Search Results (74)

The healthy evolution of an entrepreneurial ecosystem relies on the symbiotic relationships among its diverse internal actors. This study addresses a gap in entrepreneurial ecosystem research, which has predominantly focused on two-agent models, by constructing a tripartite symbiotic evolution model that incorporates entrepreneurial ventures, incubation chains, and customers. Based on the Logistic and Lotka-Volterra models, the research identifies the system’s equilibrium points and their stability conditions. Simulations reveal evolutionary paths from parasitism and commensalism to mutualism. A comparative case study of SenseTime (Shanghai, China) and Lanma Technology (Shanghai, China) validates these findings. The comparison shows that an influx of multiple agents, coupled with the core venture’s ability to strengthen key symbiotic coefficients, drives the ecosystem towards a dynamic multi-agent symbiosis in the post-optimization phase. Conversely, the failure to establish these robust reciprocal value flows leads to ecosystem fragility. The results indicate that: (1) Multi-agent entrepreneurial ecosystems are complex systems where symbiotic units form adaptive relationships for value creation, adhering to market laws. (2) The system’s equilibrium depends on symbiotic coefficients, leading to four modes—independent coexistence, parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism—with mutualism being the optimal state. (3) The contrasting cases further demonstrate that the evolution towards mutualism is not automatic but hinges on the core venture’s strategic agency in constructing and strengthening synergistic pathways with forward and backward linkages. This study provides a theoretical model for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of entrepreneurial ecosystems and offers practical insights for optimizing ecosystem governance. Full article

Problem: Entrepreneurship education continues to expand, yet it remains fragmented across disciplines and loosely connected to the knowledge, innovation, and venture ecosystems that shape entrepreneurial success. At the same time, AI is transforming research, collaboration, and venture development, but its use in education is typically limited to narrow, task-specific applications rather than ecosystem-level integration. Objective: This paper seeks to develop a comprehensive conceptual model for integrating AI into entrepreneurship education by positioning AI as a connective infrastructure that links and activates the knowledge, innovation, and venture ecosystems. Methods: The model is derived through an integrative synthesis of literature, programs, and activities on entrepreneurship education, ecosystem-based learning, and AI-enabled research and innovation practices, combined with an analysis of gaps in current educational approaches. Key Findings: The proposed model defines a progressive learning pathway consisting of (1) AI competency training that builds foundational capacities in critical judgment, responsible application, and creative adaptation; (2) AI praxis labs that use AI-curated ecosystem data to support iterative, project-based learning; and (3) venture studios where students scale outputs into innovations and ventures through structured ecosystem engagement. This pathway demonstrates how AI can function as a structural mediator of problem definition, research design, experimentation, analysis, and narrative translation. Contributions: This paper reframes entrepreneurship education as an iterative, inclusive, and ecosystem-connected process enabled by AI infrastructure. It offers a new theoretical lens for understanding AI’s educational role and provides actionable implications for curriculum design, institutional readiness, and policy development while identifying avenues for future research on competency development and ecosystem impacts. Full article

This study investigates the configurational pathways enabling women in Oman to translate entrepreneurial intentions into technology venture creation. By integrating institutional theory and resource-based view, we develop a novel framework examining how formal institutional support (FIS), informal institutional support (IIS), and digital self-efficacy (DSE) interact in Oman’s conservative context. We emphasize the significant enabling role of work–life balance resources (WLBR) and the cultural legitimacy of spousal endorsement. Our mixed-methods design utilizes survey data from 418 female IT graduates and 20 semi-structured interviews, analyzed through fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The findings indicate that FIS predicts entrepreneurial intention (β = 0.34, p < 0.001) but not venture creation (OR = 0.85, p = 0.298), revealing a visibility gap in policy implementation. IIS predicts venture creation (OR = 1.43, p = 0.033), with spousal endorsement acting as a cultural legitimacy signal. DSE alone fails to predict venture creation but is vital when combined with WLBR. FsQCA identifies a sufficient configuration pathway characterized by the combination of spousal endorsement, domestic support, DSE, and WLBR with solution consistency of 0.93 and coverage of 0.78. WLBR is a necessary condition with necessity consistency of 0.96, demonstrating that venture creation is improbable without it. Qualitative evidence shows founders reposition conservative norms as legitimacy signals, while non-founders emphasize funding barriers despite policy awareness. We recommend that policymakers subsidize care infrastructure, leverage women-led community networks for targeted outreach, and formalize state-backed legitimacy programs that reduce kinship dependency while building autonomy-focused alternatives. Full article

This paper advances a unified theoretical framework that synthesises Shane and Eckhardt’s individual–opportunity nexus, Ramoglou and Tsang’s opportunities-as-propensities perspective, and Davidsson’s tripartite model of new venture ideas, external enablers, and opportunity confidence. Building on these foundations, the paper develops an entrepreneurial entanglement model that explains how opportunities emerge as probabilistic propensities within dynamic configurations of agents, artefacts, distributed agencies, and spatiotemporal conditions. The model clarifies how material artefacts, socio-cognitive processes, and environmental shifts jointly shape the emergence, visibility, and realisation of entrepreneurial possibilities. By situating opportunity formation within an entangled field—rather than within isolated acts of discovery or creation—the framework deepens understanding of how entrepreneurial actions give rise to potentialities and how these potentialities become actualised under conditions of uncertainty. The analysis contributes to both theory and practice by offering a relational, mechanism-based account of how entrepreneurial behaviour and environmental factors intersect to structure the formation and realisation of opportunities. Full article

Engineering education must prepare graduates to transform technological knowledge into sustainable innovation. Technopreneurship represents a combination of technology and entrepreneurship that focuses on creating and growing businesses based on technological innovation. It involves identifying opportunities from technological advances, developing innovative tech-based products or services, and establishing viable business models to commercialize them. However, technopreneurship education in engineering programs often remains fragmented and poorly connected to real innovation ecosystems. This review synthesizes recent research on four pedagogical approaches that can strengthen sustainable technopreneurial competencies: Project-Based Learning, Technology-Enhanced Learning, Jigsaw collaborative learning, and international or interdisciplinary teamwork. A structured narrative synthesis examined how each approach supports four core competency domains: innovation and creativity, sustainability and impact orientation, entrepreneurial and strategic skills, and collaboration and global awareness. Findings indicate that while each pedagogy develops valuable capabilities, none alone provides comprehensive preparation for sustainable venture creation. Persistent gaps include limited integration of sustainability, weak pedagogical synergy, and insufficient ecosystem alignment. The paper therefore establishes the conceptual foundation for a future integrated approach, the Innovation and Technopreneurship Education Model, which will be developed and evaluated in subsequent research stages. Full article

This study advances the literature on digital entrepreneurship by examining how Information Technology Culture (ITC) and Technology Orientation (TO) influence entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating role of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE) and the moderating role of Social Support (SS) within the context of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. By integrating psychological, cultural, and technological constructs, the research offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the internal drivers of digital venture creation in youth. Data were collected via an online survey targeting Saudi youth and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Validated scales measured ITC, TO, ESE, SS, and Digital Entrepreneurship Intention (DEI), with a sample of 372 participants predominantly under age 30. Findings reveal that while ITC and TO do not directly predict DEI, both exert significant indirect effects through ESE, underscoring the central role of psychological self-belief in entrepreneurial motivation. The moderating effect of SS on the ESE–DEI relationship was non-significant, suggesting that internal efficacy may outweigh external validation in this context. The sample’s demographic skew90.9% male and 99.5% under 30limits generalizability, though it aligns with the most digitally active segment of the population. The cross-sectional design restricts causal inference, and future research should explore longitudinal and gender-balanced samples to validate and extend these findings. This study provides actionable insights for policymakers and educators aiming to foster digital entrepreneurship by enhancing ESE through targeted training, cultural alignment, and strategic technology exposure, especially among youth populations driving Saudi Arabia’s innovation agenda. Full article

This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI) can act as a co-creation partner to foster social equity leading to social sustainability by addressing persistent barriers faced by women and minority entrepreneurs. We develop a theoretical framework integrating social capital theory and the resource-based view to analyze how AI can systematically address resource gaps across structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions while serving as a strategic capability that enables competitive advantage. Modern AI systems including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity represent practical technologies already operational for everyday entrepreneurs through accessible platforms, low-cost subscriptions, and no-code tools enabling workflow automation with minimal technical skill. While prior work has explored how social capital creates competitive advantages, little research explains how AI technologies specifically enhance both social capital development and resource-based competitive advantage simultaneously for ventures of underrepresented entrepreneurs. This study explicitly identifies the entrepreneurial venture as the unit of analysis and articulates five testable propositions on AI’s influence across structural, relational, and cognitive capital, clarifying mechanisms by which AI functions as a technological mediator that democratizes access to both network resources and strategic capabilities for underrepresented founders. Using AI-generated hypotheticals from Los Angeles demonstrating replicable processes with current technologies like retrieval-augmented generation and cloud AI workspaces, we show that AI-enhanced social capital can reduce venture development disparities while generating distinctive advantages for strategically adopting entrepreneurs. The framework requires empirical validation through longitudinal studies and acknowledges dependencies on infrastructure, ecosystem support, and cultural context, ultimately reconceptualizing AI as an active partner, illustrating that equity and competitive excellence are complementary and achievable through deliberate AI-enabled social capital development. Full article

Under the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Kazakhstan have developed a strategic partnership in the automotive industry that has progressed through three distinct phases. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and future of this cooperation, structured into the Export and Assembly phase (2014 to 2017), the Technology Partnership phase (2018 to 2021), and the Localization and Joint Ventures phase (2022 to 2024). Based on qualitative content analysis of policy documents, industry reports, and media coverage, the paper examines how China’s drive for industrial upgrading aligns with Kazakhstan’s goals of economic diversification and industrial growth. The findings indicate that Chinese automotive companies, such as JAC Motors, have transitioned from exporting vehicles to assembling them locally, transferring technology, and investing in joint ventures, thereby strengthening Kazakhstan’s automotive production and market potential. However, challenges remain, including overcapacity, market saturation, and the need for skilled local labor. The study concludes with recommendations to enhance cooperation through joint research and development, the creation of localized parts manufacturing clusters, and the harmonization of technical standards, offering a replicable model for bilateral partnerships within the Belt and Road framework. Full article

Entrepreneurship has proven to be a dynamic force for societal change in urgent global transformation toward sustainability. While governments and established institutions often move slowly, a new wave of entrepreneurs—guided by passion, purpose, and a holistic worldview—are actively shaping alternative paths to sustainable development. This study investigates how entrepreneurs integrate personal purpose, well-being, and a holistic approach into their businesses and lifestyles. Drawing on observations and interviews with selected entrepreneurs, the research employs thematic analysis to explore their motivations, decision-making processes, and the role of environments in shaping their ventures. The findings highlight a distinctive approach of conscious entrepreneurs: a shift from profit maximisation to values-based operations, educational marketing to foster authentic client engagement, and a regenerative leadership style that prioritises balance, relational intelligence, and co-creation. Unlike digital nomads or traditional influencers, these entrepreneurs represent a grounded, intentional lifestyle rooted in inner development and collective transformations. The results of this study contribute to a growing body of interdisciplinary literature on sustainability and entrepreneurship by offering an expanded understanding of purpose and passion in sustainable/conscious entrepreneurship and proposing an updated business model canvas for such entrepreneurs. Full article

Digitalization is reshaping entrepreneurship, yet the mechanisms that translate new technological possibilities into entrepreneurial intention remain poorly understood, especially for resource-constrained small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Building on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Entrepreneurial Risk-Taking Theory and Affordance Theory, this study proposes and tests an integrated model that captures how individual cognition, digital capability and platform-related risk interact to shape digital entrepreneurial intention (DEI). Survey data from 428 Greek SME owner-managers were analyzed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results show that entrepreneurial self-efficacy, financial risk tolerance, digital literacy and perceived platform affordances each exert significant positive effects on DEI, whereas perceived platform risk exerts a significant negative effect. Importantly, platform risk also dampens the positive impact of self-efficacy, revealing a boundary condition often overlooked in intention research. The findings position digital transformation as a double-edged phenomenon amplifying opportunity through affordances while simultaneously magnifying risk. The study advances theory by integrating risk perceptions and affordance recognition into a TPB framework, and it offers actionable guidance: policy makers should stabilize digital-regulatory regimes, platform providers should increase transparency and reliability, and SME support programs should blend digital-skills training with calibrated risk-management tools. Together, such measures can convert latent entrepreneurial confidence into resilient digital venture creation. This study contributes to theory by extending the Theory of Planned Behaviour with risk-sensitive boundary conditions, broadening Risk-Taking Theory to account for platform-specific uncertainties, and validating Affordance Theory in a digital SME context. Practically, it provides actionable guidance for entrepreneurs, policymakers, and platform operators on balancing digital capability development with systemic risk governance. Full article

Womens’ entrepreneurial endeavours, particularly in rural areas, have led to establishing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) focused on tourism initiatives, significantly enhancing rural tourism experiences while promoting local culture. Co-creation, a concept extensively studied in the tourism industry, involves the collaborative generation of ideas in production and consumption driven by stakeholders with vested interests in specific products and services. Policy co-creation, in particular, has become a key driver in enhancing a country’s tourism competitiveness through a collaborative and inclusive development approach. Despite the extensive exploration of co-creation in tourism, the role of women entrepreneurs in this process remains underexamined. This study aims to address this gap by identifying and exploring co-creation initiatives that demonstrate how women entrepreneurs contribute to tourism policy and development. Using a qualitative research approach, it is based on thirty (30) semi-structured interviews with key tourism stakeholders, including policymakers, entrepreneurs, tourism professionals, and representatives from relevant organisations. Findings from the interviews underscore the central role of women entrepreneurs in the co-creation of tourism policies, particularly in rural areas. Their entrepreneurial contributions extend beyond economic growth, as they engage in shaping policies that support sustainable tourism and local development. Through their innovative approaches, women entrepreneurs regenerate traditional products by incorporating modern techniques, ensuring their offerings remain relevant and appealing to diverse visitor demographics and evolving market trends. This study further highlights that effective policy frameworks are crucial to enabling and amplifying women’s contributions to tourism development. Policies that support co-creation processes—such as inclusive decision making, funding accessibility, and capacity-building programs—play a transformative role in unlocking the potential of women entrepreneurs or encouraging more women to embark on an entrepreneurial venture within the tourism sector. Full article

African traditional entrepreneurship schemes have gained growing scholarly attention in recent times, with the Indigenous Igbo Entrepreneurship Scheme (IIES) recognized as the most impactful. Although scholars have explored various dimensions of the IIES, they agree that the phenomenon requires more exploration in order to position it properly in the global literature of entrepreneurship and support its adoption in other regions beyond the Igbo context. Currently, very few studies have investigated the roles, impediments, and possible solutions to the challenges faced by the IIES, and none is known that covers these three areas simultaneously. By deploying a mixed research method involving in-depth interviews with IIES enrollees and trainers, and a systematic literature review, this study proposes the 3Rs framework to the IIES. Thus, it anchors on the entrepreneurial venture creation theory and the multidimensional construct to explore the IIES’s relevance, restraints, and remedies. Several findings relating to the relevance of the scheme, such as its economic, social, financial, and environmental contributions, the restraints (informality, lack of regulation, eroding trust, and dwindling enrolment), and the remedies (including the formulation of regulatory policies, formalization of the scheme, talent hunting, and rekindling the spiritual side) are highlighted. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Full article

Innovative entrepreneurship has increasingly been acknowledged as one of the most vital drivers of economic development, job creation at high value, wealth creation, and business growth. This study analyzes the current status and evolution of research on innovative entrepreneurship and sustainability in the context of emerging economies, based on a bibliometric analysis of 132 articles indexed in the Web of Science database. The search was guided by relevant keywords, such as “innovative entrepreneurship*” and “sustainab*”. Systemic barriers limit the scalability of innovative ventures, especially in developing countries. Frugal and green innovations, digital technologies, and rural enterprises show promise but face challenges like resource constraints, ethical concerns, and policy gaps. Collaborative, equity-focused approaches are essential to ensure entrepreneurship drives sustainable and inclusive development. Further studies should expand the data source, increase the pool of articles, and develop cross-country comparisons to enhance global understanding. This may lead to a better understanding of innovative entrepreneurship and sustainability that can be used to create actionable strategies for development in various economic contexts. Full article

This article explores the strategic market entry of Czech construction companies into Bosnia and Herzegovina’s public procurement sector, with a focus on the intricate legislative, economic, and cultural variables that define this emerging market. Employing Bosnia as a representative case study, this research synthesizes traditional marketing frameworks like the 4Ps model with contemporary paradigms such as relationship marketing and value co-creation, delivering a multidimensional understanding of market navigation in transitional economies. The study employs a robust methodological approach, incorporating comparative legislative analysis, SWOT and PEST assessments, and primary data collection through stakeholder interviews and surveys. Key strategies identified include fostering local partnerships, aligning with sustainability imperatives, and adopting tailored market entry methods such as joint ventures and strategic alliances. The findings bridge theoretical constructs with actionable insights, offering a dual contribution: generalizable frameworks for international market entry and targeted strategies for navigating Bosnia’s public procurement landscape. By advancing the discourse on project-based marketing in construction, this research provides a comprehensive toolkit for both academic and practical applications. The conclusions drawn emphasize the need for innovative partnerships, collaborative value creation, and alignment with evolving market trends, offering actionable recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers alike. Full article

Entrepreneurship has long been recognized as a key driver of economic development, traditionally centered on business creation and the strategic actions of individuals aiming to realize their entrepreneurial visions. Central to this process has been the business plan, often viewed as a critical blueprint that outlines the vision, strategies, and operations of new ventures. However, recent studies and observations have raised concerns regarding the continued relevance of business plans, suggesting a shift in entrepreneurial behavior. In response, this study adopts a novel approach by using artificial intelligence (AI) to explore entrepreneurial practices more rigorously. Written feedback from 150 entrepreneurs was analyzed using natural language processing (NLP) techniques, allowing us to move beyond subjective assessments and anecdotal evidence. Our study utilized a structured twenty-question survey to capture the experiences and insights of entrepreneurs. By applying AI, we were able to process large amounts of textual data, uncover nuanced patterns, and identify correlations that might otherwise go unnoticed. The proposed approach enabled a comprehensive analysis of entrepreneurial decision making and provided a robust framework for future research. The findings from this work offer valuable insights into the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, with significant implications for education, policy, and practice in today’s dynamic business environment. Full article