| 1. |
- Boafo, Christopher, et al.
(författare)
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Understanding internationalisation of informal African firms through a network perspective
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal. - : Sage Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 40:5, s. 618-649
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies of internationalisation have largely overlooked developing countries with high levels of legitimate informal entrepreneurship. Consequently, this article analyses the internationalisation of Informal African Firms (IAFs) from a network perspective. We undertook in-depth case studies of 14 informal smaller firms in two major enterprise clusters in Ghana. Our findings show that half transacted business in five to seven foreign markets, and more than half sold abroad within three years of inception. The study illustrates the different network ties that influence passive and active internationalisation strategies with evidence that these IAFs developed buyer networks through customer referrals and foreign customer walk-ins to the firm. Overall, we provide a comprehensive understanding of the triggers that initiate international business activities by IAFs so contribute to current theorising noting implications for management practices and policymaking on this important but hitherto, under-explored issue.
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| 2. |
- Engzell, Jeanette, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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Incumbents versus circular start-ups in the workwear industry : Organisational and individual drivers and barriers to a circular economy
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal. - : Sage Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 42:4, s. 551-580
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article analyses the organisational and individual drivers and barriers to the implementation of circular business models (CBM) by incumbents and start-ups in the workwear industry. It is based on a qualitative study of 15 organisations in the Swedish workwear industry. Most incumbents are found to have either long-life models with hybrid elements, such as repair, or access models, while circular start-ups have a larger variety of CBMs, although the most common is gap exploiter. Internal organisational barriers mostly differ between the two groups; however, external organisational barriers are more significant and common, such as the low price of new workwear, a lack of demand and a lack of supporting policies, for example, public procurement. Several organisational drivers are identified, such as opportunities to deliver customer value, textile and digital innovations and environmental concerns. Drivers and barriers are influenced by both type of CBM and type of company. Individual drivers and barriers, which are often overlooked in literature, are found to be important to CBM implementation.
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| 3. |
- Fasth, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Small and medium-sized enterprises response to Covid-19: The effect of external openness and procedural management
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship. - : SAGE Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 41:5, s. 465-487
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Crisis management research is strongly influenced by the behaviour of large multinationals with few insights into how small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) mitigate the negative effects of exogenous shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Inspired by the capability-based view on crisis management, we postulate that management openness and degree of interactivity determine SME crisis response. We test our theoretical model with an original dataset of 902 Swedish SMEs compiled from a telephone-based survey conducted in June 2020. We find that formalised procedures for crisis management and openness to input from others, particularly external actors, enhances an organisation’s ability to make a decisive rapid response. We discuss our findings and suggest that formalised procedures and openness are important components of an SME’s rapid response capability.
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| 4. |
- Hedeboe Frederiksen, Signe, et al.
(författare)
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Identity work in entrepreneurship education : Activating, scripting and resisting the entrepreneurial self
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal. - : SAGE Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 38:4, s. 271-292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Entrepreneurship education (EE) theory and practice show increasing interest in the concept of identity work as integral to entrepreneurial learning. EE offers various approaches to guiding students towards entrepreneurial identities, but critics note that these meet neoliberal manifestations of the entrepreneurial self, leaving little room for alternative identities to be cultivated in EE. Concerned with this critique, we aim to contribute to the EE literature through a detailed investigation of the identity work practices enacted in a case of EE, which explicitly seeks to facilitate the entrepreneurial identity construction of students. Through an in-depth analysis of teacher-student interactions, we identify three practices: setting new rules to activate the entrepreneurial self, playing by the rules by figuring the script and bending the rules protecting the self. Our analysis highlights the significance of resistance and notions of authenticity, which leads us to rethink the meaning and conditions of entrepreneurial identity work in EE.
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| 5. |
- Henry, Colette, et al.
(författare)
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Richness in diversity : Towards more contemporary research conceptualisations of women's entrepreneurship
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal. - : Sage Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 39:7, s. 609-618
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Analyses of the diversity of women entrepreneurs and their enterprises, using novel approaches and theoretical viewpoints, is lacking in contemporary scholarship. Accordingly, this article reviews and critiques five articles that constitute this Special Issue (SI) focused on exploring the diversity of women's entrepreneurship. The authors acknowledge that entrepreneurship is a rich and multi-coloured tapestry, hence, these SI articles highlight the complexities of women entrepreneurs and celebrate their diversity through signposting towards research conceptualisations that reflect the actual rather than the assumed status quo. The article contributes to extant scholarship by platforming the heterogeneity of women's entrepreneurial endeavours, supporting the view that in terms of supporting women's entrepreneurship, 'one size (still) does not fit all'. We also propose a framework to help future scholars strengthen the quality and relevance of their research on women entrepreneurs along four key dimensions: influence of context; theoretical development; multiplicity of dimensions; and heterogeneity.
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| 6. |
- Hilmersson, Mikael, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Business unpredictability, improvisation and business network commitment in small and medium-sized enterprise market entry
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal. - : SAGE Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 40:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Market entry performance is critical during internationalisation; prevailing views suggest that firms need to carefully plan their entry before putting the plan into action. This article focuses on three attributes affecting the possibility and usefulness of making a pre-planned market entry: unpredictability, improvisation and business network commitment. We develop six hypotheses tested on a sample of 250 entries; our main finding is that improvisation plays a mediating role in relation to performance in unpredictable markets. The analysis reveals that the relationship between unpredictability and network commitment is not significant, while the effect of unpredictability on market entry performance is negative. These findings suggest implications for internationalisation and international entrepreneurship theory. For managers and entrepreneurs, we show that unpredictability weakens market entry performance, a negative effect that can be mitigated if the entrant firm improvises.
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| 7. |
- Hilmersson, Mikael, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Knowledge acquisition strategy, speed of capability development and speed of SME internationalisation
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal-Researching Entrepreneurship. - : SAGE Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 38:6, s. 536-556
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- From a study following two sequential on-site data collection stages at 618 internationalising SMEs in Sweden, Poland and China, we identify and validate four distinct international knowledge acquisition strategies. In contrast to traditional theories suggesting that firms develop capabilities by generating their own experience, we show that Grafters and Pragmatists have a higher speed of international capability development than Experiencers and Networkers. Subsequently, by drawing on capability development theory, we show that the speed of capability development has a curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) effect on the speed of spread between international markets. These findings have consequences both for practitioners and theory.
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| 8. |
- Hilmersson, Mikael, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Pace of innovation and speed of small and medium-sized enterprise international expansion
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship. - : SAGE Open. - 1741-2870 .- 0266-2426. ; 41:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The literature emphasises that technological advances have enabled firms to expand internationally at accelerated speed. Yet, technological advances are treated as a contextual variable and little is known about how firm-level technological innovations influence the internationalisation speed of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To address this shortcoming, we draw on insights based on capability development theory to establish the effects of innovation timing and pace on SME international expansion speed. We test our conceptual model using a sample of 180 Swedish SMEs and show that the faster the innovation pace, the faster the internationalisation. We then address the boundary conditions of this relationship to show that the elapsed time between a firm's founding and first innovation negatively moderates the positive effects of its innovation pace. Our findings have theoretical, managerial and policy implications.
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| 9. |
- Hunter, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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When fear of failure leads to intentions to act entrepreneurially: Insights from threat appraisals and coping efficacy
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal. - : SAGE Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 39, s. 407-423
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Calls in the entrepreneurship literature have advocated theory development and empirical studies exploring fear of failure. Often viewed as an inhibitory factor towards entrepreneurial activity, contemporary research has suggested that fear of failure can also motivate entrepreneurial activity. To explore this issue, we draw on Protection Motivation Theory to conceptualise and operationalise fear of failure. We find support for the notion that fear of failure prompts the adoption of entrepreneurial strategies, provided the entrepreneur believes they have the ability to act entrepreneurially, and that by so doing, their financial situation will improve. Our approach extends the literature on fear of failure in an entrepreneurship context by disentangling cognitive and behavioural aspects focusing not only on threat appraisals, but also on how entrepreneurs cope with them.
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| 10. |
- Högberg, Lena, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Mixed embeddedness and entrepreneurship beyond new venture creation : Opportunity tensions in the case of reregulated public markets
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship. - : SAGE Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 41:2, s. 121-151
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mixed embeddedness (ME) perspective offers a holistic approach to understanding entrepreneurship as embedded in a myriad of contexts. Alone, however, it is not capable of explaining the dynamic interrelations between entrepreneurship and opportunity structures beyond venture start-up. We offer a synthesis between ME and the dynamic states approach, using the concept of opportunity tension to explore the recursive interplay between entrepreneurial agency and opportunity structures. The integrated approach is applied to, and developed by drawing upon, the case of ethnic minority entrepreneurship in the changing Swedish welfare state following customer choice reform. We explore opportunity tensions that arise during start-up, growth and exit for two firms that provide care for the elderly in public quasi-markets. We develop concepts that account for different patterns of embeddedness and opportunity tensions as well as bottom-up effects of entrepreneurship in terms of reregulation and conclude that the interplay amounts to a paradox of ethnicity.
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