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The research aims to examine the underlying factors of entrepreneurial intentions among seniors. In this vein, it evaluates the role of social context proxied by the human development index (HDI) along with individual characteristics towards these initiatives. Emerging economies deliver great potential for income generation swiftly approaching the standards of their developed counterparts. Their present ageing trends severely threaten growth prospects because of workforce withering. European insights will help anticipating constraints through alternative models of human capital allocation.

Four logistic regressions were run to address hypotheses in test, relying upon the global entrepreneurship monitor – adult population survey. Estimations include 20,386 individuals from database and 21 European Union countries. Ex-post robustness checks corroborate the global significance of the proposed model.

Empirical findings reinforce the importance of the macroeconomic context among senior endeavours and the non-linearities in terms of the age effect. Moreover, context can help eroding gender gaps in this field and refine the opportunity perception These results go in line with the literature and extend the importance of promoting a favourable ecosystem. Promotion of senior endeavours must consider smart policy packages encompassing the individual singularities as this age range will be too important to be wasted. Senior entrepreneurs are key to the latent job market crisis, needing to be encouraged through positive discrimination.

Originally, by incorporating an exogenous variable encompassing the role of the entrepreneurial context, this study contributes academically to evaluating the determinants of entrepreneurial activity among the elderly. In addition, the development of cohorts highlights the specific importance of individual characteristics in entrepreneurial propensity in each context. The heterogenous results proves the ineffectiveness of “one sizes fits all” policies.

This research reinforces extant literature, notwithstanding the empirical refinements implemented brought up two additional perspectives: complementing previous towards the relevance of HDI cohorts along with the non-linearities of the effect of age. Learning from the European context and acknowledging efficacy of policy instruments will avoid serendipitous actions or failures, enhancing promising ecosystems such as emerging economies.

The study academically contributes to the appraisal of the determinants of entrepreneurial activity among seniors, thus, in an original way, by incorporating an exogenous variable to appraise the role of the context. Development cohorts evidence the existence of singularities in entrepreneurial propensity and individual characteristics according to their levels, such that policy actions should consider their differences.

The entrepreneurial initiative is believed as being a prosperity engine. Islamic organizations are presently committed to promoting entrepreneurship to generate economic growth, provide job opportunities, reduce government centrality, enhance innovation and sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to identify which factors affect Islamic entrepreneurial endeavors with particular emphasis on the role of gender. Additionally, how education, age, moral constraints, self-perception and social support will affect those entrepreneurial intentions based on Islamic principles. Once identified, policy actions will help to overcome extant gaps, reinforcing the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Determinants of the entrepreneurial initiative will be appraised in the set Islamic countries present in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data set from 2016. Following the Organization of Islamic Cooperation list, 14 countries were identified establishing a total sample of 36,407 individuals. Using a set of predictors included in the theoretical framework a statistical analysis was performed followed by logit estimations. The significance of explanatory variables such as gender, age and social context toward entrepreneurial propensity reinforced the importance of specific tools rather than broad policies.

An entrepreneurial propensity is affected by three branches of factors: individual characteristics, individual behavior and individual perceptions along with the economic environment. The analysis shows that holding equal conditions, Islamic women in the sample are less prone to start a business compared to their male counterparts. Knowing other entrepreneurial endeavors enhance the entrepreneurial initiative. Fearing failure unconstraint entrepreneurial projects, but the self-perception of skills strongly triggers these initiatives.

The empirical analysis relates to the GEM database, and, as a consequence, only 14 countries were considered, but it covers 36,407 individuals whose representativeness cannot be statistically proved, however, due to sample dimension the robustness is granted. Second, the sample is sectional covering the 2016 year, as a consequence results may be classified as exceptional.Finally, other factors such as institutional and behavioral determinants were not considered, despite their theoretical importance, due to their absence in the database. Still, the empirical results reinforce the theoretical debate and offer robust evidence to build a policy package, adapted to the Islamic singularities.

Still, the empirical results reinforce the theoretical debate and offer robust evidence to build a policy package, adapted to the Islamic singularities.

The paper identifies gender differences in entrepreneurial propensity among Islamic economics. The potential enhancers of the entrepreneurial initiative are first put in theoretical terms followed by an empirical analysis, encompassing descriptive analysis and econometric estimations. The results allow identification of gender gaps, as well as other individual and context characteristics affecting entrepreneurial endeavors. Empirical evidence casts light on policymakers elaborating accurate policy packages fostering gender equality in entrepreneurship in Islamic economics, aiming to increase overall entrepreneurial activity and leveraging socio-economic development. Finally, the study addresses recommendations to overcome gender differences relating to entrepreneurial activity considering the singularities of the context.

The purpose of this study is twofold, being the first to grasp a broad picture of entrepreneurship determinants in Qatar, and second, to explore the intermediate effect of gender upon other factors affecting the propensity to become an entrepreneur and highlight gender heterogeneity. Combining theories on entrepreneurship determinants and gender, the study analyses the role of education (general and specific to enterprise), skill perception, social context and fear to fail as determinants of new venture creation in Qatar. The objective of the study is to appraise the determinants of the entrepreneurial activity in Qatar and understand if they hold across genders in terms of significance and magnitude. If so, policy actions can be adjusted to overcome gender gaps. This study aims to design policy recommendations to reinforce the Qatari entrepreneurial ecosystem and promote positive discrimination towards women initiatives in the Gulf region.

To understand male and female propensity to entrepreneurial activity in Qatar, a database from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) was used, considering data from 2014, with a sample that includes 4,272 individuals. To explore how the explanatory variables affect entrepreneurial propensity and if they hold significance across genders, three logistic regressions were run, the first including the entire sample, and the second and third separating individuals according to the gender. Then, to statistically appraise the differences among groups, a Kruskal–Wallis test was run to evidence group heterogeneity. Marginal effects of the model reinforce gender differences. The analysis was performed using Stata.

Different patterns of entrepreneurial propensity can be found among genders, allowing the exploration male and female determinants. The analysis shows that Qatari women are less prone to start a business when compared to men in equal conditions. For women, age is a deterring factor, contrarily to men. Both genders seem to be unconstrained by the fear to fail, still the self-perception of skills has a stronger effect on women.

First, this study is restricted to the GEM database and covers 4,272 individuals whose representativeness cannot be statistically proved, despite the robustness of the sample size. Second, due to data limitations, the inclusion of theoretically relevant additional variables to the explanation of gender differences, such as economic and institutional determinants of entrepreneurial activity in the country under study, becomes infeasible.

Despite the conceptual and empirical limitations, the conclusions of the study fulfil literature gaps and offer quantitative and econometric evidences and which allow drawing policy recommendations.

This study sheds a new light about the policy specificities needed to overcome gender differences and to equalise male and female entrepreneurial activity.

The study identifies gender differences in entrepreneurial propensity. The potential differences are firstly put in theoretical terms and followed by an exploratory analysis comprising statistical analysis and econometric estimations. The results allow examining the profile of male and female entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs, the determinants of entrepreneurial initiatives and gender gaps. The study helps policy makers to elaborate adequate strategies to foster gender equality on entrepreneurship, aiming to increase overall entrepreneurial activity and consequently socio-economic development.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

Focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are characterized by resource restrictions, this paper aims to explore consumer segment profiles by considering demographic, personality and creativity traits to determine whether consumers with different profiles exhibit distinct affective reactions to different logo design types (organic, cultural and abstract).

This exploratory study incorporates recent methodological developments, such as the novel response style correction method, to account for response style effects in evaluations of affect toward logo design. In separate analyses, respondents are segmented according to response style–corrected logo affect and personality and creativity items. The segmentation analysis relies on reduced k-means, a joint dimension and cluster analysis method, which accounts for dependencies between items while maximizing between-cluster variability. A total of 866 respondents from the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal: n = 543; Spain: n = 323) participated.

Based on a study using unknown logos (proxy for lower levels of budget communication, characteristics of SMEs), results reveal that there are three segments of consumers based on their affective response toward logo design: logo design insensitives, cultural logo dislikers and organic logo lovers. These segments are associated with different personality traits, creativity and biological sex (although biological sex is not a discriminant variable).

The decision not to control logos by color, to increase external validity, could limit the study’s internal validity if this aspect interacts with relevant study variables. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence can be used to further test associations between consumer profiles and responses to logo design.

Findings highlight the relevance of considering complex profile segments, combining demographics, psychographics and creativity to predict affective consumer responses to brand logo design. This research provides guidelines for SMEs when choosing or modifying their logo design to appeal to different consumer segments.

This study provides managers of SMEs (less present nowadays in empirical studies) with evidence suggesting that complex customer profiles help to understand differences in affective responses to natural logo designs. Furthermore, it relies on the use of a novel methodological development that improves the accuracy of the exploratory study developed.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have become increasingly important in national and international markets because they contribute to the development of local and national economies. SMEs often face serious challenges when competing with multinational companies. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for assessing SMEs’ competitiveness.

Based on a constructivist epistemology, this study makes an integrated use of cognitive mapping and the measuring attractiveness by a categorical-based evaluation technique (MACBETH). To this end, face-to-face sessions were conducted with a panel of entrepreneurs and senior managers who deal with the challenges of maintaining SME competitiveness every day. The proposed assessment system was tested and validated by the panel members.

The methodological processes adopted in this study provide promising results for decision makers seeking to identify the most competitive SMEs. Specifically, the results emphasize, among other points, the importance of innovation and the human dimension to gaining competitive advantages.

The evaluation system developed in this study is extremely versatile and confirms the usefulness of integrating cognitive mapping and MACBETH to facilitate evaluations of SME competitiveness. However, due to its idiosyncratic and process-oriented nature, generalizations need to be done with caution.

The proposed method can be valuable to researchers seeking to develop mechanisms for evaluating SMEs’ entrepreneurial performance and include specialized know-how and sensemaking in organizational decision-making processes.

The integrated use of cognitive maps and MACBETH contributes to a better understanding of how to assess SMEs’ competitiveness. No prior work reporting the use of this dual methodology in this study context has been found.

This paper aims to investigate the commonalities and asymmetries between consumer responses to different types of natural designs across countries.

Data were gathered through a survey in three European countries ranking differently in what concerns Hofstede’s (1981) uncertainty avoidance dimension (UAD). Respondents can vary strongly in the way they interpret and use rating scales, exhibiting a variety of response styles. In the analysis of consumers’ preferences for logo design, this article apply constrained dual scaling (CDS) to account for response styles in categorical data.

Results demonstrate the broad appeal of natural logo designs, suggesting that design preferences are similar within countries with different cultural orientations. However, findings indicate that cultural dimensions influence how consumers respond to different types of natural logo designs. Indeed, the positive effects of organic designs are even more salient in countries with higher UAD. Thus, when managers prepare to launch their brands in countries that exhibit more discomfort with uncertainty, they should consider incorporating organic visual identity elements into their logos to achieve the maximum positive affect.

Companies invest extensive time, research and money in generating, promoting and modifying their logos. This paper provides important implications for international brand managers aiming to build a consistent and favorable brand image. From a methodological perspective, the results come from the analysis of clean data – that is, data after applying CDS, which increases the validity of the cross-country comparison.

The innovation process demands an interaction between environment agents, knowledge generators and policies of incentive for innovation and not only development by companies. Universities have gradually become the core of the knowledge production system and, therefore, their role regarding innovation has become more important and diversified. This study is aimed at identifying the mechanisms of university–industry (U–I) collaboration, as well as the operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process.

This study is aimed at identifying, based on a systematic literature review, the mechanisms of university–industry (U–I) collaboration, as well as the operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process.

The analysis of the 72 selected articles enabled identifying 15 mechanisms of U–I collaboration, proposing a new classification for such mechanisms and developing a framework presenting the operationalization steps of the interaction process.

In this paper, the authors screened nearly 1,500 papers and analyzed in detail 86 papers addressing U–I collaboration, mechanisms of U–I collaboration and operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process. This paper provides a new classification for such mechanisms and developing a framework presenting the operationalization steps of the interaction process. This research contributes to both theory and practice by highlighting managerial aspects and stimulating academic research on such timely topic.

Purpose: This chapter focuses on the relations between aging and the perception about the families’ quality of life in a medium-sized Portuguese city. Departing from the descriptions of individuals living with at least one child under 14 years of age, particular emphasis is put on how young adults perceive and incorporate into their speeches the presence and role of non-cohabiting elderly, namely their parents and in-laws, as an expression of the quality of life they experience.

Design/methodology/approach: Data rely on episodic interviews conducted with both men and women with young children (3–14 years old), within a broader sociological research devoted to the study of family rituals. The data collected was analyzed using qualitative techniques of content analysis with the help of NVivo software (QSR). The data is presented recurring to contextualized narratives.

Findings: Data analysis allows to conclude that geography matters in the perception that young adults have when reflecting upon the role of the elderly surrounding them, either their parents or in-laws. The presence and coexistence of generations are perceived as “priceless,” a “fortune,” and a “privilege,” possible in a medium-sized city, where everything is close enough to thicken the informal intergenerational solidarities between grandparents, parents, and grandchildren. Behind the scenes, data, furthermore, discloses unpredictable tensions arising mainly regarding children’s education, rules, and behavior.

Originality/value: This chapter contributes to shed light into the daily life of elderly people who are still independent and active, and the seemingly invisible presence and unimportant role they play in their children and grandchildren’s lives.