mainly seen in areas where the pandemic was more severe, whereas lockdown policies had negative effects on firm creation rates, regardless of the level of pandemic severity. They also showed that the impact of firm support policies was negative in the regions where the pandemic was more severe, but the impacts of demand stimulus policies were positive and stronger where the pandemic was less severe. However, they observed that these effects disappeared in the second wave. Galindo-Martín et al. (2021) showed that monetary policy encouraged entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic as entrepreneurs benefited from increased loan availability and low-interest rates. They also confirmed that fiscal policies had a positive effect on entrepreneurship, but to a lesser extent than monetary policies.

The relationship between the institutional context and entrepreneurship is not limited in a unidirectional fashion. Audretsch and Moog (2022) suggested that entrepreneurship and democracy are closely linked as democracy and entrepreneurship are both fuelled by decentralized, independent, and autonomous decision-making. In particular, they argued that the pandemic allowed the government to impose restrictions on peoples’ freedoms, which is also the fundamental principle of entrepreneurship. Although Piva and Guerini (2022) separated the effect of lockdown policies from the effect of pandemic severity during different waves of the pandemic, most studies did not distinguish the effect of lockdown policies from pandemic severity and also neglected to account for the time horizon, which may play a key role in understanding how the impact of the pandemic has changed over time, depending on the relevant government policies that were enacted.

4.5 Environmental Disasters

Natural catastrophes, as opposed to crises with human or technological precursors, cause unforeseen change, ranging from social transformations to changes in the role of the individual in entrepreneurship ( Bustamante et al. 2020 ; Dinger et al. 2019 ). Despite the fact that environmental disasters are infrequent, when earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and volcanoes strike contemporary, industrial civilization, the affected region suffers a severe economic and social crisis. However, natural disasters not only disrupt networks and destroy infrastructure, but also provide new opportunities ( Boudreaux et al. 2022 ). In this context, the four studies covering environmental disasters within this review demonstrate that entrepreneurship, such as firm creation, individual agency, entrepreneurial preparedness, and start-up activity, has the potential to be a catalyst for community restoration, even in disaster-stricken areas. Based on the theory of planned behavior, Bustamante and colleagues (2020) investigated the moderating effect of an earthquake that took place in Chile on the link between entrepreneurship-oriented beliefs (behavioral, normative, and control beliefs) and entrepreneurial intentions. Dinger and colleagues, (2019) study, which analyzed six American communities that were affected by environmental disasters (i.e. tornado, flood), viewed entrepreneurship as an act of individual agency driven by a social, community-embedded identity. The authors found that the opportunities to engage in the recovery process post-crisis can influence the long-term dynamics and trajectories of the community. Muñoz et al. (2019) demonstrated how entrepreneurs living in communities under constant threat of volcanic eruptions prepare to continue their entrepreneurial activities or participate in new ones even after the expected eruption occurs. Also, researchers note that the effect of natural disasters on entrepreneurial activity is nuanced and contingent upon country governance ( Boudreaux et al. 2022 ). According to Boudreaux et al. (2022) , natural disasters tend to encourage more start-up activity, but only in countries that have high-quality governance.

In sum, entrepreneurship during and after a catastrophic environmental disaster, can also act as a recovery mechanism for the communities and societies involved. In comparison to other crises, studies covering environmental disasters attempted to reveal some of the more specific, inner psychological mechanisms at play by applying theories such as the theory of planned behavior or social identity theory, in order to help explain the importance of the relationship between human psychological factors and entrepreneurship. This suggests that even in the face of COVID-19, scholars have opportunities to investigate entrepreneurship more extensively by incorporating theories stemming from societal (i.e. crisis in context theory), psychological (i.e. socio-emotional decision theory), and educational (i.e. field theory) fields.

4.6 Political Conflict

The study of entrepreneurship and political conflict covers the creation of small businesses by entrepreneurs and enterprises in areas where conflict persists, with a particular focus on harsh environments. Past conflicts, in addition to current political struggles, represent key sources of poverty given the inherent damage to economic activity and livelihoods, as well as the perpetuation of reinforced location dependence. Overcoming conflicts and enabling entrepreneurship in conflict-stricken regions may require alternative strategies and approaches, such as networking, local knowledge, major external investment, top-down government efforts, or capacity building ( Abebe 2022 ; Cheung and Kwong 2017 ; Churchill et al. 2021 ; Mittermaier et al. 2022 ). The approaches to entrepreneurship research on political conflict is two-fold, including: the bricolage-driven approach of refugee entrepreneurship ( Abebe 2022 ; Kwong et al. 2019 ; Mittermaier et al. 2022 ; Nisar Khattak et al. 2021 ) and the adversity-driven approach ( Churchill et al. 2021 ; Hayward et al. 2022 ).

First, the bricolage-driven approach has recently garnered the attention of scholars interested in refugee entrepreneurship because of its potential to offset the immense socio-economic issues triggered by the “refugee crisis” of the mid-2010s ( Abebe 2022 ). Bricolage, which can be defined as “making do with whatever is at hand [involves the] redeployment of discarded, disused, or unwanted resources-at-hand, be it physical artefacts, skills or knowledge, in ways different from those for which they were originally intended” ( Levi-Strauss 1966 ). War, infrastructure destruction, and the lack of physical mobility all limit access to a wider innovation system ( Cheung and Kwong 2017 ). The difficulties faced by displaced entrepreneurs bring about both opportunities and challenges in deploying bricolage ( Kwong et al. 2019 ). As such, bricolage is increasingly being recognized as an important strategy to tackle resource constraints, especially in conflict-affected contexts.

Second, the adversity-driven approach illustrates how, according to the underdog theory of entrepreneurship, early adversity, such as political difficulties, can positively influence the creation of entrepreneurship in adulthood ( Churchill et al. 2021 ; Hayward et al. 2022 ). Although such approaches are uncommon in entrepreneurship research, they are very common in childhood adversity-driven longitudinal research, where progress is examined from the time of the observed event to the subsequent outcomes ( Rauch and Hulsink 2021 ). According to emerging theory on “underdogs”, persons with less human capital or other disadvantages may choose or be forced to pursue self-employment or entrepreneurship ( Miller and Le Breton-Miller 2017 ). Ineffective personal conditions of an economic, sociocultural, cognitive, physical, and emotional nature may have an equally important role to play in motivating people to become successful entrepreneurs in developing countries with political difficulties ( Miller and Le Breton-Miller 2017 ). The employment difficulties these individuals face drive many of them to start their businesses within the informal sector. As a result, issues like childhood poverty and opportunity gaps in developing nations produce circumstances and experiences that inspire certain adaptation needs, which in turn encourage outcomes like work ethic, risk tolerance, social and networking skills, and creativity ( Hayward et al. 2022 ). In this broad context, applying the underdog hypothesis in developing nations with political difficulties may more effectively explain the consequences of entrepreneurship, such as whether and when people become entrepreneurs, as well as their level of success.

Recently, entrepreneurship studies have shifted from purely examining the individual traits of entrepreneurs to understanding how entrepreneurs and their behavior evolves over time. As a result, future entrepreneurship studies that account for political conflict should adopt a phenomenon-driven strategy to pull numerous concepts and arguments from many domains in order to experimentally map and fill the research gaps that exist in the field ( Abebe 2022 ). We believe it is important to note that future research should apply the adversity-driven approach from various geographical and historical contexts so as to ensure the validity of the research findings. For example, future research could also investigate how experiences with past political conflicts affect refugees and “underdogs” in terms of their coping mechanisms as entrepreneurs, as well as what particular actions these individuals take to create new ventures.

5 Discussion

Our literature review systematically analyzed research at the intersection of crisis and entrepreneurship. We divided the crisis construct into six types and examined how each of them interacted within diverse entrepreneurial contexts. As a result, we were able to answer our two research questions.

Research Question 1.

How are the different types of crises addressed in entrepreneurship literature, and what similarities and differences exist?

The key findings answering this question are summarized in Table 3 . Regarding the impact of the global financial crisis on entrepreneurship, researchers paid most attention to themes with theoretical tensions between two opposing points of view: the questions of whether the economic crisis boosts or regresses entrepreneurship and whether small businesses can do better during the crisis. These questions are still being debated. Another theme focuses on the interactional or eco-system perspective, which acknowledges that locations, communities, and nations all play a role in the formation and development of entrepreneurship, and conversely, that small businesses can also have an impact on regional backgrounds. A series of scholars have also shown interest in the individual experiences of entrepreneurs during times of crisis. Finally, although the portion was not large, there were a series of studies that made efforts to move away from simply observing positive or negative effects, and instead, testing existing theoretical relationships in a crisis context or seeing whether firms can accumulate and learn from a crisis experience.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, many new studies have focused on natural disasters as the key contextual background of interest. We identified five research themes underlying the findings and discussions in these newer studies. Some themes are comparable to the financial crisis, while others are dissimilar. A few of these studies applied the anti-cycle view that entrepreneurial activities are promoted more in the face of a natural crisis. However, overall, this emerging research departs from merely testing the pros and cons of traditional tensions and instead focuses on taking a deeper look at the processes affected. While studies on financial crises focused on financial adversity, such as the high cost of capital and financial buffers to resiliency, studies covering natural disasters focused on obstacles in logistics and, in particular, on the selection of products and services. In a similar way, studies focusing on the survival of small businesses during times of crisis delved into specific strategies regarding how small companies survived better than their larger counterparts, rather than merely comparing survival rates. Similar to studies covering the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the institutional environment and interactions within such environments remained one of the important themes in natural disaster focused papers. The last notable difference was the emphasis on ‘digitalization’, particularly for studies encompassing COVID-19. Numerous studies concur that digital competence was essential for crisis survival.

Summary of key findings and future research directions.

Research Question 2.

How can we broaden our understanding and deepen our insights into the relationship between a crisis and entrepreneurship?

Our second research question serves as the most critical role of the review study, which is to help researchers identify key research gaps and fresh theoretical perspectives ( Paul and Criado 2020 ). To best serve this goal, we suggest future research directions in three ways. First, the specific topics to be explored by each detailed crisis and research theme are individually summarized in Table 3 . Second, we discuss possible directions and cautions for further development centering on the themes dealt with in the papers reviewed in this study. Third, we present two perspectives that have not yet been primarily addressed in the studies reviewed here, but that deserve the attention of future research.

5.1 Future Research Directions and Cautions Based on the Current Review

There are five key cautions and future research recommendations we would like to provide to scholars based on our review of the current literature. First, research focusing on the framework and classification of the different definitions of entrepreneurship may be critically beneficial. Researchers have presented several alternative definitions of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship was defined as an entrepreneurial activity at various levels (e.g. individual, organizational, national), self-employment ( Elitcha and Fonseca 2018 ), and new firm creation ( Cesaroni et al. 2018 ). Considering the multifaceted characteristics, it is inevitable that scholars would use different definitions according to their research questions, however we would like to remind scholars that it is important to consolidate knowledge on the topic under a more definitive framework. Similarly, measures for entrepreneurial activity varied greatly, including: entrepreneurial opportunity perception ( González-Pernía et al. 2018 ), the expected number of jobs (business units) in 5 years ( Devece et al. 2016 ), firm economic performance ( Brzozowski et al. 2019 ), and entrepreneur finance by volume and types of firms ( Brown et al. 2020 ). Analyzing what variables are typically used and how they are quantified may help academics interested in the topic to gain clarity and to identify potential study options.

Second, empirical research showed that the degrees of analysis in some studies did not match the proposed concepts. Specifically, some studies employed individual survey data to explain organizational performance or growth. For example, Kraus et al. (2011) examined the effects of market turbulence on firm performance during the crisis using survey data (n = 111), but the company’s performance was measured by individual respondents, not at the firm level. Also, the study of Pinho and de Lurdes Martins (2020) utilized GEM data to analyze the impact of institutional factors on new business opportunities in adverse macroeconomic environments. This study also measured institutional factor conditions (normative, cognitive, regulatory) using individual respondents from NES-GEM, which are not at the institutional level. If it is not possible to obtain data at the corresponding level of interest, multiple responses should be collected and measured and composite validities should be confirmed. In sum, researchers should offer a definition of entrepreneurship that agrees with the focus of the chosen, suitable research model. They should also confirm that their research model is consistent with their developed concepts of entrepreneurship and chosen level(s) of analysis. When interpreting research results, care must be given to prevent the expansion of the interpretation beyond the limits of the study. Therefore, researchers should be aware that contradictory results regarding whether a crisis positively or negatively impacts entrepreneurship very much depends on how a study defines entrepreneurship, determines the level(s) of analysis, and evaluates the factors involved.

Third, combining research themes is worthwhile. Each research theme establishes meaningful findings, but each interprets the problems through its own theoretical lens. Accordingly, we could not predict the more complex, multifaceted effects of a crisis on entrepreneurship. Certain research themes led to different, often conflicting conclusions. Abdesselam et al. (2017) stated that in response to the business cycle, entrepreneurial activities will inevitably shrink. However, in the research theme on the viability of small companies based on the Schumpeterian view, the effect of the macro environment in atrophying entrepreneurship was surprisingly small ( Davidsson and Gordon 2016 ). The discovery of these distinctly opposing main effects suggests the existence of a third contextual factor that current research has not yet considered. Therefore, comprehensively combining the major influential factors suggested among different research themes is promising. There have been a few studies that have attempted to do this. Hundt and Sternberg’s (2014) took into account time, region, and individual influences in determining whether the global financial crisis promoted entrepreneurial activities. Vegetti and Adăscăliţei (2017) also considered country-specific differences by entering 25 EU countries as high-level variables. Although they combined regional effects, other meaningful combinations are also possible. For instance, we can extend the crisis-learning theme by testing whether regions (not individuals or firms) that went through multiple crises served better for resilient backgrounds.

Fourth, future studies may wish to reflect upon each crisis’ specific characteristics. While studies on natural disasters are expanding, it was difficult to discover fundamental differences from studies on the financial crisis, especially in terms of variable operationalization, theorization, and conceptualization. Rather, many studies simply categorized the impact into pre-and post-crisis ( Brown et al. 2020 ). Failing to consider the inherent nature of each crisis may constrain the ability for researchers to refine interpretations and implications. For example, a financial crisis and a crisis caused by the spread of an epidemic disease can affect start-ups in very different ways. The former can dramatically increase a company’s capital acquisition costs, and the latter can limit supply-related decision-making. Even if the end result is the same, the existence of different mechanisms and surrounding factors depending on the type of crisis would point to findings that would allow for entrepreneurs to cope with different types of crises in more sophisticated ways. To pose an example related to COVID-19, future research may wish to tap into the rich, public data regarding virus infection and dissemination rates. Research themes regarding how such rates affected the speed of entrepreneurship recovery, or how an entrepreneur’s COVID-19 infection experience affected the progress of work (e.g. Chong et al. 2020 ), could be explored.

Lastly, in-depth theoretical analysis is needed to combine crisis and entrepreneurship-related research more succinctly. Most of the literature focused solely on the results of analyzing entrepreneurship during times of crisis without providing a sufficient theoretical explanation of the relationship between entrepreneurship and crises. Two exceptions include the studies by Dinger et al. (2019) and Bărbulescu et al. (2021) . These studies demonstrated an effort to explain the manifestation of entrepreneurship in times of crisis, and they proposed hypotheses that harmoniously described the traits of both entrepreneurship and crises. For example, Dinger et al. (2019) applied social identity theory to describe how opportunities to engage in the recovery process, post-crisis, can influence the long-term dynamics and trajectories of the community, whereas Bărbulescu et al. (2021) applied quadruple helix theory to explain how young people’s attitudes and behaviors impacted entrepreneurship participation during COVID-19. Future research may want to incorporate more diverse theories that hold a higher relevance to crises, such as the Crisis in Context Theory (CCT) ( Myer and Moore 2006 ), to uncover fruitful theoretical explanations of entrepreneurship in times of crisis.

5.2 Future Research Beyond the Current Review

While the previous section outlined five different avenues to deepen existing discussions, this section presents broader approaches to studying entrepreneurship in times of crisis from new theoretical lenses that may engender new research themes. In contrast to the narrow economic view, which regards crises as market failures and emphasizes that entrepreneurship is only to take advantage of such opportunities, the eco-systematic perspective has become popular ( Audretsch et al. 2019 ; Jabłońska and Stawska 2020 ). This perspective stresses that companies do more than solely making profits and emphasizes the necessity of analyzing mutual interactions among stakeholders (e.g. government, communities) that surround entrepreneurship ( Kotsopoulos et al. 2022 ). Our review showed that the interaction between a company and the environment is receiving attention regardless of the type of crisis. Thus, while keeping this eco-systematic perspective in mind, we would also like to extend this view into two separate and more nuanced avenues that merit further attention.

5.2.1 A Third-Party Perspective

The third-party perspective has received increasing attention in the field concerning personal crisis, such as being the target of abusive behaviors or personal aggressions (e.g. Dunford et al. 2015 ; Hershcovis and Bhatnagar 2017 ). The focus of this perspective was to uncover when and why third parties engage in helping behaviors to the victim. By extending this perspective to entrepreneurial crisis contexts, entrepreneurial firms and entrepreneurs can be seen as victimized first parties to various crises, and any surrounding stakeholders, namely the government, large corporations, capitalists, local communities, and consumers, may all fall into the third party categorization.

Particularly during times of crisis, there is a tendency for firms to desperately rely on aid from the government or financial investors to overcome the risky valley. For instance, according to Murtinu (2021) , start-ups that managed to gain support from venture capitalists also obtained information about government institutional reforms more quickly, thereby achieving more favorable market evaluations. Therefore, it is critical to understand how these key crisis-savers view the focal companies during times of crisis. The third-party perspective has highlighted the importance of the third-parties’ attributions and the first-parties’ individual characteristics in determining whether or not to provide help ( Mellor 1992 ; Skarlicki and Kulik 2004 ). In entrepreneurial contexts, institutions may not help if they think that firms have not adequately prepared for the macro-crisis environment or that the company is not worth helping. Therefore, future research can focus on discovering which criteria institutional actors may use to determine which ventures to save first in the face of a crisis. For example, such decision making could depend upon the firm’s diversification strategy, the entrepreneur’s past crisis-related experience, or the CEO’s willingness to sacrifice a share of their ownership.

Qualitative interviews or surveys of government officials or investors can be used in tandem with the third-party perspective to apply diverse experimental methodologies that current literature has yet to implement. As mentioned previously, third-party studies are often closely related to the cognitions of key stakeholders ( Mellor 1992 ). Scenario-based manipulation could be adopted, where the characteristics of the business, or of the founding CEO, are manipulated. The subjects of the experiment would take on the perspective of a venture capital investor or of a government representative and decide which business they would fund, and ultimately save, amid the crisis. Such findings would hold important, practical implications for entrepreneurs in terms of improving their resiliency and survival rates via obtaining the timely support of stakeholders, particularly in the face of future crises.

In addition, the third-party perspective can shed light on valuable research themes at the individual level. Prior literature has extensively covered the personal difficulties and stresses experienced by entrepreneurs in the midst of a crisis. However, meaningful insights could be obtained by observing the feelings and responses of those closest to an entrepreneur, such as a spouse, partners inside the company, team members, as well as other founders. Given that close third-party interpretations of the situation and the emotional support that they provide can be decisive in determining the entrepreneurs’ well-being during times of crisis, this approach warrants future exploration ( Hobfoll et al. 1986 ). For instance, employee perceptions of the founder’s efforts during a crisis may affect their unity and loyalty, and subsequently, the venture’s resiliency. From the viewpoint of consumers, which represent another major third-party ( Roundy 2018 ), if the social value or innovative nature of the business is well-recognized, the firm may be better placed to overcome the crisis through more active consumption. We believe that utilizing this approach and considering the various third-party perspectives at play can help future research to generate novel and practical contributions.

5.2.2 A Quality-Concerning Approach

Underlying many of the discussions so far is a common belief that entrepreneurship is desired and is something that our society should nurture, especially in times of crisis. According to the reviewed articles, this is true, to a certain degree, when it comes to leading economic growth ( Bakhtiari 2019 ), bringing about social innovation ( Sedera et al. 2022 ), and maintaining the livelihoods of lower-income populations ( Yindok 2021 ) in crisis. However, are all new businesses equally desirable and helpful during a crisis? According to Youssef et al. (2018) , certain conditions must be met in order for entrepreneurship to have a positive effect. We suggest that the current theoretical focus needs to shift from one that tracks the number of entrepreneurial activities amid a crisis, to one that measures the quality of such activities, especially on a long-term basis.

According to research, necessity-based entrepreneurship increases significantly after a crisis ( Martínez-Rodriguez et al. 2020 ). However, Acs (2008) warns that necessity-driven new firms are likely to negatively influence the economy’s sustainable development. This is because entrepreneurs with low levels of education or capital, particularly during a crisis, do not pioneer new ideas like opportunity-oriented entrepreneurs, but instead focus only on imitative start-ups that are easy and quick to establish ( Venâncio and Pinto 2020 ). Omri and Afi (2020) also commented that the more these start-ups pursue purely economic profits, the more insensitive they are to environmental problems. We have observed similar cases up close during the COVID-19 crisis. Small sized mask and sanitizer manufacturers have surged due to the outbreak of the pandemic. They aimed to satisfy the rapidly increasing market demand for such products, but supply soon exceeded demand, threatening their survival due to the large amounts of unsold inventory ( Aeppel 2021 ). Not only did this waste resources, but it also hurt employees and communities in the event of business closure. Therefore, future researchers are encouraged to observe not only the number of start-ups, but also the sustainable quality of these start-ups.

Another topic that deserves the attention of quality-conscious scholars is ‘corruption’ ( Abdesselam et al. 2017 ) because in the midst of chaos lies the lure of embezzlement. Governments provide tax credits, loans, and subsidies to stabilize global and local crises. For example, the U.S. adopted a COVID-19 stimulus program providing $1.9 trillion of support to small businesses and individuals. Given that this financial support needed to be delivered quickly, it is doubtful that the delivered financial or material aids were used as intended. Also, it is unclear how many start-ups that received these funds ended up surviving and creating long-term value, as opposed to launching and terminating their business only to secure policy funds. After tracking 129 firms over 4 years, Stevenson et al. (2021) found that, contrary to expectations, government-granted start-ups did not have a long-term profitability advantage. Therefore, the possibility of such embezzlement in a crisis context can be investigated by referring to studies on CEO morality (“Antecedents of Corporate Scandals: CEOs’ Personal Traits, Stakeholders’ Cohesion, Managerial Fraud, and Imbalanced Corporate Strategy | SpringerLink” n.d.) or unethical behaviors that favor the company, often called unethical pro-organizational behaviors ( Umphress et al. 2010 ).

Research on other actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems may benefit from a quality-oriented approach. During a crisis, the qualitative characteristics of the institutional environment changes swiftly, as do enterprises. Boudreaux et al. (2022) proposed the significance of examining institutional changes during crises like COVID-19 and their long-term impact. The ecological perspective revealed that the government and geographical background had a great influence on its survival, yet the majority of the attention was focused on economic qualities. However, aside from GDP, institutional actors have a number of characteristics that can determine their resilient momentum. The degrees of a government’s democracy ( Audretsch and Moog 2022 ), morality ( Massaro et al. 2022 ), grant policies ( Srhoj et al. 2022 ) and public health policies ( Belitski et al. 2022 ) may all affect the quality of formal institutions. It should not be overlooked that governments are equally prone to corruption ( Liu et al. 2021 ). Communities, as informal institutions, have different cultural traits ( Khlystova et al. 2022 ) or pro-social networks ( Meurer et al. 2022 ). We hope researchers investigate not only how belonging to an economically prosperous region aids survival in a crisis, but also how these varied institutional qualities affect entrepreneurship during times of crisis.

Funding source: Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

Award Identifier / Grant number: NRF- 2021S1A5B5A16076168

Research funding: This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF- 2021S1A5B5A16076168).

Abdesselam, R., J. Bonnet, P. Renou-Maissant, and M. Aubry. 2017. “Entrepreneurship, Economic Development, and Institutional Environment: Evidence From OECD Countries.” Journal of International Entrepreneurship 16 (4): 504–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-017-0214-3 . Search in Google Scholar

Abebe, S. A. 2022. “Refugee Entrepreneurship: Systematic and Thematic Analyses and a Research Agenda.” Small Business Economics 60: 315–50, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-022-00636-3 . Search in Google Scholar

Acs, Z. J. 2008. “Foundations of High Impact Entrepreneurship.” Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship 4 (6): 535–620. https://doi.org/10.1561/0300000025 . Search in Google Scholar

Aeppel, T. 2021. America’s Mask Makers Face Postpandemic Meltdown . Reuter. Also available at https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/americas-mask-makers-face-post-pandemic-meltdown-2021-05-11/ . Search in Google Scholar

Aftab, R., M. Naveed, and S. Hanif. 2021. “An Analysis of Covid-19 Implications for SMEs in Pakistan.” Journal of Chinese Economics and Foreign Trade Studies 14 (1): 74–88. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcefts-08-2020-0054 . Search in Google Scholar

Alves, J. C., T. C. Lok, Y. Luo, and W. Hao. 2020. “Crisis Challenges of Small Firms in Macao During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Frontiers of Business Research in China 14 (1): 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-020-00094-2 . Search in Google Scholar

Andreeva, E. L., H. Simon, D. A. Karkh, and P. L. Glukhikh. 2016. “Innovative Entrepreneurship: A Source of Economic Growth in the Region.” Economy of Region 12 (3): 899–910. https://doi.org/10.17059/2016-3-24 . Search in Google Scholar

Anwar, A., N. Coviello, and M. Rouziou. 2021. “Weathering a Crisis: A Multi-Level Analysis of Resilience in Young Ventures.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 1–29, 10422587211046544, https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587211046545 . Search in Google Scholar

Armeanu, D., N. Istudor, and L. Lache. 2015. “The Role of SMEs in Assessing the Contribution of Entrepreneurship to GDP in the Romanian Business Environment.” Amfiteatru Economic Journal 17 (38): 195–211. Search in Google Scholar

Arrighetti, A., L. Caricati, F. Landini, and N. Monacelli. 2016. “Entrepreneurial Intention in the Time of Crisis: A Field Study.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 22 (6): 835–59. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijebr-12-2015-0326 . Search in Google Scholar

Audretsch, D. B., and P. Moog. 2022. “Democracy and Entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 46 (2): 368–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258720943307 . Search in Google Scholar

Audretsch, D. B., J. A. Cunningham, D. F. Kuratko, E. E. Lehmann, and M. Menter. 2019. “Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Economic, Technological, and Societal Impacts.” The Journal of Technology Transfer 44 (2): 313–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-018-9690-4 . Search in Google Scholar

Bakas, F. E. 2017. “Community Resilience Through Entrepreneurship: The Role of Gender.” Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy 11 (1): 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1108/jec-01-2015-0008 . Search in Google Scholar

Bakhtiari, S. 2019. “Entrepreneurship Dynamics in Australia: Lessons From Micro-Data.” The Economic Record 95 (308): 114–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-4932.12460 . Search in Google Scholar

Bărbulescu, O., A. S. Tecău, D. Munteanu, and C. P. Constantin. 2021. “Innovation of Startups, the Key to Unlocking Post-Crisis Sustainable Growth in Romanian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.” Sustainability 13 (2): 671–86. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020671 . Search in Google Scholar

Bartz, W., and A. Winkler. 2016. “Flexible or Fragile? The Growth Performance of Small and Young Businesses During the Global Financial Crisis — Evidence From Germany.” Journal of Business Venturing 31 (2): 196–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2015.10.002 . Search in Google Scholar

Belitski, M., C. Guenther, A. S. Kritikos, and R. Thurik. 2022. “Economic Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses.” Small Business Economics 58 (2): 593–609. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00544-y . Search in Google Scholar

Bendell, B., D. M. Sullivan, and S. Ornstein. 2020. “How Fear of ‘Looming Megacatastrophes’ Alters Entrepreneurial Activity Rates Through Psychological Distance.” Academy of Management Perspectives 34 (4): 585–602. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2019.0049 . Search in Google Scholar

Birhanu, A. G., Y. S. Getachew, and A. A. Lashitew. 2022. “Gender Differences in Enterprise Performance During the COVID-19 Crisis: Do Public Policy Responses Matter?” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 46 (5): 1374–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587221077222 . Search in Google Scholar

Bishop, P. 2019. “Knowledge Diversity and Entrepreneurship Following an Economic Crisis: An Empirical Study of Regional Resilience in Great Britain.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 31 (5–6): 496–515. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2018.1541595 . Search in Google Scholar

Bishop, P., and D. Shilcof. 2017. “The Spatial Dynamics of New Firm Births During an Economic Crisis: The Case of Great Britain, 2004–2012.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 29 (3–4): 215–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2016.1257073 . Search in Google Scholar

Block, J. H., C. Fisch, and M. Hirschmann. 2022. “The Determinants of Bootstrap Financing in Crises: Evidence From Entrepreneurial Ventures in the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Small Business Economics 58: 867–85, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00445-6 . Search in Google Scholar

Borgholthaus, C. J., J. V. White, E. Markin, and V. K. Gupta. 2022. “Venture Creation in the Aftermath of COVID-19: The Impact of US Governor Party Affiliation and Discretion.” Small Business Economics 1–20, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-022-00705-7 . Search in Google Scholar

Boudreaux, C. J., A. Jha, and M. Escaleras. 2022. “Natural Disasters, Entrepreneurship Activity, and the Moderating Role of Country Governance.” Small Business Economics , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-022-00657-y . Search in Google Scholar

Boz, S. A. 2022. “Individual Ambidexterity After Entrepreneurial Failure in COVID-19 Pandemic Times: The Influence of Current Employment Status.” Journal of Organizational Change Management 35 (7): 1000–24, https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-10-2021-0323 . Search in Google Scholar

Brown, R., A. Rocha, and M. Cowling. 2020. “Financing Entrepreneurship in Times of Crisis: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on the Market for Entrepreneurial Finance in the United Kingdom.” International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship 38 (5): 380–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242620937464 . Search in Google Scholar

Brzozowski, J., M. Cucculelli, and V. Peruzzi. 2019. “Firms’ Proactiveness During the Crisis: Evidence From European Data.” Entrepreneurship Research Journal 9 (3): 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2017-0215 . Search in Google Scholar

Bundy, J., M. D. Pfarrer, C. E. Short, and W. T. Coombs. 2017. “Crises and Crisis Management: Integration, Interpretation, and Research Development.” Journal of Management 43 (6): 1661–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316680030 . Search in Google Scholar

Bustamante, C., C. Poblete, and J. E. Amorós. 2020. “Entrepreneurial Intentions in the Context of a Natural Disaster.” International Journal of Emerging Markets 17 (5): 1198–217. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoem-10-2019-0846 . Search in Google Scholar

Callegari, B., and C. Feder. 2022. “Entrepreneurship and the Systemic Consequences of Epidemics: A Literature Review and Emerging Model.” The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 18 (4): 1653–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-021-00790-2 . Search in Google Scholar

Caminiti, S. 2021. Here’s How Zoom Is Helping Create the New World of Hybrid Work . CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/15/heres-how-zoom-is-creating-the-new-world-of-hybrid-work-.html (accessed August 22, 2021). Search in Google Scholar

Cannavale, C., I. Zohoorian Nadali, and A. Esempio. 2020. “Entrepreneurial Orientation and Firm Performance in a Sanctioned Economy – Does the CEO Play a Role?” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 27 (6): 1005–27. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-11-2019-0366 . Search in Google Scholar

Castro, M. P., and M. G. G. Zermeño. 2021. “Being an Entrepreneur Post-COVID-19–Resilience in Times of Crisis: A Systematic Literature Review.” Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies 73 (4): 721–46. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-07-2020-0246 . Search in Google Scholar

Cefis, E., and O. Marsili. 2019. “Good Times, Bad Times: Innovation and Survival Over the Business Cycle.” Industrial and Corporate Change 28 (3): 565–87. https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dty072 . Search in Google Scholar

Cesaroni, F. M., M. G. Pediconi, and A. Sentuti. 2018. “It’s Always a Women’s Problem! Micro-Entrepreneurs, Work-Family Balance and Economic Crisis.” Administrative Sciences 8 (4): 1–16, https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci8040074 . Search in Google Scholar

Chaves-Maza, M., and E. M. Fedriani Martel. 2020. “Entrepreneurship Support Ways After the COVID-19 Crisis.” Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues 8 (2): 662–81. https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2020.8.2(40) . Search in Google Scholar

Cheung, C. W. M., and C. Kwong. 2017. “Path-and Place-Dependence of Entrepreneurial Ventures at Times of War and Conflict.” International Small Business Journal 35 (8): 903–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242617691802 . Search in Google Scholar

Chong, S. H., Y. Huang, and C.-H. (D.) Chang. 2020. “Supporting Interdependent Telework Employees: A Moderated-Mediation Model Linking Daily COVID-19 Task Setbacks to Next-Day Work Withdrawal.” Journal of Applied Psychology 105 (12): 1408–22. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000843 . Search in Google Scholar

Churchill, S. A., M. E. Munyanyi, R. Smyth, and T.-A. Trinh. 2021. “Early Life Shocks and Entrepreneurship: Evidence From the Vietnam War.” Journal of Business Research 124: 506–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.11.009 . Search in Google Scholar

Colombo, M. G., E. Piva, A. Quas, and C. Rossi-Lamastra. 2021. “Dynamic Capabilities and High-Tech Entrepreneurial Ventures’ Performance in the Aftermath of an Environmental Jolt.” Long Range Planning 54 (3): 102026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2020.102026 . Search in Google Scholar

Corley, K. G., and D. A. Gioia. 2011. “Building Theory About Theory Building: What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution?” Academy of Management Review 36 (1): 12–32. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0486 . Search in Google Scholar

Cucculelli, M., and V. Peruzzi. 2018. “Post-Crisis Firm Survival, Business Model Changes, and Learning: Evidence From the Italian Manufacturing Industry.” Small Business Economics 54 (2): 459–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0044-2 . Search in Google Scholar

Cui, Y., C. Sun, H. Xiao, and C. Zhao. 2016. “How to Become an Excellent Entrepreneur: The Moderating Effect of Risk Propensity on Alertness to Business Ideas and Entrepreneurial Capabilities.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 112: 171–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.08.002 . Search in Google Scholar

Dahles, H., and T. P. Susilowati. 2015. “Business Resilience in Times of Growth and Crisis.” Annals of Tourism Research 51: 34–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.01.002 . Search in Google Scholar

Dal Mas, F., and P. Paoloni. 2019. “A Relational Capital Perspective on Social Sustainability; the Case of Female Entrepreneurship in Italy.” Measuring Business Excellence 24 (1): 114–30. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbe-08-2019-0086 . Search in Google Scholar

Davidsson, P., and S. R. Gordon. 2016. “Much Ado About Nothing? The Surprising Persistence of Nascent Entrepreneurs Through Macroeconomic Crisis.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 40 (4): 915–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12152 . Search in Google Scholar

Davidsson, P., R. Jan, and F. von Briel. 2021. “COVID-19 as External Enabler of Entrepreneurship Practice and Research.” BRQ Business Research Quarterly 24 (3): 214–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/23409444211008902 . Search in Google Scholar

Devece, C., M. Peris-Ortiz, and C. Rueda-Armengot. 2016. “Entrepreneurship during Economic Crisis: Success Factors and Paths to Failure.” Journal of Business Research 69 (11): 5366–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.04.139 . Search in Google Scholar

Dimitriadis, S. 2021. “Social Capital and Entrepreneur Resilience: Entrepreneur Performance During Violent Protests in Togo.” Strategic Management Journal 42 (11): 1993–2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3292 . Search in Google Scholar

Dinger, J., M. Conger, D. Hekman, and C. Bustamante. 2019. “Somebody That I Used to Know: The Immediate and Long-Term Effects of Social Identity in Post-Disaster Business Communities.” Journal of Business Ethics 166 (1): 115–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04131-w . Search in Google Scholar

Doern, R., N. Williams, and T. Vorley. 2018. “Special Issue on Entrepreneurship and Crises: Business as Usual? An Introduction and Review of the Literature.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 31 (5–6): 400–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2018.1541590 . Search in Google Scholar

Donthu, N., and A. Gustafsson. 2020. “Effects of COVID-19 on Business and Research.” Journal of Business Research 117: 284–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.008 . Search in Google Scholar

Dunford, B. B., C. L. Jackson, A. D. Boss, L. Tay, and R. Wayne Boss. 2015. “Be Fair, Your Employees Are Watching: A Relational Response Model of External Third-Party Justice.” Personnel Psychology 68 (2): 319–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12081 . Search in Google Scholar

Elitcha, K., and R. Fonseca. 2018. “Self–Employment, Wealth and Start–Up Costs: Evidence From a Financial Crisis.” The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 18 (3): 1–38, https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2017-0187 . Search in Google Scholar

Emami, A., S. Ashourizadeh, S. Sheikhi, and G. Rexhepi. 2022. “Entrepreneurial Propensity for Market Analysis in the Time of COVID-19: Benefits From Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation and Opportunity Confidence.” Review of Managerial Science 16 (8): 2413–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-021-00499-0 . Search in Google Scholar

Fischer, T., A. W. Tian, A. Lee, and D. J. Hughes. 2021. “Abusive Supervision: A Systematic Review and Fundamental Rethink.” The Leadership Quarterly 32 (6): 101540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2021.101540 . Search in Google Scholar

Frese, M., and M. Gielnik. 2014. “The Psychology of Entrepreneurship.” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 1: 413–38. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091326 . Search in Google Scholar

Galindo-Martín, M.-Á., M.-S. Castaño-Martínez, and M.-T. Méndez-Picazo. 2021. “Effects of the Pandemic Crisis on Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development.” Journal of Business Research 137: 345–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.08.053 . Search in Google Scholar

Geroski, P. A., J. Mata, and P. Portugal. 2010. “Founding Conditions and the Survival of New Firms.” Strategic Management Journal 31 (5): 510–29. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.823 . Search in Google Scholar

Gil-Soto, E., F. J. García-Rodríguez, I. Ruiz-Rosa, and D. Gutiérrez-Taño. 2024. “Economic Context and Entrepreneurial Intention: Analysis of Individuals’ Perceptions in a Spanish University Context.” Entrepreneurship Research Journal 14 (2): 707–734. https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2021-0290 . Search in Google Scholar

Giotopoulos, I., A. Kontolaimou, and A. Tsakanikas. 2016. “Drivers of High-Quality Entrepreneurship: What Changes Did the Crisis Bring About?” Small Business Economics 48 (4): 913–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016-9814-x . Search in Google Scholar

Giotopoulos, I., A. Kontolaimou, and A. Tsakanikas. 2017. “Antecedents of Growth-Oriented Entrepreneurship Before and During the Greek Economic Crisis.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 24 (3): 528–44. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-01-2017-0003 . Search in Google Scholar

González-Pernía, J. L., M. Guerrero, A. Jung, and L. Peña. 2018. “Economic Recession Shake-Out and Entrepreneurship: Evidence From Spain.” BRQ Business Research Quarterly 21 (3): 153–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brq.2018.06.001 . Search in Google Scholar

Goschin, Z. 2020. “What Makes New Firms Resilient? A Spatial Analysis for Romania.” Regional Science Policy & Practice 12 (5): 913–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12344 . Search in Google Scholar

Grube, L. E., and V. H. Storr. 2018. “Embedded Entrepreneurs and Post-Disaster Community Recovery.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 30 (7–8): 800–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2018.1457084 . Search in Google Scholar

Guckenbiehl, P., and G. C. de Zubielqui. 2022. “Start-Ups’ Business Model Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Counteracting Adversities and Pursuing Opportunities.” International Small Business Journal 40 (2): 150–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426211055447 . Search in Google Scholar

Guo, H., Z. Yang, R. Huang, and A. Guo. 2020. “The Digitalization and Public Crisis Responses of Small and Medium Enterprises: Implications from a COVID-19 Survey.” Frontiers of Business Research in China 14 (1): 1–25, https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-020-00087-1 . Search in Google Scholar

Habiyaremye, A. 2021. “Co-Operative Learning and Resilience to COVID-19 in a Small-Sized South African Enterprise.” Sustainability 13 (4): 1976–92. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041976 . Search in Google Scholar

Hayward, M., Z. Cheng, and B. Z. Wang. 2022. “Disrupted Education, Underdogs and the Propensity for Entrepreneurship: Evidence From China’s Sent-Down Youth Program.” Journal of Business Research 151: 33–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.056 . Search in Google Scholar

Hershcovis, M. S., and N. Bhatnagar. 2017. “When Fellow Customers Behave Badly: Witness Reactions to Employee Mistreatment by Customers.” Journal of Applied Psychology 102 (11): 1528. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000249 . Search in Google Scholar

Hobfoll, S. E., A. Nadler, and J. Leiberman. 1986. “Satisfaction With Social Support During Crisis: Intimacy and Self-Esteem as Critical Determinants.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51 (2): 296. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.2.296 . Search in Google Scholar

Holmes, E. A., R. C. O’Connor, V. H. Perry, I. Tracey, S. Wessely, L. Arseneault, C. Ballard, H. Christensen, R. Cohen Silver, I. Everall, T. Ford, A. John, T. Kabir, K. King, I. Madan, S. Michie, A. K. Przybylski, R. Shafran, A. Sweeney, C. M. Worthman, L. Yardley, K. Cowan, C. Cope, M. Hotopf, and E. Bullmore. 2020. “Multidisciplinary Research Priorities for the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call for Action for Mental Health Science.” The Lancet Psychiatry 7 (6): 547–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1 . Search in Google Scholar

Hundt, C., and R. Sternberg. 2014. “How Did the Economic Crisis Influence New Firm Creation?” Journal of Economics and Statistics 234 (6): 722–56. https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2014-0605 . Search in Google Scholar

Jabłońska, M., and J. Stawska. 2020. “The Key Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Analysis.” Zbornik Radova Ekonomskog Fakulteta u Rijeci: Časopis Za Ekonomsku Teoriju i Praksu 38 (1): 125–46. https://doi.org/10.18045/zbefri.2020.1.125 . Search in Google Scholar

Khattak, N., M.N. Muhammad, and D. Robinson. 2021. “Understanding the Interplay Between Support Agencies and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in a Conflict Environment From an Institutional Theory Perspective.” Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration 13 (2): 256–71. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-03-2020-0097 . Search in Google Scholar

Khlystova, O., Y. Kalyuzhnova, and M. Belitski. 2022. “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Creative Industries: A Literature Review and Future Research Agenda.” Journal of Business Research 139: 1192–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.062 . Search in Google Scholar

Korber, S., and R. B. McNaughton. 2017. “Resilience and Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Literature Review.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 24 (7): 1129–54. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-10-2016-0356 . Search in Google Scholar

Korsgaard, S., R. A. Hunt, D. M. Townsend, and M. B. Ingstrup. 2020. “COVID-19 and the Importance of Space in Entrepreneurship Research and Policy.” International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship 38 (8): 697–710. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242620963942 . Search in Google Scholar

Kotsopoulos, D., A. Karagianaki, and S. Baloutsos. 2022. “The Effect of Human Capital, Innovation Capacity, and Covid-19 Crisis on Knowledge-Intensive Enterprises’ Growth Within a VC-Driven Innovation Ecosystem.” Journal of Business Research 139: 1177–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.055 . Search in Google Scholar

Kraus, S., J. P. C. Rigtering, M. Hughes, and V. Hosman. 2011. “Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Business Performance of SMEs: A Quantitative Study From the Netherlands.” Review of Managerial Science 6 (2): 161–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-011-0062-9 . Search in Google Scholar

Kraus, S., M. Breier, and S. Dasí-Rodríguez. 2020. “The Art of Crafting a Systematic Literature Review in Entrepreneurship Research.” The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 16 (3): 1023–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-020-00635-4 . Search in Google Scholar

Kuckertz, A. 2021. “Standing Up Against Crisis-Induced Entrepreneurial Uncertainty: Fewer Teams, More Habitual Entrepreneurs.” International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship 39 (3): 191–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242621997782 . Search in Google Scholar

Kwong, C. C. Y., C. W. M. Cheung, H. Manzoor, and M. U. Rashid. 2019. “Entrepreneurship Through Bricolage: A Study of Displaced Entrepreneurs at Times of War and Conflict.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 31 (5–6): 435–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2018.1541592 . Search in Google Scholar

Laskovaia, A., L. Marino, G. Shirokova, and W. Wales. 2018. “Expect the Unexpected: Examining the Shaping Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Causal and Effectual Decision-Making Logic During Economic Crisis.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 31 (5–6): 456–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2018.1541593 . Search in Google Scholar

Lim, D. S. K., E. A. Morse, and N. Yu. 2020. “The Impact of the Global Crisis on the Growth of SMEs: A Resource System Perspective.” International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship 38 (6): 492–503. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242620950159 . Search in Google Scholar

Liñán, F., and I. Jaén. 2022. “The Covid-19 Pandemic and Entrepreneurship: Some Reflections.” International Journal of Emerging Markets 17 (5): 1165–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoem-05-2020-0491 . Search in Google Scholar

Liu, Y., J. M. Lee, and C. Lee. 2020. “The Challenges and Opportunities of a Global Health Crisis: The Management and Business Implications of COVID-19 From an Asian Perspective.” Asian Business & Management 19 (3): 277–97. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-020-00119-x . Search in Google Scholar

Liu, K., K. Fu, J. Y. Yang, and A. A. Asady. 2021. “A System Justification Theory of Entrepreneurial Attitudinal Change During a Crisis.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 1–31, 10422587211058364, https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587211058363 . Search in Google Scholar

Levi-Strauss, C. 1966. The Savage Mind . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Search in Google Scholar

Martí, I., and P. Fernández. 2015. “Entrepreneurship, Togetherness, and Emotions.” Journal of Management Inquiry 24 (4): 424–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492615579786 . Search in Google Scholar

Martínez-Rodriguez, I., F. E. Callejas-Albiñana, and A. I. Callejas-Albiñana. 2020. “Economic and Socio-Cultural Drivers of Necessity and Opportunity Entrepreneurship Depending on the Business Cycle Phase.” Journal of Business Economics and Management 21 (2): 373–94. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2020.11848 . Search in Google Scholar

Massaro, M., F. Dal Mas, and C. Bagnoli. 2022. “Academic Moral Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Translation to Turn Crises Into Opportunities: The Case of VeniSIA.” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 1–11, https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2022.3188035 . Search in Google Scholar

Meliou, E. 2019. “Family as a Eudaimonic Bubble: Women Entrepreneurs Mobilizing Resources of Care During Persistent Financial Crisis and Austerity.” Gender, Work and Organization 27 (2): 218–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12411 . Search in Google Scholar

Mellor, S. 1992. “The Influence of Layoff Severity on Postlayoff Union Commitment Among Survivors: The Moderating Effect of the Perceived Legitimacy of a Layoff Account.” Personnel Psychology 45 (3): 579–600. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1992.tb00861.x . Search in Google Scholar

Meurer, M. M., M. Waldkirch, P. K. Schou, E. L. Bucher, and K. Burmeister-Lamp. 2022. “Digital Affordances: How Entrepreneurs Access Support in Online Communities During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Small Business Economics 58 (2): 637–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00540-2 . Search in Google Scholar

Miller, D., and I. Le Breton-Miller. 2017. “Underdog Entrepreneurs: A Model of Challenge–Based Entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 41 (1): 7–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12253 . Search in Google Scholar

Mitchell, R. K., L. Busenitz, T. Lant, P. P. McDougall, E. A. Morse, and J. Brock Smith. 2002. “Toward a Theory of Entrepreneurial Cognition: Rethinking the People Side of Entrepreneurship Research.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 27 (2): 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-8520.00001 . Search in Google Scholar

Mittermaier, A., H. Patzelt, and D. A. Shepherd. 2022. “Motivating Prosocial Venturing in Response to a Humanitarian Crisis: Building Theory From the Refugee Crisis in Germany.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 1–40, 10422587211025232, https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587211025233 . Search in Google Scholar

Modgil, S., Y. K. Dwivedi, N. P. Rana, S. Gupta, and S. Kamble. 2022. “Has Covid-19 Accelerated Opportunities for Digital Entrepreneurship? An Indian Perspective.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 175: 121415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121415 . Search in Google Scholar

Mühlböck, M., J.-R. Warmuth, M. Holienka, and B. Kittel. 2017. “Desperate Entrepreneurs: No Opportunities, No Skills.” The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 14 (4): 975–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-017-0472-5 . Search in Google Scholar

Muñoz, P., J. Kimmitt, E. Kibler, and S. Farny. 2019. “Living on the Slopes: Entrepreneurial Preparedness in a Context Under Continuous Threat.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 31 (5–6): 413–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2018.1541591 . Search in Google Scholar

Murtinu, S. 2021. “The Government Whispering to Entrepreneurs: Public Venture Capital, Policy Shifts, and Firm Productivity.” Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 15 (2): 279–308. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1374 . Search in Google Scholar

Mustafa, M., and L. Treanor. 2022. “Gender and Entrepreneurship in the New Era: New Perspectives on the Role of Gender and Entrepreneurial Activity.” Entrepreneurship Research Journal 12 (3): 213–26. https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2022-0228 . Search in Google Scholar

Myer, R. A., and H. B. Moore. 2006. “Crisis in Context Theory: An Ecological Model.” Journal of Counseling and Development 84 (2): 139–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2006.tb00389.x . Search in Google Scholar

Negrutiu, C. 2021. “Major Trends and New Business Models in Supply Chain and Entrepreneurship After the COVID-19 Crisis.” Studia Universitatis Economics Series 31 (1): 84–96. https://doi.org/10.2478/sues-2021-0005 . Search in Google Scholar

Neubaum, D. O., and E. Micelotta. 2021. “WANTED—Theoretical Contributions: An Editorial on the Pitfalls and Pathways in Family Business Research.” Family Business Review 34 (3): 242–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865211032503 . Search in Google Scholar

Newman, A., M. Obschonka, and J. Block. 2022. “Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship in Times of Crises: The Renaissance of Entrepreneur-Focused Micro Perspectives.” International Small Business Journal 40 (2): 119–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426211063390 . Search in Google Scholar

Omri, A., and H. Afi. 2020. “How Can Entrepreneurship and Educational Capital Lead to Environmental Sustainability?” Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 54: 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2020.03.007 . Search in Google Scholar

Paul, J., and A. R. Criado. 2020. “The Art of Writing Literature Review: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know?” International Business Review 29 (4): 101717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101717 . Search in Google Scholar

Petticrew, M., and H. Roberts. 2006. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide . Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons. 10.1002/9780470754887 Search in Google Scholar

Pinho, J. C., and M. de Lurdes Martins. 2020. “The Opportunity to Create a Business: Systemic Banking Crisis, Institutional Factor Conditions and Trade Openness.” Journal of International Entrepreneurship 18 (4): 393–418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-020-00275-3 . Search in Google Scholar

Pisá-Bó, M., J. F. López-Muñoz, and J. Novejarque-Civera. 2021. “The Ever-Changing Socioeconomic Conditions for Entrepreneurship.” The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 17 (3): 1335–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-020-00737-z . Search in Google Scholar

Piva, E., and M. Guerini. 2022. “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Pandemic-Related Policies on New Firm Creation: An Analysis of the Italian Case.” Small Business Economics 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-022-00621-w . Search in Google Scholar

Podsakoff, P. M., S. B. MacKenzie, D. G. Bachrach, and N. P. Podsakoff. 2005. “The Influence of Management Journals in the 1980s and 1990s.” Strategic Management Journal 26 (5): 473–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.454 . Search in Google Scholar

Quintillán, I., and I. Peña-Legazkue. 2019. “Emotional Intelligence and Venture Internationalization During Economic Recession.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 26 (2): 246–65. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijebr-08-2018-0521 . Search in Google Scholar

Rani, N. S., K. S. Krishnan, Z. Suradi, and N. Juhdi. 2019. “Identification of Critical Components of Resilience During and After Economic Crises: The Case of Women Food Operators in Kuala Lumpur.” Asian Academy of Management Journal 24 (2): 111–26. https://doi.org/10.21315/aamj2019.24.s2.8 . Search in Google Scholar

Ratten, V. 2020a. “Coronavirus and International Business: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Perspective.” Thunderbird International Business Review 62 (5): 629–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.22161 . Search in Google Scholar

Ratten, V. 2020b. “Coronavirus (Covid-19) and Entrepreneurship: Cultural, Lifestyle and Societal Changes.” Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies 13 (4): 747–61. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeee-06-2020-0163 . Search in Google Scholar

Ratten, V. 2020c. “Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the Entrepreneurship Education Community.” Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy 14 (5): 753–64. https://doi.org/10.1108/jec-06-2020-0121 . Search in Google Scholar

Ratten, V., V. L. da Silva Braga, and C. S. da Encarnacao Marque. 2021. “Sport Entrepreneurship and Value Co-Creation in Times of Crisis: The Covid-19 Pandemic.” Journal of Business Research 133: 265–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.001 . Search in Google Scholar

Rauch, A., and W. Hulsink. 2021. “Just One Damned Thing After Another: Towards an Event-Based Perspective of Entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 1–20, 10422587211061738, https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587211061738 . Search in Google Scholar

Roundy, P. T. 2018. “Paying Attention to the Customer: Consumer Forces in Small Town Entrepreneurial Ecosystems.” Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship 20 (2): 323–40. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRME-11-2017-0054 . Search in Google Scholar

Ruiz-Fuensanta, M. J., and M. Bellandi. 2019. “Entrepreneurship Dynamics and Economic Cycles: An Analysis for Local Systems and Industrial Districts.” European Planning Studies 27 (9): 1727–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2019.1629396 . Search in Google Scholar

Ruiz-Rosa, I., D. Gutiérrez-Taño, and F. J. García-Rodríguez. 2020. “Social Entrepreneurial Intention and the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Structural Model.” Sustainability 12 (17): 1–17, https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176970 . Search in Google Scholar

Rusu, V. D., and A. Roman. 2023. “The Role of Entrepreneurial Performance in Supporting Economic Development of Countries: An Empirical Approach.” Entrepreneurship Research Journal 13 (4): 1033–54. https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2020-0445 . Search in Google Scholar

Santos, E., C. I. Fernandes, and J. J. Ferreira. 2021. “The Driving Motives Behind Informal Entrepreneurship: The Effects of Economic-Financial Crisis, Recession and Inequality.” The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 22 (1): 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1465750320914788 . Search in Google Scholar

Santos, S. C., A. Caetano, P. Spagnoli, S. Fernandes Costa, and X. Neumeyer. 2017. “Predictors of Entrepreneurial Activity Before and During the European Economic Crisis.” The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 13 (4): 1263–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-017-0453-8 . Search in Google Scholar

Sawyer, R. K. 2011. Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation , 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Search in Google Scholar

Sedera, D., C. W. Tan, and D. M. Xu. 2022. “Digital Business Transformation in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.” Information & Management 59 (3): 1–3, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2022.103620 . Search in Google Scholar

Sharma, G. D., S. Kraus, E. Liguori, U. K. Bamel, and R. Chopra. 2022. “Entrepreneurial Challenges of COVID-19: Re-Thinking Entrepreneurship After the Crisis.” Journal of Small Business Management : 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2022.2089676 . Search in Google Scholar

Simón-Moya, V., L. Revuelto-Taboada, and D. Ribeiro-Soriano. 2016. “Influence of Economic Crisis on New SME Survival: Reality or Fiction?” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 28 (1–2): 157–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2015.1118560 . Search in Google Scholar

Skarlicki, D. P., and C. T. Kulik. 2004. “Third-Party Reactions to Employee (Mis) Treatment: A Justice Perspective.” Research in Organizational Behavior 26: 183–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-3085(04)26005-1 . Search in Google Scholar

Smith, J. B., C. G. Smith, J. Kietzmann, and S. T. Lord Ferguson. 2022. “Understanding Micro-Level Resilience Enactment of Everyday Entrepreneurs Under Threat.” Journal of Small Business Management 60 (5): 1202–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.2017443 . Search in Google Scholar

Snyder, H. 2019. “Literature Review as a Research Methodology: An Overview and Guidelines.” Journal of Business Research 104: 333–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039 . Search in Google Scholar

Soomro, B. A., G. R. Lakhan, and N. Shah. 2021. “COVID-19 Impediments and Business Start-Ups in Pakistan: Evidence From the Second Wave of the Pandemic.” Managerial and Decision Economics 42 (7): 1909–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.3445 . Search in Google Scholar

Srhoj, S., B. Skrinjaric, S. Radas, and J. Walde. 2022. “Small Matching Grants for Women Entrepreneurs: Lessons From the Past Recession.” Small Business Economics 59 (1): 117–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00524-2 . Search in Google Scholar

Stephan, U., P. Zbierowski, A. Perez-Luno, D. Wach, J. Wiklund, M. Alba Cabanas, E. Barki, A. Benzari, C. Bernhard-Oettel, J. A. Boekhorst, A. Dash, A. Efendic, C. Eib, P. J. Hanard, T. Iakovleva, S. Kawakatsu, S. Khalid, M. Leatherbee, J. Li, S. K. Parker, J. Qu, F. Rosati, S. Sahasranamam, M. A. Y. Salusse, T. Sekiguchi, N. Thomas, O. Torres, M. H. Tran, M. Ward, A. J. Williamson, and M. M. Zahid. 2020. “Act or Wait-and-See? Adversity, Agility, and Entrepreneur Wellbeing Across Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 1–42, 10422587221104820, https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587221104820 . Search in Google Scholar

Stevenson, R., A. S. Kier, and S. G. Taylor. 2021. “Do Policy Makers Take Grants for Granted? The Efficacy of Public Sponsorship for Innovative Entrepreneurship.” Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 15 (2): 231–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1376 . Search in Google Scholar

Thornhill, S., and R. Amit. 2003. “Learning About Failure: Bankruptcy, Firm Age, and the Resource-Based View.” Organization Science 14 (5): 497–509. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.14.5.497.16761 . Search in Google Scholar

Torraco, R. J. 2005. “Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples.” Human Resource Development Review 4 (3): 356–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484305278283 . Search in Google Scholar

Torres, O., A. Benzari, C. Fisch, J. Mukerjee, A. Swalhi, and R. Thurik. 2022. “Risk of Burnout in French Entrepreneurs During the COVID-19 Crisis.” Small Business Economics 58 (2): 717–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00516-2 . Search in Google Scholar

Umphress, E. E., J. B. Bingham, and M. S. Mitchell. 2010. “Unethical Behavior in the Name of the Company: The Moderating Effect of Organizational Identification and Positive Reciprocity Beliefs on Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior.” Journal of Applied Psychology 95: 769–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019214 . Search in Google Scholar

Van Stel, A., J. M. Millán, and C. Román. 2014. “Investigating the Impact of the Technological Environment on Survival Chances of Employer Entrepreneurs.” Small Business Economics 43 (4): 839–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-014-9565-5 . Search in Google Scholar

Vazirani, A., and T. Bhattacharjee. 2022. “Necessity or Opportunity: A Case of Business Venturing Decision During COVID-19 Pandemic.” Managerial and Decision Economics 43 (3): 768–78. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.3417 . Search in Google Scholar

Vegetti, F., and D. Adăscăliţei. 2017. “The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Latent and Early Entrepreneurship in Europe.” The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 13 (4): 1289–314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-017-0456-5 . Search in Google Scholar

Venâncio, A., and I. Pinto. 2020. “Type of Entrepreneurial Activity and Sustainable Development Goals.” Sustainability 12 (22): 9368. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229368 . Search in Google Scholar

Vial, V. 2011. “Micro-Entrepreneurship in a Hostile Environment: Evidence From Indonesia.” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 47 (2): 233–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2011.585952 . Search in Google Scholar

Villaseca, D., J. Navío-Marco, and R. Gimeno. 2020. “Money for Female Entrepreneurs Does Not Grow on Trees: Start-Ups’ Financing Implications in Times of COVID-19.” Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies 13 (4): 698–720. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeee-06-2020-0172 . Search in Google Scholar

Weaven, S., S. Quach, P. Thaichon, L. Frazer, K. Billot, and D. Grace. 2021. “Surviving an Economic Downturn: Dynamic Capabilities of SMEs.” Journal of Business Research 128: 109–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.009 . Search in Google Scholar

Wefald, A. J., and R. G. Downey. 2009. “Job Engagement in Organizations: Fad, Fashion, or Folderol?” Journal of Organizational Behavior 30 (1): 141–5. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.560 . Search in Google Scholar

Welter, F., T. Baker, and K. Wirsching. 2019. “Three Waves and Counting: The Rising Tide of Contextualization in Entrepreneurship Research.” Small Business Economics 52 (2): 319–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0094-5 . Search in Google Scholar

Williams, N., and T. Vorley. 2015. “The Impact of Institutional Change on Entrepreneurship in a Crisis-Hit Economy: The Case of Greece.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 27 (1–2): 28–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2014.995723 . Search in Google Scholar

Williams, T. A., D. A. Gruber, K. M. Sutcliffe, D. A. Shepherd, and E. Y. Zhao. 2017. “Organizational Response to Adversity: Fusing Crisis Management and Resilience Research Streams.” The Academy of Management Annals 11 (2): 733–69. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2015.0134 . Search in Google Scholar

Xu, Z., X. Wang, X. Wang, and M. Skare. 2021. “A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis of Entrepreneurship and Crisis Literature Published From 1984 to 2020.” Journal of Business Research 135: 304–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.06.051 . Search in Google Scholar

Yindok, T. 2021. “Entrepreneurship During an Economic Crisis: Evidence From Rural Thailand.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 69 (3): 1071–113. https://doi.org/10.1086/704380 . Search in Google Scholar

Youssef, A. B., S. Boubaker, and A. Omri. 2018. “Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: The Need for Innovative and Institutional Solutions.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 129: 232–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.11.003 . Search in Google Scholar

© 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

• X / Twitter

Supplementary Materials

Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product.

Journal and Issue

Articles in the same issue.

• Scroll to top

•   / Sign Up
• HOW WE HELP CLIENTS
• schedule your conversation

What is the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Relationship?

Published: 10 July, 2023

Social Share:

Table of Contents

The Innovation-Entrepreneurship Relationship

Entrepreneurship and innovation are closely related but distinct concepts. While innovation involves introducing something new, such as a business model , product, idea, or service, entrepreneurship focuses on turning a great idea into a viable business opportunity.

Innovation is the starting point for entrepreneurship, as it involves the creation of new and valuable ideas. However, entrepreneurship goes further by taking on the risk and responsibility of bringing those ideas to market and building a successful business.

The key distinction lies in the risk component associated with entrepreneurship, which is not necessarily present in innovation alone.

Innovation definition

The meaning of innovation involves the generation of new ideas, whether it be new products, processes, upgrades to existing services, or business models. It is the act of introducing something new or creating change that adds value to existing products or services .

Innovation plays a crucial role in promoting growth, enabling organizations to adapt to evolving market trends, and ultimately driving profitability. While innovation can involve the creation of entirely new concepts, it also includes improvements and enhancements to existing products, services, or ideas. It disrupts the status quo and encourages a departure from the traditional approach. Innovation requires fresh thinking, creativity, and the ability to identify opportunities for change and improvement.

It should be noted that innovation is distinct from invention, as it does not necessarily entail the creation of something entirely new. Instead, it focuses on introducing novel ideas or enhancing existing ones to meet the needs of customers, industry demands, and societal changes. Innovation is a vital means for organizations to remain relevant, competitive, and responsive in their respective industries, and it does not inherently involve risk.

A well-defined innovation strategy and effective management are crucial to capitalize on entrepreneurial opportunities and drive growth. An innovation strategy outlines goals and processes for generating and implementing new ideas. Through practices like idea generation, resource allocation, and risk assessment, businesses foster a culture of creativity and drive innovation at all levels. Embracing entrepreneurial opportunities and leveraging innovation as a catalyst allows organizations to stay competitive, adapt to market changes, and achieve sustainable growth.

Entrepreneur definition

Entrepreneurship encompasses the willingness of individuals or groups to take risks and capitalize on business opportunities in a dynamic market.

Business entrepreneurs play crucial roles as leaders, innovators, pioneers, and inventors, driving economic, technological, and social advancements within their industries. They possess the ability to identify and transform great ideas into viable business ventures by embracing risk. In doing so, they add value and creativity to the innovations they pursue.

Entrepreneurs are not limited to a single type of innovation but actively seek out diverse sources of innovation. Once they identify a promising opportunity, they establish and manage profitable businesses around it. To succeed, entrepreneurs must embody traits such as risk-taking, motivation, leadership, management skills, decision-making abilities, and effective planning. Successful entrepreneurship is the outcome of combining these qualities with dedication and hard work.

We at Digital Leadership offer innovation consulting services that guide organizations through the process of digital transformation. With expertise in emerging technologies and new business models, we help businesses unlock their potential and create value . Our customized strategies, backed by the UNITE Innovation Frameworks, enable long-term sustainability and maximize profit while minimizing costs.

Find out how we can help you

Corporate training, innovation consulting and much more.

Types of entrepreneur

What is the Difference Between Innovation and Entrepreneurship?

Although there is a link or relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship , they have different meanings altogether. Here are the major differences between the two concepts:

Definitions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

Innovation meaning: Innovation is the process of creating something new.

Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship identifies the opportunities in great innovations creates opportunities, adds value, and keeps the value improving over a period of time.

Characteristics of Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

The Role of Innovation Entrepreneurship

Innovative entrepreneurship is crucial for identifying emerging trends and market demands, allowing businesses to create new and appealing goods or services for their target audience. To stay relevant in a competitive landscape, businesses must continue to innovate by developing innovative products, and services, and evolving their brand. Innovation plays a central role in entrepreneurship as it involves the replacement or improvement of existing offerings, enabling entrepreneurs to meet market trends and satisfy customer demands with innovative strategies.

Here are some benefits of innovation entrepreneurship:

Benefits of Innovation Entrepreneur

Creative development.

Innovation entrepreneurship fosters creativity, and design thinking, and encourages employees to tap into their creative potential. It helps businesses adapt to market demands and trends, opening doors to new opportunities for growth.

Reinforcing Your Brand

The process of brand development, guided by HR innovation teams, is a crucial driver of business success. It helps businesses establish strong digital business models and reinforces their brand presence in the market. By focusing on digital business strategies, organizations can leverage technology and digital platforms to enhance their operations, reach wider audiences, and create unique customer experiences.

Persistent Improvement

Innovation entrepreneurship paves the way for continuous improvement within organizations. Recognizing the importance of innovation, entrepreneurs strive to enhance their creativity and drive ongoing advancements in their products, services, and processes.

Responding to Trends and Competition

HR innovation teams are adept at responding to current needs and positioning businesses for future market trends. Innovation entrepreneurship equips businesses with the understanding and ability to proactively respond to emerging trends, facilitating their growth and success.

Making the Best of Your Existing Products

Maximizing Existing Products: While introducing new products and services is important, innovative culture also emphasizes making the most of existing offerings. Through continuous improvements and enhancements, businesses can increase their profitability and efficiency, propelling them to greater heights. Design thinking plays a pivotal role in this process, as it encourages a human-centered approach to problem-solving and innovation.

Having a Unique Selling Point

Consumers recognize the value that innovation brings to products and services. Innovation entrepreneurship adds compelling elements that differentiate businesses, offering them positive exposure and a unique selling point.

The Use of Social Media

Leveraging social media platforms enables businesses to effectively communicate their innovation campaigns to a wide target audience. It provides valuable insights into customer needs and preferences, helping businesses improve their offerings to meet those demands effectively.

Traits and Tips for Innovative Entrepreneurship

• Patience: Recognizing that developing new business ideas takes time.
• Proactive problem-solving: Seeking solutions to challenges using innovative approaches.
• Effective communication skills: Conveying ideas and networking with industry professionals.
• Determination: Overcoming obstacles and persevering in the face of challenges.
• Adaptability: Embracing change and incorporating evolving market trends into business plans .
• Create a solid financial plan to ensure stability and manage resources effectively.
• Engage in networking to build valuable connections and partnerships.
• Accept constructive feedback as a means for growth and improvement.
• Leverage insights and customer feedback to continuously enhance products or services.
• Cultivate an innovative mindset by staying curious, open-minded, and embracing creativity.

By embodying these traits and tips, aspiring entrepreneurs can foster an innovative mindset and increase their chances of success in the dynamic business landscape.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are distinct yet interconnected concepts that play vital roles in the success of businesses. Some may think they mean the same thing, but using them interchangeably is an error. While they center around the same idea, it is important to understand their differences.

Innovation is the embodiment of creative thinking, driving the development of unique solutions and ideas. It encompasses the introduction of technological or digital advancements that unlock new possibilities and capabilities. Serving as the backbone of every organization, innovation is imperative for success. Businesses that neglect to cultivate an innovative culture put themselves at risk of being outpaced by their more forward-thinking competitors. Entrepreneurship revolves around the ability to identify and seize business opportunities, while innovation centers on transforming those opportunities into reality.

To stay relevant in their respective industries, companies require the synergy of both entrepreneurs and innovators. While business entrepreneurs possess the vision to make strategic decisions, it is the innovator who possesses the expertise to effectively execute those decisions and drive towards a shared goal.

We believe the information shared in this post will give you a better understanding of the Innovation-Entrepreneurship Relationship.

The process of brand development, guided by HR innovation teams, is a crucial driver of business success. It helps businesses establish strong digital business models and reinforces their brand presence in the market

Related Posts

Business level strategy: examples & types for business strategy success.

In strategic management, businesses use a variety of approaches to craft a1

The Four Types of Innovation and Their Impact on Business Success

In business landscape, innovation isn't just a buzzword; it's a strategic imperative1

50 Innovation Examples: Exciting Innovative Ideas in Business

In the Business environment, strategic innovation has taken centre stage as a1

Innovation Strategy: Developing Innovative Strategies in Business

Innovation has become an imperative for organizations worldwide, yet the multitude of1

Recent Posts

Examples and Types of Effective Functional Level Strategy for Business Support

A key objective of any business strategy is to improve operational efficiencies...

The Three Levels of Strategy: Corporate Strategy, Business Strategy, and Functional Strategy

Understanding the intricate levels of strategy is crucial for any organization aiming...

Register For Your FREE 
Innovation WorkShop Seat Now!

Learn how to overcome the 90% failure rate in innovation from a master innovator and best-selling author.

Expert tactics to boost your innovation odds.

Insights on capturing customer needs for innovation.

Tools that turn your ideas into triumphs.

First name *

Last name *

Professional E-mail *

I want to be kept up-to-date and accept the privacy statement *

By signing up, you agree to receive news and accept the privacy statement (mandatory)

Verify your e-mail address now by entering the 6-digit code we’ve just sent to your inbox

Don't receive Code? Resend code

Last one step

Help us better understand our innovation Show members

Country * Please Select Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin (Dahomey) Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Brunswick and Lüneburg Bulgaria Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Central American Federation Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Free State Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Grand Duchy of Tuscany Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nassau Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papal States Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Piedmont-Sardinia Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Congo Republic of Korea (South Korea) Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Schaumburg-Lippe Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Württemberg Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Industry * Please Select Automotive, mobilty & transport Financial Services Chemical & agriculture Construction & Real Estate Consulting Education Energy Banking, insurance & FS FMCG Food Gov / Public Industry Health & lifestyle Logistics, Aero & Shipping Media & Entertainment Natural resources & mining Pharma & Biotech Retail & trade Tech & E-Commerce Telco Tourism design Information technology & services Management consulting Retail Pharmaceuticals International trade & development Professional training & coaching luxury goods & jewelry Automotive Insurance Mechanical or industrial engineering Company Size * XS - 1-10 S - 10-100 M - 100-1000 L - 1000-5000 XL - > 5000

Seniority * Please Select Junior Consultant Senior Consultant Manager Senior Manager Director VP SVP Partner CXO Board Member

Areas of interest * Innovation Digital Transformation Culture & Organization IT Strategy & Bus. Alignment Customer Experience

Discover the largest library of innovation & transformation tools on the entire Internet!

LOG IN VIA E-MAIL

Forgot password?

New to Digital Leadership? Create your account

Thanks, We’ve Received Your Updated Details

Learn how to overcome the 90% failure rate in innovation from a master innovator & bestselling author!

Your e-mail address: * Your first name: *

One Last Step..

Help us better understand the UNITE community

Free guide to improve your innovation success rate*

Our 35-page comprehensive innovation guide covers the key areas why innovation fails. While it cannot cover all the solutions (that would take books to fill), it provides you with a convenient starting point for your analysis and provides further resources and links to the corresponding UNITE models, ultimately allowing you to work towards a doubling and tripling your chances of success.

Get access to the UNITE Models now!

Discover the largest library of innovation & transformation tools on the internet!

Choose Your Password *

Confirm Your Password *

Already have an account? Log in

Country * Please Select Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin (Dahomey) Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Brunswick and Lüneburg Bhutan Bulgaria Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Central American Federation Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Free State Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Grand Duchy of Tuscany Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nassau Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papal States Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Piedmont-Sardinia Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Congo Republic of Korea (South Korea) Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Schaumburg-Lippe Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland State of Palestine Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United States United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Württemberg Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Industry * Please Select Automotive, mobilty & transport Financial Services Chemical & agriculture Construction & Real Estate Consulting Education Energy Banking, insurance & FS FMCG Food Gov / Public Industry Health & lifestyle Logistics, Aero & Shipping Media & Entertainment Natural resources & mining Pharma & Biotech Retail & trade Tech & E-Commerce Telco Tourism design Information technology & services Management consulting Retail Pharmaceuticals International trade & development Professional training & coaching luxury goods & jewelry Automotive Insurance Mechanical or industrial engineering Company Size * XS - 1-10 S - 10-100 M - 100-1000 L - 1000-5000 XL - > 5000

Editable UNITE models (PowerPoint) included

Most of our models and canvases are designed to be applied! 


To help you personalize them to your exact business requirements, you can download fully editable versions of the UNITE models available (PowerPoint format)!

They are straightforward to work with, and you can directly incorporate them into your presentations as you need…thus saving countless hours of replication!

PS: did you know that you are also getting hi-res print-ready versions for your workshops?

Monthly live webinars

Each month we host our exclusive, invitation-only webinar series where one of our industry-leading experts updates our members on the latest news, progress and concepts around business strategy, innovation and digital transformation, as well as other related topics. 



You will receive the book in PDF and EPUB formats, ideal for your computer, Kindle, Tablet or other eReading device.

Bi-weekly live group Q&A sessions

These sessions are your opportunity to bring any questions or challenges you’re facing and receive expert guidance on the spot. 


Come and be a part of engaging discussions where your unique concerns are heard and addressed.

1x personal coaching session / month

If you are occasionally looking for a sparring partner or you need limited support, then this option will be ideal for you. Coaching sessions are 1-2 hours where we can discuss any challenge or opportunity you are currently facing.

If you need a few more hours outside of this provision, then these could be billed transparently.

Unlimited video call support! – it’s like always making the right decision!

We believe support shouldn’t be limited. Because we typically find that the occasional hour just doesn’t cut it – particularly if you and your team are in the midst of a large and complex project.

Your time with Stefan is therefore unlimited (fair usage applies) – in his function as coach and sparring partner. That does mean that you will still have to do the work – we cannot take that off you, unless you hire us as consultants. But you will get valuable strategic insight and direction to make sure you are always focusing your efforts where they will lead to the best results.

One personal coaching session / month 
+ unlimited support via e-mail & WhatsApp

We believe support shouldn’t be limited. If you generally know what you are doing but want a sparring partner to frequently raise questions to, this is the perfect choice!

In addition to your monthly 1-1 live coaching sessions with Stefan, you will also get unlimited support from him via email and WhatsApp messaging (fair usage applies). This not only allows you to get valuable strategic direction in your calls, but also gives you instant access to expert help as you work through your plans each month.



The fact that support is text-based means that we can speed up our responses to you while keeping the overall cost of support down.

Welcome gift of our book 
 “How to Create Innovation” 
 (digital + physical editions)*

As a welcome gift, you will receive the both the digital and physical version of our book “How to Create Innovation”, which covers numerous relevant resources and provides additional deep dives into our UNITE models and concepts.


The print version will be shipped out to you on sign-up. The digital version will be emailed to you, and comes in PDF and EPUB formats, ideal for your computer, Kindle, Tablet or other eReading device.

1x major workshop or 2x smaller workshops / month

1x major or 2x smaller workshops based on the UNITE models.

• Topics covered: almost any challenge under the header of #strategy, #innovation or #transformation, leveraging the UNITE models.
• Hands-On Learning: solve your challenges while learning the practical application of the UNITE models and walk away with concrete plans and tools to take your next steps.
• Industry thought leadership: facilitated by Stefan, the founder of Digital Leadership and the main author of the UNITE models, ensuring top-tier guidance and knowledge sharing.
• Collaborative approach: engage in interactive sessions that foster collaboration, idea exchange, and real-time problem-solving among peers and industry leaders.
• Continuous Improvement: Regular workshops ensure ongoing development in your organization staying ahead of industry trends and customer needs.

Access all of our UNITE models, 
 (incl. editable & print versions)

All of our Professional plans offer full access to the following:

• 6x UNITE model package downloads are included per month, if you need something in addition to these however, please let us know!
• Hi-res, print-ready versions you can use in your workshops
• Fully editable PowerPoint versions where applicable – personalize to your needs.
• Exclusive access to our vault of never-before-published strategic materials. We have much more to share – a lot of our concepts have never been published!

Exclusive access to our private UNITE community (upcoming)

We are currently in the process of launching our brand new community., we are designing our community to specifically help you:.

• Get answers to questions (“How do I …”)
• Share leading practices & knowledge
• Jointly develop new models
• Network amongst a highly qualified group of peers

Please, select the reason

Cancelling your plan will deactivate your plan after the current billing period ends. You will not be charged further, but also won’t be able to access [exclusive features/services].

• Cost-related issues
• Unsatisfied with the service
• Features I need are missing
• Switching to a different service
• Other (Please specify)

Book Your Initial Blueprint Session Now

Simply fill out the below form and book in a time for our initial session that works for you. This initial session is free, no strings attached, and is where we can discuss your Blueprint needs more in-depth before moving forward.

Stefan F. Dieffenbacher

Founder of digital leadership.

Adam D. Wisniewski

Partner for it strategy & business alignment.

Get in touch with Digital Leadership

Speak to our team today to find the best solution for your business to grow and scale.

We are here to support you across the entire lifecycle in all topics related to #digital, #innovation, #transformation and #marketing!

Stefan F. Dieffenbacher Founder of Digital Leadership

Contact Us!

Contact form, contact details, book a call.

Title, first name & last name * Email address * Phone number Please let us know how we can best support you! *

By clicking “Send”, I agree to Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Let’s have a conversation!

“Please be invited to reach out! We are happy to help and look forward to a first meeting!”

+41 (0) 44 562 42 24

[email protected]

Schedule Your Call With Our Team

Find a time on our calender that best suits you !

Founder and CEO of Digital Leadership

SCHEDULE YOUR INITIAL CALL

A Quick Survey!

What is the main challenge you're currently facing in your business?

You Want To Drive Change?

Let’s find the best solution for your business to grow and scale sustainably!

Let’s kick start it!

We will uncover your current business situation and goals and provide you with a bespoke solution that helps you drastically grow your business working with us.

Stefan F. Dieffenbacher, M.B.A.

Feedback about our consulting that we are proud of

Read the reviews and make sure that this is not a waste of time, but a super effective tool.

You want to drive change?

Schedule your free business assessment call with our founder.

On this call, we will uncover your current business situation and goals and talk about how to drive change and solve your need.

Choose the meeting type that applies to your needs and schedule a time to meet with someone from our team. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

Schedule Your Free Business Assessment

Schedule Your Free Business Assessment Call With Adam D. Wisniewski

Welcome to our scheduling page.

Let’s Design your Customer Experience Blueprint !

In a uniquely designed 60 or 90 minute session* , we will …

• > identify where to start with near-certainty
• > define what approach it takes to create success in your organization

Based on the Blueprinting session, you will receive a tailored blueprint that aligns with your objectives, vision and goals, ensuring that your initiative is a success from start to finish.

In this session, you will be working together with Patrick Zimmermann, Associate Partner for Customer Experience

Let’s Design your Culture & Org-Change Blueprint !

In this session, you will be working together with Dr. Andreas Rein, Partner at Digital Leadership for Culture & Org Change

Let’s Design your Innovation Blueprint !

In this session, you will be working together with Sascha Martini, Partner at Digital Leadership for Innovation and Digital Transformation

Let’s Design your Transformation Blueprint !

In this session, you will be working together with Stefan F. Dieffenbacher, Founder of Digital Leadership Stefan is a global thought leader in the innovation space

Let’s Design your IT Strategy & Business Alignment Blueprint !

In this session, you will be working together with Adam D. Wisniewski, Partner for IT Strategy & Business Alignment

Patrick Zimmermann

Sascha Martini

Dr. Andreas Rein

Write a personalized review! Log in

Create Review

The link between Employability and Entrepreneurship

t first glance, employability and entrepreneurship may appear to be two distinct fields. However, both practical and theoretical findings indicate that the two may be more interlinked than we believe. 

It would be beneficial to begin this evaluation by first defining the concepts of employability and entrepreneurship, and subsequently asking the question of what do both fields constitute that inevitably places them in correlation with each other. Given the vast amount of both academic and commercial sources of information on the definitions of these two concepts, we will seek to provide academic (and practical definitions) of both these areas. 

According to the Institute of Employment Studies, employability is “about having the capability to gain initial employment, maintain employment and obtain new employment if required” (Hillage, J. and Pollard, E., 1998; p.2). 

Additionally, the same study by Hillage & Pollard (1998; p.3) identifies three key aspects of employability in an individual, which are:

• Knowledge : the information that an individual possesses
• Skillset : where they use that information
• Attitudes : how they use that information

Entrepreneurship, according to Professor Howard Stevenson, as quoted by Iacobelli and Eisenmann (2013; p.2) is “the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled”. The question of whether employability and entrepreneurship have a direct link and if yes, the extent of the latter, makes the case for a look into the skills and competencies that are attributed to employability and entrepreneurship. 

In a research conducted by Open University, a group of individuals and stakeholders who were directly associated with entrepreneurship were asked to provide examples of the attributes that they seek to provide their entrepreneur participants with. The study found that there was a considerable number of mutual personal skills within employability and entrepreneurship. 

Examples of such skills include interpersonal and relationship building, innovation and problem-solving (Evelyn, 2021). Similar to the argument put forward by the aforementioned, another study examining the relationship between entrepreneurship and employability proposes a similar viewpoint. 

The research states that when higher education institutions enhance learner employability, they are also making the same impact with respect to personal entrepreneurial skills. Nonetheless, it must be noted that whilst, in this perspective, entrepreneurship may be seen as a “special form of employability”, employability teaching is limited if the aim is promoting self-employment knowledge. In a world that is becoming increasingly centred on technology, there are now countless tools available to those seeking to pursue self-employment and/or entrepreneurship.  For instance, let’s consider one example: building an online store or a website. This is a task that would be considered “complicated” in the 2000s or even early 2010s. 

Additionally, building a business website would be considered to be a “corporate” matter: something that would mainly be done by a business. Currently, building a website (at least a simple one with an “okay” design) is a relatively seamless task, using Content Management Systems (CMS) such as Wix , WordPress , Webflow or Drupal . 

In the above example, this development alone is arguably a factor that has increased the number of people who have either switched to self-employment on a full-time basis. Alternatively, many individuals have begun commercialising their personal skills on a part-time/second job basis, thanks to more availability of the means of accessing their target audience. 

Whilst the example of CMS systems and the ease of building websites and/or online stores may seem minor, it does reflect a shift. This shift and  academic research support the view that employability and entrepreneurship are far more related than we think.

Potentially is a learning & discovery platform, working with over 70 universities & colleges across the UK & Ireland. We're changing employability through our innovative technology. Check here if you'd like to find out more.

• Hillage, J. and Pollard, E. . (1998). EMPLOYABILITY: DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK FOR POLICY ANALYSIS. Available:https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/43539201/Employability_Developing_a_framework_for20160309-24658-1ix1nw2-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1635173960&Signature=KjYoqJDK34jQ-AGqotF5W4tTYQCI5LbV6DiJ~y. Last accessed 25/10/2021.
• Eisenmann, Thomas. . (2013). Entrepreneurship: A Working Definition. Available: https://hbr.org/2013/01/what-is-entrepreneurship. Last accessed 25/10/2021.
• Evelyn, D. 2021. Https://wwwopenacuk/blogs/scilab/indexphp/2021/03/08/three-reasons-why-we-should-think-about-employability-in-entrepreneurship-education/. [Online]. [25 October 2021]. Available from: https://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/scilab/index.php/2021/03/08/three-reasons-why-we-should-think-about-employability-in-entrepreneurship-education/
• Moreland, N. 2006, Entrepreneurship and higher education: an employability perspective, Learning and employability series, 1, Higher Education Academy, York, viewed 26 Oct 2021, <http://hca.ltsn.ac.uk/resources/detail/employability/entrepreneurship_and_higher_education>.

Sohrab Vazir

Learning & teaching, how can universities prepare students for work 10 ways to prepare grads for the future workplace, examples of learning management systems (lms), introduction to learning portfolios, making students future-ready, what is career readiness, how to use the nace competency framework for your university.

Check out the latest posts

Digital skills gap: strategies and solutions to bridge the skills gap, metaverse jobs [remote]: 10 new job opportunities in the metaverse—and how to get them, the student guide to vpns, featured skills partner – stunning videos made simple with invideo, ready to dive in get in touch today..

Unraveling entrepreneurial comebacks: the curvilinear relationship between entrepreneurial failure and reentry intention

• Published: 27 August 2024

Cite this article

• Shaoshuai Zhang 1 ,
• Hui Yang 1 &
• Yuan Wei   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0000-2671-5192 1  

43 Accesses

Explore all metrics

Despite the powerful benefits of entrepreneurial failure experience with regard to experiential learning and future venture performance, our understanding of how failure experience impacts entrepreneurs’ decision to reenter entrepreneurship while taking advantage of the lessons that they have learned from their previous entrepreneurial endeavors remains limited. While some studies have highlighted the potential of entrepreneurial failure experience to stimulate reentry intention, other researchers have argued that failure experience can actually decrease subsequent entrepreneurial intention. This study draws on various streams of research on entrepreneurs’ responses to business failures at the cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels to propose the existence of a curvilinear relationship between entrepreneurial failure and reentry intention. We employ hierarchical regression to test a series of hypotheses by reference to a sample of 379 entrepreneurs who had experienced failure in their recent business ventures. The results reveal that the degree of failure exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with reentry intention. Furthermore, we find that the effect of entrepreneurial failure on reentry intention is mediated by entrepreneurs’ learning from failure and that entrepreneurial passion moderates the effects of entrepreneurial failure on both learning from failure and reentry intention. This article helps explain the distinctive effects of failure experience on reentry intention and provides empirical evidence that can facilitate the development of tailor-made support programs that can help previously failed entrepreneurs address the challenges that they encounter during the process of reentry into entrepreneurship.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Managing crisis: a qualitative lens on the aftermath of entrepreneurial failure

Does entrepreneurship ecosystem influence business re-entries after failure?

Causal ascriptions and perceived learning from entrepreneurial failure, data availability.

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Aguzzoli, R., Lengler, J., Sousa, C. M. P., & Benito, G. R. G. (2021). Here we go again: A case study on re-entering a foreign market. British Journal of Management , 32 (2), 416–434. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12407

Article   Google Scholar  

Amankwah-Amoah, J., Boso, N., & Antwi-Agyei, I. (2018). The effects of Business failure experience on successive entrepreneurial engagements: An evolutionary phase model. Group & Organization Management , 43 (4), 648–682. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601116643447

Amankwah-Amoah, J., Khan, Z., Ifere, S. E., Nyuur, R. B., & Khan, H. (2022). Entrepreneurs’ learning from business failures: An emerging market perspective. British Journal of Management , 33 (4), 1735–1756. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12557

Artinger, S., & Powell, T. C. (2016). Entrepreneurial failure: Statistical and psychological explanations [Article]. Strategic Management Journal , 37 (6), 1047–1064. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2378

Atuahene-Gima, K., & Murray, J. Y. (2007). Exploratory and exploitative learning in new product development: A social capital perspective on new technology ventures in China. Journal of International Marketing , 15 (2), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1509/jimk.15.2.1

Baù, M., Sieger, P., Eddleston, K. A., & Chirico, F. (2017). Fail but try again? The effects of age, gender, and multiple–owner experience on failed entrepreneurs’ reentry. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 41 (6), 909–941. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12233

Baron, R., & Kenny, D. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 51 , 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173

Baum, J. R., & Locke, E. (2004). The relationship of entrepreneurial traits, skill, and motivation to subsequent venture growth. Journal of Applied Psychology , 89 , 587–598. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.4.587

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Belchior, R. F., & Castro-Silva, H. (2023). The virtuous cycle of entrepreneurial identity and experience - a longitudinal analysis. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 19 (4), 1739–1770. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-023-00898-7

Biraglia, A., & Kadile, V. (2017). The role of entrepreneurial passion and Creativity in developing entrepreneurial intentions: Insights from American homebrewers [Article]. Journal of Small Business Management , 55 (1), 170–188. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12242

Boso, N., Adeleye, I., Donbesuur, F., & Gyensare, M. (2019). Do entrepreneurs always benefit from business failure experience? Journal of Business Research , 98 , 370–379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.063

Brüderl, J., Preisendörfer, P., & Ziegler, R. (1992). Survival chances of newly founded business organizations. American Sociological Review , 57 (2), 227–242. https://doi.org/10.2307/2096207

Byrne, O., & Shepherd, D. A. (2015). Different strokes for different folks: Entrepreneurial narratives of emotion, cognition, and making sense of business failure. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 39 (2), 375–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12046

Cardon, M. S., Gregoire, D. A., Stevens, C. E., & Patel, P. C. (2013). Measuring entrepreneurial passion: Conceptual foundations and scale validation. Journal of Business Venturing , 28 (3), 373–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.03.003

Cardon, M. S., & Kirk, C. P. (2015). Entrepreneurial passion as mediator of the self-efficacy to persistence relationship. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice , 39 (5), 1027–1050. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12089

Cardon, M. S., Stevens, C. E., & Potter, D. R. (2011). Misfortunes or mistakes? Cultural sensemaking of entrepreneurial failure. Journal of Business Venturing , 26 (1), 79–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.06.004

Cardon, M. S., Wincent, J., Singh, J., & Drnovsek, M. (2009). The nature and experience of entrepreneurial passion. Academy of Management Review , 34 (3), 511–532. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2009.40633190

Chen, C. C., Greene, P. G., & Crick, A. (1998). Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers? [Article]. Journal of Business Venturing , 13 (4), 295–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(97)00029-3

Cope, J. (2011). Entrepreneurial learning from failure: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Business Venturing , 26 (6), 604–623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2010.06.002

Corner, P. D., Singh, S., & Pavlovich, K. (2017). Entrepreneurial resilience and venture failure. International Small Business Journal-Researching Entrepreneurship , 35 (6), 687–708. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242616685604

Costa, P. L., Ferreira, J. J., & de Torres, R. (2023). From entrepreneurial failure to re-entry [Article]. Journal of Business Research , 158 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113699 . Article 113699.

De Hoe, R., & Janssen, F. (2022). Re-creation after business failure: A conceptual model of the mediating role of psychological capital. Frontiers in Psychology , 13 , 842590. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.842590

De Sordi, J. O., dos Santos, A. R., de Azevedo, M. C., Jorge, C. F. B., & Hashimoto, M. (2022). Dark, down, and destructive side of entrepreneurship: Unveiling negative aspects of unsuccessful entrepreneurial action. International Journal of Management Education , 20 (3), 100659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100659

Drnovsek, M., Cardon, M. S., & Patel, P. C. (2016). Direct and indirect effects of passion on growing technology ventures. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal , 10 (2), 194–213. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1213

Edeh, F. O., Zayed, N. M., Darwish, S., Nitsenko, V., Hanechko, I., & Islam, K. M. A. (2023). Impression management and employee contextual performance in service organizations (enterprises). Emerging Science Journal , 7 (2), 366–384. https://doi.org/10.28991/esj-2023-07-02-05

Eftekhari, N., & Timmermans, B. (2022). New venture dissolution and the comobility of new venture teams. Small Business Economics , 59 (1), 279–298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00543-z

Eggers, J. P., & Song, L. (2015). Dealing with failure: Serial entrepreneurs and the costs of changing industries between ventures [Article]. Academy of Management Journal , 58 (6), 1785–1803. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.0050

Espinoza-Benavides, J., & Díaz, D. (2019). The entrepreneurial profile after failure. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research , 25 (8), 1634–1651. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijebr-04-2018-0242

Fanaja, R. A., Pradana, M., Eka Saputri, M., & Utami, D. G. (2023). Knowledge management as driver of women’s entrepreneurial innovativeness. Journal of Human Earth and Future , 4 (1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.28991/hef-2023-04-01-01

Fan-Osuala, O. (2021). All failures are not equal: Degree of failure and the launch of subsequent crowdfunding campaigns [Article]. Journal of Business Venturing Insights , 16 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2021.e00260 . Article e00260.

Fisher, R., Merlot, E., & Johnson, L. W. (2018). The obsessive and harmonious nature of entrepreneurial passion. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research , 24 (1), 22–40. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-01-2017-0011

Franco, M., Haase, H., & António, D. (2021). Influence of failure factors on entrepreneurial resilience in Angolan micro, small and medium-sized enterprises [Article]. International Journal of Organizational Analysis , 29 (1), 240–259. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-07-2019-1829

Fu, H., Xiao, X. H., Ye, B. H. B., Fang, S. J., Li, Y. Q., & Wu, Y. Y. (2023). Stay passionate and carry on: Why passion exhausts and how it can be restored. Current Psychology , 42 (31), 27574–27592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03889-z

Guerrero, M., & Peña-Legazkue, I. (2019). Renascence after post-mortem: The choice of accelerated repeat entrepreneurship [Article]. Small Business Economics , 52 (1), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0015-7

Haans, R., Pieters, C., & He, Z. L. (2016). Thinking about U: Theorizing and Testing U- and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research. Strategic Management Journal , 37 , 1177–1195. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2399

Henriquez-Daza, M. C., Capelleras, J. L., & Osorio-Tinoco, F. (2023). Does fear of failure affect entrepreneurial growth aspirations? The moderating role of institutional collectivism in emerging and developed countries [Article]. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies . https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-08-2022-0232

He, V. F., Sirén, C., Singh, S., Solomon, G., & von Krogh, G. (2018). Keep calm and carry on: Emotion regulation in entrepreneurs’ learning from failure [Article]. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice , 42 (4), 605–630. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12273

Hsu, D. K., Shinnar, R. S., & Anderson, S. E. (2019). I wish I had a regular job’: An exploratory study of entrepreneurial regret [Article]. Journal of Business Research , 96 , 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.11.006

Hsu, D. K., Wiklund, J., & Cotton, R. D. (2017). Success, failure, and entrepreneurial reentry: An experimental assessment of the veracity of self-efficacy and prospect theory [Article]. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice , 41 (1), 19–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12166

Hurmerinta, L., Nummela, N., & Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, E. (2024). Boosted by failure? Entrepreneurial internationalisation as a cyclical learning process. European Journal of International Management , 22 (3). https://doi.org/10.1504/ejim.2024.136483

Hwang, K., & Choi, J. (2021). How do failed entrepreneurs cope with their prior failure when they seek subsequent re-entry into serial entrepreneurship? Failed entrepreneurs’ optimism and defensive pessimism and coping humor as a moderator. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 18 (13), 7021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137021

Jenkins, A., & McKelvie, A. (2016). What is entrepreneurial failure? Implications for future research. International Small Business Journal-Researching Entrepreneurship , 34 (2), 176–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242615574011

Jenkins, A. S., Wiklund, J., & Brundin, E. (2014). Individual responses to firm failure: Appraisals, grief, and the influence of prior failure experience. Journal of Business Venturing , 29 (1), 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.10.006

Karimi, S. (2020). The role of entrepreneurial passion in the formation of students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Applied Economics , 52 (3), 331–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2019.1645287

Kawai, N., Sibunruang, H., & Kazumi, T. (2023). Work-family conflict, entrepreneurial regret, and entrepreneurial outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic [Article]. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 19 (2), 837–861. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-023-00846-5

Article   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Kiani, A., Ali, A., Biraglia, A., & Wang, D. (2023). Why I persist while others leave? Investigating the path from passion to persistence in entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management , 61 (6), 2818–2848. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1938097

Lafuente, E., Vaillant, Y., Vendrell-Herrero, F., & Gomes, E. (2019). Bouncing back from failure: Entrepreneurial resilience and the internationalisation of subsequent ventures created by serial entrepreneurs. Applied Psychology , 68 (4), 658–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12175

Lattacher, W., & Wdowiak, M. A. (2020). Entrepreneurial learning from failure. A systematic review. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research , 26 (5), 1093–1131. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-02-2019-0085

Lee, C. K., Cottle, G. W., Simmons, S. A., & Wiklund, J. (2021). Fear not, want not: Untangling the effects of social cost of failure on high-growth entrepreneurship [Article]. Small Business Economics , 57 (1), 531–553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00324-0

Lin, S., & Wang, S. (2019). How does the age of serial entrepreneurs influence their re-venture speed after a business failure? [Article]. Small Business Economics , 52 (3), 651–666. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9977-0

Liu, Y., Li, Y., Hao, X., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Narcissism and learning from entrepreneurial failure [Article]. Journal of Business Venturing , 34 (3), 496–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2019.01.003

Mandl, C., Berger, E. S. C., & Kuckertz, A. (2016). Do you plead guilty? Exploring entrepreneurs’ sensemaking-behavior link after business failure [Article]. Journal of Business Venturing Insights , 5 , 9–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2015.12.002

Mantere, S., Aula, P., Schildt, H., & Vaara, E. (2013). Narrative attributions of entrepreneurial failure. Journal of Business Venturing , 28 (4), 459–473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.12.001

McGrath, R. G. (1999). Falling forward: Real options reasoning and entrepreneurial failure. Academy of Management Review , 24 (1), 13–30. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.1580438

Mueller, B. A., & Shepherd, D. A. (2016). Making the most of failure experiences: Exploring the relationship between business failure and the identification of business opportunities. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 40 (3), 457–487. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12116

Mueller, B. A., Wolfe, M. T., & Syed, I. (2017). Passion and grit: An exploration of the pathways leading to venture success. Journal of Business Venturing , 32 (3), 260–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.02.001

Murnieks, C. Y., Mosakowski, E., & Cardon, M. S. (2014). Pathways of passion: Identity centrality, passion, and behavior among entrepreneurs. Journal of Management , 40 (6), 1583–1606. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311433855

Newman, A., Obschonka, M., Moeller, J., & Chandan, G. G. (2021). Entrepreneurial passion: A review, synthesis, and agenda for future research. Applied Psychology , 70 (2), 816–860. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12236

Pimentel, L., Major, M., & Cruz, A. (2023). Collective action in institutional entrepreneurship: The case of a government agency. Emerging Science Journal , 7 (2), 538–557. https://doi.org/10.28991/esj-2023-07-02-017

Plehn-Dujowich, J. (2010). A theory of serial entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics , 35 (4), 377–398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-008-9171-5

Politis, D. (2005). The process of entrepreneurial learning: A conceptual framework. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 29 (4), 399–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00091.x

Politis, D., & Gabrielsson, J. (2009). Entrepreneurs’ attitudes towards failure - an experiential learning approach. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research , 15 (4), 364–383. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550910967921

Rawal, A., Sarpong, D., & Singh, S. K. (2023). Phoenix rising: Rebounding to venture again post firm-failure. Industrial Marketing Management , 112 , 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.05.007

Sarasvathy, S. D., Menon, A. R., & Kuechle, G. (2013). Failing firms and successful entrepreneurs: Serial entrepreneurship as a temporal portfolio [Article]. Small Business Economics , 40 (2), 417–434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-011-9412-x

Saylors, R., Lahiri, A., Warnick, B., & Baid, C. (2023). Looking back to venture forward: Exploring idea and identity work in public failure narratives. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 47 (2), 398–429. https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587211057027 . Article 10422587211057027.

Seckler, C., Funken, R., & Gielnik, M. (2017). Learning from entrepreneurial failure: Integrating emotional, motivational, and cognitive factors. In J. E. Ellingson & R. A. Noe (Eds.), Autonomous learning in the workplace (pp. 54–77). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315674131-4

Shahid, S., & Kundi, Y. M. (2022). Feel dragged out: A recovery perspective in the relationship between emotional exhaustion and entrepreneurial exit [Article]. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development , 29 (2), 203–220. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-05-2021-0199

Shepherd, D. A. (2003). Learning from business failure: Propositions of grief recovery for the self-employed. Academy of Management Review , 28 (2), 318–328. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2003.9416377

Shepherd, D. A., & Patzelt, H. (2015). Harsh evaluations of entrepreneurs who fail: The role of sexual orientation, use of environmentally friendly technologies, and observers’ perspective taking. Journal of Management Studies , 52 (2), 253–284. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12103

Shepherd, D. A., Wiklund, J., & Haynie, J. M. (2009). Moving forward: Balancing the financial and emotional costs of business failure [Article]. Journal of Business Venturing , 24 (2), 134–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2007.10.002

Shirshitskaia, E., Zhou, X., & Zhang, L. (2021). The impact of learning from failure on new ventures’ sustainable development. Frontiers in Psychology , 12 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.784518 . Original Research.

Shore, A., Pittaway, L., & Bortolotti, T. (2023). From negative emotions to personal growth: Failure and re-entry into Entrepreneurship. British Journal of Management . https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12785

Simmons, S. A., Wiklund, J., & Levie, J. (2014). Stigma and business failure: Implications for entrepreneurs’ career choices. Small Business Economics , 42 (3), 485–505. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-013-9519-3

Simmons, S. A., Wiklund, J., Levie, J., Bradley, S. W., & Sunny, S. A. (2019). Gender gaps and reentry into entrepreneurial ecosystems after business failure [Article]. Small Business Economics , 53 (2), 517–531. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-9998-3

Singh, S., Corner, P. D., & Pavlovich, K. (2015). Failed, not finished: A narrative approach to understanding venture failure stigmatization. Journal of Business Venturing , 30 (1), 150–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2014.07.005

Singh, S., Corner, P., & Pavlovich, K. (2007). Coping with entrepreneurial failure. Journal of Management & Organization , 13 (4), 331–344. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2007.13.4.331

Slade Shantz, A., Zietsma, C., Kistruck, G. M., & Cruz, L. B. (2024). Exploring the relative efficacy of ‘within-logic contrasting’ and ‘cross-logic analogizing’ framing tactics for adopting new entrepreneurial practices in contexts of poverty. Journal of Business Venturing , 39 (1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2023.106341

Smollan, R., & Singh, S. (2024). How social entrepreneurs respond to enterprise failure [Article]. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship , 15 (1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420676.2021.1890189

Souitaris, V., Zerbinati, S., & Al-Laham, A. (2007). Do entrepreneurship programmes raise entrepreneurial intention of science and engineering students? The effect of learning, inspiration and resources. Journal of Business Venturing , 22 (4), 566–591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.05.002

Stroe, S., Sirén, C., Shepherd, D., & Wincent, J. (2020). The dualistic regulatory effect of passion on the relationship between fear of failure and negative affect: Insights from facial expression analysis. Journal of Business Venturing , 35 (4), 105948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2019.105948

Tu, Y., Hao, X., Rosak-Szyrocka, J., Vasa, L., & Zhao, X. (2023). Obsessive passion, opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial performance: The dual moderating effect of the fear of failure [Article]. Frontiers in Psychology , 13 , 1037250. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1037250

Ucbasaran, D., Shepherd, D. A., Lockett, A., & Lyon, S. J. (2013). Life after business failure: The process and consequences of business failure for entrepreneurs. Journal of Management , 39 (1), 163–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312457823

Ucbasaran, D., Westhead, P., & Wright, M. (2009). The extent and nature of opportunity identification by experienced entrepreneurs [Article]. Journal of Business Venturing , 24 (2), 99–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2008.01.008

Ucbasaran, D., Westhead, P., Wright, M., & Flores, M. (2010). The nature of entrepreneurial experience, business failure and comparative optimism [Article]. Journal of Business Venturing , 25 (6), 541–555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.04.001

Vaillant, Y., Mora-Esquivel, R., & Alvarado, M. (2024). The forgetting curve in entrepreneurship: Decaying learning benefits of past entrepreneurial experience. Small Business Economics . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-024-00890-7

Walsh, G. S., & Cunningham, J. A. (2017). Regenerative failure and attribution: Examining the underlying processes affecting entrepreneurial learning. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research , 23 (4), 688–707. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijebr-03-2015-0072

Walsh, G. S., & Cunningham, J. A. (2023). Business failure and entrepreneur experiences of passion. International Small Business Journal-Researching Entrepreneurship . https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426231194482

Walter, S. G., & Block, J. H. (2016). Outcomes of entrepreneurship education: An institutional perspective. Journal of Business Venturing , 31 (2), 216–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2015.10.003

Wang, H., Zheng, C., Wu, W., & Sui, F. (2022). How entrepreneurs’ dual narcissism affects new venture growth: The roles of personal initiative and learning from entrepreneurial failure [Article]. Journal of Organizational Change Management , 35 (7), 1125–1146. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-10-2021-0313

Williams, T. A., Thorgren, S., & Lindh, I. (2020). Rising from failure, staying down, or more of the same? An inductive study of entrepreneurial reentry. Academy of Management Discoveries , 6 (4), 631–662. https://doi.org/10.5465/amd.2018.0047

Yamakawa, Y., & Cardon, M. S. (2015). Causal ascriptions and perceived learning from entrepreneurial failure. Small Business Economics , 44 (4), 797–820. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-014-9623-z

Yamakawa, Y., Peng, M. W., & Deeds, D. L. (2015). Rising from the ashes: Cognitive determinants of venture growth after entrepreneurial failure [Article]. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice , 39 (2), 209–236. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12047

Yang, T., & Aldrich, H. E. (2012). Out of sight but not out of mind: Why failure to account for left truncation biases research on failure rates [Article]. Journal of Business Venturing , 27 (4), 477–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.01.001

Yao, K., Li, X., & Liang, B. (2021). Failure learning and entrepreneurial resilience: The moderating role of firms’ knowledge breadth and knowledge depth [Article]. Journal of Knowledge Management , 25 (9), 2141–2160. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-10-2020-0772

Zhao, H., & Wibowo, A. (2021). Entrepreneurship resilience: Can psychological traits of entrepreneurial intention support overcoming entrepreneurial failure? Frontiers in Psychology , 12 , Article 707803. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.707803

Download references

Acknowledgements

The first author would like to acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No: 72172165) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (Grant No: 2024A1515011283).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Business, Sun Yat-sen University, No.135 Xingang West Road, Guangzhou, 510275, Guangdong, China

Hui Fu, Min Xu, Shaoshuai Zhang, Hui Yang & Yuan Wei

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuan Wei .

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval.

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

We’ve obtained inform consent from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Fu, H., Xu, M., Zhang, S. et al. Unraveling entrepreneurial comebacks: the curvilinear relationship between entrepreneurial failure and reentry intention. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06511-6

Download citation

Accepted : 31 July 2024

Published : 27 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06511-6

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Entrepreneurial failure
• Reentry intention
• Learning from failure
• Entrepreneurial passion
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

The University of Chicago The Law School

Institute for justice clinic on entrepreneurship—significant achievements for 2023-24.

The Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship (IJ Clinic) continued to be a lifeline for small businesses in Chicago in 2023-24 through our meaningful representation of low-income entrepreneurs, advocacy for economic liberty, and outreach to small businesses throughout the city. Particularly in the South and West sides of Chicago, entrepreneurs and small business owners struggle to navigate the changing economic and regulatory landscape. IJ Clinic students and attorneys were able to provide invaluable guidance to clients and lawmakers so that the small businesses that are key to our economic future can survive and even flourish.

IJ Clinic Clients - Underserved Chicago Entrepreneurs

The IJ Clinic is delighted to work with Chicago entrepreneurs looking to transform their companies and communities. In our role as outside general counsel for a select group of client businesses founded by low-income entrepreneurs, we forge long-term relationships and are uniquely situated to gain insights into the business objectives and operations of clients.

In 2023 we bid farewell to a few clients who graduated, and in 2024 welcomed three new clients with student participation in reviewing prospective client applications, interviewing candidates, selecting and onboarding them as clients.

Our clients feature businesses across various industries and neighborhoods.

• a co-op grocery store in the formation stage aiming to provide a comprehensive, sustainable, community-based solution addressing food insecurity in an area designated as a food desert by the USDA on Chicago’s South Side
• a maker of wine and mead using locally produced ingredients in a converted former industrial building near a forest preserve and bike path on the Far South Side of Chicago with a tasting room, patio, and production facility
• a multi-cultural haircare vending business focused on connecting consumers with unique products in places where they otherwise are challenged to find what they need for their personal self-care
• a marketplace of local entrepreneurs with innovative businesses operating and selling from repurposed shipping containers
• a designer sneaker and handbag company founded by a man who learned his craft in a prison workshop and determined to build a company around his talents when he came home
• an urban agriculture business educating students from grade school to high school and the public about growing food in the city with regenerative farming practices
• a solopreneur who manufactures and sells products made from hemp
• a business offering tax preparation services, bookkeeping, business consulting, and insurance sales services
• a vegan Mexican restaurant with unique foods that aims to grow through manufacturing its products
• a Vinyl record store with plans to evolve to offer on-site music experiences with innovative interactive technology and plans to develop neighboring vacant properties to better their neighborhood

IJ Clinic Transactional Projects

The IJ Clinic advises on a wide array of contracts and issues ranging from entity structures, finance, real estate, employment, IP strategy and protection, and customer and vendor facing contracts.

Students benefit from frequent client interactions, leading meetings, scoping out projects and delivering results. In addition to researching legal issues, students develop communication skills including how to deliver creative solutions and sometimes unwelcome news.

By providing free legal services to our clients, we help them transform their companies and communities. Details of our engagement with and representation of our clients are confidential, of course. But here is a sampling of some of the major projects students worked on for clients in the past year:

• Advised on international manufacturing arrangements and drafted contracts with offshore producer.
• Reviewed complex rules for complying with various grants including the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and Chicago Recovery Grant to support clients in successfully complying with grant terms and receiving critical grant funds.
• Guided a restaurant business through exploring different leases for a new location, negotiated the LOI and lease, and advised on options for arranging funds through traditional lenders to fund the expansion.
• Counseled clients on entity formation and restructuring taking into account tax and estate and gift tax implications.
• Researched and provided guidance on the three tier liquor license rules for a restaurant business.
• Applied for and successfully obtained key trademarks for clients, overcoming questions raised by the USPTO about potentially conflicting marks.
• Created master forms of contracts for clients for customers and vendors.
• For multiple start-up clients, reviewed organizational documents and counseled on entity governance compliance, board duties, and elections.
• Recommended best practices on employment and independent contractor arrangements.
• Researched and advised on compliance with various federal regulations including FDA and FTC guidance for product marketing.
• Counseled a client on the decision to terminate a major contract and negotiated a favorable termination.
• Advised a client on compliance with Chicago regulations for retail businesses.
• Analyzed strategy for trademark protection, in view of competitors’ similar marks.
• Drafted an extensive application for the Zoning Board of Appeals, in light of precedent.
• Researched how state cooperative laws, federal and state securities laws, and federal tax laws interact in order to draft a cooperative’s bylaws and policies.

IJ Clinic Client Testimonial

As one of our clients expressed to our student team as they prepared to graduate , ”Before you go ... your impact on our business plans went beyond our expectations. You gave us the power to add new options for important decisions and more confidence once our choices were made. [Our business] quickly became able to move faster with more complex transactions. Great students ask good questions. And we got a lot of the right questions when we needed them to catch our attention.”

IJ Clinic Regulatory and Policy Projects

The IJ Clinic acts as a watchdog, advocating for legislative reform to knock down excessive regulatory and legal barriers that keep entrepreneurs from making their dreams a reality.

• In the academic year 2023-24, students researched, analyzed, strategized, and advocated for policy reforms at both the state and city levels. IJ Clinic students carried out these key regulatory and policy projects:
• Stopped a Chicago zoning ordinance that would have drastically increased cost and uncertainty for owners of shared kitchens (that serve as community-based micro-business incubators); negotiated policy alternatives until ordinance was fully withdrawn by the sponsoring Alderman.
• Proposed amendments and changes to an introduced Chicago ordinance to exempt more small business activities from the public place of amusement license requirements, one of the longest, most bureaucratic and most expensive licensing processes in the city.
• Researched the opaque and costly process for zoning variance applications, identifying the barriers for people who cannot afford to—or do not even know they need to—hire attorneys and expert urban planners.
• Researched the complicated systems deployed by Cook County and Chicago to manage vacant properties in their possession, laying the groundwork for the IJ Clinic’s efforts both to educate entrepreneurs about navigating the system to acquire vacant properties and to recommend steps to make the process simpler and more transparent.

In addition, the IJ Clinic led the continuing efforts to root out inequities in occupational licensing in Illinois. In the previous year, the IJ Clinic drafted and lobbied for two bills that passed in the Illinois General Assembly. Under the moniker CLIMB, standing for Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers, the new laws were designed to present the General Assembly with more information, data, and context about the unintentional or excessive burdens that the State of Illinois places on people starting jobs. Occupational licenses impose strict requirements for individuals who want to enter an occupation, like barbering or make-up artistry, or social work. By their very definition, they exclude people who cannot afford to meet the requirements (and put some people into debt to meet them). And that makes it very difficult for the low-income entrepreneurs we serve to start innovative or traditional businesses and to hire eligible employees. In one CLIMB bill, Public Act 102-1078, we designed a task force to analyze occupational licensing for low- to moderate-income occupations, with a focus on equity. In 2022-2023, we led the effort to set up the task force, collect and analyze relevant data, and present the task force with the information needed to complete their report. One key finding of our analysis of public occupational licensing data revealed that only 1.7% of low- to moderate-income licensees ever faced discipline from state regulators, and sixty-six percent of those disciplinary actions were initiated for state revenue collection, not for scope-of-practice infractions that could impact public health and safety. Our goal is to have a General Assembly that is well informed of the facts about individual people’s challenges, not just the goals of the trade associations and trade schools that benefit from exclusionary, restrictive licensing.

Impactful Community Outreach and Big Stage for South Side Entrepreneurs

The IJ Clinic provides educational seminars and community events aimed at offering entrepreneurs practical advice on starting and growing a business, with a healthy dose of inspiration along the way.

South Side Pitch : The IJ Clinic continues to shine a spotlight on innovation and inspiration from Chicago’s South Side entrepreneurs. South Side Pitch is a competition for businesses that culminates in the finalists facing off before a panel of prominent judges, Shark Tank style. In 2023, we had a live audience of over 105 attendees at the Polsky Center while also presenting a professional live video stream for a group of viewers. Rodney Trussell of R City Kitchen, through his own unique pitch, won three awards: First Place, The Community Favorite Award, and the Rustandy Center Social Impact Award. He went home with $15,500. Second Place went to April Preyar of Justus Junkie, Inc. In this tenth annual event, we reviewed more than 100 applications, exposed hundreds of Chicagoans to the twenty-five semi-finalists who posted video pitches and five finalists whose businesses contribute so much to their South Side neighborhoods. Often, South Side Pitch participants are prospective clients for the IJ Clinic where we can further support their business visions and growth.

Pitch Perfect: An opportunity for Chicagoland businesses to develop and hone the all-important business pitch hosted in the Green Lounge. In June 2024, our first Pitch Perfect of the year was open to any Chicago area business. As one participant noted “... I will incorporate all the knowledge I gleaned from the event last night as I move forward in my business. Also, I will definitely share information about this event to others I feel will equally benefit from this program.” In 2023, we also held Pitch Perfects in August and November with partner organizations like The Urban Juncture Foundation and its Build Bronzeville Small Business Development Center. Overall, nearly sixty participants attended all three Pitch Perfects in 2023.

Workshops: In 2024 the IJ Clinic has already hosted two workshops, one focused on vacant lots advocacy and another on website optimization for businesses. The IJ Clinic collaborated with 2022 South Side Pitch finalist CJ Harris of That’s So Creative, LLC to host the workshop “Make Your Website Work For You!” The IJ Clinic also hosted a roundtable with community leaders and local entrepreneurs who have encountered obstacles to obtaining city-owned vacant lots and who wish to reform the acquisition process. The group plans to reconvene in November or December of 2024 to consider any progress made by the city which has announced initiatives to streamline certain city processes to help make sure vacant lots in disinvested communities are given back to those community members.

Lunch Talks : In April 2024, the IJ Clinic collaborated with two student-led organizations, Impact Initiative and the Law and Business Society, to present two Lunch Talks. These two lunch talks included IJ Clinic clients Connie Anderson and Clifton Muhammad from The Record Track on revitalizing their neighborhood record store and Professors Tom and Amber Ginsburg’s creative and regulatory journey to transform an abandoned synagogue on the South Side into a green community arts center.

Deepening Connections with IJ Clinic Alumni

Generous with their time and openly sharing their experiences, we so appreciate our IJ Clinic alumni.

In January 2024, we held a happy hour for IJ Clinic alumni in New York City to reconnect with Professors Catherine Gryczan and Beth Kregor.

During the school year, IJ Clinic alumni were guest speakers in our seminar meetings. One spoke about her experience as a lawyer and advocate for businesses in the cannabis industry, and a pair of alumni shared their career paths before and into their roles as in-house counsel in a sports team, a financial firm, and a food services business.

Reflections from our IJ Clinic Students

While we are very proud of our achievements for our clients and community, we are also proud of all the aha moments when our students’ skills take a leap forward, when they make new connections between the classroom and the world, when they deliver difficult news, when they identify solutions to clients’ problems in a creative but practical way. Those moments of reflection and discovery are significant achievements too.

Here is how some of our students described the experience:

“I began my 3L year quite worried about whether I would be ready to practice law in just a few short quarters. But during my time at the Clinic, I learned such a wide array of hard and soft skills that I'm ready to enter the legal profession with confidence!”

Programs submenu

Regions submenu, topics submenu, solving the world’s hardest problems with mellody hobson: closing the racial wealth gap, weapons in space: a virtual book talk with dr. aaron bateman, u.s.-australia-japan trilateral cooperation on strategic stability in the taiwan strait report launch.

• Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy
• Aerospace Security Project
• Africa Program
• Americas Program
• Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy
• Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
• Asia Program
• Australia Chair
• Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy
• Brzezinski Institute on Geostrategy
• Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies
• China Power Project
• Chinese Business and Economics
• Defending Democratic Institutions
• Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group
• Defense 360
• Defense Budget Analysis
• Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project
• Economics Program
• Emeritus Chair in Strategy
• Energy Security and Climate Change Program
• Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program
• Freeman Chair in China Studies
• Futures Lab
• Geoeconomic Council of Advisers
• Global Food and Water Security Program
• Global Health Policy Center
• Hess Center for New Frontiers
• Human Rights Initiative
• Humanitarian Agenda
• Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program
• International Security Program
• Japan Chair
• Kissinger Chair
• Korea Chair
• Langone Chair in American Leadership
• Middle East Program
• Missile Defense Project
• Project on Critical Minerals Security
• Project on Fragility and Mobility
• Project on Nuclear Issues
• Project on Prosperity and Development
• Project on Trade and Technology
• Renewing American Innovation
• Scholl Chair in International Business
• Smart Women, Smart Power
• Southeast Asia Program
• Stephenson Ocean Security Project
• Strategic Technologies Program
• Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative
• Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies
• Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program
• All Regions
• Australia, New Zealand & Pacific
• Middle East
• Russia and Eurasia
• American Innovation
• Civic Education
• Climate Change
• Cybersecurity
• Defense Budget and Acquisition
• Defense and Security
• Energy and Sustainability
• Food Security
• Gender and International Security
• Geopolitics
• Global Health
• Human Rights
• Humanitarian Assistance
• Intelligence
• International Development
• Maritime Issues and Oceans
• Missile Defense
• Nuclear Issues
• Transnational Threats
• Water Security

Isabelle Werenfels: North Africa’s Relationship with Europe

Photo: Babel

Transcript — September 3, 2024

Available Downloads

• Download the Transcript 222kb

Jon Alterman: Isabelle Werenfels, welcome to Babel.

Isabelle Werenfels: Thank you very much for having me, Jon.

Jon Alterman: You recently helped write a paper on what were described as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) “southern neighborhoods.” Why should a transatlantic military alliance that's preoccupied with Russia's invasion of Ukraine focus on the Mediterranean?

Isabelle Werenfels: Well, because what NATO is fighting on its eastern flank is also present in its southern flank. I think that is a very important reason. If we look, for instance, at the Sahel, we have a growing Russian presence. We have Russian narratives that are gaining traction in North Africa. We have Wagner, or now Africa Corps, in Libya. It probably came a bit as a shock to the members of the alliance to see how difficult it was to generate solidarity with Ukraine among North African countries in the UN after February 2022.

All these things came together, and then you have Russia drawing on Iranian drones to fight in Ukraine. So, it's very difficult to separate these arenas. Then, of course, you have the southern European allies that are direct neighbors of North Africa, and as Pedro Sanchez said at the NATO Summit Public Forum, our well-being, meaning the Europeans’ or southern Europeans’ well-being, depends on that of our neighbors. All of that came together, and I imagine there was a strong push from the southern European allies to have a look at the southern neighborhoods. 

Jon Alterman: Much of our audience is American. For an American audience, it is a bit complicated to understand what NATO’s role should be, what the EU’s role should be, what a national role should be, and what a multilateral role should be in different venues. In your opinion, what should be the breakdown in NATO's and the EU's approaches to the Mediterranean Basin?

Isabelle Werenfels: There should be a very clear division of labor, as you insinuate. The EU is the actor who is best at all of the questions of development. Development aid, the economic questions, etc. We can discuss whether they are good at that or not, but this is their turf.

When it comes to security, I think NATO has added value. If we just take one example, most North African armies really noticed how well the Ukrainians did initially in February 2022, thanks to NATO training. These countries are very keen on that. It is a way to build ties and bring them closer to the alliance, which is the ultimate goal.

At the same time, it would be naïve to think that these countries will decide between NATO, the alliance, Western countries—whatever we want to call it—and the strategic competitors. However, there are areas where NATO has things to offer that the EU cannot offer. When it comes to heavy lifting, even in domains such as resilience, disaster control, etc., we shouldn't forget that within NATO, we have the United States and, at the same time, there is Turkey. That is also a very important signal to some of the southern partners.

Jon Alterman: Let me ask about the strategic competitors. Of course, Algeria has a long history of relations with Russia and China. Egypt has been deepening its relationships with both Russia and China. As you've watched the Ukraine war unfold, what kinds of attitudes have you seen in North Africa toward solidarity with NATO about Russian moves? To what extent is there a sense that Russia is a useful player, partly for its role in regional affairs and partly for its role pushing back Western European demands for human rights, democratization, and those kinds of things? You've spent a lot of time thinking about Tunisia, and there certainly is a sense that China is a welcome alternative to Western pressure on democratization. How do North African countries think about the prospect of solidarity with NATO countries and Western countries? 

Isabelle Werenfels: There's a huge ambivalence regarding Russia to different degrees. You mentioned Algeria, which has a very long history cooperating with Russia. Since 2022, Algeria has largely, but not completely, aligned with Russia in UN resolutions. However, Algeria saw that its close relations with Russia do not necessarily pay off in its immediate neighborhood, the Sahel.

Algeria had good ties with Mali and decent ties with Niger. Since the coups in those two countries, it has been quite turbulent. Relations with Mali have gone sour, despite the fact that the new military junta in Mali is very close to Russia. Just as its ambassador said at the UN just a few days ago, Algeria does not like having private militaries in neighboring countries, referring to Wagner and Africa Corps. This is one thing which has made them ambivalent.

At the same time, however, there's this sense that Russia, together with China, offers an alternative global order, and that China—more so than Russia—offers a more just, more equitable global order that takes into account what the countries in the Global South need and want. I think that's where the ambivalence is.

Then, we also have differences between governments and populations, and we have differences between different countries. A country like Morocco has aligned much more closely with the Western countries on Ukraine, it has relations with Israel, and it is fiercely anti-Iran. Whereas in Tunisia, we have an interesting situation. We have a military that is rather pro-Western because most of its equipment and corporations are connected to the United States, and that's going very well. They have good NATO ties. We have that, but we have a president who has a totally different discourse, who has traveled to Iran, who is pro-Russian, who's been to China, and who is more or less courting these states, or they're courting him.

Large parts of the political elite are still in a different mode. That's another dimension. All of these countries, not just Tunisia, are strongly dependent on Europe for trade reasons. That is something that we still see. Even if they have diversified—even if Algeria's being courted because of its gas—Europe is a really important partner, and it has pipelines that go to Europe. We cannot forget these dependencies. At the same time, the cooperation paradigm between Europe and North Africa has changed fundamentally in past years. That's what Europe is trying to come to terms with, and so far, hasn’t managed.

Jon Alterman: Let's talk about that. When you and I first met more than 20 years ago, everybody was talking about the Barcelona Process, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. What happened to those ideas that were in the air in the early 2000s? What went right and wrong, and what needs to be done differently going forward?

Isabelle Werenfels: That's a huge question. The framework at the time had different baskets: there was the political track, there was the economic track, and then there was a civil society track. There was already a contradiction between strengthening civil societies and closely cooperating with authoritarian regimes. However, I don’t think that was the essential problem. The problem was that somehow, reforms in those countries didn't really work, or they did not work enough.

The idea was that there should be a ring of prosperity around the Mediterranean. However, the reforms didn't develop in the way that Europeans had hoped, and the relationships just didn't deepen the way Europeans had hoped.

One reason for this was that Europeans were very much in a donor-recipient mode, and they were not ready to make concessions on issues that were very important to those countries. In trade, if you look at tomatoes from Morocco or olive oil from Tunisia, Europeans were not ready to really open their markets. As far as visas were concerned, southern partners were frustrated because Europeans couldn't grant visa freedom or freedom of movement for obvious domestic reasons. The southern partners were disappointed and lacked the will to really engage in the reforms the Europeans wanted, especially democratic reforms. They saw no reason to engage in those prior to 2011 and the so-called Arab Spring.

What has changed in recent years is that the North African countries now want to call the terms of trade. Europe is still struggling to deal with their stronger sovereignty reflexes, growing leverage, and negotiating power. There are lots of reasons for North Africa’s growing leverage, but one of the main reasons is the issue of migration, and the second reason is the export of oil and gas. Phosphate and other minerals also matter, but to a lesser extent.

That has given these countries a lot more negotiating power. There are other factors that have put them in a stronger position: instability in the Sahel, which has made stability in North Africa even more important, and the growing presence of strategic competitors. A country like Morocco has become very aware of the fact that it has important trade corridors between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. That connectivity has become a huge issue. Highways, pipelines, ports, etc. It's being courted by many actors. We see a lot of leverage, and, at the same time, the Europeans are not united on how to deal with these countries. These countries are excellent. They have learned how to play European countries against each other.

Jon Alterman: Let me pick up on two points that you just raised. You said that these North African states have a lot more leverage, and they're using the leverage more effectively. To what extent has the 2011 Arab Spring changed European perceptions and zeal to promote democratization? Is there a sense at all on the European side that maybe it wasn't worth it to invest so much in democratization because it didn't yield much? Or was there some other impact of the 2011 Arab uprisings that reframed the way Europe thinks about what is happening in North Africa?

Isabelle Werenfels: There were a number of things that reframed that. After 2011, there was general euphoria. There was a conviction that democracy was really coming and that we would see linear processes. Disappointment began in 2013 with Egypt. At the same time, European countries were very wary of the growing strength or impact of Islamist parties to different degrees. After the 2013 Sisi coup, the atmosphere had already changed a little bit.

For many European countries, 2015 was another important point because of the so-called migration crisis. After that, democratization was off the agenda. The one and only concern was, "How can we keep migrants out for domestic reasons? If we don't keep them out, we will have right-wing parties getting stronger and right-wing discourse and narratives dominating our domestic politics.”

We had a change and a disillusionment. If you look at a country like Tunisia, enormous funds were invested from the European perspective. Then, there was stagnation and a sense that many important reforms didn't take place—not just politically, but also economically. Then from 2021, we had a new president becoming increasingly authoritarian. So, there is almost total disillusionment.

Additionally, the terrorist attacks that happened after 2011 and the jihadism coming from North Africa and the Islamic State in the Middle East played a role in Europe, albeit to a lesser extent than migration. There was an amalgamation of the entire region, and it came across to many Europeans as a threat. Right-wing politicians played on that, and that changed the whole cooperation paradigm from the European side. While on the other side, there was growing self-confidence, leverage, and negotiating power.

Jon Alterman: As you mentioned, Europe is not a single body. There are different countries with a whole set of different perspectives. Are there different blocs in Europe? Are there groups of countries that think about things in different ways? How would you disaggregate them to understand where Europe is coming from?

Isabelle Werenfels: Regarding democratization, you have always had a Northern European bloc and a Southern European bloc. In Northern Europe, democracy, human rights, etc., were very dominant in the discourse and maybe a little less dominant in the policies.

Countries such as Spain, France, and Italy were always very pragmatic when it came to democracy. These states were their direct neighbors. They wanted to cooperate with them. They have close trade relations. In those countries, human rights, democracy, governance discourses played a smaller role. So, we have these blocs regarding democracy.

Then, interestingly, you had Eastern Europe with increasingly authoritarian tendencies or currents. If you look at the Hungarian president or at a certain time in Poland, there were sympathies for authoritarian leaders.

Then, you have uniting issues such as migration. Egypt is a country where most European states will have the same policy. All over Europe, you hear that Egypt is too big to fail. Egypt is geopolitically crucial because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Regarding Egypt, there's no disagreement. When we move toward the Maghreb, however, we really have huge disagreements. If we look at Libya during the times of huge violence when General Haftar, the Russian-backed general who commands Eastern Libya, was moving to Western Libya, France supported him while other Europeans were very much aligned with the UN-backed government in the capital in Western Libya. You have these dynamics, and really almost hostilities. Italy had a different position from France. Germany was very much trying to mediate. It's very easy to create divisions among European countries when it comes to North Africa.

Jon Alterman: Let me take you back to Libya. During the Libyan Civil War, the Obama administration talked about “leading from behind.” Has the way that European countries and the United States engaged in Libya changed the way that that they're likely to engage in security issues in North Africa? How does Libya shape how the United States and European countries think about bilateral versus multilateral engagement in regional security issues?

Isabelle Werenfels: It has certainly lowered the appetite for intervention. That is absolutely clear, because the outcome was not what any of the countries engaged in Libya in 2011 were wishing for. Libya has shown how difficult it is to multilaterally engage in the security domain with a country that is so divided, because you will always have different positions of individual actors. Again, you have the direct neighbors such as Italy and to a certain extent France. You have others that are further away and then take on different positions in Europe.

Libya has also shown the Europeans that if you have a power vacuum, you will have strategic competitors moving in there. And this is what has happened with Russia. On the question of whether Europeans are still enthusiastic for democratization, I think anything that could imply destabilization is something Europeans are extremely wary of. Of course, Libya plays a role in this. Countries like Algeria are profiting from this, because they are increasingly considered an anchor of stability. So, regimes in those countries are being supported. Morocco is, in a way, the big winner in the region. Also, Egypt has profited enormously from the instability in the larger neighborhood.

Jon Alterman: There's a long, European history of colonial ties to the Mediterranean Basin. France played a dominant role. The UK also played a role. There was the Italian colonial presence in Libya. How does that legacy shape the way Europe continues to engage with the Mediterranean Basin, and the way the Mediterranean Basin continues to engage with Europe? Do you sense that even the non-colonial powers in Europe think about the Levant, which was largely British, differently than it thinks about the Maghreb, which was largely French?

Isabelle Werenfels: The colonial legacies are interestingly becoming much more of a burden these days than they were 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years ago. France senses this very much. After 2011, when France supported the dictator in Tunisia to the last minute, France became unpopular in Tunisia and among the Tunisian class. In Algeria, it was always very ambivalent. Also, Morocco has begun to move away from France. These colonial legacies play out a lot in hostilities or in very strong post-colonial discourses these days, discourses of neo-colonialism, and what I said before regarding sovereignty reflexes.

From the European side, it has become much more difficult to present advice, even if Europeans do not consider them to be patronizing suggestions, because they will be considered patronizing or neo-colonial from the other side. Everything related to political systems in these countries is rejected as being neo-colonial. It doesn't matter which country it comes from. France is in the most difficult position. Italy is in a difficult position to a certain extent in Libya. At the same time, one cannot deny the extremely close ties in the social fabric and the language. It is where young people from the Maghreb want to go and study. Libyans like to go to Italy. All the Francophone Maghrebis basically want to go to France. It's changing a little bit. It's very complex, very troubled, and I would argue it's getting more difficult. There is also a possibility for actors such as China to come in with new discourses of global order that claim to offer a different order that is based on justice, doesn't have the colonial baggage, etc.

Jon Alterman: What do you think that means for U.S. and European cooperation in the Middle East? Is the United States seen as part of that hegemonic project that's disadvantaged and gets lumped in with Europe? Are there ways the United States can untie the colonial legacy because of the long American history of anti-colonialism? How should it play out from a U.S. and European government perspective?

Isabelle Werenfels: The United States has a big advantage theoretically. At the moment, it doesn't have a big advantage practically because of the war in Gaza. That is changing the way North Africans are looking at the United States. However, if we move back to before 7th October, in a country like Tunisia, the United States was able to criticize more than many of the European countries without causing a public outcry. With Morocco, we know that ties are very good and getting closer all the time. This has to do with normalization with Israel and the so-called Trump deal, which has been upheld by the Biden administration. It's very difficult to say where it's going now with anti-U.S. sentiment.

Then, we have another thing. Maghrebis are quite divided over which administration they wish to see. The Moroccans and Egypt would have the smallest problem with a Trump administration. Others would have more difficulties with it. Morocco has been close and has profited from the Trump administration. Trump made very positive remarks about Sisi. He will remember that. We will see different reactions to different U.S. administrations. If we discount the current situation, the United States can approach these countries in a different way, because it does not have the colonial legacy.

Jon Alterman: Isabelle Werenfels, thank you very much for joining us on Babel.

Isabelle Werenfels: Thank you very much for having me.

 (END.)

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Article Menu

• Subscribe SciFeed
• Recommended Articles
• Google Scholar
• on Google Scholar
• Table of Contents

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

JSmol Viewer

How environmental policy perception and social media use impact pro-environmental behavior: a moderated mediation model based on the theory of planned behavior, 1. introduction, 2. theoretical framework and hypotheses, 2.1. apply tpb to peb, 2.2. environmental policy of the government, 2.3. the mediating role of smu, 3. data and methods, 3.1. measurement, 3.2. data collection and samples, 3.3. common method bias test, 4. data analysis and results, 4.1. measurement model analysis, 4.2. alternative model test, 4.3. structural model and hypothesis testing, 4.3.1. result of direct paths, 4.3.2. result of indirect paths, 4.3.3. result of the moderating role of demographic factors, 5. discussion, 6. conclusions, supplementary materials, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

• Jans, L. Changing Environmental Behaviour from the Bottom up: The Formation of pro-Environmental Social Identities. J. Environ. Psychol. 2021 , 73 , 101531. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Huang, C.-H.; Chang, T.-W.; Ting, C.-W.; Huang, S.Y.B. How Does Organizational Leadership Promote Pro-Environmental Behavior? A Moderated Mediation Model of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility Policies. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 4716. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ma, Y.; Liu, C. Configuration Analysis of Influencing Factors of Energy-Saving Behaviors: From the Perspective of Consumers’ pro-Environmental Characteristics and Environmentally Friendly Social Atmosphere. Energy 2023 , 278 , 127906. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ballew, M.T.; Omoto, A.M.; Winter, P.L. Using Web 2.0 and Social Media Technologies to Foster Proenvironmental Action. Sustainability 2015 , 7 , 10620–10648. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Xu, J.; Han, R. The Influence of Place Attachment on Pro-Environmental Behaviors: The Moderating Effect of Social Media. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019 , 16 , 5100. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Atshan, S.; Bixler, R.P.; Rai, V.; Springer, D.W. Pathways to Urban Sustainability through Individual Behaviors: The Role of Social Capital. Environ. Sci. Policy 2020 , 112 , 330–339. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Tong, Q.; Zheng, Y.; Zhang, J. Does Social Media Use Enhance Low-Carbon Behavioral Intentions? Evidence from Chinese College Students. J. Environ. Plan. Manag. 2024 , 1–20. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wells, N.M.; Lekies, K.S. Nature and the Life Course: Pathways from Childhood Nature Experiences to Adult Environmentalism. Child. Youth Environ. 2006 , 16 , 1–24. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Attiq, S.; Danish Habib, M.; Kaur, P.; Junaid Shahid Hasni, M.; Dhir, A. Drivers of Food Waste Reduction Behaviour in the Household Context. Food Qual. Prefer. 2021 , 94 , 104300. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Griskevicius, V.; Tybur, J.M.; Van den Bergh, B. Going Green to Be Seen: Status, Reputation, and Conspicuous Conservation. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 2010 , 98 , 392. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Matthies, E.; Selge, S.; Klöckner, C.A. The Role of Parental Behaviour for the Development of Behaviour Specific Environmental Norms–The Example of Recycling and Re-Use Behaviour. J. Environ. Psychol. 2012 , 32 , 277–284. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chen, J.; Huang, J.; Huang, X.; Sun, S.; Hao, Y.; Wu, H. How Does New Environmental Law Affect Public Environmental Protection Activities in China? Evidence from Structural Equation Model Analysis on Legal Cognition. Sci. Total Environ. 2020 , 714 , 136558. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Liu, D.; Du, H.; Southworth, F.; Ma, S. The Influence of Social-Psychological Factors on the Intention to Choose Low-Carbon Travel Modes in Tianjin, China. Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 2017 , 105 , 42–53. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Huang, F.; Chen, Q.; Ma, W.; Evans, R. Promoting Public Engagement with Household Waste Separation through Government Social Media: A Case Study of Shanghai. J. Environ. Manag. 2022 , 320 , 115825. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Wan, C.; Shen, G.Q.; Yu, A. The Moderating Effect of Perceived Policy Effectiveness on Recycling Intention. J. Environ. Psychol. 2014 , 37 , 55–60. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Fu, L.; Sun, Z.; Zha, L.; Liu, F.; He, L.; Sun, X.; Jing, X. Environmental Awareness and Pro-Environmental Behavior within China’s Road Freight Transportation Industry: Moderating Role of Perceived Policy Effectiveness. J. Clean. Prod. 2020 , 252 , 119796. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wang, H.; Mangmeechai, A. Understanding the Gap between Environmental Intention and Pro-Environmental Behavior towards the Waste Sorting and Management Policy of China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021 , 18 , 757. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Okumah, M.; Martin-Ortega, J.; Novo, P.; J. Chapman, P. Revisiting the Determinants of Pro-Environmental Behaviour to Inform Land Management Policy: A Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Model Application. Land 2020 , 9 , 135. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Aral, S.; Dellarocas, C.; Godes, D. Introduction to the Special Issue—Social Media and Business Transformation: A Framework for Research. Inf. Syst. Res. 2013 , 24 , 3–13. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, B.; Hu, X.; Gu, M. Promote Pro-Environmental Behaviour through Social Media: An Empirical Study Based on Ant Forest. Environ. Sci. Policy 2022 , 137 , 216–227. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Allison, C.; Winkler, A.; Childs, A.-R.; Muller, C.; Potts, W. Can Social Media Platforms Be Used to Foster Improved Environmental Behaviour in Recreational Fisheries? Fish. Res. 2023 , 258 , 106544. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Hynes, N.; Wilson, J. I Do It, but Don’t Tell Anyone! Personal Values, Personal and Social Norms: Can Social Media Play a Role in Changing pro-Environmental Behaviours? Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 2016 , 111 , 349–359. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Shen, J.; Liang, H.; Zafar, A.U.; Shahzad, M.; Akram, U.; Ashfaq, M. Influence by Osmosis: Social Media Green Communities and pro-Environmental Behavior. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2023 , 143 , 107706. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Stren, P. Toward a Coherent Theory of Environmentally Significant Behaviour. J. Soc. Issues 2000 , 56 , 407–424. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Steg, L.; Bolderdijk, J.W.; Keizer, K.; Perlaviciute, G. An Integrated Framework for Encouraging Pro-Environmental Behaviour: The Role of Values, Situational Factors and Goals. J. Environ. Psychol. 2014 , 38 , 104–115. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lu, H.; Zhang, W.; Diao, B.; Liu, Y.; Chen, H.; Long, R.; Cai, S. The Progress and Trend of Pro-Environmental Behavior Research: A Bibliometrics-Based Visualization Analysis. Curr. Psychol. 2023 , 42 , 1–21. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Gkargkavouzi, A.; Halkos, G.; Matsiori, S. Environmental Behavior in a Private-Sphere Context: Integrating Theories of Planned Behavior and Value Belief Norm, Self-Identity and Habit. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2019 , 148 , 145–156. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sopha, B.M.; Christian, A.K.; Bjørnstad, E.; Matthies, E. Literature Research on Energy Behaviour: Behavioural Models, Determinants, Indicators, Barriers and Interventions. In Report in the Enova Project “Indicators of Determinants of Household Energy Behaviours ; Enova: Trondheim, Norway, 2011. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ajzen, I. The Theory of Planned Behaviour: Reactions and Reflections. Psychol. Health 2011 , 26 , 1113–1127. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ajzen, I. The Theory of Planned Behavior. Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 1991 , 50 , 179–211. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Han, H.; Hsu, L.-T.J.; Sheu, C. Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Green Hotel Choice: Testing the Effect of Environmental Friendly Activities. Tour. Manag. 2010 , 31 , 325–334. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Klöckner, C.A. A Comprehensive Model of the Psychology of Environmental Behaviour—A Meta-Analysis. Glob. Environ. Change 2013 , 23 , 1028–1038. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Li, D.; Zhao, L.; Ma, S.; Shao, S.; Zhang, L. What Influences an Individual’s pro-Environmental Behavior? A Literature Review. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2019 , 146 , 28–34. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wang, J.; Ritchie, B.W. Understanding Accommodation Managers’ Crisis Planning Intention: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Tour. Manag. 2012 , 33 , 1057–1067. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ateş, H. Merging Theory of Planned Behavior and Value Identity Personal Norm Model to Explain Pro-Environmental Behaviors. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 2020 , 24 , 169–180. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Leonard, M.; Graham, S.; Bonacum, D. The Human Factor: The Critical Importance of Effective Teamwork and Communication in Providing Safe Care. BMJ Qual. Saf. 2004 , 13 , i85–i90. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Bamberg, S. How Does Environmental Concern Influence Specific Environmentally Related Behaviors? A New Answer to an Old Question. J. Environ. Psychol. 2003 , 23 , 21–32. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yadav, R.; Pathak, G.S. Young Consumers’ Intention towards Buying Green Products in a Developing Nation: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior. J. Clean. Prod. 2016 , 135 , 732–739. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Paul, J.; Modi, A.; Patel, J. Predicting Green Product Consumption Using Theory of Planned Behavior and Reasoned Action. J. Retail. Consum. Serv. 2016 , 29 , 123–134. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Choi, D.; Johnson, K.K. Influences of Environmental and Hedonic Motivations on Intention to Purchase Green Products: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 2019 , 18 , 145–155. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhou, Y.; Thøgersen, J.; Ruan, Y.; Huang, G. The Moderating Role of Human Values in Planned Behavior: The Case of Chinese Consumers’ Intention to Buy Organic Food. J. Consum. Mark. 2013 , 30 , 335–344. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ajzen, I. Perceived Behavioral Control, Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control, and the Theory of Planned Behavior 1. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 2002 , 32 , 665–683. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yuen, K.F.; Huyen, D.T.K.; Wang, X.; Qi, G. Factors Influencing the Adoption of Shared Autonomous Vehicles. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020 , 17 , 4868. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chen, M.-F.; Tung, P.-J. Developing an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model to Predict Consumers’ Intention to Visit Green Hotels. Int. J. Hosp. Manag. 2014 , 36 , 221–230. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Barbarossa, C.; Pastore, A. Why Environmentally Conscious Consumers Do Not Purchase Green Products: A Cognitive Mapping Approach. Qual. Mark. Res. Int. J. 2015 , 18 , 188–209. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Jordan, A.; Wurzel, R.K.; Zito, A.R. ’New’instruments of Environmental Governance: Patterns and Pathways of Change. Environ. Polit. 2003 , 12 , 1–24. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, T.; Yao, H. The Improvement on the Implementation Level of Environmental Policies Is Demanded in China. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2018 , 25 , 36035–36038. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Chen, C.; Xu, X.; Frey, S. Who Wants Solar Water Heaters and Alternative Fuel Vehicles? Assessing Social–Psychological Predictors of Adoption Intention and Policy Support in China. Energy Res. Soc. Sci. 2016 , 15 , 1–11. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wan, C.; Shen, G.Q. Perceived Policy Effectiveness and Recycling Behaviour: The Missing Link. Waste Manag. 2013 , 33 , 783–784. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Wan, C.; Shen, G.Q.; Yu, A. The Role of Perceived Effectiveness of Policy Measures in Predicting Recycling Behaviour in Hong Kong. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2014 , 83 , 141–151. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sharpe, E.J.; Perlaviciute, G.; Steg, L. Pro-Environmental Behaviour and Support for Environmental Policy as Expressions of pro-Environmental Motivation. J. Environ. Psychol. 2021 , 76 , 101650. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Borek, E.; Bohon, S.A. Policy Climates and Reductions in Automobile Use. Soc. Sci. Q. 2008 , 89 , 1293–1311. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Steg, L.; Vlek, C. Encouraging Pro-Environmental Behaviour: An Integrative Review and Research Agenda. J. Environ. Psychol. 2009 , 29 , 309–317. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Olli, E.; Grendstad, G.; Wollebaek, D. Correlates of Environmental Behaviors: Bringing Back Social Context. Environ. Behav. 2001 , 33 , 181–208. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Scott, W.R. The Adolescence of Institutional Theory. Adm. Sci. Q. 1987 , 32 , 493–511. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ertz, M.; Huang, R.; Jo, M.-S.; Karakas, F.; Sarigöllü, E. From Single-Use to Multi-Use: Study of Consumers’ Behavior toward Consumption of Reusable Containers. J. Environ. Manag. 2017 , 193 , 334–344. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Nasri, W.; Charfeddine, L. Factors Affecting the Adoption of Internet Banking in Tunisia: An Integration Theory of Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior. J. High Technol. Manag. Res. 2012 , 23 , 1–14. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Jiang, P.; Van Fan, Y.; Klemeš, J.J. Data Analytics of Social Media Publicity to Enhance Household Waste Management. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2021 , 164 , 105146. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Bruns, A.; Highfield, T.; Lind, R.A. Blogs, Twitter, and Breaking News: The Produsage of Citizen Journalism. Prod. Theory A Digit. World Intersect. Audiences Prod. Contemp. Theory 2012 , 80 , 15–32. [ Google Scholar ]
• Kalogeropoulos, A.; Negredo, S.; Picone, I.; Nielsen, R.K. Who Shares and Comments on News?: A Cross-National Comparative Analysis of Online and Social Media Participation. Soc. Media+ Soc. 2017 , 3 , 2056305117735754. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ho, S.S.; Yang, X. Communication, Cognitive Processing, and Public Knowledge about Climate Change. Asian J. Commun. 2018 , 28 , 449–467. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lee, J.; Cho, M. The Effects of Consumers’ Media Exposure, Attention, and Credibility on pro-Environmental Behaviors. J. Promot. Manag. 2020 , 26 , 434–455. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• McClain, C.R. Likes, Comments, and Shares of Marine Organism Imagery on Facebook. PeerJ 2019 , 7 , e6795. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Wu, Y.; Xie, L.; Huang, S.-L.; Li, P.; Yuan, Z.; Liu, W. Using Social Media to Strengthen Public Awareness of Wildlife Conservation. Ocean Coast. Manag. 2018 , 153 , 76–83. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Shah, Z.; Wei, L.; Ghani, U. The Use of Social Networking Sites and Pro-Environmental Behaviors: A Mediation and Moderation Model. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021 , 18 , 1805. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Yang, X.; Chen, L.; Ho, S.S. Does Media Exposure Relate to the Illusion of Knowing in the Public Understanding of Climate Change? Public Underst. Sci. 2020 , 29 , 94–111. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zafar, A.U.; Qiu, J.; Shahzad, M. Do Digital Celebrities’ Relationships and Social Climate Matter? Impulse Buying in f-Commerce. Internet Res. 2020 , 30 , 1731–1762. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Park, S.; Jung, J. The Interplay between Social Media Virality Metrics and Message Framing in Influence Perception of Pro-Environmental Messages and Behavioral Intentions. Telemat. Inform. 2023 , 78 , 101947. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Jiménez-Castillo, D.; Ortega-Egea, J.M. Too Positive to Change? Examining Optimism Bias as a Barrier to Media Effects on Environmental Activism. J. Environ. Psychol. 2015 , 43 , 216–225. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Stavrositu, C.D.; Kim, J. Social Media Metrics: Third-Person Perceptions of Health Information. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2014 , 35 , 61–67. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Trivedi, R.H.; Patel, J.D.; Acharya, N. Causality Analysis of Media Influence on Environmental Attitude, Intention and Behaviors Leading to Green Purchasing. J. Clean. Prod. 2018 , 196 , 11–22. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Awan, T.M.; Zhang, X.; Zhou, Y.; Zhou, Z. Does Media Usage Affect Pro-Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors? Evidence from China. Int. Rev. Econ. Financ. 2022 , 82 , 307–317. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chan, K. Mass Communication and Pro-Environmental Behaviour: Waste Recycling in Hong Kong. J. Environ. Manag. 1998 , 52 , 317–325. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chu, S.-C.; Kim, Y. Determinants of Consumer Engagement in Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) in Social Networking Sites. Int. J. Advert. 2011 , 30 , 47–75. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Brailovskaia, J.; Schillack, H.; Margraf, J. Tell Me Why Are You Using Social Media (SM)! Relationship between Reasons for Use of SM, SM Flow, Daily Stress, Depression, Anxiety, and Addictive SM Use–An Exploratory Investigation of Young Adults in Germany. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2020 , 113 , 106511. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Westerman, D.; Spence, P.R.; Van Der Heide, B. Social Media as Information Source: Recency of Updates and Credibility of Information. J. Comput.-Mediat. Commun. 2014 , 19 , 171–183. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Shahin, S.; Saldaña, M.; Gil de Zuniga, H. Peripheral Elaboration Model: The Impact of Incidental News Exposure on Political Participation. J. Inf. Technol. Politics 2021 , 18 , 148–163. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Eveland, W.P., Jr. The Cognitive Mediation Model of Learning from the News: Evidence from Nonelection, off-Year Election, and Presidential Election Contexts. Commun. Res. 2001 , 28 , 571–601. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Heiss, R.; Matthes, J. Funny Cats and Politics: Do Humorous Context Posts Impede or Foster the Elaboration of News Posts on Social Media? Commun. Res. 2021 , 48 , 100–124. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Han, W.; McCabe, S.; Wang, Y.; Chong, A.Y.L. Evaluating User-Generated Content in Social Media: An Effective Approach to Encourage Greater pro-Environmental Behavior in Tourism? J. Sustain. Tour. 2018 , 26 , 600–614. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Li, H.; Sakamoto, Y. Social Impacts in Social Media: An Examination of Perceived Truthfulness and Sharing of Information. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2014 , 41 , 278–287. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Guo, F.; Zhou, A.; Zhang, X.; Xu, X.; Liu, X. Fighting Rumors to Fight COVID-19: Investigating Rumor Belief and Sharing on Social Media during the Pandemic. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2023 , 139 , 107521. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Chung, M. Not Just Numbers: The Role of Social Media Metrics in Online News Evaluations. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2017 , 75 , 949–957. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Rimé, B. Emotion Elicits the Social Sharing of Emotion: Theory and Empirical Review. Emot. Rev. 2009 , 1 , 60–85. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Gong, X.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, H.; Cheng, M.; Wang, F.; Yu, N. Internet Use Encourages Pro-Environmental Behavior: Evidence from China. J. Clean. Prod. 2020 , 256 , 120725. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Leftheriotis, I.; Giannakos, M.N. Using Social Media for Work: Losing Your Time or Improving Your Work? Comput. Hum. Behav. 2014 , 31 , 134–142. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Fleming, C.M.; Bowden, M. Web-Based Surveys as an Alternative to Traditional Mail Methods. J. Environ. Manag. 2009 , 90 , 284–292. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Podsakoff, N. Common Method Biases in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies. J. Appl. Psychol. 2003 , 885 , 10–1037. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Harman, H.H. Modern Factor Analysis ; University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, USA, 1976. [ Google Scholar ]
• Anderson, J.C.; Gerbing, D.W. Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: A Review and Recommended Two-Step Approach. Psychol. Bull. 1988 , 103 , 411. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Hair, J.F.; Black, W.C.; Babin, B.J.; Anderson, R.E. Multivariate Data Analysis , 7th ed.; Pearson: London, UK, 2009; ISBN 978-0-13-813263-7. [ Google Scholar ]
• Fornell, C.; Larcker, D.F. Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error: Algebra and Statistics ; Sage Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1981. [ Google Scholar ]
• Iacobucci, D.; Saldanha, N.; Deng, X. A Meditation on Mediation: Evidence That Structural Equations Models Perform Better than Regressions. J. Consum. Psychol. 2007 , 17 , 139–153. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Baron, R.M.; Kenny, D.A. The Moderator–Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 1986 , 51 , 1173. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Hayes, A.F. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis, First Edition: A Regression-Based Approach ; The Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA, 2013; ISBN 978-1-60918-230-4. [ Google Scholar ]
• Karimi, S.; Liobikienė, G.; Saadi, H.; Sepahvand, F. The Influence of Media Usage on Iranian Students’ pro-Environmental Behaviors: An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior. Sustainability 2021 , 13 , 8299. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lichtenthaler, U.; Ernst, H. Attitudes to Externally Organising Knowledge Management Tasks: A Review, Reconsideration and Extension of the NIH Syndrome. R & D Manag. 2006 , 36 , 367–386. [ Google Scholar ]
• Li, W.; Jin, Z.; Liu, X.; Li, G.; Wang, L. The Impact of Mandatory Policies on Residents’ Willingness to Separate Household Waste: A Moderated Mediation Model. J. Environ. Manag. 2020 , 275 , 111226. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Zhang, S.; Zhang, M.; Yu, X.; Ren, H. What Keeps Chinese from Recycling: Accessibility of Recycling Facilities and the Behavior. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2016 , 109 , 176–186. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yin, Z.; Ma, J.; Liu, Y.; He, J.; Guo, Z. New Pathway Exploring the Effectiveness of Waste Recycling Policy: A Quasi-Experiment on the Effects of Perceived Policy Effectiveness. J. Clean. Prod. 2022 , 363 , 132569. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Singh, T.; De Grave, W.; Ganjiwale, J.; Muijtjens, A.; van der Vleuten, C. Paying Attention to Intention to Transfer in Faculty Development Using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Am. J. Educ. Res. 2014 , 2 , 361–365. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Huang, H.; Long, R.; Chen, H.; Sun, K.; Sun, Q.; Li, Q. Examining Public Attitudes and Perceptions of Waste Sorting in China through an Urban Heterogeneity Lens: A Social Media Analysis. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2023 , 199 , 107233. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ojeda, C.; Bernardi, L.; Landwehr, C. Depression and the Gender Gap in Political Interest. Elect. Stud. 2023 , 82 , 102598. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Brailovskaia, J.; Ozimek, P.; Rohmann, E.; Bierhoff, H.-W. Vulnerable Narcissism, Fear of Missing out (FoMO) and Addictive Social Media Use: A Gender Comparison from Germany. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2023 , 144 , 107725. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhao, Z.; Gong, Y.; Li, Y.; Zhang, L.; Sun, Y. Gender-Related Beliefs, Norms, and the Link with Green Consumption. Front. Psychol. 2021 , 12 , 710239. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Alzahrani, L.; Al-Karaghouli, W.; Weerakkody, V. Investigating the Impact of Citizens’ Trust toward the Successful Adoption of e-Government: A Multigroup Analysis of Gender, Age, and Internet Experience. Inf. Syst. Manag. 2018 , 35 , 124–146. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wang, Y.; Hao, F.; Liu, Y. Pro-Environmental Behavior in an Aging World: Evidence from 31 Countries. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021 , 18 , 1748. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]

Click here to enlarge figure

Share and Cite

Liu, M.; Shi, Z.; Zhang, Z. How Environmental Policy Perception and Social Media Use Impact Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 7587. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177587

Liu M, Shi Z, Zhang Z. How Environmental Policy Perception and Social Media Use Impact Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Sustainability . 2024; 16(17):7587. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177587

Liu, Meng, Ze Shi, and Zaisheng Zhang. 2024. "How Environmental Policy Perception and Social Media Use Impact Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior" Sustainability 16, no. 17: 7587. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177587

Article Metrics

Article access statistics, supplementary material.

ZIP-Document (ZIP, 90 KiB)

Further Information

Mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals