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This study aims to investigate how educational attainment and entrepreneurial competencies affect entrepreneurial motives of women (vs men) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This study shows that education has a more positive effect on women’s entrepreneurial motives compared with men. On the other hand, there is a greater positive effect of competencies on men’s motives. Moreover, the moderating effects of culture are compared. The results of the multiple regression analysis show that, within the MENA region, the cultural value of self-expressionism engenders increased opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship by men. Yet, it has no significant effect on women’s entrepreneurial motives.

This study analyses survey data using multiple regression analysis, relationship between independent variables, educational attainment and entrepreneurial competencies, as well as culture, and the dependent variable, entrepreneurial motivation. The present study focuses on data records concerning 13 MENA countries, notably, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The sample includes early-stage and established female entrepreneurs, a total of 1,551 respondents, for all countries for the entire period.

Entrepreneurs with higher levels of education and competencies are more likely to exploit market opportunities. However, effects from educational attainments and competencies are significantly stronger for men. Moreover, the increasing introduction of liberal or post-modern values in MENA societies has significant effects on men but no effect on women, suggesting that men tend to benefit much more than women in the Arab world with regards to their entrepreneurial behaviour.

The study is one of the few attempts to clarify the relationship between individual factors, here represented by education and competencies, and environmental factors, here represented by culture (post-modern values) and entrepreneurial motivation. Moreover, it addresses the MENA region, which is a politically and economically important and challenging environment, and which, to date, has received relatively little attention in entrepreneurship research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial idea dimensions (the value, content, number and novelty of idea) along with intuitive cognitive style versus an analytical style on students' entrepreneurial intention.

To evaluate these relationships, the data are obtained from an extensive survey of 376 undergraduate students of campuses of Behavioral Sciences and Engineering at University of Teheran. The data are analyzed by the methodology of structural equation modeling (SEM) with using LISREL software and SPSS.

According to the SEM results, for students with intuitive cognitive style, among the four dimensions of entrepreneurial idea (i.e. idea's content, volume, value, and novelty), the greatest direct effect belongs to the idea volume and idea content. Further, for the students with analytical cognitive style, the idea volume and the idea value have the maximum direct impacts on their entrepreneurial intention meanwhile the least direct effect belongs to the idea novelty. In general, entrepreneurial intention of the students, in both groups of intuitive and analytical cognitive styles, is highly influenced by the volume of their entrepreneurial ideas. Therefore, the ideas volume is the most important factor to start up a new business in future by potential entrepreneurs all with analytical or intuitive cognitive styles.

It is recommended that entrepreneurship and business students who are attending entrepreneurship and business skills training courses should be categorized into two distinct groups of intuitive and analytical. For the group of students with intuitive cognitive style, an entrepreneurship training with systematic views and a method of establishing and reinforcing positive and stable emotions should be offered. For those with analytical cognitive style, trainings for “designing and writing Business Model and Plan”, “Opportunity recognition and feasibility study” and its related soft wares should be presented. Accordingly, in order to create and increase the entrepreneurial ideas number among all students, it is suggested that a course entitled “Entrepreneurial Idea Generation” be offered in Entrepreneurship Education Programs at undergraduate and graduate levels.

The paper is one of the first papers to clarify and empirically assess the effects of entrepreneurial ideas dimensions on entrepreneurial intention considering the subjects' cognitive style as a mediating variable.

This paper investigates the factors affecting individual dispositions toward intentions. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the effects of emotional intelligence, entrepreneurial motivation and creativity on the entrepreneurial intentions of university students in Jordan.

The data were gathered through self-administered questionnaires from a sample of 745 university students in Jordan. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares (PLS) analysis.

The results indicate a robust relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and creativity and entrepreneurial intention. However, an insignificant relationship was found between emotional intelligence and entrepreneurial intention. The findings of this study reveal that both creativity and emotional intelligence exert a significant and positive indirect effect on entrepreneurial intentions through the mediation of entrepreneurial motivation.

This work suggests that university administrators should consider the significant roles that emotional intelligence, entrepreneurial motivation and creativity play in shaping the entrepreneurial intentions of university students.

While there is limited existing research on this matter within the Middle Eastern context, especially in Jordan, this study aims to address this gap in the Jordanian entrepreneurial literature. As the first of its kind conducted within Jordanian universities, this study contributes significantly to the understanding of entrepreneurial dynamics in the region. Using the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, this study evaluates emotional intelligence in Jordan. The results contribute to social psychology literature and suggest actionable government measures, integrated into education systems, to encourage entrepreneurial paths for students and alleviate graduate unemployment.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of intellectual capital (IC) as a mediator variable on the association between corporate governance (CG) practices and firm performance. This study also examines bi-causality linkages between these variables.

The designated corporate governance index and the value-added intellectual coefficient method were used to assess the level of CG practices and the performance of IC. Tobin’s Q (TQ) and operating efficiency ratio were used to measure firm performance.

The aggregate CG score has a significant positive impact on the IC and the two measures of firm performance. However, the IC has only a partial mediation effect on the relationship between the aggregate corporate governance score and a firm’s operational efficiency ratio. The IC has partial and full mediation effects in the relationship between the sub-dimensions of corporate governance and the performance of Egyptian corporates. Moreover, a bi-causality relationship can be observed between CG and TQ.

Generalizing the obtained results would require the sample size to be extended.

The findings should alert legislative institutions and practitioners of the need to comply with good CG practices and develop the efficiency of IC to elicit a firm’s superior performance.

This study is one of the first attempts to investigate the causality relationships and the mediation impact of IC on the relationship between CG practices and corporate performance in the Egyptian context.