Ali Raza, Shumaila Yousafzai and Saadat Saeed
How does the interplay between entrepreneurship policies and both formal and informal gender equality affect women’s inclination towards self-employment in contrast to men?
Abstract
Purpose
How does the interplay between entrepreneurship policies and both formal and informal gender equality affect women’s inclination towards self-employment in contrast to men?
Design/methodology/approach
This study introduces and validates a comprehensive multi-level model underpinned by symbolic interactionism, institutional theory, and the nuances of gendered institutions. Employing innovative analytical techniques and leveraging data from 66 countries, we scrutinize how formal and informal gendered institutional arrangements either inhibit or facilitate an environment favorable to women’s entrepreneurial activities.
Findings
Significantly, our research delves into the nuanced effects of specific entrepreneurship policies across diverse nations. While these policies can bridge the gendered resource gap, a profound understanding of broader gender dynamics is crucial for fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial landscape.
Originality/value
Our insights advocate for a more integrated approach to bolster women’s participation in entrepreneurship, thus furthering their socio-economic progression.
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Ali Raza, Moreno Muffatto and Saadat Saeed
The purpose of this paper is to use a unique set of measures from Holmes et al. (2013) to clarify the relationship between entrepreneurial readiness and entrepreneurial behaviours…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use a unique set of measures from Holmes et al. (2013) to clarify the relationship between entrepreneurial readiness and entrepreneurial behaviours across countries and determine whether formal institutions moderate this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses data collected by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Index of Economic Freedom, Political Risk Services, and the Freedom House and Political Constraint Index to test a theoretical model. A multilevel analysis is performed based on set of 377,356 observations from 51 countries spanning eight years (2001-2008).
Findings
The results suggest that entrepreneurial readiness has a strong relationship with entrepreneurial behaviour (as measured by entrepreneurial entry and opportunity-based entrepreneurship) and that this relationship strengthens with increases in political democracy (PD), government regulations (GR), financial capital availability (FCA) and market liquidity (ML).
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on Holmes et al.’s (2013) institutions that are most important for society, uses satisfactory sample size and multi-level modelling. However, many more institutional conditions that remain to be considered might affect entrepreneurial activities.
Practical implications
For policy-makers, the results show that PD, GR, FCA and ML correlate favourably with entrepreneurial behaviour when individuals have a high level of entrepreneurial readiness. Policy-makers should introduce policies that provide a secure environment to individuals to start their own ventures.
Originality/value
The current study is among the first to examine the three dimensions of formal institutions—political, regulatory, and economic institutions—in a single study. Using the three dimensions, the study explains theoretically and examines empirically the effect of individual-level entrepreneurial readiness on entrepreneurial behaviour.
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Ali Raza, Moreno Muffatto and Saadat Saeed
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between entrepreneurial cognition and innovative entrepreneurial activity (IEA) across countries using an institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between entrepreneurial cognition and innovative entrepreneurial activity (IEA) across countries using an institutional perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper tests theoretical model using data collected by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness study and the Index of Economic Freedom (IEF). A multi-level analysis is performed based on set of 1,004,620 observations from 49 countries spanning 13 years (2001–2013).
Findings
The results suggest that in terms of formal regulations; the relationship between entrepreneurial cognitions and IEA becomes stronger when there is an increase in intellectual property right and business freedom regulations in a country. On the other hand, in terms of informal institutions the relationship between entrepreneurial cognitions and IEA becomes stronger when the level of institutional collectivism and uncertainty decreases and performance orientation increases.
Originality/value
The study indicates that entrepreneurship by innovation increases when the individuals possess high level of entrepreneurial cognition under suitable institutional conditions (e.g. intellectual property right, business freedom, institutional collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and performance orientation).
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Pakistan had never been a place of serious and nuanced debate and contestation of politics of postcolonial critique, that is, the continuity of economic, political, and cultural…
Abstract
Pakistan had never been a place of serious and nuanced debate and contestation of politics of postcolonial critique, that is, the continuity of economic, political, and cultural dependency of newly independent countries (NICs) on ex-colonizers as pointed out by neocolonialism, dependency theory, and postcolonial theory, respectively. Instead, Pakistan is presented by extant liberal academic literature as a “failed nation” and a state dominated by the military and plagued by religious extremism. As opposed to this, through the literary and activists writings of Aziz-ul-Haq, this chapter will try to illustrate how cultural contestation of the nation-building project postindependence from British rule was a lot more complex and interesting in Pakistan. This was so because the nation-building project of Pakistan was, on the one hand, an amalgamation of Indo-Persian, Arab, Indian, and Western colonial and civilizational influences and, on the other hand, entailed suppression of resilient local and national cultures of its constituent nationalities developed over centuries. This was later expressed in ethno-nationalist politics. However, when it came to the politics of the marginalized in the late 1960s, there were important political, theoretical, and literary insights which caused a change in the direction of political practice in Pakistan, which paralleled the politics expressed by writers like Fanon and early Subaltern Studies influenced by the Naxal Movement in India. The contestation and confusion arising from this dialectic also entered Pakistan's literary and cultural sphere. This chapter not only tries to give a different postcolonial critique of the failure of nation-building project in Pakistan but, though at a preliminary level, is an attempt to separate the original postcolonial theory in its radical tradition from contemporary postmodern/poststructuralist postcolonial theory marked with pessimism and resignation.
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Fatemeh Aamazadeh, Jaleh Barar, Yalda Rahbar Saadat and Alireza Ostadrahimi
This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic/apoptotic effects of sweet apricot kernel ethanolic extract (SAEE) on human cancerous PANC-1 and 293/KDR normal cells.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic/apoptotic effects of sweet apricot kernel ethanolic extract (SAEE) on human cancerous PANC-1 and 293/KDR normal cells.
Design/methodology/approach
The extract was prepared by maceration, and its chemical composition was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The biological effects of SAEE on PANC-1 and 293/KDR cells were investigated using MTT (3–(4, 5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay, DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) and AnnexinV/propidium iodide (PI) staining. The expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes was evaluated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time q-PCR) analysis.
Findings
The SAEE showed the selective growth inhibitory activity against PANC-1 cells with an IC50 (the 50% inhibitory concentration) value of about 1 mg/mL at 72 h. Further investigations by DAPI staining and flow cytometry revealed nucleus fragmentation and elevation of apoptotic cells, respectively. Also, a significant decrease in B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)/Bcl-2-associated x protein (Bax) ratio (0.41, p = 0.001) and the up-regulation of caspase-3 expression (1.5 fold, p = 0.002) indicated the induction of apoptosis in PANC-1 cells but not in 293/KDR non-cancerous cells. These results suggest that SAEE could induce apoptosis in cancer cells via a mitochondrial dependent pathway. Furthermore, GC-MS analysis showed that the SAEE is rich in γ-sitosterol and γ-tocopherol. Overall, the findings suggest that because of the selective impacts of SAEE on PANC-1 cells, it can be considered as a supportive care in adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer. However, the potent anticancer effects of main components of SAEE and its clinical value as an antitumor drug should be further investigated.
Research limitations/implications
Considerable limitations of this study were that the related mechanisms of selective impacts of SAEE on cancerous and normal cells and potent cytotoxic/apoptotic effects of γ-sitosterol and γ-tocopherol as major components of SAEE were not investigated.
Originality/value
Recently, a growing interest has been dedicated to plant-based natural products. Sweet apricot kernel exerts a number of pharmacological activities; however, the anticancer effect, related mechanisms and its active compounds were rarely investigated. In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic/apoptotic effects of SAEE on human cancerous PANC-1 and 293/KDR normal cells.
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Saadat Nakyejwe Lubowa Kimuli, Kasimu Sendawula and Shakilah Nagujja
This study aims to explore the sustainable entrepreneurship practices undertaken in women-owned businesses, challenges and strategies that women business owners intend to adopt to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the sustainable entrepreneurship practices undertaken in women-owned businesses, challenges and strategies that women business owners intend to adopt to implement more sustainable entrepreneurship practices using evidence from Uganda.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is cross-sectional and qualitative in nature. It involved conducting in-depth interviews with women business owners operating in Owino market and study results were analyzed using ATLAS. ti 8.
Findings
The results indicate that women business owners undertake social, environmental and economic practices in their businesses. However, participants are constrained by fire outbreaks, riskiness of their businesses and breakdown of machinery. Therefore, indicated plans of using energy-saving stoves and electronic tailoring machines digitizing their businesses and hiring skilled workers in order to improve sustainable entrepreneurship practices in their businesses.
Originality/value
This study offers maiden evidence on the sustainable entrepreneurship practices undertaken by women business owners, challenges faced and strategies undertaken to support uptake of more sustainable entrepreneurship practices in their businesses using evidence from Uganda.
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Enoch Adusei, Emmanuel Demah and Richard K. Boso
The novel COVID-19 supply chain disruption has globally altered the environmental needs of society. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to examine how top managers are…
Abstract
Purpose
The novel COVID-19 supply chain disruption has globally altered the environmental needs of society. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to examine how top managers are environmentally committed to integrating green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in the operational performance of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, within the post-pandemic economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a cross-sectional survey to obtain data from 270 SMEs in Ghana, using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling to test seven hypothesized relationships.
Findings
The outcome of the analysis revealed that top management environmental commitment has a significantly positive effect on supply chain operational performance. The structural model also revealed that top management environmental commitment has a positive and significant effect on both internal and external GSCM practices. The results further revealed that both internal and external GSCM practices have positive and significant effects on supply chain operational performance. Finally, both internal and external GSCM practices mediate the path between top management environmental commitment and supply chain operational performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides a novel framework which contributes to both theoretical studies and managerial decisions on COVID-19 related supply chain management issues. However, the study was limited to the Ghanaian context, thus, further related studies are required in other contexts.
Originality/value
This study provides a novel framework by elucidating the intervening role of GSCM practices in the path between top management environmental commitment and supply chain operations in an emerging post-pandemic world context.
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Anthony Tibaingana, Kasimu Sendawula, Faisal Buyinza, Saadat Nakyejwe Lubowa Kimuli, Emmanuel Ssemuyaga, Catherine Tumusiime, Ronny Mulongo and Rita Atukwasa
The purpose of this study is to establish whether all the dimensions of entrepreneurship skills matter for sustainable business start-up among the youths, using evidence from a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to establish whether all the dimensions of entrepreneurship skills matter for sustainable business start-up among the youths, using evidence from a developing economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This was cross-sectional study which utilized a quantitative approach. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 254 youths who undertook skills training at the various government-supported business skills training centers in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA), that is to say, Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to derive descriptive, correlational and hierarchical regression.
Findings
Study findings indicate that unlike entrepreneurial skills, management, technical and personal maturity skills matter for the sustainability of business start-up of youths in Uganda. However, when all skills are compared, management skills matter most as compared to technical and personal maturity skills.
Originality/value
This study strengthens the existing literature on the sustainable business start-up of youths in Uganda. It is also relevant for policy decision-making and policy reversal because it demonstrates that skilling is pertinent and should be encouraged and rolled out across the country to encourage sustainable youth business start-ups. To increase sustainable business start-up among youths, management skills should be prioritized, together with technical and personal maturity skills, compared to entrepreneurial skills, which should only be emphasized at the idea generation, planning, resource mobilization and business implementation stages.
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This study investigated the impact of entrepreneurship education on the international entrepreneurship intention of the university students while considering the mediating roles…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the impact of entrepreneurship education on the international entrepreneurship intention of the university students while considering the mediating roles of entrepreneurship alertness, proactive personality, innovative behaviour and the moderating role of global mindset in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employs a survey methodology, utilising a structured questionnaire for data collection. The study specifically concentrates on students enrolled at Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) in Ghana, drawing its sample from six academic programmes within the university. Data analysis is conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The findings of this research revealed that entrepreneurship education exerts a positive influence on the international entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, entrepreneurship alertness acts as a mediator in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and innovative behaviour. Similarly, a proactive personality serves as a mediating factor between entrepreneurship education and innovative behaviour. Moreover, innovative behaviour operates as a mediator in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and international entrepreneurship intention. Additionally, a global mindset plays a crucial moderating role in the connection between entrepreneurship education and international entrepreneurship intention.
Originality/value
This study makes a significant contribution to the field by shedding light on the mediating roles of proactive personality, entrepreneurial alertness, innovative behaviour and global mindset moderating the relationship between entrepreneurship education and international entrepreneurship intention. These insights offer fresh perspectives on the complex dynamics at play in the realm of entrepreneurship education and its impact on students' intentions for the international entrepreneurship.
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Saleh Al-Omar, Ammar Alalawneh and Ayman Harb
This paper aims to examine the direct impact of entrepreneurship education on university students' entrepreneurial intention and the moderating role of perceived governmental…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the direct impact of entrepreneurship education on university students' entrepreneurial intention and the moderating role of perceived governmental support in terms of financial support and policies and regulations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study collected data using questionnaires from students enrolled in compulsory entrepreneurship courses at three public Jordanian universities. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze 1,228 valid questionnaires and test the hypotheses.
Findings
The study revealed that entrepreneurship education positively and significantly affects students' entrepreneurial intentions. On the other hand, perceived governmental support in terms of financial support and policies and regulations has a nonsignificant moderating role in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and students' entrepreneurial intention.
Originality/value
This study enriches the literature with new evidence that entrepreneurship education has a positive, direct impact on students' intention to become entrepreneurs. It also contributes to the body of knowledge as the first to examine the role governments’ play besides encouraging entrepreneurship education through their education policies.