This study explores the entrepreneurial logic applied in the opportunity evaluation phase in a research-based startup company (RBSO) faced with multiple business opportunities recognized by external actors. Entrepreneurial logic, measured through the enactment of entrepreneurial behavior, is investigated from the theoretical perspectives of causation and effectuation. Making use of a qualitative, single embedded case study consisting of participant observations and interviews conducted during a seven-month period in a Swedish RBSO, this study contributes to research in the field of entrepreneurship by exploring the logic of opportunity evaluation in RBSOs. Our findings show that the combinations of causal and effectual logical patterns are applied in the opportunity evaluation process but that effectual logic prevails. The effectual logic is related to the operational aspect of the evaluation process and is applied internally while causal logic is related to the general strategic aspect and serves as a way to communicate with the company's stakeholders. The primary driver behind the prevalence of the effectual versus causal logic is uncertainty which in turn is related to the knowledge-intensive nature of the RBSO and the dynamic environment in which it operates. The causal logic is mainly found in the company’s acquisition of human resources aimed to support technology-related knowledge gain.

<p>A sustainable development of entrepreneurship will not be possible in such a complex andchallenging environment as today’s society, without the attainment of effective learning andbusiness support capabilities (Williams, 1998). One such support is obtained through havingexperienced entrepreneurs mentor less experienced entrepreneurs, transferring knowledge(Clutterbuck, 2004) and facilitating learning (Sullivan, 2000). As Leonard Bisk (2002)and Sullivan (2000) among other researchers (Deakins et al. 1997) stress, there is a need tolook beyond the start-up process of a firm and the use of mentorship in this early phase,and focus more on how entrepreneurs who have been in business for a while can benefitfrom a mentor program, an area referred to as “the nature of timing and support” (Sullivan,2000, p. 163).</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to explore how an experienced entrepreneur, a mentor, canhelp a less experienced entrepreneur, an adept, achieve entrepreneurial development duringand throughout different phases of the entrepreneurial life cycle, in the most efficient manner.</p><p>An entrepreneurial life cycle can be divided into several phases, which can be used in orderto examine the entrepreneur’s development process within different time periods of runninga firm. Start-up support generally involves providing entrepreneurs with the crucial“tools” for survival, such as basic financial support, bookkeeping and marketing (Sullivan,2000). Mature entrepreneurs generally request psychological benefits, such as reassuranceand improved confidence as they wonder whether or not their experiences are normal andhow they should be interpreted (Megginson et al. 2006). There are two types of directivementoring styles, coaching and counseling, and two types of non directive mentoring,counseling and networking.</p><p>The main objective with our research in this thesis was to explore how entrepreneurs’ developmentthroughout and during different phases was affected by active participation in amentor program. To gather information we used a qualitative method, in which we interviewedten entrepreneurs who were currently active in a mentor program, or had been activewithin the last 12 months. The empirical findings were later analyzed in the light of theframe of references and the authors own viewpoint, by conducting a within case/cross casecomparisons.</p><p>The results indicate that a mentor can best help an entrepreneur achieve entrepreneurialdevelopment by providing non directive support, enabling the entrepreneur to draw his orher own conclusions and stimulate self reliance. This support is best delivered after thestart-up and conception phase, the first phase of the life-cycle.</p>

Failure is something which most people probably try to avoid. However, even though entrepreneurial failure can put the entrepreneur through emotional, social and financial stress, it can also be viewed as a learning experience (Ucbasaran et al., 2013) and as an opportunity for the entrepreneur to gain human capital like knowledge and skills (Quan &amp; Huy, 2014).The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what impact business failure and human capital have on the entrepreneurial learning of habitual entrepreneurs. Drawing on theory from the field of entrepreneurial failure, human capital and learning, this multiple case study has investigated eight habitual entrepreneurs qualitatively through semi-structured interviews.  The findings suggest that entrepreneurial failure is strongly connected to learning regardless of whether the failure is a bankruptcy or a smaller failure, and on the other hand that financial cost after failure can act as a barrier to learning. In addition, the findings suggest that human capital is is both an outcome of learning, in the sense that knowledge and skills increase with learning, but also that human capital is an enhancer of further learning as well. This implies that entrepreneurs on one hand should be aware of the risks of suffering financially after a failure, but on the other hand that failure can potentially be beneficial and positive as well due to the learning, knowledge and skills it generates.

O empreendedorismo é um tema que atrai cada vez mais interessados, por diferentes razões, em contextos e realidades distintos. Valorizar e apoiar esse fenômeno torna-se essencial para o sucesso econômico e social, não só do Brasil, mas de todo o mundo. Uma das formas de apoio é através de programas de educação empreendedora. Esse estudo visou compreender fatores determinantes para o empreendedorismo, tendo o empreendedor como foco nessas discussões, bem como aspectos comportamentais envolvidos nesse processo, e a efetividade de programas de educação empreendedora. Talvez um dos programas mais aplicados em educação empreendedora, o EMPRETEC é um grande símbolo quando se trata desse assunto. Ao longo dos seus trinta anos de existência, estando presente no Brasil há vinte e cinco, mais de trezentos e cinquenta mil pessoas passaram pelo programa, das quais duzentos e cinquenta mil somente no Brasil. Entretanto, o programa sofreu mudanças no seu formato, conteúdo e duração. Estudos anteriores já haviam demonstrado a efetividade do EMPRETEC, mas não havia disponível nenhum estudo relativo à última mudança, ocorrida em 2011. O presente estudo visou avaliar o impacto desse programa, sob o ponto de vista da efetiva prática dos comportamentos empreendedores, e investigar como no dia a dia os empreendedores os praticam. A partir dos dados obtidos, é possível concluir que os participantes do EMPRETEC adotam a prática efetiva dos comportamentos preconizados pelo programa, e consideram que o EMPRETEC fez diferença em suas jornadas empreendedoras. Uma vez que a presente pesquisa tomou como base a autopercepção dos próprios empreendedores(as), sugere-se a continuidade de estudos sobre este e outros programas de educação empreendedora que sejam capazes de avaliar a prática de comportamentos e seu impacto nos resultados do empreendimento para além da narrativa dos participantes. / Entrepreneurship is a theme that attracts more and more interested, for different reasons, in distinct contexts and realities. Appreciating and supporting this phenomenon is essential for economic and social success, not only for Brazil, but for most countries of the world. One of the ways of supporting is through entrepreneurial educational programs. This study aimed to understand determinant factors for entrepreneurship, having the entrepreneur as a focus on these discussions, as well as behavioral aspects involved in this process, and the effectiveness of entrepreneurial educational programs. Perhaps one of the most famous programs in entrepreneurial education, the EMPRETEC is a great symbol when it comes to this issue. Throughout its thirty years of existence, being present in Brazil for twenty-five, over three-hundred and fifty thousand people have attended the program, two-hundred and fifty thousand from Brazil alone. However, it has undergone changes in its format, content and duration. Previous studies had already demonstrated the effectiveness of the EMPRETEC, but no study was available concerning the last change, which occurred in 2011. This study aimed to assess the impact of this program, from the point of view of the effective practice of entrepreneurial behaviors, and to investigate how in everyday life, entrepreneurs practice them. From the data obtained, it is possible to conclude that the participants of the EMPRETEC adopt the effective practice of the behaviors advocated by the program and consider that the EMPRETEC made a difference in their entrepreneurial journeys. As the present research was based on the self-perception of the entrepreneurs, future studies could evaluate the behavioral performance throughout other methods beyond these narratives.

A sustainable development of entrepreneurship will not be possible in such a complex andchallenging environment as today’s society, without the attainment of effective learning andbusiness support capabilities (Williams, 1998). One such support is obtained through havingexperienced entrepreneurs mentor less experienced entrepreneurs, transferring knowledge(Clutterbuck, 2004) and facilitating learning (Sullivan, 2000). As Leonard Bisk (2002)and Sullivan (2000) among other researchers (Deakins et al. 1997) stress, there is a need tolook beyond the start-up process of a firm and the use of mentorship in this early phase,and focus more on how entrepreneurs who have been in business for a while can benefitfrom a mentor program, an area referred to as “the nature of timing and support” (Sullivan,2000, p. 163). The purpose of this thesis is to explore how an experienced entrepreneur, a mentor, canhelp a less experienced entrepreneur, an adept, achieve entrepreneurial development duringand throughout different phases of the entrepreneurial life cycle, in the most efficient manner. An entrepreneurial life cycle can be divided into several phases, which can be used in orderto examine the entrepreneur’s development process within different time periods of runninga firm. Start-up support generally involves providing entrepreneurs with the crucial“tools” for survival, such as basic financial support, bookkeeping and marketing (Sullivan,2000). Mature entrepreneurs generally request psychological benefits, such as reassuranceand improved confidence as they wonder whether or not their experiences are normal andhow they should be interpreted (Megginson et al. 2006). There are two types of directivementoring styles, coaching and counseling, and two types of non directive mentoring,counseling and networking. The main objective with our research in this thesis was to explore how entrepreneurs’ developmentthroughout and during different phases was affected by active participation in amentor program. To gather information we used a qualitative method, in which we interviewedten entrepreneurs who were currently active in a mentor program, or had been activewithin the last 12 months. The empirical findings were later analyzed in the light of theframe of references and the authors own viewpoint, by conducting a within case/cross casecomparisons. The results indicate that a mentor can best help an entrepreneur achieve entrepreneurialdevelopment by providing non directive support, enabling the entrepreneur to draw his orher own conclusions and stimulate self reliance. This support is best delivered after thestart-up and conception phase, the first phase of the life-cycle.

Cette thèse est consacrée d'une part à la conceptualisation de l'esprit entrepreneurial et d'autre part à l'identification des facteurs de son développement à l'université. L'étude théorique nous a amené à considérer l'esprit entrepreneurial comme un processus mental composé d'un ensemble d'attitudes et de sentiments de compétence favorable à une orientation entrepreneuriale. L'université à côté d'autres facteurs de socialisation pourrait le développer. Et ce en évoluant vers une université entrepreneuriale moyennant l'adoption d'une orientation entrepreneuriale. De ce fait, elle est amenée à adopter des pratiques entrepreneuriales à la fois au niveau de son environnement interne qu'externe. Nous avons mené une investigation préliminaire à travers des entretiens semi-directifs avec 24 responsables des universités tunisiennes afin d'explorer, identifier et cerner les facteurs de développement de l'entrepreneuriat et de l'esprit entrepreneurial à l'université tunisienne. De surcroît, la démarche hypothético-inductive nous a permis de superposer les propositions théoriques issus de la littérature avec les principaux résultats de l'enquête. Ce qui nous a permis par conséquent d'affiner et d'enrichir le modèle conceptuel à travers l'ajout de nouvelles variables: • Le type de l'université influence le développement de l'entrepreneuriat et de l'esprit entrepreneurial; • L'importance du rôle du responsable de l'université dans le développement de l'entrepreneuriat et de l'esprit entrepreneurial à l'université: il est appelé à devenir un entrepreneur; • L'importance du réaménagement du plan d'étude; • Au niveau de l'enseignement de l'entrepreneuriat: importance des pédagogies originales et ludiques et celles basées sur les TIC et de la formation des formateurs en entrepreneuriat; • Intégration de la communication avec et entre étudiants et de la motivation de ces derniers ; • Importance de nouer des partenariats universités/ universités et plus de contact avec la société. Le modèle conceptuel proposé affiné par l'étude exploratoire peut servir comme référence ou point de départ pour des recherches ultérieures visant l'étude des facteurs de développement de l'entrepreneuriat et de l'esprit entrepreneurial à l'université. Il peut servir également comme outil mis à la disposition des universités voulant initier et concrétiser une politique de promotion de l'entrepreneuriat et de l'esprit entrepreneurial en leur sein. L'originalité de cette thèse est d'offrir une nouvelle conception de l'entrepreneuriat: un état d'esprit, un domaine d'enseignement et d'éducation et une option de carrière possible. Ainsi, sa valeur consiste à contribuer à la conceptualisation de l'esprit entrepreneurial, à alimenter la réflexion autour des facteurs de développement de l'entrepreneuriat et de l‘esprit entrepreneurial à l'université et à aborder de nouveaux concepts: université entrepreneuriale et orientation entrepreneuriale de l'université. Mots clés : Université, entrepreneuriat, esprit entrepreneurial, conceptualisation, enseignement de l'entrepreneuriat, facteurs de développement, orientation entrepreneuriale. / This thesis is dedicated, on one hand, to the conceptualization of the entrepreneurial spirit and the identification of the factors of its development at the university, on the other. The theoretical study led us to consider the entrepreneurial spirit as a mental process composed of a set of attitudes and feelings of skills (or competencies) favorable to an entrepreneurial orientation. The university, along with other factors of socialization, could develop such by evolving towards an entrepreneurial university for the adoption of an entrepreneurial orientation. To this effect, it is brought to adopt entrepreneurship practices at both at the internal and external levels of its environment. We conducted a preliminary empirical investigation through semi-directive interviews with 24 persons in charge of the Tunisian universities so as to investigate, identify and encircle the factors of development of the entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial spirit a Tunisian universities. Besides, the hypothetic-inductive approach allowed us to stack the theoretical propositions stemming from the literature with the main results of investigation. In so doing, we managed to refine and enrich the conceptual model through the addition of new variables: • The university type influences the development of the entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial spirit; • The importance of the role of the person in charge of the university in the development of the entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial spirit for the university: it is called to become an entrepreneur; • The importance of the refitting of the study schedule; • At the level of the entrepreneurial education: importance of the original and playful pedagogies and those based on TRICK and the training(formation) of the trainers in entrepreneurship; • Integration of the communication with and between students and their motivation; • Importance to knot partnerships universities / universities and more contact with the society. The proposed conceptual model refined by the exploratory study can serve as reference or point of departure for later researches aiming at studying the development factors of the entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial spirit at the university. It can also serve as a tool given to universities intending to introduce and concretize a policy for the promotion of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial spirit within their context. The originality of this thesis is to offer a new conception of the entrepreneurship: a state of mind, a domain of teaching and education and an option of possible career. So, its value consists in contributing to the conceptualization of the entrepreneurial spirit, in feeding the reflection around the factors of development of the entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial spirit at the university and in approaching new concepts: entrepreneurial university and entrepreneurial orientation of the university. Keys words University, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial spirit, conceptualization, entrepreneurial education, factors of development, entrepreneurial orientation.

O empreendedorismo é um tema que atrai cada vez mais interessados, por diferentes razões, em contextos e realidades distintos. Valorizar e apoiar esse fenômeno torna-se essencial para o sucesso econômico e social, não só do Brasil, mas de todo o mundo. Uma das formas de apoio é através de programas de educação empreendedora. Esse estudo visou compreender fatores determinantes para o empreendedorismo, tendo o empreendedor como foco nessas discussões, bem como aspectos comportamentais envolvidos nesse processo, e a efetividade de programas de educação empreendedora. Talvez um dos programas mais aplicados em educação empreendedora, o EMPRETEC é um grande símbolo quando se trata desse assunto. Ao longo dos seus trinta anos de existência, estando presente no Brasil há vinte e cinco, mais de trezentos e cinquenta mil pessoas passaram pelo programa, das quais duzentos e cinquenta mil somente no Brasil. Entretanto, o programa sofreu mudanças no seu formato, conteúdo e duração. Estudos anteriores já haviam demonstrado a efetividade do EMPRETEC, mas não havia disponível nenhum estudo relativo à última mudança, ocorrida em 2011. O presente estudo visou avaliar o impacto desse programa, sob o ponto de vista da efetiva prática dos comportamentos empreendedores, e investigar como no dia a dia os empreendedores os praticam. A partir dos dados obtidos, é possível concluir que os participantes do EMPRETEC adotam a prática efetiva dos comportamentos preconizados pelo programa, e consideram que o EMPRETEC fez diferença em suas jornadas empreendedoras. Uma vez que a presente pesquisa tomou como base a autopercepção dos próprios empreendedores(as), sugere-se a continuidade de estudos sobre este e outros programas de educação empreendedora que sejam capazes de avaliar a prática de comportamentos e seu impacto nos resultados do empreendimento para além da narrativa dos participantes. / Entrepreneurship is a theme that attracts more and more interested, for different reasons, in distinct contexts and realities. Appreciating and supporting this phenomenon is essential for economic and social success, not only for Brazil, but for most countries of the world. One of the ways of supporting is through entrepreneurial educational programs. This study aimed to understand determinant factors for entrepreneurship, having the entrepreneur as a focus on these discussions, as well as behavioral aspects involved in this process, and the effectiveness of entrepreneurial educational programs. Perhaps one of the most famous programs in entrepreneurial education, the EMPRETEC is a great symbol when it comes to this issue. Throughout its thirty years of existence, being present in Brazil for twenty-five, over three-hundred and fifty thousand people have attended the program, two-hundred and fifty thousand from Brazil alone. However, it has undergone changes in its format, content and duration. Previous studies had already demonstrated the effectiveness of the EMPRETEC, but no study was available concerning the last change, which occurred in 2011. This study aimed to assess the impact of this program, from the point of view of the effective practice of entrepreneurial behaviors, and to investigate how in everyday life, entrepreneurs practice them. From the data obtained, it is possible to conclude that the participants of the EMPRETEC adopt the effective practice of the behaviors advocated by the program and consider that the EMPRETEC made a difference in their entrepreneurial journeys. As the present research was based on the self-perception of the entrepreneurs, future studies could evaluate the behavioral performance throughout other methods beyond these narratives.

Peace Corps Volunteers spend 27 months working in developing countries around the world. They orchestrate and implement a myriad of projects in various fields, often entirely on their own. This paper aims to provide insights into how Peace Corps service affects volunteers' entrepreneurial leadership proclivities. To accomplish this a pre / post-test was administered to 74 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers participating in the Paul D. Coverdell Fellowship program at the University of Arizona. Respondents were surveyed to determine their proclivity toward using entrepreneurial strategies and their proclivity to be innovative. Service in the Peace Corps increased the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers' ability to hone their entrepreneurial strategies and innovate. The results showed an increase in the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers' entrepreneurial leadership proclivities after they had completed their service.

A positive relationship between economic growth and entrepreneurship has been established as derived from the body of knowledge in the domain of entrepreneurship. In acknowledgement of this relationship, governments have embarked on schemes and policies that encourage entrepreneurship in their economic development policies. The individual entrepreneur is a key player in new entrepreneurial venture process. The entire society is responsible for shaping an environment within which a behaviour pattern that promotes or hinders entrepreneurship is developed. The study mainly focused on understanding the behavioural phenomenon which is termed entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of engineers within the South African context. The assumed EO of entrepreneurial engineers was expected to be higher than that of non-entrepreneurial engineers. Cronbach Alpha’s tests found the prestructured EO scale to be reliable. T-test results for mean difference confirmed that entrepreneurs have a higher EO on the overal EO construct as well as on the autonomy, proactiveness and risk taking dimemensions.Factor analysis results supported the view that the EO construct is unidimensional. Situational factors that shaped the social environment alluded to above were studied as a secondary objective. Chi-square tests did not confirm the expectation that entrepreneurial engineers would be exposed to situational factors that promote entrepreneurship than their non-entrepreneurial counter parts. Lack of entrepreneurial education and finance have been identified as the key factors that hamper entrepreneurship. Recommendations are included in this report.Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Speed and measure of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) is bringing about shifts in power, wealth and knowledge. For entrepreneurs, who are known to drive innovation, Industry 4.0 offers a wide scope of opportunities in the future. As a middle-income country, South Africa needs to use its knowledge and innovations to sharpen its innovative edge in order to compete globally and stimulate innovation. Hence, this research attempts to determine the relationships between entrepreneurial competencies, entrepreneurial absorptive capacity and innovation capacity. Three conceptual frameworks of the interrelationships between these constructs were synthesised from the literature. As ample research on entrepreneurial competencies is widely available, a Delphi study was employed, together with a concept matrix to determine which entrepreneurial competencies should be included specifically significant for innovation within the 4IR context in South Africa. Four entrepreneurial competency categories emerged: cognitive (knowledge), functional (skills), social (attitudes and behaviours) and meta (facilitating learning) categories. Using a survey method, the analysis on a sample of 452 innovative entrepreneurs in South Africa was mainly done by empirically testing the causal linear relationship through structural equation modelling (SEM). Furthermore, an Artificial Neural Networking (ANN) technique which tests non-linear relationships and develop pattern recognition as well as modelling was conducted to compare the results of a non-linear relationship with those of a linear relationship. However, explorative comparisons of the performance of linear SEM models with non-linear NN indicated that the SEM models in this case performed better in explaining the variance in the dependent variables than did the ANN. Through the theories of innovative performance, person-entrepreneurial fit and knowledge spillover, the findings of the study indicate the importance of incorporating a unified entrepreneurial competency typology perspective on innovation. The cognitive, functional, social and meta competencies as well as entrepreneurial absorptive capacity are significant predictors of innovation capacity. The implications of this extend to transmitting knowledge through absorptive capacity, which allows entrepreneurs to identify and exploit opportunities, identified from new knowledge sources and incorporated into new innovations. Additionally, entrepreneurial absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between social, meta, and functional competencies and innovation capacity. Entrepreneurial absorptive capacity was also found to be a moderator between cognitive competencies and innovation capacity. Therefore, the development of certain entrepreneurial competencies, significant for innovation, is crucial for improving the strength of the relationship between entrepreneurial absorptive capacity and innovation capacity of entrepreneurs. These results have important implications for Industry 4.0 entrepreneurs, educators, policy makers as well as entrepreneurship models. / Thesis (PhD (Entrepreneurship))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Business Management / PhD / Unrestricted