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The research presented here contributes to our understanding of strategic planning and its relationship to performance in nonprofit organizations. Based on a sample of 303 nonprofit organizations, the study emphasizes individual and diverse elements of the planning process. Multiple measures of performance highlight a nonprofits need to garner resource contributions from several constituencies. Using factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis, we find a positive association between scope of planning and executive satisfaction and a negative association between administrative informality and volunteer involvement. Our results suggest that two critical resource contributors, executive directors and donors, may not value formalized decision-making and planning to the extent previously assumed.

Direct selling was founded on the philosophy of coaching people on how to successfully build a business from the ground up, and women comprise a large percentage of these direct selling entrepreneurs. In this chapter, we highlight the empowering benefits of direct selling. First, we focus on women micro-entrepreneurs who want to build their own small businesses, but on a limited scale while maintaining flexible schedules and work-life satisfaction. These women can benefit from the direct selling opportunity in terms of capitalization, formal structures, mentoring, income, self-efficacy, social capital, and life skills. Second, we profile women entrepreneurs who are building their own product organizations and have chosen direct selling as a go-to-market strategy for access to consumers. Three consistent attributes observed across these women are authenticity, affective commitment, and passion.

Widespread adoption of reporting frameworks has contributed to current global practices undertaken by firms to report social, environmental and economic impact. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the most widely used of those frameworks, has produced several generations of guidelines. Their third-generation guidelines (G3), which had the most widespread and long-term use, relied on a series of application levels to convey the quantity and quality of disclosures. The firm’s choice of application level exemplified its corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure strategy. The purpose of this study is to answer the call of scholars for a comprehensive explanation of a firm’s CSR disclosure strategy and suggested researching of the conceptual underpinnings of legitimacy, stakeholder, resource dependence and institutional theories.

Given this call, a comprehensive model is tested that explores relationships arising from these four major theories and the choice of GRI application levels. The model includes four constructs: non-financial corporate characteristics, firm financial performance, stakeholder involvement and environmental turbulence.

Unexpectedly, the findings do not show differences with respect to the theoretical underpinnings of CSR disclosure and the GRI disclosure levels.

Despite their widespread use, GRI was concerned that the G3’s application levels could be misunderstood and that the framework needed conceptual improvement. These concerns led to the elimination of application levels with the launch of GRI’s fourth-generation guidelines (G4) in 2013. The findings support the need for conceptual improvement and the discontinuation of the application level system in the G4 guidelines. They also suggest the need for additional research to examine disclosure choices over time, to make understand corporate disclosure strategies.

South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world with women substantially less likely to be economically active than men. This chapter draws from the theory of planned behavior to examine the enablers and barriers to entrepreneurship in South Africa. Specifically, we examine how attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms in the South African collectivist culture, and behavioral controls of resources influence women’s intentions to start a business. Based on interviews with two successful women entrepreneurs in South Africa, we highlight the key role that government, self-efficacy, and technology-based platforms can have in establishing women’s entrepreneurial intentions.

Changing cultural dynamics, gender equality, education, and technology have contributed to women empowerment. Additionally, the use of Internet and social media platforms by businesses at various stages in the business life cycle is on the rise. Despite this, women entrepreneurs in developing countries are less inclined than their male counterparts toward using online mediums for their businesses. Findings from personal interviews with 20 Indian women entrepreneurs indicate that Indian women are low on social self-efficacy when interacting through online platforms, especially for business purposes. The chapter discusses the reasons behind low social self-efficacy on online mediums and how this can be improved.

As Hispanic American women’s businesses continue to grow in the USA, there is a greater need to understand success factors relevant to these women entrepreneurs. In this chapter, I explore the market access and reach of Hispanic American women entrepreneurs. In doing this, I take into consideration issues of (1) collectivist orientation, (2) level of acculturation, and (3) social network size and composition (strong versus weak ties). The various combinations of these issues enable go-to-market strategies that will likely need to be customized to meet the needs of different groups of Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers.

This exploratory research examines the effect of motivational factors on the firm performance of women entrepreneurs in Lebanon. An interview questionnaire was used to collect data from 110 women entrepreneurs. Findings of the multiple regression model indicated three women entrepreneurial motivations (internal locus of control, self-efficacy, and financial success) were positively related to firm performance. Other entrepreneurial motivations that were explored (need for achievement, desire for independence, and passion) appeared to have no significant positive relation with firm performance. Generally, this exploratory research suggests that theories regarding women entrepreneurship derived from developed countries should be examined carefully before being used in developing country settings like Lebanon.

The number of women entrepreneurs has grown substantially over the last decade; however, there is still a gender gap in terms of access to capital, business size, and revenue. Women have weaker social networks and are less likely to receive funding, often facing discrimination in their attempts. As a result, most women entrepreneurs have fewer resources than men, making it harder for them to succeed in their new ventures. This chapter discusses how using social media can help women grow their social capital to improve access to funding, potential customers, and mentors – helping to shatter the entrepreneurial glass ceiling.