نشریه پژوهش های کارآفرینی
سال دوم شماره 4 (پیاپی 6، زمستان 1402)

Today, increasing competition and rapid changes in businesses have made innovation imperative for all organizations. An important and decisive factor in increasing organizational innovation and gaining competitive advantage is the employees’ innovative behavior. Meanwhile, the behavior of organization leaders and the climate of the work environment are of vital importance in cultivating employees’ innovative behaviors. The present research aimed to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial leadership on employees’ innovative behavior with the mediating role of innovation climate and ethical climate. The research is applied in purpose and descriptive-correlational in data collection methodology. The statistical population consists of employees of knowledge-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in East Azerbaijan province. The sample size was determined at 134 people using G-Power 3.1 software, and the participants were selected by the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a standard questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by content validity and whose reliability was estimated by Cronbach’s alpha. The hypotheses were also tested using structural equation modeling in SMART PLS 4 software. The results showed the positive and significant effect of entrepreneurial leadership on the employees’ innovative behavior. Also, the mediating role of innovation climate and ethical climate in the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ innovative behavior was confirmed. The results have important implications for SME managers who are looking for ways to increase innovative behavior among their employees.

The decline of traditional economic activities in rural areas, particularly natural resources-based economies such as agriculture, has posed significant economic recession challenges in these regions. In this context, promoting entrepreneurship with a tourism-oriented approach can play a pivotal role in improving the income and economic conditions of rural residents. As an influential group in rural communities, women play a vital role in these developments. This research aimed to identify factors influencing the development of women’s entrepreneurship in the sustainable economy of rural tourism in Kendovan village. The research was conducted as a descriptive study. The research design was based on the mixed-methods research approach, and the sample included 16 female entrepreneurs in Kendovan village selected non-randomly. Data and scenarios were analyzed using the fuzzy cognitive mapping technique, and the research model was designed by social network analysis. Factors underpinning the development of women’s entrepreneurship in a sustainable tourism economy included intention and motivation for tourism entrepreneurship, financial support for rural tourism entrepreneurship, and an increase in opportunities for tourism entrepreneurship, which had higher centrality. Based on the results, recommendations have been proposed for developing rural women’s entrepreneurship in the sustainable tourism economy of Kendovan village. These recommendations involve initiatives to encourage intention and motivation for entrepreneurship, financial support for rural tourism activities, and the creation of more opportunities in the field of tourism entrepreneurship for women.

The main factor in successful supply chain financing services is the use of business-oriented information systems. The current research aimed to further associate blockchain technology with the Internet of Things (IoT) and apply them in the field of supply chain finance. The research presents a new information management framework based on blockchain technology and IoT, which contributes to information transparency in the supply chain financing process. By managing information based on blockchain technology and IoT, the operational cost of the entire supply chain can be greatly reduced due to the integration of capital, information, and commercial flows in the supply chain. The results can be summarized as follows: (1) In a symmetric information environment subject to the limitation of maximizing the expected return of all parties, the incentive subsidy under the compatible incentive mechanism has a positive relationship with the maturity of blockchain technology and the operational capability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a negative relationship with the action level coefficient, absolute risk aversion coefficient, and external uncertainty of these companies. (2) The expected income that satisfies the mechanism of incentive compatibility has a positive relationship with the maturity of the blockchain technology, the broker’s profitability, and the net profit received by the employer. (3) In an asymmetric information environment, a varied incentive subsidy is more effective than an equal incentive subsidy in different SMEs with different operational capabilities and provides different incentives for these companies. Therefore, it can be concluded that in a symmetrical information environment, the equal incentive subsidy is more effective, but in an asymmetric information environment, a varied incentive subsidy is more effective.

One of the main goals of universities and higher education institutions in Iran is to train entrepreneurial and creative graduates. Practical courses can be a good opportunity to combine theoretical knowledge with experimental knowledge, improve skills, and equip graduates with entrepreneurial competence. Therefore, the present research was carried out to identify strategies for improving the effectiveness of practical-skill courses in creating and improving students’ entrepreneurial competence at Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University. The general approach of the research is qualitative and practical in terms of purpose. In order to carry out the research, a team of 40 university professors and students was selected purposefully using the snowball technique, and after conducting semi-structured interviews, the data were interpreted by qualitative content analysis. The findings were validated by the peer-review and triangulation techniques. The results showed that three important groups of strategies (before, during, and after the implementation of the practical-skill courses) improved the effectiveness of these courses in creating and improving the students’ entrepreneurial competence. In general, the various elements of the educational system before, during, and after holding these courses in the monitoring and evaluation phase can contribute to strengthening students’ entrepreneurial competence, provided that these elements are planned and organized in line with entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating new value through a committed effort, taking into account the risks involved. The current research was conducted to model the factors affecting students’ willingness to start a business. The statistical population included the students of the Faculties of Economics and Entrepreneurship (625 people) and the students of the Faculty of Technical Engineering (2156 people) at Razi University. The sample size was estimated at 386 people by Cochran’s formula, who were selected by stratified sampling method with proportional assignment. Data were collected by standard questionnaires and were analyzed by descriptive statistics and path analysis. The findings indicated that the variables of innovation, locus of control, success-seeking, pioneering, and risk-taking directly and the variables of family background, employment history, and participation in entrepreneurship workshops indirectly accounted for a total of 33% of the variance in the students’ desire to start a business. It can be said that a major challenge for students is their effort to gain independence and ensure their job security in the future. So, it is recommended that the officials consider this important factor by developing skills such as innovation and other job skills and provide employment opportunities for young people.

Today, green entrepreneurship as a new approach has drawn the attention of public and educational policymaking in different countries, so no one can deny the importance of producing healthy agricultural products to maintain the health of society and the environment. The present research was an applied study in terms of the goal and a mixed-methods (qualitative-quantitative) study in terms of the methodology in which the SWOT analysis technique was used. The statistical population was composed of all female farmers in Ilam province who had successfully received the Permissible Pollutant Threshold License for the crops from Ilam province’s General Directorate of Standards. The participants were sampled purposively by the snowball technique. The data collection instrument in the qualitative phase was deep and semi-structured interviews conducted both individually and collectively. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire and the SPSS software were used to build the SWOT matrix to identify four strategies (offensive, defensive, conservative, and competitive). Based on the results, the aggressive strategies (SO) include planning to export healthy crops to neighboring countries including Iraq, conservative strategies (WO) include determining successful and forward-looking models in the field of healthy crop production and celebrating and honoring them annually, competitive strategies (ST) include the use of modified seeds in healthy crop production, and defensive strategies (WT) include creating a sales market or vegetable market for healthy crops. The results of prioritizing suitable solutions for the development of healthy products in Ilam province showed that planning for the export of healthy crops to neighboring countries, including Iraq and creating a desire to produce healthy crops by providing the necessary support, training, and information are two of the most important solutions for the development of healthy crops in Ilam province. The results can guide governmental and educational-extension policymakers to develop green entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector.