Fabio Musso, Barbara Francioni, Ilaria Curina, Fabio Tramontana, Paolo Polidori and Maria Gabriella Pediconi
The paper analyses the influence of the decision-makers' overconfidence on the intuitive practices' adoption, as well as on the international performance during international…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper analyses the influence of the decision-makers' overconfidence on the intuitive practices' adoption, as well as on the international performance during international strategic decision-making processes (SDMPs) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Moreover, the study investigates the possible mediating effect of intuition on the relationship between overconfidence and international performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A semi-structured questionnaire based on a sample of 160 SMEs and a regression analysis have been employed.
Findings
Results show a negative relationship between intuition and international performance and a positive one between overconfidence and international performance. Furthermore, a negative relation between overconfidence and intuition has been identified. Findings also highlight the mediating role of intuition in the relationship between overconfidence and international performance.
Practical implications
The paper provides valuable implications related to the analysis of overconfidence as a critical decision-maker's character and intuition as a feature of the decision-making methodology. Moreover, the study offers indications for SMEs facing complex strategic decisions.
Originality/value
The paper adopts an original perspective by combining the SDMP analysis with that of international strategy within the SMEs context. Additionally, the study enriches the existing literature by (1) investigating overconfidence in the decision-making; (2) enhancing the examination of overconfidence and intuitive practices in the international SDMP; (3) deepening the research field focused on the identification of the intuitive processes' predictors that is still in its infancy.
Details
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Francesca Maria Cesaroni, Annalisa Sentuti and Maria Gabriella Pediconi
This paper aims to further the understanding of women entrepreneurs' multiple identities by exploring how they interact throughout women's life cycles.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to further the understanding of women entrepreneurs' multiple identities by exploring how they interact throughout women's life cycles.
Design/methodology/approach
This article combines a case study and a narrative analysis to investigate the experience of a woman who founded a business and retired after passing it on to her son. Data were collected by combining two different methods: biographical interview and follow-up interviews or conversations.
Findings
Findings show that interactions between a woman entrepreneur's multiple identities may evolve through two main processes of change: transformation and fading. In the transformation process, adverse interactions between identities turn into synergistic and fruitful relationships. In the fading process, conflicts between identities gradually disappear, giving way to peaceful coexistence. Women's agency proves paramount in making these processes possible and helping her achieve personal and professional fulfillment.
Originality/value
In prior studies, women entrepreneurs have mostly been observed at a specific time or stage in their life and entrepreneurial experience. This paper responds to the call for the adoption of a dynamic perspective in the analysis of interactions among a woman entrepreneur's multiple identities so as to show how they may evolve during her entrepreneurial experience.