Entrepreneurship and innovation management in emerging economies

Entrepreneurship and innovation management in emerging economies

Entrepreneurship and innovation management have become imperative for the sustained growth and development of organizations across industries and political geographies. The only global phenomenon and order of the day in the twenty-first century is entrepreneurship as it got power to propel economic growth of countries (Valliere and Peterson, 2009) and has truly become as much a social as an economic phenomenon (Thornton et al., 2011) across the globe. To compete successfully, entrepreneurship and innovation management are the key competitive advantages in the globalized world and more so in the emerging economies which has in store the potential for tremendous growth opportunities. It has been found that the entrepreneurship and innovation are complementary as organizational success and sustainability in today’s dynamic and changing environment depends upon the combination of these two – the entrepreneurship and the innovation (Zhao, 2005).

Emerging countries as compared with developed countries are characterized by a lower level of economic development and possess relatively immature legal, political and financial institutions which results in an ambiguous and uncertain business context (Marcotte, 2014). Furthermore, it has also been observed that any kind of institutional and policy changes, including policies on innovation in the emerging countries often follow non-linear and unpredictable way (Hoskisson et al., 2000; Peng, 2001, 2003). As a result, these kinds of changing and uncertain context in the emerging countries may theoretically increase as well as constrain entrepreneurship and innovation (Marcotte, 2010). It is also a fact that there is tremendous need as well as opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation in the emerging countries to grow and survive. However, the research literature on entrepreneurship and innovation are very scant from the emerging markets which could be leveraged by the leader and the managers working across small- and medium-sized entrepreneurial firms in this region of the world. The literature on entrepreneurship and innovation management is relatively new and skewed towards North America and Europe (Cetindamar et al., 2012) and very little work have been published focusing on the Middle Eastern region (Chamlou, 2007) and the emerging markets of the world.

It is in this context that we felt a need to bring out special issue on “Entrepreneurship and innovation management in emerging economies.” Our special issue was well received and after standard reviews and revisions, it has 17 papers with full of theoretical and practical implications.

The special issue starts with a paper entitled “How leadership matters in organizational innovation: a perspective of innovation.” This paper discussed about role of leadership in organizational innovation. The findings of the study have been discussed in the light of relevant literature in the field and have thrown varied implications for managerial implications as well as theoretical development.

The second paper entitled “How open innovation performance responds to partner heterogeneity in China.” The literature in the knowledge domain of open innovation is evolving vis-à-vis how partner heterogeneity – organizational, industrial and national – together combined helps foster innovation. This paper has tried to fill in the gap and also put forward issues to be dealt with effectively to sustain innovation in the context of partner heterogeneity in China.

The third paper titling “Identifying focal role of top management paradoxical cognition in ambidextrous firms” for pursuing explorative and exploitative innovation strategies. The findings of this paper have significant practical implications and add to the literature on paradoxical cognition, ambidexterity and behavioral integration.

The fourth paper in this special issue titled “Risk analysis in introduction of new technologies by start-ups in the Brazilian market.” It is true that for a firm to grow and succeed, it has to embrace and acknowledge risk which is fundamental for a business, especially the start-ups that are yet to have its feet fully grounded in the business environment. This paper has dealt with how important risk analysis is especially when a startup embraces new technologies for business growth as we all know that poor risk management is a poison especially for small business enterprises.

This special issue to move on to the fifth paper entitled “Organizational forgetting, absorptive capacity and innovation performance: a moderated mediation analysis.” This paper deals with how the external sources of knowledge are critical for innovation across the organization’s levels and function but the key is for the firms to readily recognize the value of knowledge from its business environment and have architecture well developed to assimilate and exploit them for business purposes. The findings of this study have significant managerial implications and theoretical contributions.

The sixth paper is entitled “COO effect: business opportunities for Middle Eastern entrepreneurs.” The young businesses need to give due weight to social and environmental issues to minimize their negative effects on their operation. The findings of this study have been discussed in the light of the previous relevant literature and contribute significantly to theory building and managerial implications.

The seventh paper entitled “A multi-platform collaboration innovation ecosystem: the case of China” is contextualized in the context of the fast-emerging economies of China. The global labor market has been undergoing massive structural changes which call for a robust innovation ecosystem which heavily depends upon effectively linking together science, technology and business. The findings of this paper have a potential to significantly help evolve the body of knowledge in the Chinese context on how to successfully link the essential elements of innovation ecosystem for the firms to compete globally.

The next paper entitled “Skills needed in supply chain-human agency and social capital analysis in third party” as the shortage of skills is the key source of risk in supply chain networks. This paper has linked supply chain links with two established theories namely, human agency theory and social capital theory. The findings of this study have significant implications for third-party logistics managers in Indian context and also contribute to theory building.

The ninth paper entitled “Empowering women and stimulating development at bottom of pyramid through micro entrepreneurship” is situated in the Indian context wherein the lights have been thrown on to limited economic power combined with limited economic opportunities. The women empowerment in the domain of micro entrepreneurship in India is a major challenge and the findings of this paper tries has implications for policy makers and women entrepreneurs in the micro enterprise sector.

The following paper is entitled “Impact of institutions on emerging European high-growth firms”. The literature mentions that the institutional framework significantly affects the high-growth firm’s (HGF) performance. At the same time, the HGFs have been observed for their key roles in the net job creation and economic growth wherein they are in operations. The findings of this paper have significant theoretical contributions as well as practical implications for the business leaders and policy makers.

The 11th paper of this issue is entitled “Market competition, green technology progress and comparative advantages in China” deals with balancing economic and environmental performance as organizations these days face tremendous pressures from competitors, regulators and community/society. This paper is very much contemporary wherein the findings of the study have been discussed in the lights of past relevant research-based literature. This paper has both theoretical and practical implications on how to use green technologies to be competitive in the Chinese context.

The next paper is entitled “Relationships among social capital, self-efficacy and new venture creations” wherein it tries to fill in the gap of entrepreneurship wherein opportunities are discovered, created and exploited by the entrepreneurs. However, the literature in the entrepreneurship area of knowledge related to key attributes of entrepreneurs as compared with non-entrepreneurs is scarce and this paper has attempted to adequately fill in the existing gap. The findings of this paper provide practical and theoretical implications for new ventures and its sustainability.

The 13th paper is entitled “Investigating entrepreneurial success factors of women owned SMEs in UAE” is very much needed in the context of huge impetus given by the UAE Government in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation. The findings of this study has significant implications for pushing further entrepreneurial growth especially in the women owned SMEs in UAE in general and the countries in the Gulf region in general.

The 14th paper is entitled “Innovation in social media strategy for movie success: a study of Bollywood movie industry” and is contextualized in Indian context. The field of knowledge related to innovation in social media is relatively new and literature is scare. This paper attempts fill in the gap in literature as well as throw significant implications for the movie industry in the Bollywood, India.

The next paper is entitled “The core competence of successful owner-managed SMEs”. Any organization succeeds through its carefully crafted core competence and the same holds true for the small- and medium-scale enterprises. This paper has dealt with the key issue of core competency eloquently and provides solutions on how to develop and leverage core competence in a successfully owned and managed SME.

The penultimate paper is entitled “Corporate ethics, governance and social responsibility in MENA countries.” The business of any business is business but ethics, governance and social responsibility are the key indicators on which firms are evaluated by all the stakeholders and its affects their performance and competitiveness in the market. This paper has attempted to underscore the relevance of corporate ethics, governance and social responsibility in the Middle East and North African region of the world. It has implications for the firms operating in the MENA region.

The last paper is entitled “Social business as an entrepreneurship model in emerging economy: systematic review and case study.” The nation’s social, economic, cultural and environmental wealth gets significantly influenced by social entrepreneurship but the literature in this field is yet somewhat fragmented and disparate. This paper has tried to weave together literature and at the same time has thrown significant implications for treating and nurturing social business for the larger goal of creating wealth and jobs through social business in the emerging economy.

We hope that the special issue on “Entrepreneurship and innovation management in emerging economies” with 17 articles has the potential to provide varied perspectives and insights into “how to leverage entrepreneurship and innovation to create jobs and wealth.” This special issue will be liked by the readers for its thought provoking research-based articles.