Evolution and trends in entrepreneurial finance: reflections and insights from COVID-19

Entrepreneurship contributes substantially to the modernization and commercial development of an economy. Access to financial resources is key to the successful operation of new ventures which is arrested by COVID-19. Therefore, the present study aims to address the architecture of entrepreneurial finance since the inception of COVID-19. The research adopts a Systematic literature review approach to study the 127 articles chosen for analysis. The findings reveal the usage of novel sources of finance such as crowdfunding, and Initial Coin Offerings during COVID-19. Apart from this, the research also encapsulates the contributions of the articles on venture capital, P2P lending, and angel finance. Also, the study highlights promising avenues for future research focusing on different financing options and drivers of financing choices. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Spanish CEOs' perceptions in complex situations: an analysis from a gender perspective

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of discrepancies in certain management-related business factors in complex situations from a gender perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe study examined whether there are any differences in the characteristics of Spanish companies run by men and women and how male and female chief executive officers (CEOs) perceive critical situations such as the COVD-19 pandemic. To answer the research questions, the survey carried out by the Ibero-American Observatory of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (FAEDPYME) in 2021 was used. The final sample consisted of a total of 1,532 small and medium-sized enterprises.FindingsThe main results show that female CEOs are more likely to have a university education than male CEOs, but they run smaller companies in Spain. On the other hand, they are more risk averse and evaluate the impact of complex and risky situations more negatively.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings open up new research questions. This is a cross-sector study, but are there differences in behaviour between sectors? The view of the crisis is negative, but which types of companies have been strengthened?, finally, do other countries have similar results?Originality/valueThe originality and value of this document lies in the fact that it makes an interesting contribution to the open debate on the management of complex situations from a gender perspective.

The influence of financial literacy and financial attitude on financial management behavior: A study on culinary micro SMEs in Rawamangun Urban Village, East Jakarta City

The goal of this research is to determine how financial literacy and financial attitude influence financial management behavior in Culinary MSMEs in Rawamangun, East Jakarta City. The type of research used is explanatory research. The sampling method is probability with area sampling. Samples were collected from 50 Culinary MSMEs actors in East Jakarta's Rawamangun Urban Village. The primary data used are questionnaire responses on a five-point Likert scale. Multiple Regression Analysis was used to analyze the data, aided by SPSS version 25.0. Based on the results of testing, the two hypotheses show that financial literacy and financial attitudes positively and significantly influence financial management behavior in Culinary MSMEs actors in Rawamangun Urban Village. Theoretically, this study recommends further research to analyze in-depth other variables that shape the financial management behavior of Culinary MSMEs in Rawamangun Urban Village. Practically, this study highlights the need for education and literacy to strengthen the financial management behavior of culinary entrepreneurs, with the aim of improving the economy and business through insightful activities such as education, and training courses that focus on savings, loans, investments and insurance.

Analysis of Countries in Terms of Artificial Intelligence Technologies: PROMETHEE and GAIA Method Approach

Artificial intelligence development and research leaders in business, industry, and nations gain a major competitive edge. Additionally, it is clear that nations with a well-established national artificial intelligence policy have an edge over others, both technologically and economically. To further their artificial intelligence capability, nations also seek to develop a strategy, vision, structure, and working environment that encourages collaboration between the public sector, private industry, and educational institutions. Artificial intelligence is thought to be a tool that will help bridge the gap between powerful and developing countries growing in the future. Using data from "The Global AI Index” for 2021, this study aims to examine and analyze the present state of artificial intelligence management in 62 nations in terms of talent, infrastructure, business environment, development and research government policy, and commercial efforts. The research used PROMETHEE, which is widely used in multi-criteria decision-making evaluations, and its geometric representation, the GAIA plane. This study also found that the United States of America is the world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development as well as AI investment. The United Kingdom, China, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Germany all rank well. China is rapidly catching up to the USA. At the very bottom of the list are nations such as Armenia, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, and Pakistan. Turkey's values are more similar to those of nations towards the bottom of the list than of those in the top half. There is a significant gap between the top three countries and the rest of the world in all parameters included in the survey. Except for the ‘State Strategy' category, Turkey scores quite low compared to the top-performing countries. Decision makers are expected to address the identified global challenges of the study by creating a more comprehensive national AI strategy, both financially and in terms of content.

Teaching entrepreneurial finance: Reconsidering Morris and Liguori in light of the COVID-19 pandemic

Three areas on which to focus when professors teach entrepreneurship are business basics, entrepreneurship basics, and entrepreneurial mindset/competencies. We present how entrepreneurial finance professors can relate the COVID-19 pandemic to these three areas in their online courses. We select only the points with direct implications to the finance discipline and use relevant examples to illustrate how entrepreneurial finance professors can increase student understanding during the pandemic, and its immediate aftermath. We believe this will make online learning more effective and enhance student learning experiences compared to a conventional textbook-based discussion course that is delivered online. © 2021 International Council for Small Business.

Do entrepreneurship ecosystem and managerial skills contribute to startup development?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze the factors affecting startup development and the entrepreneurship ecosystem's contribution to it.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative methodology is used for data collection from different startup owners working across Pakistan. It is a cross-sectional descriptive study, which investigates the causal effect of variables at a definite point in time. Non-probability convenient sampling was used for selecting available startups from the incubation centers. The sampling framework consists of the founders of the startups that have been previously incubated at any of the selected incubation centers.FindingsRegression analysis results from 165 responses of entrepreneurs and incubation centers demonstrate that the most important factors affecting startup development were financial access, government support, marketing challenges, education, technology and managerial skills in order of occurrence. Entrepreneurship ecosystem also proved to have a very positive impact on the relationship of these factors with startup development.Practical implicationsIn this paper, the factors that affect the development of startup are analyzed and recommendations are provided.Originality/valueThis research is comprehensive, as we have collected data from actual entrepreneurs and incubation centers to explain how entrepreneurs initiate their startup business by considering their managerial skills. As such, this study is unique in that the data comes from newly developed incubations centers in one of South Asia's fastest-growing economies.

Covid-19 for Crowdfunding: Catalyst or Deterrent? Evidence from Russia

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on crowdfunding by analyzing a 2-year sample of 7,024 rewards-based crowdfunding campaigns on the two major Russian platforms. The study employs a digital methods approach to demand and supply and multiple regression analysis. The findings show that COVID-19 and the associated lockdown had no immediate and straightfor-ward effect on the crowdfunding sector, neither on backers nor on campaigns' initiators. Thus, the crowdfunding sector unlike some other investment classes remains resilient to the global pandemic. Beyond that, empirical analysis revealed the undescribed phenomenon of sponsors' readiness to fi-nance projects being highly seasonal and depending on the month in which the project starts. The nearer to year end, the more backers are willing to put into crowdfunding projects.

QUALITATIVE STUDY ON THE MANAGEMENT OF START-UPS FINANCED FROM EUROPEAN GRANT FUNDS

The study focused on the impact of 100% non-refundable European funds on new businesses established in Romania through the Start-up Plus and Start-up Diaspora financing programs.In this sense, a standardized questionnaire consisting of 35 questions was designed and applied to a sample of 198 entrepreneurs who benefited from 100% non-refundable financing of approximately 40,000 euros during the years 2019 - 2020. As a result of the validation of all questionnaires completed by the beneficiaries of these types of funding, we used SPSS v.16.0 and SPSS v. 29.0 to interpret the obtained data.The obtained results led us to a series of worrying conclusions regarding the management and sustainability of this type of financial support among newly established enterprises.The result of this research can represent one of the most important starting points for the central public authorities necessary for the development of future funding lines

CASE STUDIES & TEACHING CASES Queremos! Case: challenges of a startup in the pandemic

Criada em 2010, no Rio de Janeiro, a Queremos! surgiu com uma proposta ¡novadora de aproximar fãs e artistas através de uma estrutura de finandamento coletivo, que possibilitava a viabilização de shows em localidades que normalmente não estariam contempladas nas turnês originais. Após um reposicionamento do modelo de negocios em 2013, a empresa abandona o modelo de crowdfunding que a fez famosa para se especializar na produção de eventos ao vivo, o que lhe possibilitou, além de uma incursão para os EUA entre 2013 e 2016, a expansão da marca com forte presença nas principais capitals brasileiras nos anos seguintes. No entanto, após seu melhor ano em 2019, a empresa foi surpreendida pela pandemia da COVID-19, que afetou drasticamente o setor de entretenimento e live-events no Brasil e no mundo. O caso coloca o leitor no papel dos sócios da empresa, de forma a refletir sobre os desafios estratégicos e operacionais que a Queremos! teve de enfrentara partir da proibição dos eventos ao vivo devido à pandemia. O caso é indicado para alunos de graduação e pós-graduação de cursos de administração e produção cultural preocupados em discutir temas e conceitos ligados à área de planejamento em tempos de incerteza, análise de risco, gestão da mudança, modelagem de negócios, e inovação em startups.Alternate :Creada en 2010, en Río de Janeiro, Queremos! ideó una propuesta innovadora para acercar a fans y artistas a través de una estructura de crowdfunding que hizo posible realizar espectáculos en lugares que normalmente no estarían cubiertos en las giras originales. Tras un reposicionamiento del modelo de negocio en 2013, la empresa acaba abandonando el modelo de crowdfunding que la hizo famosa para especializarse en la producción de eventos en directo, lo que le permitió, además de una incursión en EE. UU. entre 2013 y 2016, expandir la marca con fuerte presencia en las principales capitales brasileñas en los años siguientes. Sin embargo, luego de su mejor año - 2019 la empresa fue sorprendida por la pandemia de COVID-19, que afectó drásticamente el sector de entretenimiento y eventos en vivo en Brasil y en el mundo. El caso pone al lector en el papel de los socios de la empresa, para reflexionar sobre los desafíos estratégicos y operativos que Queremos! tuvo que enfrentar desde la prohibición de eventos en vivo debido a la pandemia. El caso está indicado para estudiantes de grado y posgrado de carreras de administración y producción cultural, preocupados por discutir temas y conceptos relacionados con el área de planificación en tiempos de ¡ncertidumbre, análisis de riesgos, gestión del cambio, modelado de negocios e innovación en startups.Alternate :Created in Rio de Janeiro in 2010, Queremos! came up with an innovative proposal to bring fans and artists together through a crowdfunding structure, which made it possible to perform shows in locations that normally would not be covered in the original tours. After repositioning the business model in 2013, the company abandoned the crowdfunding model that made it famous and focused on the production of live events. This enabled an expansion to the USA between 2013 and 2016 and gave the brand a strong presence in the main Brazilian capitals in the following years. However, after its best year in 2019, the company was surprised by the COVID-19 pandemic, which drastically affected the entertainment and live events sector in Brazil and worldwide. The case puts the readers in the role of the company's partners in order to reflect on the strategic and operational challenges that Queremos! had to face from the prohibitions on live events due to the pandemic. The case is recommended for undergraduate and graduate students of administration and cultural production courses concerned with discussing topics and concepts related to the area of planning in times of uncertainty, risk analysis, management of changes, business modeling, and innovation in startups.

Financing the growth of Urban Chowk

Learning outcomes: ▪ Identify and explain the factors that contribute to the success of a restaurant business. ▪ Analyse different sources of entrepreneurial finance. ▪ Identify and explain local entrepreneur's expectations from a funding agency. ▪ Evaluate investment decision-making criteria for entrepreneurial funding agencies. Case overview/synopsis: Kartikey Rajput, the promoter of a food park Urban Chowk, was waiting for the Covid regulations in the country to be relaxed. The entrepreneur in him found a business opportunity to provide hygienic food with a beautiful ambience and floated a food park (Urban Chowk) with the support of his wife Nikita Agrawal in 2017 and the second edition amidst Covid in 2020. The business model was well-appreciated by food vendors as well as customers. Rajput could see future growth potential in urban India. But his aggressive business plan to open five food parks in different cities in the next three years was disrupted due to the Covid pandemic. The expansion required huge investments, and post-pandemic challenges were plenty. The decision to go beyond Ahmedabad required the selection of cities besides the major challenge of the financing choice. The new cities might have huge footfall potential but finding the right location at the right price was a different challenge. Rajput was also concerned with the sources of getting the required finances. The entrepreneur was contemplating and evaluating the alternative sources of finance available to a start-up. Complexity academic level: This case is appropriate for a graduate and post-graduate level programme in the courses like entrepreneurial finance, entrepreneurship and strategy. This case can also be used in an executive programme on management and Management Development Programmes (MDPs) on entrepreneurship or entrepreneurial finance. Supplementary materials: Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject Code: CSS 1: Accounting and Finance. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

NFTs and Cryptocurrencies—The Metamorphosis of the Economy under the Sign of Blockchain: A Time Series Approach

Although NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and cryptocurrencies are active on the same market, their prices are not so closely related over time. The objective of this paper is to identify the relationship between the two types of assets (NFTs and the cryptocurrencies Ethereum, Crypto Coin, and Bitcoin), using data for the period between September 2020 until February 2022. The conclusions of the study are useful for cryptocurrency and NFT issuers, but also for investors on the financial market who are reconfiguring their portfolios with increasing frequency, and use these new assets for speculative or hedging purposes based on blockchain technology. The results highlighted relationships between NFTs and Ethereum, between Ethereum and Crypto Coin, and between Bitcoin and Ethereum, Ethereum being a bridge between all four. Therefore, NFTs present a relationship with Ethereum, the NFTs price had a causal effect on the price of Ethereum.

Understanding the Function of a Social Business Ecosystem

Social entrepreneurs face challenging situations in trying to expand and grow businesses with little investment and limited resources. Interactions and networks between social entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders are indispensable in promoting social entrepreneurship. Together, they come to form a cyclical “social business ecosystem” (SBE), in which social entrepreneurs can finance their projects by paying “share transfer fees.” By using a theoretical/mathematical model in our method, this study examines the fundamental role of share transfer fees in an SBE. In particular, it establishes a moral hazard model that can explain important characteristics of an SBE. As main results, the study identifies conditions under which an SBE can mitigate the moral hazard of social entrepreneurs. The results suggest that SBEs work efficiently for relatively small social projects. This is consistent with actual cases of social business. Within this framework, this study also explores the practical implications of knowledge spillover;social entrepreneurs conduct SBEs more efficiently if they take advantage of knowledge spillover.

Lending by Banks to NBFCs for On-lending to Priority Sectors: Recent RBI Guidelines and Way Forward

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) and Small Finance Banks (SFBs)to lend money to NonBanking Finance Companies (NBFCs) and Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs) respectively for the purpose of on-lending to the priority sectors. As per the Master Directions of RBI on Priority Sector Lending the facility was allowed till March 31,2022. However, the circular issued by the RBI on May 13,2022 makes this facility to continue on an ongoing basis. The article gives a background for the facility, discusses few related questions and suggesting a way forward. The authors opine that there is synergy between banks and NBFCs and lending for on-lending creates a win-win for all the stakeholders. They also recommend that the banks shall engage NBFCs and NBFC-MFIs as channel partners for reaching out to the priority sectors.

Startup Valuation Determinants: Examining the Economic Value of German Startups from a Strategic Theory Perspective

The pre-money valuation of startups, as their performance indicator, is critical in entrepreneurial financing, which in turn is significantly shaped by the firm's internal resources. This paper analyzes an integrated theoretical framework to examine whether the valuation of startups can be explained by strategic and firm-level factors identified by Barney's (1991) Resource-Based Theory (RBT) as critical to firm performance. Empirical results from the analyses of 142 German startups support the theory that investors consider important factors to startups' performance in their valuation. Implications of the study involve further research on the impact of social and financial capital within human and physical resources and establishes different determinants important to raise different types of funds-venture capital, angel, seed, and grant-in tech and non-tech startups.

Fintech, base of the pyramid entrepreneurs and social value creation

Purpose>Fintech is having a profound impact in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because it offers more financial inclusion. In this paper, the authors examine the interrelationship of Fintech, base of the pyramid (BOP) entrepreneurs and social value creation, particularly in the SSA context.Design/methodology/approach>The current paper uses a qualitative research design with open-ended, in-depth interviews as the main data sources. The authors interviewed respondents from the Sierra Leone Fintech Association and four BOP entrepreneurs operating in different sectors.Findings>The authors find that Fintech services, specifically mobile money, play a significant role in reducing uncertainty surrounding business operations. FinTech also offers growth possibilities for BOP entrepreneurs and creates social value by providing transactional security, convenience and reducing physical cash robberies. At the same time, Fintech contributes to social value by enhancing BOP entrepreneurs as well as consumers' skills development.Research limitations/implications>This study highlights the importance of context-specific theorization when analyzing the interlinkage between BOP entrepreneurship, social value creation and Fintech. For example, the possibility of safety from a street robbery may not appear to be part of social value creation by a technological development like Fintech. However, in a country like Sierra Leone, which has experienced both a civil war and Ebola outbreak, insecurity has been one of the biggest concerns expressed by BOP inhabitants. Hence, scholars need to incorporate contextual elements of risk, uncertainty and volatility while theorizing on Fintech's application in BOP contexts.Practical implications>A key managerial implication relates to micro-firm entrepreneurs and information specific benefits. Fintech offers entrepreneurs the possibility to be in regular contact with customers and evaluate their purchasing patterns as well as emergent needs. Fintech offers BOP entrepreneurs a possibility to further develop their technological skills as learning to use such apps can be used as a basis for further skills development. From a policy perspective, our study highlights the importance of regulating Fintech charges so that the affordability is increased, which is expected to result in significantly more BOP entrepreneurs using these services.Social implications>The authors find that at the same time, Fintech contributes to social value by enhancing skills development of BOP consumers who interact with case firms.Originality/value>This paper is one of the first studies that specifically focuses on BOP entrepreneurship and social value creation by Fintech services in an SSA context. It is also one of the few studies that incorporates views from both entrepreneurs and the country's Fintech association, rather than focusing solely on either entrepreneurs or Fintech firms. Finally, there is a specific focus on BOP entrepreneurs engaging in micro-entrepreneurship.

PREDICTING ENTREPRENEURIAL AND CROWDFUNDING INTENTIONS ‒ A STUDY OF ROMANIA AND SOUTH KOREA

Crowdfunding has recently gained ground as an alternative financing means, particularly for start-ups and risky enterprises. We hereby analyse Romanian and South Korean students' intentions to use crowdfunding in their future ventures. Using PLS-SEM (N=441), we first investigated the influence of the Theory of Planned Behaviour variables- attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural control along with entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, we looked into the influence of perceived trust and risk, performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions on crowdfunding intentions. Finally, we checked entrepreneurial intentions with crowdfunding intentions. We find that attitudes towards entrepreneurship, social norms, and entrepreneurial education have a positive influence and perceived behavioural control have a negative influence on entrepreneurial intentions. In terms of crowdfunding intentions, they were found to be positively influenced by performance expectancy, perceived trust and risk and entrepreneurial intentions. The results are useful both for educators designing higher education programmes in the field of entrepreneurship, as well as for crowdfunding platform owners in designing platform functionalities and image.

Entrepreneurial Investment Evaluation Decision-Making: A Focus on Venture Capitalists, Business Angels and Early-Stage Entrepreneurs in South Africa

Business angels (BAs) and venture capitalists (VCs) are important sources of finance for entrepreneurs in emerging markets for raising start-up and growth capital. Recognising that entrepreneurial investment evaluation decision-making is a highly complex process, and that there are limited studies focused on evaluation criteria used by both BAs and VCs', this article undertakes an empirical investigation by identifying, classifying and statistically testing the rank importance of investment criteria in South Africa from an early-stage entrepreneurial perspective. Results indicate that the rank importance for the different investment criteria is relatively similar for VCs and BAs, and the only ranking difference observed was on the team preparedness and team attributes, relevant for early-stage entrepreneurs. An empirical study of this nature is important as unique insights emerge from testing multiple investment evaluation criteria used by VCs, BAs and early-stage entrepreneurs in an African emerging country context.

Perspectives on the evolution of a fabrication laboratory in an emerging country: a comparative lexicometric study of European FabLabs: IMS

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to help in the establishment of the first fabrication laboratory (FabLab) in Tunisia. The FabLab movement offers many interesting opportunities through value creation, innovation, training and access to digital manufacturing technologies. A newly created FabLab should be well-positioned in terms of business model, purpose and management. The aim of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of FabLabs in developed countries (mainly in France and Luxembourg) and to provide recommendations on the possible development of a FabLab in Tunisia (FabLabENIT).Design/methodology/approachTwelve FabLabs were visited and experts from the makers movement were interviewed. Data from the visits and interviews were analysed using lexicometric tools. This methodology is based on three main steps: first, the identification and selection of panel of studied FabLabs interviews;second transcribing and coding for IRaMuTeQ software;and third, correspondence analysis.FindingsThe correspondence analysis determined five main factors of analysis that were interpreted using the most correlated words. The analysis of the correlation of the FabLabs and these five factors showed that FabLabENIT was strongly correlated with the third factor (interpreted as the organisation and structure factor). Recommendations for the purpose, local impact and methods were derived using the position of FabLabENIT in relation to the other factors.Practical implicationsThis study highlighted five main topics that characterise FabLabs in developing countries before and after their creation. A second practical contribution of this paper is that it provides a framework for FabLab managers and founders to anticipate possible trajectories of evolution for their organisations, especially in an emerging country. Another contribution, both practical and methodological, is the demonstration of the use of textual interview analysis tools (mainly correspondence analysis) to determine the main practices and characteristics of a creative organisation, such as a FabLab.Originality/valueOne original feature of this paper is the topic of the study, especially in the current context of the COVID-19 outbreak, in which the FabLab movement provided interesting solutions that were designed and manufactured using digital manufacturing technologies. A second originality resides in the use of lexicometric techniques to analyse the information that was discussed during the interviews.

FINTECH STARTUPS AND BANKS: ADOPTION, INCENTIVES, COMPETITION, AND REGULATIONS

This article is supposed to take an overview of FinTech start-ups and their impact on existing financial institutions. The behavior of traditional financial organizations is also observed and how did they adjust in such a transforming scenario. The attitude of the users is an element that can not be ignored while developing a system. So the adaptability of FinTech among users is also overviewed. The current scenario, prospect, investment perspective of FinTech have been in consideration while writing this paper.