Michael H. Morris

Personality characteristics of entrepreneurial leaders appear to play an important role in facilitating the kinds of innovative activities that enhance young firm performance. Scholars have highlighted the need for these firms to demonstrate innovative ambidexterity, or an ability to simultaneously engage in exploration (of new opportunities) and exploitation (of existing products and processes), as innovation strategies. Yet, little is known about the impact of personality characteristics on ambidexterity and its outcomes. We draw on the strategic leadership theory to examine how founder narcissistic admiration relates to young firm performance and whether innovative ambidexterity intervenes as a mediator. Moreover, we contribute to extant research in the field by assessing the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between founder narcissistic admiration and innovative ambidexterity. Using data from 153 young firms drawn from the GUESSS 2018 survey in Russia, we demonstrate that founder narcissistic admiration positively influences performance and innovative ambidexterity mediates this relationship. Furthermore, our moderated mediation analysis reveals that founder gender is an important demographic factor that intensifies the effect of narcissistic admiration on performance through innovative ambidexterity.

Poverty is prevalent in both developing and developed economies, prompting scholars and policymakers to focus more on entrepreneurship as a means to escape poverty. Starting a venture involves a learning journey where entrepreneurs acquire new skills and capabilities. This chapter examines the unique challenges faced by those in poverty when trying to launch and grow a business, highlighting how these challenges hinder their ability to learn and develop essential skills. Utilizing Sen's capabilities framework along with insights from Freire's critical pedagogy and Bandura's social learning theory, the chapter suggests how intervention strategies can be adapted to help these entrepreneurs enhance their critical capabilities. It shares lessons from a global poverty and entrepreneurship intervention program and discusses the implications. The chapter concludes with a conceptual model that links poverty conditions to capability development, venture performance, and personal well-being.

The purpose of this conceptuabsl study is to explore a model linking systemic poverty conditions, the transition to becoming a business owner and entrepreneur, the tendency toward self-sabotage, and outcomes for both the venture and the entrepreneur’s well-being. Specifically, we introduce the concept of transition costs as a key driver of individual behavior. Using transition theory, we investigate the tendency toward self-sabotage when these costs are sufficiently high. By self-sabotage, we refer to intentional and unintentional actions and inactions by these entrepreneurs that undermine their ability to build a successful enterprise. A four-stage transition process is explored, over which degrees of change are likely to result. We argue that the liabilities associated with venture creation by the poor combined with the lack of a supportive institutional environment can serve to increase perceived transition costs and limit the extent to which low-income and disadvantaged individuals are willing or able to transition. Both the development of a venture and the perceived well-being of the entrepreneur are negatively impacted. An agenda for ongoing research is presented.

Building on disadvantage theory and the capabilities framework, the research explores how two critical aspects of the poverty experience, experienced scarcity, and a limited opportunity horizon, can result in the creation of ventures that struggle to achieve marketplace success, which in turn detracts from the entrepreneur’s perceived well-being. These business struggles are traced to a commodity trap, where the business is not well differentiated in the marketplace, suffers from low volumes and margins, has little bargaining power, and is labor-intensive and capacity-constrained. A set of hypotheses regarding these relationships are tested using data from a sample of entrepreneurs from poverty backgrounds within Ecuador. The results provide support for the hypothesized relationships. Disadvantages from poverty translate into disadvantages within a business, and failure to overcome these disadvantages results in a lower sense of well-being on the part of the entrepreneur. Implications are drawn for theory and practice.

The core content of a foundational course in entrepreneurship is investigated. It is argued that the general lack among universities of a standard structure or focus for these foundational courses is tied to an emphasis on an array of different learning objectives. At the root of these differences is the question of whether one is teaching students about entrepreneurship, or how to become entrepreneurs. Frequently, there is no clarity as to which of these is the overriding objective. While there may be a prevailing bias towards teaching students how to become entrepreneurs, the much larger student audience is one that wants to learn about the nature and role of entrepreneurship. It is proposed that the topics covered, the content associated with this content, and the pedagogical approaches employed will vary significantly depending on which of these two is the primary focus of a course. Implications are drawn for the design and delivery of introductory entrepreneurship courses.

This study examines whether and how the experience of poverty shapes the entrepreneurial journey. The research builds upon disadvantage theory to explore how liabilities resulting from the poverty experience can serve as obstacles to the creation of sustainable enterprises. An analysis of data from a sample of 202 entrepreneurs in poverty contexts in the USA demonstrates how liability of poorness (LOP) factors leads to the emergence of more fragile ventures. The findings further indicate that entrepreneurial alertness can moderate the effect of LOP on venture fragility. The study offers theoretical and practical suggestions for further understanding and fostering entrepreneurship as a viable solution to poverty.

We investigate the role of the entrepreneurial mindset in facilitating entrepreneurship by those in poverty. The poverty context contains attributes that place individuals at a disadvantage when launching a venture, conceptualized as the liability of poorness. Poverty also can engender characteristics consistent with entrepreneurial success, or poverty assets. The paper explores how the mindset can help overcome the liability of poorness, while poverty assets serve as a bridge to the mindset. A model is proposed with the mindset as a moderator between aspects of poverty and entrepreneurial outcomes. It is argued that the mindset must be adapted to reflect poverty contexts.