Abstract Organisational entrepreneurship is an entrepreneurial event. By-products of such events may include the emergence of business organisations. In this study, I discuss the event of organisational entrepreneurship fostered by organisational creativity. An event of organisational entrepreneurship can happen in the context of social spaces for play and innovation. In these social spaces, novelty, movement, and change are outcomes of the role of organisational entrepreneurship in society. The dissertation consists of four essays. Prior research defines organisational entrepreneurship as a relationship between the managerial order and organisational creativity. This particular relationship, rather than being a precise state, is one that problematises the tradition of studying entrepreneurship as a sub-discipline of management. Researchers tend to be drawn to studying the entrepreneurial order, but less so the play and innovation that contribute to the creativity aspect. Whilst permitting space for play and innovation have been acknowledged to be crucial, the role of play and innovation between the discourses of business opportunities and entrepreneurial becoming has not been discussed. The literature review in this study shows that understanding the concepts of entrepreneurial actions and processes is key to explicating organisational entrepreneurship. Hence, the principal research question of this study is: how do entrepreneurial actions and processes frame the very nature of the event of organisational entrepreneurship? There are four sub-questions (one for each essay) that illustrate how an entrepreneurial event is about creation of new spaces for play and innovation. The purpose of this study is to show what role playfulness and innovativeness play in organisational entrepreneurship. I have empirically investigated how international business opportunities may be created through entrepreneurial actions in a multinational collaboration project, and found that social learning is at the heart of the process. In addition, I have examined an entrepreneurial process through the story of an up-and-coming stand-up comedian. This study shows that the entrepreneurial process emerges from the desire to become-Other. The entrepreneurial stories of this qualitative study come from two data sets (conducted in Finland and in Denmark). The research outline problematises the prior research, in which storytelling is rarely used. The dissertation concludes by suggesting that one role of playfulness and innovativeness is to create business opportunities and entrepreneurial becoming. / Tiivistelmä Organisatorinen yrittäjyys on yksi yrittäjämäinen tila. Tällaisessa tilassa monenlaisten sivutuotteiden, kuten liikeyrityksen, syntyminen on mahdollista. Organisatorinen luovuus tukee näiden tilojen luomiseen liittyvää tekemistä ja prosesseja. Yrittäjämäiset tilat ovat mahdollisia konteksteissa, joita tässä väitöskirjatutkimuksessa tutkittiin tiloina leikille ja innovaatioille. Näiden tilojen ansiosta uutuus, liike ja muutos ovat mahdollisia ja ne kuvaavat organisatorisen yrittäjyyden roolia yhteiskunnassa. Tämä väitöskirja on neljän esseen kokoelma. Aikaisempi tutkimus määrittelee organisatorisen yrittäjyyden johtajuuden hallinnan ja organisatorisen luovuuden väliseksi suhteeksi. Ennemmin kuin jokin tila tällä jatkumolla suhde sinänsä kyseenalaistaa tradition, joka tutkii yrittäjyyttä johtajuustutkimuksen koulukuntana. Siinä tutkimusintressi on ollut hallinta, mutta ei kovin usein leikki ja innovaatiot. Vaikka leikki ja innovaatiot on nähty tärkeinä asioina, siitä huolimatta niiden roolia linkkinä liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien luomisen ja yrittäjämäiseksi tulemisen välillä ei ole vielä kovin hyvin tutkittu. Tämän tutkimuksen kirjallisuuskatsaus osoittaa, että yrittäjämäiset toiminnot ja prosessit ovat keskeisimmät käsitteet organisatorisessa yrittäjyydessä. Tutkimuksen päätutkimuskysymys kuuluu: kuinka yrittäjämäiset toiminnot ja prosessit rajaavat organisatorisen yrittäjyyden syvimmän luonteen yrittäjämäisenä tapahtumana? Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on näyttää, mikä rooli leikinomaisuudella ja innovatiivisuudella on organisatorisessa yrittäjyydessä silloin, kun se nähdään yrittäjämäisenä tilana. Tutkin empiirisesti kansainvälisten liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien luomista ja sitä, miten se tapahtuu monikansallisessa yhteistyöprojektissa. Tuloksena löysin, että se on sosiaalista oppimista. Lisäksi tutkin yrittäjämäiseksi tulemisen prosessia standup-koomikoksi tulevan henkilön kautta. Se näyttää, että syy yrittäjämäisen prosessin ilmentymiselle on intohimo tulla toiseksi. Tutkimuksen yrittäjämäiset tarinat perustuvat kahdelle aineiston lähteelle (tehty Suomessa ja Tanskassa). Tutkimusasetelma kyseenalaistaa tutkimuksen, jossa tarinankerrontaa on käytetty harvoin. Tulokset osoittavat, että leikinomaisuuden ja innovatiivisuuden rooli on luoda uusia liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia ja yrittäjämäiseksi tulemisen prosesseja.

Deux types de processus entrepreneurial se distinguent dans la littérature : la causalité et l’effectuation. La causalité consiste à rechercher les ressources nécessaires pour atteindre un but prédéfini tandis que l’effectuation consiste à démarrer avec les moyens dont on dispose sans but prédéfini. Peu de littérature traite de l’entrepreneuriat des femmes au Burkina Faso, encore moins sous l’angle de l’effectuation. Ainsi, le but principal de cette thèse est de répondre à la problématique suivante : Comment l'effectuation affecte le processus entrepreneurial des femmes entrepreneures Burkinabè ? Pour répondre à cette question de recherche, nous avons eu recours à une étude quantitative menée auprès de 272 entrepreneurs (213 hommes et 59 femmes) afin d’identifier le profil des entrepreneurs au Burkina Faso et tout particulièrement celui des femmes. En deuxième lieu, nous avons réalisé des entretiens semi directifs avec 20 femmes entrepreneures afin d’identifier leurs motivations mais aussi le type de processus entrepreneurial qu’elles adoptent, ainsi que leur place dans l’environnement socio-culturel Burkinabé. Pour la collecte et le traitement de nos données nous avions utilisé successivement les logiciels SPHINX, SPSS et NVIVO 11. Nos résultats montrent que les femmes ne représentent que 21,7 % du paysage entrepreneurial Burkinabé. Cette faible représentativité est liée en grande partie au fait qu'elles subissent les normes sociales qui les renvoient vers le rôle de mère et de femme au foyer dépendante de l'homme. Nos résultats prouvent aussi que les femmes créent leurs entreprises pour des raisons « pull » car, très souvent c'est pour exploiter une compétence ou exercer un métier ou une activité qu'elles aiment. De plus, les femmes créent leurs entreprises sans un but prédéfini à l'avance. Elles se basent plutôt sur les ressources dont elles disposent notamment leur personnalité, leur savoir-faire et le soutien familial. Le processus entrepreneurial des femmes burkinabè s’inscrit donc dans une logique effectuale. C'est pourquoi de nouveaux outils qui prennent en compte cette dynamique effectuale et la place de la femme dans la société burkinabè doivent être mis en place pour mieux les accompagner / Two kinds of entrepreneurial process are proposed in the literature. The causal one is to search for the resources needed to achieve a predefined goal and the effectual one is to start with the means that are available without a pre-defined purpose. Few articles discuss the women entrepreneurship in Burkina Faso especially on the effectual level. So, the aim of our thesis is to answer the question: How the effectuation affects the entrepreneurial process of women entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso? To answer this question, we conducted a quantitative study with 272 entrepreneurs (213 men and 59 women) to identify the profile of the entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso and quite particularly that of the women. In the second place, we realized semi directive interviews with 20 women entrepreneurs in order to identify their motivations, but also the type of entrepreneurial process whom they adopt, as well as their place in the Burkinabe sociocultural environment. The data was processed with SPHINX software, SPSS and NVIVO 11. Our results show that the women represent only 21,7 % of the entrepreneurial landscape Burkinabe. This low representativeness is largely connected to the fact that they undergo the social standards which send back them towards the role of mother and housewife dependent on the men. Our results also show that women create their businesses for "pull" reasons, since they do it with the aim to exploit a skill or to exercise a trade or activity that they like. In addition, women create their businesses without a predefined goal in advance. Rather, they rely on the resources they have, in particular their character, know-how, and family support. The women entrepreneurial process in Burkina Faso is therefore a part of an effectual rationale. That is why new tools that take into account this dynamic and the place of women in the Burkinabe society, must be put in place to better accompany them.

The challenges faced by early-stage entrepreneurs are well researched, however, the role played by an entrepreneur’s social capital, social network and incubation in moving the business along the entrepreneurial process, still needs to be better understood. The objective of this study was to show that with successful networking and the use of social capital, the total early-stage entrepreneurial activity rate of South Africa could be increased.A qualitative research design was employed whereby 12 in-depth interviews were conducted. Three themes emerged from the data analyses that are the utilisation of social capital, social networks and incubators in firstly launching and growing ventures.The key findings were, firstly, that incubation should form part of an early stage entrepreneur’s social capital. Secondly, those entrepreneurs benefited from their social capital and incubator in terms of tangible and intangible resources. Finally, the entrepreneurs persevered as a result of the advice, encouragement and validation that they got from their networks. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

There are several motivational factors for why entrepreneurs start a venture, continue to run the venture and also exit the venture. A prevalent theme in previous literature regarding entrepreneurial motivation, is the dichotomy of push and pull theory. This suggests that an entrepreneur can either be a necessity entrepreneur or an opportunity entrepreneur, meaning their motivation comes from either push or pull factors. Newer research argues that push and pull factors can co-exist and also change over time, highlighting that this dichotomy is ambiguous. However, this is still an under-researched area and many researchers call for more empirical findings concerning this topic. To gather more information regarding this disagreement, a qualitative study was executed, through semi-structured interviews with Swedish entrepreneurs from different entrepreneurial phases. The findings in this study indicate that motivational push and pull factors can be present simultaneously in an individual, and also change over time, depending on dynamic internal and external factors regarding the entrepreneur themselves and/or the venture.

Immigrant entrepreneurship is defined as business establishment and ownership among immigrants who arrive to a new host country. Immigrant entrepreneurship has become an important theme due to the increasing rates of immigration to developed countries, and its impact on their economic development. However it is also discredited and qualified as low value-added, rarely innovative, restricted to the ethnic communities and with stagnating growth potential. Following this debate, a new research stream affirms that immigrants should not be treated as one entity. Thus attention is shifting towards groups of immigrant entrepreneurs that were previously neglected in the literature. One such group consists of the second generation children of immigrants. Work to date provides ample investigation about immigrant entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial process; however there is less research on similarities and differences in the entrepreneurial process experienced by first and second generation immigrant entrepreneurs. Despite some recent research on second generation immigrant entrepreneurs, this topic remains understudied. The objective of this study is to understand, from a multi-level perspective, how different generations of immigrant entrepreneurs experience the entrepreneurial process. Using a grounded theory approach and qualitative in-depth interviews, the findings indicate that first and second generation immigrant entrepreneurs experience the entrepreneurial process differently by facing different micro and macro level enablers and obstacles. They also recognize, evaluate and exploit opportunities differently. The extent to which they are embedded in specific environments affects their entrepreneurial experiences.

Abstract Background Even though the topic of shared leadership has been thoroughly investigated throughout recent years in research, limited literature has focused on this process in the context of new ventures. Moreover, to the knowledge of the authors of this paper, no previous literature has explored how shared leadership evolves as new ventures go through the different phases of the entrepreneurial process, and new members join the team. Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the functioning and practice of shared leadership within new venture teams, and to explore if, how and why shared leadership evolves throughout the life cycle of new ventures as the size of the entrepreneurial team changes. Method This study adopted a qualitative approach. A total of nine semi-structured interviews (six co-founders from different new ventures and three new employees) were conducted and transcribed. The collected data was analyzed using template analysis, presented in the empirical findings, discussed in relation to the frame of reference in the discussion, and finally summarized in the conclusion. Conclusion Shared leadership continues to be essential throughout all of the phases of the entrepreneurial process. In the ideation phase, shared leadership is necessary as the different co-founders have different skills and experiences, and different individuals took charge at different times based on their expertise. Shared leadership continued to be essential in the start-up phase as new employees were hired to fill the knowledge-gaps in the new ventures. As the size of the new ventures was still rather small, it was still possible to involve most of the employees in the decision-making. As the size of the new ventures increased and they reached the growth phase, organizational restructuring was necessary and shared leadership was exercised in a different manner. A management team utilized shared leadership to take over-all decisions, the members of the management teams oversaw functional teams, and in those functional teams, shared leadership was utilized.

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Entrepreneurship and start-ups are important factors for economic growth and development. As the surrounding innovation ecosystem is becoming increasingly complex, it gets more difficult for entrepreneurs to find the right path. Incubators are important when it comes to facilitating and supporting new ventures. In this research, we conducted 19 semi-structured interviews of which five were held with public incubators, four with private incubators, nine with incubatees and one with Vinnova (a government authority that plays a huge part within the existence of public incubators) in order to gain an understanding of the interplay of the incubation process and the entrepreneurial process. As for analyzing the collected data we used a thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Throughout the coding process, we extracted the following three main topics: role of an incubator, incubation process and interplay. However, a distinction between public and private incubators was approved as applicable that determines the incubators’ purpose, objectives and operations. Our findings suggest that incubators play an important role in supporting and guiding the start-ups by transferring knowledge and asking the right questions as a fundament for the further entrepreneurial process. Continuous communication and expectation management are shown as crucial throughout the interplay of the two processes. Lastly, the disconnection from the incubatees should be done carefully, e.g. through a non-proactive aftercare.

Bakgrund: De senaste 60 åren har karaktäriserats av företags flytt till nya marknader. Sveriges integration med EU tillåter fri rörlighet av varor, tjänster och arbetskraft vilket har bidragit till att både stora och små företag har större valmöjligheter till vidare expansion. Svenska entreprenörer som startar sin verksamhet på marknader som är tydligt skilda från den egna till både avstånd och kultur blir en allt vanligare syn. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera de problem och viktiga faktorer att ta hänsyn till som uppstår vid en marknadsetablering i ett annat land för svenska entreprenörer. Vidare ämnar studien även undersöka varför svenska entreprenörer förflyttar alternativt startar sin verksamhet i utlandet. Slutsats och resultat: Viktiga faktorerna att ta hänsyn till för svenska entreprenörer som etablerar sig i Spanien verkar utifrån denna studie framförallt vara kulturskillnader, legala problem som uppkommer under etableringen samt vikten av relationer och nätverk vid affärsuppgörelser. Den primära anledningen till etablering i Spanien förefaller sig vara sociala skäl och inte de eventuella affärsmöjligheterna som finns. / Background: The last 60 years have been characterized by the moving of companies to foreign markets. The Swedish integration with the EU allows for free movement of goods, services and labor which has contributed to that both small -and big companies have more strategy options for further expansion. Swedish entrepreneurs that commence their business in foreign markets clearly separated from their own in terms of both distance and culture is becoming a more common sight. Aim: The aim of this study is to identify the problems and important factors to consider when Swedish entrepreneurs establish their companies in a foreign market. Furthermore the study intends to investigate why Swedish entrepreneurs move or start their company abroad. Conclusion and results: Important factors for Swedish entrepreneurs to consider when they establish their company in Spain seems, according to this study, particularly to be the differences in culture, legal problem and the importance of relations and network when doing business. The primary incentive for establishment in Spain appears to be social reasons rather than eventual business opportunities.

Most entrepreneurs have families that highly influence their business­ activities. However, scholars have paid limited attention to how the family as a specific social context impacts entrepreneurial outcomes, such as new venture creation, firm growth, and exit from entrepreneurship­. This thesis investigates how the family influences such outcomes at different levels of analysis: the individual level, the firm level, and the regional level.  The theoretical framework is developed by integrating the theory­ of social embeddedness with literature on family business and entrepreneurship­. Empirical evidence is based on a unique multi-level­ Swedish database combining individual-, firm-, and regional-level data. By providing an in-depth understanding of whether the family influence pertains to the whole entrepreneurial process or only to particular entrepreneurial outcomes, this thesis contributes to a new understanding of the family’s role in entrepreneurship. / <p>Diss. Stockholm :  Stockholm School of Economics, 2014.</p>