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The topics of gender and entrepreneurship have been of great scholarly interest since the eighties. In this invited editorial, we provide an overview of the evolution of the field of gender and entrepreneurship. Specifically, we consider the evolution of the field by highlighting the importance of context and the need to consider gender in all future research examining’ entrepreneurial activity. Drawing on a contextualized approach we provide an overview of the six articles in this curated special issue with the aim of increasing our understanding of women’s entrepreneurial activity. Finally, we conclude with some suggestions for future research. We hope this invited editorial will spur deeper research at the intersections between gender and entrepreneurship.

How does employees' work context and job characteristics influence their creative behavior? To explore this question, this study draws on the Job Demands – Job Resources (JD-R) model to examine the role of excessive work overload and training and development on employee creative behaviors. Additionally, the study explores whether employees' work passion mitigates or enhances the effects of work overload and training and development on their creative behavior. Data from 142 employee–supervisor dyads in a Singaporean telecommunications organization showed that work overload had a marginally significant positive effect on employee creative behavior. Additionally, employees' work passion was found to enhance the effects of training and development on their creative behavior. The study contributes to ongoing debates in the literature regarding how specific characteristics of one's job and targeted human resource practices may foster employee creativity.

PurposeThis study investigates the mediating role of personal initiative taking in the link between employees' exposure to transformational leadership and their engagement in creative behavior, as well as a potential catalytic role of perceived work overload in this process.Design/methodology/approachThe research hypotheses were tested with survey data collected among employees of a large organization that operates in the telecommunications sector.FindingsTransformational leadership translates into enhanced creative work efforts among employees, because these employees adopt an action-based approach toward work. This mediating role of personal initiative taking is particularly prominent among employees who encounter excessive workloads in their daily jobs, because their initiative and creativity promise solutions to this resource-draining work situation.Practical implicationsFor human resource managers, this study reveals that employees who go out of their way to address problem situations offer an important means by which a leadership style that inspires and challenges followers can be leveraged to produce enhanced creative outcomes. It also pinpoints how this process can be triggered by employees' beliefs that work demands are excessive.Originality/valueThis study adds to prior research by detailing a hitherto overlooked factor (personal initiative) and catalyst (perceived work overload), related to the translation of transformational leadership into increased creative behavior.

Purpose Drawing on institutional theory, this paper seeks to untangle the relationship between university support for entrepreneurship and students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Specifically, this study aims to examine whether entrepreneurial climates within universities mediate the relationship between university support for entrepreneurship and students’ entrepreneurial intention. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data is drawn from 195 students across three Malaysian higher education institutions. Partial least squares procedures are used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings Findings show that no element of university support for entrepreneurship had a direct effect on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. However, the entrepreneurial climate was found – to mediate the relationship between perceived business and concept development support and students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Originality/value This study represents one of the few efforts in the literature considering the role of entrepreneurial climates within universities in influencing students’ entrepreneurial intention. In considering the mediating role of entrepreneurial climate, in the relationship between university support for entrepreneurship and students’ entrepreneurial intentions, this study provides a complementary and contextualised perspective, to existing studies, which have traditionally focussed on the mediating role of individual attributes. Doing so provides further evidence of entrepreneurial universities in fostering entrepreneurship.

This study explores how supportive and caring attitudes of family-SME hotels influence their non-family employees’ (NFEs) pro-organizational attitudes. Specifically, the study examined whether NFEs...

PurposeThe purpose is to contribute to the debate on how job satisfaction might influence small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employees' propensity to engage in innovative work behaviours. The authors examine the relations between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviour and each of its sub-dimensions: idea generation, promotion and realisation. Additionally, the authors explore the potential moderating effects of openness to experience and conscientiousness on the relations between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviour and each of the sub-dimensions of innovative work behaviour.Design/methodology/approachPaper-based questionnaires were used to collect data from employees in 28 SMEs located in the Aargau region of Switzerland. All the SMEs were part of the high-tech manufacturing industry. The authors’ hypothesized model was tested using hierarchal regression analysis on a sample of 125 employees.FindingsJob satisfaction was positively related to innovative work behaviour and to each of its sub-dimensions: idea generation, promotion and realisation. Openness to experience moderated the relationships between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviour and job satisfaction and the sub-dimensions idea generation, idea promotion and idea realisation. However, conscientiousness did not moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviour, nor between job satisfaction and each of the sub-dimensions of innovative work behaviour.Practical implicationsFindings demonstrate that supportive work environments in SMEs which help develop job satisfaction among employees can have positive effects on the discretionary performances of employees.Originality/valueStudies that examine relationships between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviours in SMEs are extremely sparse. This study makes novel contributions to this line of inquiry by examining how job satisfaction relates to each of the three sub-dimensions of innovative work behaviour and by exploring the potential moderating roles of two important personality traits in these relationships.

How do emerging economy SMEs develop Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE)? Emerging economies represent different institutional contexts to those found in developed economies. Currently our understanding of CE and its emergence is rooted in Western-based assumptions. Consequently, our understanding of the inter-relationship between the emerging economy institutional environments and the SME environment and how they shape corporate entrepreneurial process remains lacking. In response to such gaps in our understanding, this study draws on both Institutional and Contingency theories to explore how CE is developed among African SMEs. Drawing on evidence from four indepth case studies of Kenyan SMEs, our findings reveal a complex process wherein elements of the Kenyan institutional environment shape the internal organization and CE related activities of Kenyan SMEs. Our study extends and enriches previous models of CE and deepen our understanding of how and why context matters for CE.

This commentary responds to recent calls for more research on family firms’ heterogeneity from an ownership perspective. We complement the legal and economic view of ownership by focusing on the concept of psychological ownership (feeling of possessions) in family firms. We explore its dynamics, processes and implications as well as its limited inclusion in the family business field to date. Building on a brief review of the literature, we suggest the concept of psychological ownership can help expand our understanding of family firms’ heterogeneity. Additionally, we put forward a future research agenda for psychological ownership in family firms.

This study sought to examine the pro-organizational attitudes of hotel middle-managers. The ability of hotel middle-managers to contribute to the effectiveness and performance of their hotels is of...

PurposeThe purpose of this study seeks to examine how nonfamily employees' job autonomy and work passion can influence their job satisfaction and intention to quit in family small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Current, research regarding the determinants of nonfamily employees' job satisfaction and turnover intentions has largely focused on the effects of family influence and family firm characteristics. Accordingly, not much is known of how the job characteristics and emotions of nonfamily employees influence their job satisfaction and intention to quit.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 160 nonfamily employees across 28 family-SMEs. Process macro was used to analyze the mediating role of nonfamily employees' work passion in the relationship between their job autonomy and job satisfaction and intention to quit.FindingsFindings showed that nonfamily employees' job autonomy only had a significant direct effects on their job satisfaction and not their intention to quit. Subsequently, nonfamily employees' work passion was found to only partially mediate the relationship between their job autonomy and job satisfaction.Originality/valueBy focusing on the concepts of job autonomy and work passion, the study adds additional insights about the drivers of nonfamily employees' pro-organizational attitudes in family-SMEs. Also the study represents one of the first efforts in the literature to establish a link between job autonomy and the work passion of nonfamily employees with respect to their job satisfaction.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of studies published in theJournal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies(JEEE) between 2014 and 2019. The review also provides suggestions for future research in JEEE.Design/methodology/approachIntegrative literature of 90 empirical and conceptual articles published in JEEE between 2014 and 2019. The selected articles were analyzed using content analysis.FindingsAnalysis of the 90 published articles shows that JEEE has covered a number of relevant topics related to entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging economies. In particular, scholars have adopted a variety of methods to describe such activities in emerging economies. The review also highlights the lack of comparative studies in JEEE and studies, which significantly take into account or focus on the emerging economy context.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that future scholars wishing to submit to JEEE should consider taking a more detailed account of the emerging context.Originality/valueSince its first publication in 2014, this study represents the first review of articles found in JEEE. Specifically, the study provides a platform for future scholars wishing to submit to JEEE to take stock of the studies in the journal, thus giving them a better understanding of the field. The study also provides directions regarding areas of possible future research, which might be of interest to scholars wishing to submit to JEEE.

Family-SMEs utilize their non-family employees to achieve their developmental goals and aspirations. A particular challenge facing many Family-SMEs is how to effectively manage and motivate...

The individual entrepreneurial behavior of employees represents one of the primary antecedents of Corporate Entrepreneurship. The complex nature of ‘employee entrepreneurial behavior’ suggests that a myriad of contextual influences act on the emergence of such behavior. It is imperative that theorists and practitioners alike understand both the subtle and sophisticated ways in which context influences employee entrepreneurial behavior. To address these issues and encourage future work, this study performs a systematic literature review to provide an overview of the field and examines the influence of the job/role, organizational/work and external contexts on employee entrepreneurial behavior. Findings suggest that employee entrepreneurial behavior is an emergent research field and that its behaviors can manifest themselves in different ways compared to firm-level entrepreneurial behaviors. We also show the sophisticated manner in which different types of context influence employee entrepreneurial behavior.

Most family businesses employ more non-family employees than family employees, making them a crucial resource for family small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). Thus, family SMEs must pay particular attention to developmental needs of such employees. However, there is limited empirical knowledge concerning how Family SMEs can manage and develop their non-family employees. Drawing on organizational justice theory, this study set out to investigate how and why non-family employees are satisfied with the High Involvement HR practices (HIHRPs) adopted by family SMEs. Empirical evidence was drawn from the experiences of 16 non-family employees from six SME family-owned enterprises. Findings suggest that a balance between formal and informal HIHRPs is need among family SMEs for non-family employees to be satisfied with them. Moreover, satisfaction with both formal and informal HIHRPs can encourage non-family employees’ engagement with the enterprise and the development of their skills and capabilities. Find...

Most conservation biologists appear to enjoy their careers. However, conflicts between family and work interests can cause burnout, job dissatisfaction, and increased intentions to quit. We conducted questionnaire surveys among 92 conservation biologists attending a regional conference in Asia to investigate (1) what aspects of their jobs conservation biologists like or dislike, and (2) how conflicts between family interests (including activities focused on children, spouses and significant others, parents and other relatives, and activities related to these) and work interests affect job satisfaction and the intentions of conservation biologists to leave their jobs or the field of conservation biology. At work, conservation biologists most enjoyed fieldwork, research opportunities, interactions with people, and a sense of freedom; they most disliked raising and managing funds, working under stressful conditions with tight deadlines, and performing administrative responsibilities. Conservation biologists in our sample generally reported high levels of job satisfaction; however, many also reported that work frequently interfered with family activities, that they were disengaged with their work, and that they intended to search for another conservation biology position or leave the field entirely. Importantly, burnout (exhaustion and disengagement) was a key mediator between work-family conflicts and job satisfaction; that is, when work-family conflicts led to burnout—which happened frequently—people were more likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs and to consider quitting. Conservation biologists and their supervisors should consider taking steps to create healthier work environments—e.g., improve training, transparency about job duties, and family-friendly workplace policies. Engaged and emotionally balanced conservation biologists are likely to be more effective in their efforts to conserve Earth's biodiversity.

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) research has reached a certain degree of consensus around five core internal antecedents that enable CE, but consensus remains focused on large-sized firms in Western economies. Using institutional theory, we argue that contextual factors may undermine the viability of internal antecedents in emerging economy contexts. Our qualitative study shows that the organization of the internal environments for CE among service sector Kenyan SMEs is much more interactive and complex than currently presented in the literature. Specifically cultural and contextual factors appear to influence the extent to which the antecedents are able to produce CE activity. Our findings provide a more fine-grained depiction of the internal environment for CE in emerging economy SMEs.

PurposeThis paper aims to develop an empirical model that examines whether a student’s proactive personality or the university support environment (education support, concept development support and business development support) affects their entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, the relative strengths of a student’s proactive personality and the university environment influences are compared.Design/methodology/approachA total of 141 students attending a well-established and internationally renowned Malaysian higher education institution completed a questionnaire survey. Results were based on correlation and regression analysis.FindingsResults indicate that a proactive personality and concept development support have significant impact on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, the results showed that a student’s proactive personality had a greater effect on their entrepreneurial intentions than that of the university support environment.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates one of the few attempts to examine the effects of both a proactive personality and university support environment on entrepreneurial intentions in an emerging economy context. Specifically, we reconfirm students’ personality traits as a more important predictor of their entrepreneurial intentions than environmental factors in the Malaysian context. Additionally, by also demonstrating concept development support as a significant predictor of entrepreneurial intentions, we provide new insights into how universities in emerging economies can foster the entrepreneurial intentions of their students. This result adds to the academic literature on entrepreneurial intentions in emerging economies.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Malaysian HR professionals emotions regulation strategy mediates the relationship between their personality and burnout. To date few studies have examined such issues, especially among emerging Asian economies such as Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – A model linking the Big Five personality to emotions regulation (deep and surface acting (SA)) and burnout was tested using data from 136 employees from a large Malaysian financial institution. Findings – Results indicate that the Big Five had different effects on burnout and emotion regulation. Only SA mediated the relationship between extroversion, emotional stability and openness on personal-related burnout and between extroversion and openness on work-related burnout. Originality/value – The study represents one of the first attempts in the literature to explore how individual differences and emotions influence burnout among HR professionals. The study also addresses calls in the literature to further explore the role of emotions in the workplace in non-Western contexts.

Despite the importance of middle managers’ entrepreneurial behavior for corporate entrepreneurship, there is still a lack of knowledge about its determinants. Knowledge of the role of individual psychological states and work attitudes remains particularly thin. Through an empirical investigation into 136 middle managers in a large Singapore telecommunications firm, this study finds that psychological ownership is positively related to entrepreneurial behavior and job satisfaction within these middle managers. The study further finds that job satisfaction is positively related to entrepreneurial behavior and mediates the relationship between psychological ownership and entrepreneurial behavior. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the relationship between psychological ownership and pro-organizational behavior, extending psychological ownership research into the field of corporate entrepreneurship via middle managers’ entrepreneurial behavior.

We explore the factors influencing the internationalization of small family firms. Based on interviews with six family firms in Singapore, we highlight the importance of (1) family harmony, (2) trust in external relationships, (3) social and business networks, and (4) organizational resources and capabilities in the internationalization process. We show how the socioemotional wealth factors of trust and harmony affect networking and resources, which in turn affect internationalization. We find that initial internationalization through exports is enabled through trust in family networks, but the typical family characteristics of a desire to maintain family harmony and distrust of outsiders have a negative impact on network creation and resource development, which constrains the extent to which the firm internationalizes beyond exporting. In order to move from the first stage (exports/similar markets) to the second stage (joint ventures/different markets) of internationalization, less emphasis on trust and family harmony accompanied by more emphasis on building external networks and resources may be necessary. We propose a new model of internationalization of family firms based on our findings.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of psychological ownership (both job and organisational based) on extra-role behaviours among family and non-family employees in small overseas Chinese family businesses. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical evidence was drawn from a survey of 80 family owners/managers and non-family employees from 40 small overseas Chinese family businesses from the transport industry in Malaysia. All proposed hypothesis were tested using hierarchical moderated regression analyses. Findings – Job-based psychological ownership was found to significantly predict both types of extra-role behaviours. Organisational-based psychological ownership, however, was only a significant predictor of voice extra-role behaviour. Interestingly enough, no significant moderating effects on the relationships between the two dimensions of psychological ownership and two types of extra-role behaviour were found. Originality/value – Having a dedicated workforce of both family and non-family employees who are willing to display extra-role behaviours may be considered as an essential component of business success and long-term continuity for many family firms around the world. This particular paper represents one of the few empirical efforts to examine the extra-role behaviours of employees in family firms from emerging economies.

How does employees’ creativity affect their well-being in the workplace? It has often been assumed that individual creativity has various positive benefits to the health and well-being of employees. However, we argue in this chapter that being creative in the workplace can have various negative influences on the well-being of employees as well. Specifically, we suggest that being creative in the workplace can also lead to negative outcomes such as depletion of personal resources, alienation, conflict, and the experience of personal grief in the case of failed creative efforts. This chapter makes an important contribution to the existing literature on the outcomes of employee creativity. Several managerial implications and suggestions for future research are also offered.

Purpose: The literature on individual differences in innovative work behavior reveals inconsistencies in the relations of personality traits and tenure on innovation at work. To provide greater clarity about the effects of these antecendents, this paper reports a study of the moderating effects of tenure on the associations of traits and innovative work behavior, and applies a theoretical lens based on trait-activation theory. Methodology: 146 employees of a UK based financial institution completed measures of Conscientiousness and Openness, and had three aspects of innovative work behavior (idea generation, promotion, and realization) rated by their line-supervisor. All participants were on graduate training programmes. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the moderating effects of tenure on the associations of the self-reported traits with the supervisor-rated innovative work behavior outcomes. Findings: Tenure moderated the effects of Conscientousness on innovative work behavior, with highly conscientious employees being less innovative with longer tenure. Tenure moderated the effect of Openness with idea generation with highly open employees generating more ideas if they were longer tenured. Practical Implications: Management of innovation requires differentiated strategies based on the personality traits and tenure of individual employees. Implications for recruitment, socialization and development are discussed. Originality/Value: This is the first study to examine empirically the interactions of traits and contextual factors (i.e. organizational tenure) on innovative work behavior, framed around a strong theoretical foundation (i.e. trait activation theory). The study also makes notable contributions by measuring innovative behavior using a supervisor-rated and multidimensional approach.

What environmental factors enable corporate entrepreneurship (CE) among African SMEs? CE helps firms to recognize and exploit new opportunities and is particularly valuable for firms in turbulent, dynamic or highly volatile environments of Africa. However, to date there is a dearth of research which considers the unique features of the African environmental context and their influence on the CE. To address this gap in our empirical knowledge, this study draws on Institutional Theory to examine the influence of the external environment on the emergence and development of CE among African SMEs. Given the exploratory nature of the study, a multiple case study approach was adopted. Five SMEs from Kenya’s services sector formed the basis for empirical enquiry. Kenyan entrepreneurial attitudes and values along with increasing market and environmental dynamism were found to condition the emergence of CE activities among SMEs, while individual and firm-level networks and social capital, as well as deregulation of the Kenyan environment and government support initiatives, were perceived as important factors that facilitate CE among SMEs. The study’s findings enrich our understanding of the contingent nature of entrepreneurial activity, suggesting that African context matters. It also adds to the growing body of literature on the importance of entrepreneurship in Africa.

Purpose – This study aims to examine the concepts of trait emotional intelligence (EI), emotional labour strategies and burnout among internal human resources (HR) service providers. It proposes a model to deepen our understanding of the processes explaining the protective effects of trait EI on employee burnout. Design/methodology/approach – The present study comprises a sample of 143 HR professionals from a large Malaysian financial institution. Findings – Results suggest that trait EI predicted personal- and work-related burnout but not client-related burnout. Trait EI was also found to be partly related to emotional labour (EL), exhibiting a negative relationship with surface acting but not with deep acting. While surface acting exhibited a significant relationship on all three forms of burnout, deep acting was only significantly related to client burnout. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed that surface acting partly mediated the relationship between EI and burnout. Originality/value – This study examines the relationship between EI, EL and burnout in HR professionals. This study is the first in the literature to examine these relationships in the context of internal service providers and in a non-Western context. Our study enhances our understanding of the processes explaining the protective effects of trait EI on employee burnout in a non-Western context.

Family and non-family employees’ sense of attachment towards the firm and their job can have a number of positive pro-organisational attitudinal and behavioural outcomes, which are essential for family firms’ success. While research interest in psychological ownership (PO) in family firms has increased, further research is still needed in understanding its impact on family firms. To address this gap, we investigate whether organisational-based and job-based psychological ownership (PO) has an impact on extra-role behaviours and employees’ level of work engagement in family businesses. Moreover we look at whether the status of the employees (family or non-family) moderates these relationships. Based on a sample of 101 employees from small Malaysian Chinese family firms, we find significant effects of organisation-based and job-based PO on extra-role behaviours and work engagement. Moreover we find that the effects of job-based PO on vigour and absorption to be moderated by family status. Our findings offer valuable insights into the family business and overseas Chinese family business literatures.

In this article we examine how five immigrant entrepreneurs in Malaysia and Singapore have internationalized their businesses and the role of transnational family networks in this process. We show that one of the key means by which these entrepreneurs are able to access resources and make use of contacts across borders is through transnational family and kinship networks that allow them to simultaneously engage in social and business activities in both countries. We discuss the characteristics of these family networks compared with other social networks that make them of particular value in internationalization. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Although there is a growing body of literature linking human resource management (HRM) and corporate entrepreneurship (CE), there is still insufficient understanding of the mechanisms underlying this relationship. This paper focuses on middle managers’ knowledge-sharing behavior as an important mediator in the HRM–CE relationship. We test our hypotheses using data collected from 163 Malaysian middle managers. The paper finds that about a third of the relationship between High-Performance Human Resource Practices and CE can be accounted for by middle managers’ knowledge-sharing behavior. The findings provide quantitative empirical support for theoretical claims of the importance of middle managers’ knowledge sharing in fostering CE, and for the importance of HRM in fostering such knowledge sharing. The study contributes to the literature on the HRM–CE relationship by disentangling the underlying mechanisms and by providing empirical support for this relationship in a Malaysian context.

In the hotel industry, organisational effectiveness and service quality are highly dependent on front-of-house employees' positive interactions with customers, and their willingness to engage in organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB). Various studies have identified the ability of employees to manage their own emotions and those of others as a key means of understanding how and why employees engage in OCB. The present study seeks to shed light on how the underlying mechanisms of emotional intelligence (EI) and the nature of job role, through the frequency of interactions with customers could be of benefit to service orientated organisations. Empirical evidence was drawn from a sample of 179 front-of-house employees from a four-star Mexican hotel chain. A series of multiple hierarchical regressions revealed that when employees experience high levels of customer contact and engage in high levels of emotion regulation this can have a detrimental effect on their OCB. The findings underscore the importance of the role of work and job context in influencing the EI and OCB relationship.

Through an institution-based perspective, we investigate succession issues of Chinese family enterprises with a focus of how China's One Child Policy impacts the process. Based on an in-depth case study of two Chinese family firms, we find that the succession process is embedded in an institutional environment constituted by a multitude of intertwining moral, socio-economic, and politico-legal factors. To be more effective in this process, we recommend an earlier cultivation of the successors' positive values and attitudes towards the family enterprises, proper alignment between their knowledge and experience, provision of mentoring to them, and strengthening their effort in reflecting upon experience.

There is increasing recognition that the internationalisation of family-firms is becoming an important area of research. Despite the growth of this research area, studies of the internationalisation of family-firms remains limited. Current research in the area has tended to focus on family-firms in largely Western contexts and the economic and familial factors behind their internationalisation. Furthermore, little is known about the internationalisation pathways of family-firms in differing institutional context and the socio-cultural factors that facilitate the features which lie behind it. This study aims to make a start in researching this gap in our understanding. We do this by looking at four case studies of family-firms from Singapore. Based on our findings, we classified firms into one of three internationalisation pathways – traditional, born global and born again global – and we highlight some important differences between the socio-cultural factors that facilitate their internationalisation pathways.

The study examined the relationships between the two types of Work-Family Conflict (WFC): Work Interfering with Family (WIF) and Family Interfering with Work (FIW) and perceived stress as well as the role of the big five personality factors as possible moderators in the WFC-Stress relationship. Data was collected from 188 working parents in Malaysia. Hierarchical moderated regression analyses revealed that both WIF and FIW were significant predictors of stress. Among the big five personality factors, agreeableness and emotional stability moderated the WFC-stress relationships but in different ways. Agreeableness exacerbates stress as WIF increases but alleviates stress when FIW increases. Emotional stability on the other hand heightened stress when work interfered with the family. Practical implications and suggestions for reducing stress among working parents are discussed in accordance to the findings.