Explore the vast range of titles available.

Based on the behavioral theory of the firm, we research how performance feedback influences the formation of CEOs’ passion. We articulate that previous performance directly increases CEOs’ passion. Specifically, positive affective outcomes (performance above aspiration-level) advance CEOs’ positive feelings and motivation toward the domains of success (obsessive passion). For instance, when a firm accomplishes performance objectives, such as reaching sales goals, CEOs’ positive feelings toward developing current products would be boosted. Moreover, negative affective outcomes (performance below aspiration-level) would also positively impact CEOs’ passion since the CEOs would endeavor to reduce the difference between performance and their aspiration-level. As such, performance feedback is a critical antecedent of CEOs’ obsessive passion. In addition, we apply human capital as a moderator between performance feedback and CEOs’ obsessive passion. Results based on multiphase survey data from 189 CEOs of Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises indicate that both positive and negative performance feedback positively increase CEOs’ obsessive passion. Moreover, human capital negatively moderates the relationship between positive performance feedback and CEOs’ obsessive passion and positively moderates the relationship between negative performance feedback and CEOs’ obsessive passion.

The entrepreneurship field is increasingly interlaced with diverse disciplines, tackling complex societal issues from sustainability to digitalization and family business dynamics. Recognizing the necessity to steer future research, the editorial team of Cogent Business and Management’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation section present ten research domains identified through collective expertise. These areas, ranging from corporate innovation to entrepreneurship education and transitional entrepreneurship, are critical for academic investigation and hold potential for significant societal impact. These domains are not intended to constitute a ‘top 10’ list, nor are they exhaustive; rather, they are intended to help guide scholars toward research domains we believe are ripe for exploration and with the potential to be highly impactful. These domains embody the field’s ever-evolving nature, encapsulating the entrepreneurial spirit as a quilt of interconnected patches rather than isolated pieces. They encourage an interdisciplinary approach, highlighting the need for a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurial activity. As the entrepreneurship literature grows, its adaptability will be crucial for theoretical advancement and practical applications. The proposed research roadmap aims to ignite cross-disciplinary dialogue, driving the impact of entrepreneurship research beyond academic circles and into the realms of policy and practice.

To realize a hydrogen economy, many studies are being conducted regarding the development and analysis of hydrogen carriers. Recently, formic acid has been receiving attention as a potential hydrogen carrier due to its high volumetric energy density and relatively safe characteristics. However, hydrogen refueling systems using formic acid are very different from conventional hydrogen refueling stations, and quantitative risks assessments need to be conducted to verify their safe usage. In this study, a comparative safety analysis of a formic acid hydrogen refueling station (FAHRS) and a gaseous hydrogen refueling station (GHRS) was conducted. Since there is no FAHRS under operation, a process simulation model was developed and integrated with quantitative risk assessment techniques to perform safety analysis. Results of the analysis show that the FAHRS poses less risk than the GHRS, where the vapor cloud explosion occurring in the buffer tank is of greatest consequence. A GHRS poses a greater risk than an FAHRS due to the high pressure required to store hydrogen in the tube trailer. The mild operating conditions required for storage and dehydrogenation of formic acid contribute to the low risk values of an FAHRS. For risk scenarios exceeding the risk limit, risk mitigation measures were applied to design a safe process for GHRS. The results show that the installation of active safety systems for the GHRS allow the system to operate within acceptable safety regions.

PurposeThis research note discusses three essential and practical questions related to social entrepreneurship and social activities in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): What motivates SMEs to undertake social activities? What are the obstacles faced by SMEs when undertaking social activities? What are the types of social activities that SMEs undertake? The article presents preliminary answers and provides research suggestions related to these questions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors search and review articles that study social entrepreneurship and social activities of SMEs and synthesize their findings based on the three main topics of interest.FindingsThe authors synthesized findings based on their three motivating topics: motivation, obstacles and types. They extracted three primary motivations of SMEs for social activities: (1) demands and expectations from external stakeholders, (2) nonpecuniary incentives that stem from organizational values and culture and (3) anticipation of improving relevant organizational outcomes. The authors extracted two obstacles for social initiatives: (1) limited resources and knowledge and (2) lack of perceived benefits or incentives. Finally, the authors extracted two types of social activities: (1) activities that address social and ethical issues and (2) activities that address environmental concerns.Originality/valuePressing concerns in society have pushed numerous entrepreneurs and small business managers to create and manage businesses that aim to alleviate social and environmental problems. Accordingly, researchers have devoted some attention to how SMEs get increasingly involved with social activities and initiatives (i.e. addressing social and environmental challenges through their firms). The authors highlight existing findings and propose future research opportunities based on our three essential and motivating questions.

Recent research on transitional entrepreneurship, often in poor or distressed communities, has also shown the important value of entrepreneurship in providing economic development and employment (Javadian et al., 2023; Khosravi et al., 2023). [...]in the United States of America (USA) alone, according to the US Department of Commerce, there were about ten million registered minority-owned enterprises, with some $1.78tn in revenues, providing nearly ten million jobs (Minority Business Development Agency, 2022). While there is a growing consensus on the nature of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial firms, there remains a need for further clarification and expansion of the scope of how their study should be conducted. Since the late 1970s, the academic field of entrepreneurship research has grown from groups of isolated scholars doing research on small businesses to an international community of departments, institutes and foundations promoting research on new and high-growth firms (Aldrich, 2012). [...]that contingent of the larger gazelles, with over 100 employees, generated over half of the net new jobs created by the entire group. [...]the most prolific job creators among them were not that small at all but were closer to medium-sized organizations.

The realization of hybrid optics could be one of the best ways to fulfill the technological requirements of compact, light-weight, and multi-functional optical systems for modern industries. Planar diffractive lens (PDL) such as diffractive lenses, photonsieves, and metasurfaces can be patterned on ultra-thin flexible and stretchable substrates and be conformally attached on top of arbitrarily shaped surfaces. In this review, we introduce recent research works addressed to the design and manufacturing of ultra-thin graphene optics, which will open new markets in compact and light-weight optics for next-generation endoscopic brain imaging, space internet, real-time surface profilometry, and multi-functional mobile phones. To provide higher design flexibility, lower process complexity, and chemical-free process with reasonable investment cost, direct laser writing (DLW) of laser-induced-graphene (LIG) is actively being applied to the patterning of PDL. For realizing the best optical performances in DLW, photon-material interactions have been studied in detail with respect to different laser parameters; the resulting optical characteristics have been evaluated in terms of amplitude and phase. A series of exemplary laser-written 1D and 2D PDL structures have been actively demonstrated with different base materials, and then, the cases are being expanded to plasmonic and holographic structures. The combination of these ultra-thin and light-weight PDL with conventional bulk refractive or reflective optical elements could bring together the advantages of each optical element. By integrating these suggestions, we suggest a way to realize the hybrid PDL to be used in the future micro-electronics surface inspection, biomedical, outer space, and extended reality (XR) industries. We present how direct-laser-writing can be utilized to fabricate ultra-thin light-weight planar diffractive optics with graphene as the base material. (Inset scale bar: 1 mm).

PurposeThis research aims to theorize how a critical factor, resource access, can paradoxically impact the comprehensiveness of venture location decision processes and the relationship between decision comprehensiveness and new venture performance. To do so, the authors focus on nascent entrepreneurs’ venture location decision processes and introduce resource access as a double-edged sword.Design/methodology/approachIn this conceptual article, the authors draw from the strategic decision-making and resource mobilization literature to theorize about the new venture location decision-making process and its performance implications.FindingsBy uncovering the paradox of resource access, the authors propose that high levels of resource access create a paradoxical situation in which nascent entrepreneurs are less likely to use comprehensive decision processes when their benefits are at their greatest.Originality/valueThis work contributes to entrepreneurship research on new venture location and resource mobilization in three important ways. First, the authors advance the literature on nascent entrepreneurs’ location decision-making processes by introducing “location decision comprehensiveness” as a decision process construct and juxtaposing it with resource access to uncover the entrepreneurial decision-making process. Second, the authors develop a more nuanced theorization of the location choices made by nascent entrepreneurs instead of relying on generalized conclusions drawn from well-established corporations’ location decisions. Last, the authors extend the literature on resource mobilization in entrepreneurship by shedding light on the paradoxical aspect of resource access. While previous research has emphasized the favorable effects of resource access on new venture processes and outcomes, the authors contend that it can also negatively impact entrepreneurs’ ability to make effective decisions.

Entrepreneurship is not only a critical driver of economic growth and social development (Ahlstrom et al., 2019; McCloskey, 2010) but can also represent a life-changing transition for most, if not all, of the entrepreneurs themselves. According to the US Department of Commerce, in 2018, there were 9.7m minority-owned firms with US$1.78tn in revenue, which created 9.4m jobs (Minority Business Development Agency, 2022), all of which played a role in creating substantial regional economic growth (Tomizawa et al., 2020). The authors acknowledge that entrepreneurship is a key engine of poverty reduction and economic growth but identify critical factors that limit the contribution of entrepreneurs from economically distressed communities to economic and social development. Examining three decades of research, the authors identify four clusters of factors that lead to entrepreneurial underperformance at the BOP: individual-level factors that restrain entrepreneurial activities within the BOP context, gender inequality at the BOP hindering female entrepreneurship, insufficient institutional support holding back entrepreneurial activities in the BOP and inherent problems with business development initiatives that harm the poor due to conflicts between market logic and social logic.