Michela Loi, Barbara Barbieri, Manuel Castriotta and Maria Chiara Di Guardo
Prior studies on entrepreneurial intention have shown that different orientations exist regarding entrepreneurial engagement: one looking at the growth of a venture…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior studies on entrepreneurial intention have shown that different orientations exist regarding entrepreneurial engagement: one looking at the growth of a venture (growth-oriented) and the other looking at the maintenance of an entrepreneurial autonomy (independence-oriented). Filling a gap in the literature concerning the reasons why individuals develop different orientations of entrepreneurial intention, this study revolves around achievement goal motivation (mastery, performance and avoidance approaches) and self-regulatory modes (locomotion and assessment), since both are thought to be at the origin and maintenance of an action willingness.
Design/methodology/approach
In a sample of 209 undergraduates, we administered a structured questionnaire at the beginning of an elective entrepreneurship education programme. Through a set of hierarchical regressions we examined the specific role of achievement goal motivation and regulatory modes in relation to the two orientations of intention.
Findings
Our findings show that, on the one hand, growth-oriented intention is related to a performance approach and both locomotion and assessment regulatory modes. On the other hand, independence-oriented intention is related to an avoidance approach.
Research limitations/implications
These results illuminate the theoretical connections between entrepreneurial intention and motivation and provide implications for entrepreneurship education and the relationship between intention and consequent behaviour.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to provide an empirical exploration of the motivational and regulatory drivers that lie beneath a growth-oriented and an independent-oriented intention, offering a theoretical explanation about the development of different intentions towards venture creation. Our findings illuminate on the urgency to consider entrepreneurial intention as a multi-dimensional construct if we are to understand the intention-behaviour nexus.
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Giammarco Marras, Matteo Opizzi and Michela Loi
The aim of this study is to systematise the entrepreneurial coaching (EC) literature by understanding how the phenomenon has been investigated along four dimensions inspired by…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to systematise the entrepreneurial coaching (EC) literature by understanding how the phenomenon has been investigated along four dimensions inspired by Gartner’s (1985) conceptualisation of entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial process, context, target and outcomes. In so doing, this study will provide a frame of its multifunctional role and identify relevant gaps and suggestions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a systematic literature review to collect existing works on EC. We analysed 85 selected papers with a qualitative content analysis that allowed us to highlight relevant research themes for the entrepreneurial process, context, outcomes and target.
Findings
Our results demonstrate that EC has a multifunctional role in entrepreneurship that can be summarised in five different typologies, depending on the stage of the entrepreneurial process in which it is applied, the context, the target and the outcomes.
Originality/value
As one of the first attempts to systematise studies on EC, this work extends previous conceptualisation of EC by detailing different typologies of this intervention, thereby contributing to reduced fragmentation and conceptual ambiguity.
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Matteo Opizzi, Michela Loi and Orsola Macis
Doctoral students are promising entrepreneurial actors in university-based ventures, which positively impact the external environment and create value for their universities. In…
Abstract
Purpose
Doctoral students are promising entrepreneurial actors in university-based ventures, which positively impact the external environment and create value for their universities. In this article, the authors extend current research on academic entrepreneurship by shedding light on the role of university support in the early stage of Ph.D. entrepreneurship. Based on social information processing theory, the authors posit that academic entrepreneurship results from the interplay between doctoral students' human capital and university-level support. A multilevel model is proposed and empirically tested to shed light on the cradle of doctoral students' entrepreneurship by explaining the variance of their entrepreneurial alertness and intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
A model is proposed that explains the combined effect of specific human capital and different forms of university support on doctoral students' cognitive transition from entrepreneurial alertness to intentions. The model was then tested through structural equation modeling (SEM) and multigroup analysis (MGA) on a sample of 187 doctoral students enrolled in Italian universities.
Findings
The SEM results reveal that doctoral students' entrepreneurial alertness is influenced by perceived educational support and human capital. The MGA demonstrates that those who perceive a higher level of support for concept and business development from universities are more likely to convert their alertness into intentions than those who perceive lower support.
Originality/value
The present paper brings to the stage doctoral students as an extremely promising entrepreneurial target. In doing so, it extends academic entrepreneurship studies by detailing how and when the different forms of university support influence their entrepreneurial decisions, along with individual dimensions.
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Sara Maryami, Michela Loi, Marcello Martinez and Maria Chiara Di Guardo
Drawing on the Broaden-and-build theory, the study investigates the impact of team entrepreneurial passion (TEP) on team performance. This study further examines the mediating…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the Broaden-and-build theory, the study investigates the impact of team entrepreneurial passion (TEP) on team performance. This study further examines the mediating role of team cooperation between TEP and team performance. Thus, by expanding the conceptual model of TEP, the authors examine how three domains of TEP, namely inventing, founding and developing affect the entrepreneurial outcomes in the early stages of entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 29 entrepreneurial teams, and the proposed relationships were assessed through Smart-PLS 3.2.8 structural equation modeling (SEM) tool.
Findings
Regarding the domains of TEP, the authors' findings show that the TEP for inventing is positively related to team performance. As for the influences of TEP for inventing and TEP for developing, both are the most beneficial for entrepreneurial outputs, such as team members' abilities to recognize and exploit opportunities.
Originality/value
Although there is an increased scholars' interest in entrepreneurial passion, there is a lack of research that examines the enabling factors and outcomes of entrepreneurial passion at the team level. This study is among the earliest research studies that not only empirically explores the relationships between TEP and team performance but also illustrates how each domain of TEP uniquely influences entrepreneurial outcomes by extending existing studies on entrepreneurial passion.
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Benedetta Bellò, Veronica Mattana and Michela Loi
Although the role of creativity in the entrepreneurial process has long been analysed, only recently scholars have begun addressing its influence on entrepreneurial intentions…
Abstract
Purpose
Although the role of creativity in the entrepreneurial process has long been analysed, only recently scholars have begun addressing its influence on entrepreneurial intentions, showing that complex dynamics characterise this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to understand the surrounding mechanisms (moderation and mediation) that connect creativity to entrepreneurial intentions, with a focus on social context and entrepreneurial self-efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of 507 students from 17 to 21 years old. The effect of creativity on entrepreneurial intentions and the moderating role of social context were tested with a three-step hierarchical regression, while the mediating effect of self-efficacy was tested by a multiple regression analysis based on the bootstrapping method.
Findings
The results reveal that: peers who encourage entrepreneurship moderate the relationship between creativity and entrepreneurial intentions by strengthening this relationship, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediates the relationship between creativity and entrepreneurial intentions.
Research limitations/implications
In light of these results, institutions should draw attention to how creative potential in students differs in order to provide new educational programmes to strengthen self-efficacy in entrepreneurial students and support encouraging social context of peers in which entrepreneurial intentions can be fostered.
Originality/value
The study, by responding to the suggestions of conducting research on the interface between creativity and entrepreneurship (Shane and Nicolaou, 2015), brings new empirical details regarding the mechanisms that link creativity to entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, it casts light on the interaction between dispositional and social variables, showing the crucial role of peers in enhancing the interaction between creativity and intentions.
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Stéphane Foliard, Sandrine Le Pontois, Caroline Verzat, Saulo Dubard-Barbosa, Moshen Tavakoli, Fabienne Bornard, Michela Loi, Laetitia Gabay-Mariani, Joseph Tixier, Christian Friedman, Olivier Toutain, Julie Fabri, Christel Tessier and Jose Augusto Lacerda
The development of qualitative research methods addresses the need to explore, understand and interpret complex and subjective phenomena across various fields of study. These…
Abstract
The development of qualitative research methods addresses the need to explore, understand and interpret complex and subjective phenomena across various fields of study. These methods are guided by methodological frameworks, and data collection involves taking several precautions for observation or interviews. While these guidelines facilitate an emphasis on the objective aspects of discourse, accounting for subjectivity and emotions proves more challenging. However, these subjectivity and emotions are deemed as significant sources of information. In this chapter, we propose an innovative data collection method centred around creating collages and engaging in group discussions to decipher their meaning. Collage serves as a visual medium, and we recommend utilising semiotic analysis tools to comprehend its significance. To gain a more precise understanding of the value of collage as a data collection method, we studied a collage workshop organised by CREE. Through image analysis and exchanges, our findings reveal that collage acts as a physical medium that fosters exchanges, deepens ideas and restricts digressions. Additionally, collage allows for the expression and discussion of emotions linked to the image rather than the individual. The space of intersubjective reflexivity facilitated by collage enables a profound comprehension, critical assessment and augmentation of ideas and the interpretation of emotions without compromising the sensitivity of the author. This chapter’s main contribution is evidently manifested here.
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Abstract
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Elena Comino, Laura Dominici, Anna Reyneri and Anna Treves
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between academia and society focusing on how technical universities perform Third Mission (TM) to promote knowledge outside the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between academia and society focusing on how technical universities perform Third Mission (TM) to promote knowledge outside the academic environment producing multiple benefits.
Design/methodology/approach
This investigation is performed through the conceptual approach. The theoretical background of the TM is explored through scientific literature review. It analyses a selected pool of experiences focused on Environmental and Sustainable Education (ESE). The study identifies significant aspects of two specific case studies, designed and implemented by the authors.
Findings
Outcomes show opportunities and limitations in the application of ESE on behalf of technical academia. The study suggests solutions, precautions and systemic changes to promote ESE for childhood as TM activity in technical engineering academia. These recommendations can be useful for policymakers to set academic goals and plan the strategic management of teaching, research and TM.
Originality/value
The paper focuses on the role of technical engineering universities and criticalities faced by academics to foster and perform ESE. Future perspectives aim to create new opportunities to strengthen the social impact of scientific and technical research by building bridges with childhood education.
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Flavia Bonaiuto, Stefania Fantinelli, Alessandro Milani, Michela Cortini, Marco Cristian Vitiello and Marino Bonaiuto
This study aims to test the role that organizational sociopsychological variables may play in influencing job stress and work engagement in an organizational identity change…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test the role that organizational sociopsychological variables may play in influencing job stress and work engagement in an organizational identity change scenario.
Design/methodology/approach
On a sample of 118 employees of an Italian company in the personnel training services sector, multivariate statistical analysis tests a pattern where organizational variables such as work support (by supervisors and coworkers, independent variables) – moderated by corporate identification (moderating variable) – and mediated by organizational trust (mediating variable) – boosts employee work engagement and lowers psychosocial risks (dependent variables).
Findings
The mediating effect of “organizational trust” is significant in the relationships of “supervisor social support” and “coworker social support” with the “absence of psychosocial risks.” Moreover, an increase in supervisor social support can lead to a statistically significant increase in work engagement. This occurs only for employees with low or medium identification and not in highly identified individuals.
Originality/value
The findings from the analysis on moderation are of primary importance because they show us a new perspective that can play the role of a guiding and practical principle on how to act on an organization’s human resources, specifically targeting those with lower or medium corporate identification.