Chelsea B Walsh* and Walter McCollum
Research on resilience at an individual-level is underexplored, with even less attention on resilience in the context of entrepreneurs. The researcher explores the impact of individual resilience on entrepreneurial success and presents Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) as a well-suited theoretical framework for this topic. Method: The study is a systematic review conducted using databases (UMGC One Search, ABI/Inform, ProQuest Dissertations & Thesis Global) and the snowball method. Articles included ranged from 2003 to 2020, narrowed to scholarly articles written in English. Results: The results reveal that individual resilience positively impacts entrepreneurial success. Four themes emerged from the gestalt of the 26 articles, (a) there
is a positive relationship between individual resilience and entrepreneurial success, (b) entrepreneurial experience fosters the development of individual resilience,
(c) internal locus of control is a contributor to business success, and (d) resilience and self-efficacy reinforce one another to affect behavior and decision-making.
Conclusions: Individual resilience is a necessary skill entrepreneur’s need to overcome adversity and succeed in uncertain environments.
Limitations: Cultural differences, self-reporting measures, and not incorporating a comprehensive review of the psychometric properties used are limitations of the articles included.
Implications: The research guides entrepreneurs, educators, and policy makers who are trying to increase productive entrepreneurship in a variety of adverse environments.
Originality/Value: The researcher makes a significant contribution to the literature on individual resilience in an entrepreneurial context, helping entrepreneurs to
succeed by improving knowledge of the impact individual resilience has on entrepreneurial success.
John M York
The LS method, an extremely popular methodology designed to help ventures navigate uncertainty and improve their odds of success, embraces a hypothesis-driven process for developing successful new enterprises by identifying and validating scalable products and business models. This paper seeks to address relevant questions such as (1) what is the current state of understanding of LS concerning its foundations; (2) what empiric literature describes the recent experience with LS; (3) what does the literature reflect regarding the impact of LS outcomes and performance; and (4) what can we learn from the current academic contributions regarding LS and areas to explore further. This review identifies multiple antecedents and theoretical concepts, along with a review of the scientific evidence that solidifies the underlying foundation for this methodology. While anecdotal experience pervades much of the early experience with LS, academics and practitioners provide a mix of empiric experiences in the past decade. Such contributions highlight a variety of practitioner experiences, offer insights from use in the educational setting, raise issues around the methodology and its use, and set forth boundary conditions for the use of the methodology. Furthermore, studies find mixed results concerning the influence of LS on performance and business outcomes, with only one study that emphasizes the importance of a rigorous approach standing out as significant. The current academic conversation provides diverse perspectives and opinions, ranging from a severe review of the identification of multiple avenues to explore and opportunities to bridge the existing divide between academics and scholars concerning LS. The discussion leads to many further management questions to explore concerning the setting, sector, startup stage, rigor, training, impact, and measurement of outcomes. To this end, these areas indicate both academic and practical questions do exist, and more work needs undertaking to solidify the understanding of the methodology’s foundations and its practical impact on new ventures.
Henry Walker
Henry Walker
Katia Rave
