Agri-food entrepreneurship. Harvesting, growing and reseeding the orchard through a bibliometric study

PurposeScholarly literature on entrepreneurial activities in the agri-food sector has flourished over the years in several different ways. This study uses the metaphor of an orchard to describe how this stream of literature has evolved from its initial “seeds” to the rich and diversified “fruits” of current debate. It is now time to harvest and catalogue these “fruits”. This study aims to map out and systematise the current stock of knowledge on agri-food entrepreneurship, so as to identify gaps and thus “plant” new seeds for the future of the “orchard”.Design/methodology/approachTo identify thematic clusters, this study used a bibliometric analysis coupled with a systematic literature review performed over a dataset of 108 peer-reviewed articles.FindingsThe results revealed six thematic clusters related to agri-food entrepreneurship: ecosystems, formal and informal institutions; contextual entrepreneurial practices; community and stakeholders’ engagement; barriers and opportunities; entrepreneurial orientation; and sustainable entrepreneurship. After investigating each of them, this study created a framework to highlight future avenues through which the topic could be further developed.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to systematise, analyse and critically interpret the literature concerned with agri-food entrepreneurship.

Student entrepreneurship ecosystems at Australian higher education institutions

PurposeDespite the significance, university student start-ups and student entrepreneurship ecosystems (SEEs) have been subject to little research. This study aims to apply a qualitative emergent enquiry approach to explore best practice SEEs in Australia, complimented by narratives from leading scholars in higher education institutions with the aim of delineating the integrative components of SEEs.Design/methodology/approachAdopting the entrepreneurial ecosystem framework and aligned to the social cognitive theory, this paper explores the components and dynamics of SEEs, contributing to an understanding of how such components can better support the growth, sustainability and success of student start-ups. The authors extend entrepreneurship research on social construction using narrative research.FindingsThe findings provide guidelines for researchers, entrepreneurship scholars and educators, entrepreneurship students, policymakers and practitioners to enhance the impact and success of university student start-ups by adopting a student ecosystem approach.Research limitations/implicationsThe narratives represent a limited number of universities with an opportunity for further research to empirically measure the impact and outcomes of SEEs. The research is exploratory, inherently conceptual and emergent, providing an opportunity for validation of narrative frameworks in future studies.Practical implicationsThe findings may assist university managers to be more aware of their own subconscious preferences to student entrepreneurship and start-up initiatives, which may be useful in refining their impact and offerings regarding a quest toward the entrepreneurial university.Social implicationsFrom social perspectives, the alignment of the components of SEE has the ability to enhance and shift the entrepreneurial mindset of entrepreneurship students, notwithstanding enhancement of intentionality and self-efficacy.Originality/valueThis is the first study of SEEs in Australia, highlighting the importance of the integration of entrepreneurship education programs, entrepreneurship education ecosystems, the entrepreneurial university and specific start-up initiatives such as university accelerators. Furthermore, students may enhance their entrepreneurial mindset by actively engaging in such ecosystems.

Entrepreneurship imperatives in higher education institutions: The case of Australian Universities

Earlier research has not explicitly emphasised the dynamic integration of entrepreneurship imperatives and transformation in developing the entrepreneurial university. The purpose of this research is to examine the linkage between the strategic intents articulated by universities and their corresponding level of entrepreneurship transformation. This article develops a theoretical framework to examine transformational imperatives, applying a data analytical approach to assess strategic documents using automated content analysis and complex algorithms. Australian universities were chosen for the research given the specific context of the higher education sector and the availability of strategic documents on the institutions’ websites. In the research context, the findings show that, while there are some variances with specific institutions, Australian universities in general, and several groups of universities in particular, expressed different levels of determination, ranging from moderate to moderately strong, to transform themselves into being entrepreneurial. Universities’ management can benefit from the theoretical framework developed in this research to craft strategies to further adopt entrepreneurship imperatives. Implications are also provided to inform universities, industry and government with regard to enhancing the dynamics of entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Political and Historical Determinants of the Differentiation of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems of Agritourism in Poland and Kazakhstan

(1) Background: In the context of differences among countries developing pre-entrepreneurship ecosystems in relation to agritourism, the need to define the specific challenges and facilitators in the group of post-communist countries is recognised. Given that, we aim to examine the differences between the countries belonging to the former USSR and the satellite countries of the former USSR. (2) Methods: For the realisation of the intended objective, we analysed studies of the literature on the subject, in terms of the theoretical treatment of the entrepreneurial eco-system in the field of agritourism, and current legal acts. Our own observations from stays in the regions in question were also used, along with statistical methods concerning the density of the transport network, comparative analysis of historical and political conditions, and SWOT analysis. (3) Results: Substantial differences were found between the components of the agritourism entrepreneurship ecosystem in Poland and Kazakhstan, primarily related to the level of transport infrastructure density (satisfactory in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, insufficient in North Kazakhstan), tradition of individual farming (well established in Poland, poorly present in Kazakhstan), support for agritourism development by central and local authorities (relatively high in Poland, incidental and with a short history in Kazakhstan), and finally, differences in the target group of agritourism service recipients (stable in Poland, undefined in Kazakhstan). (4) Conclusions: The research leads to the conclusion of the heterogeneity of the determinants of the development of the agritourism entrepreneurship ecosystem in countries collectively defined as post-communist. There are clearly different challenges and facilitations resulting not so much from the past political system as from the ethnic-historical considerations, the position of agriculture in the economy, and the degree and effectiveness of the involvement of administrative authorities in the development of agritourism. The study leads to a recommendation on the need for more efficient targeting of agritourism consumers abroad.

Digital Society Incubator: Combining Exponential Technology and Human Potential to Build Resilient Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Although exponential technologies promise to bring unprecedented value at the socio-economic and policy levels, the social acceptability and preparedness for the technological “singularity” should be carefully considered. In particular, whereas digital innovation is able to drive an extraordinary development of entrepreneurial ventures, a number of challenging issues and the ongoing pandemic crisis have increased the need to investigate how technological breakthrough and human capital can be effectively combined in order to build resilient socio-technical and entrepreneurial ecosystems. This paper offers a synopsis of the major investigation areas and a reflection on the themes associated with the emergence of a digital society and the affirmation of digital entrepreneurship ecosystems. The research process follows a systematic literature review and a conceptual development approach aimed to introduce both the concept and a model of the digital society “incubator”. The proposed model identifies the actors, values, flows, and processes that are required to support the construction of a resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem. In this perspective, the study proposes a new focus by hybridizing and integrating both entrepreneurial and technology-related dimensions into a single unifying model. The study also lays the groundwork for further studies aimed at identifying the environmental and institutional factors required to support a smooth and effective transition towards a resilient entrepreneurial and technology-driven society.

Social Entrepreneurship: A Bibliometric-Based Research Trend

Social entrepreneurship is a relatively novel topic and popular area of research and practice. It is recognised as a key instrument for addressing social issues and promoting sustainable development.The evolution of the social entrepreneurship concept has been discussed in the entrepreneurship domain last fifteen years.Therefore, a comprehensive inquiry of the overall body of knowledge relating tosocial entrepreneurship research in the entrepreneurship domain is vital for stimulating social entrepreneurship ecosystems. The research aims to support further study based on the current research trend through graphical visualization and bibliographic analysis. This study also maps the expansion of scientific and academic researchto explain the most recent stage in developing the phenomenon. It presents a general structure of the field and details of the main topics studied in this discipline. One thousand seven hundred sixty-three (1763) research papers published in the Scopus database from 1996 to 2019 were reviewed using bibliometric statistics covering 23 years. Thus, the study, therefore, serves to map trends in the development of the research in this field. The results showed some useful insights, such as the pattern of annual publications, top citation-based authors, organizations, nations, and publishers worldwide. This paper will also provide a primary reference source for the researcher to establish a theoretical framework in this area.

Digital transformation in West Africa: a two country, two-sector analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore opportunities and challenges of accelerating digital entrepreneurship development in key economic growth sectors in West Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study uses case illustrations from the media and agriculture sectors to highlight some of the opportunities and challenges that have shaped current business practices in this digital space in West Africa. Findings Technological infrastructure featured as one of the main challenges for fostering success in the media-tech cases and perhaps linked to the low internet penetration rates. Likewise, infrastructure proved to be a challenge in the agri-tech sector cases. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of partnerships within the entrepreneurship ecosystems as a critical condition for ensuring positive benefits for all stakeholders within the entrepreneurial ecosystem taken from the lens of West Africa.