This paper analyzes the drivers of female necessity entrepreneurship using a sample of 59 countries, with data sourced from the 2018–2019 global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM). It develops a theoretical framework describing how post-secondary education, startup skills, fear of failure, knowing another entrepreneur, entrepreneurial intentions, and hiring expectations act as drivers of female necessity entrepreneurship. Using qualitative comparative analysis, two models are tested to explain the presence and absence of female necessity entrepreneurship. This outcome is measured using the GEM indicator of total early-stage entrepreneurial activity.

Crowdfunding is gaining popularity as a way of financing social sustainable initiatives. We performed a controlled economic experiment in MTurk by simulating a crowdfunding platform and developed a theoretical model that rationalizes herding behavior. The experiment was designed to test and quantify the causal effects of revealing specific information to prospective backers: (i) the number of early contributors already financing the project and (ii) positive opinions of other backers versus those of experts. The results show that early contributions to the campaign and positive opinions of peers act as a reinforcing signal to potential backers and affect backers’ beliefs about the probability of success, increasing contributions to the campaign. Furthermore, we show that herding is rational and set expectations on when we should observe rational herding and when not. The theoretical model captures the rational herding, which may be the main information aggregation path in reward-based crowdfunding platforms, and can help managers increase the likelihood of success in crowdfunding campaigns.

Person-centered approaches, such as latent profile analysis (LPA) and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), have gained in popularity in organizational scholarship because of their ability to provide insight into how interrelations between a group of conditions can lead to a particular outcome. Despite the growing acceptance of person-centered approaches in social science research, traditional variable-centered approaches continue to prevail, although their dominance is increasingly questioned. This paper offers in-depth analysis of the current state of QCA and LPA from both a conceptual and a bibliometric perspective. This study thus aims to contextualize the role of person-centered methodologies in organizational scholarship. This aim is important, given the significance of exploring novel approaches to advance knowledge in organizational research. This paper provides scholars with quantifiable and readily comparable information on the use of these emerging but promising methods in organizational studies. Ultimately, this scientific contribution sheds light on the current and prospective applications of person-centered methods in research. Moreover, it offers scholars who are considering applying these methods objective analysis of the scientific production in this area thus far.

Building trust is a major challenge in digital crowdfunding environments. The existing information asymmetries between fund-seeking entrepreneurs and potential investors require the implementation of signaling strategies between both economic agents in order to generate trust and incentivize investment. This study performs a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to explore the interplay of visual content and social networks as information cues signaling trust. The data are sourced from Startupxplore, a Spanish equity crowdfunding platform. Configurational analysis reveals a certain degree of substitutability between traditional visual cues (images, videos) and reporting presence in social networks (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter). The results show different information disclosure strategies using traditional visual cues and social networks that lead to crowdfunding success and overfunding: substitute, mixed and unique strategies. The originality of this research lies in identifying such strategies using a configurational approach that addresses the causal complexity behind success and overfunding phenomena in equity crowdfunding, and in targeting visual cues and social networks presence as signals. This entails theoretical contributions to signaling theory in digital financial environments as well as managerial implications for entrepreneurial fundraising.

Purpose: This empirical study uses herd behavior model to explore the role of anchor investors in ensuring fundraising success and overfunding of crowdfunded ventures.Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is applied to find the configurational patterns describing how anchor investors' information disclosure leads to successful financing and overfunding.Findings: Even when the anchor investor's resume is not detailed or the anchor investor has little experience in entrepreneurial investment, success or overfunding can be achieved, provided the anchor investor is a corporation rather than an individual. For individual anchor investors, a detailed resume matters. Overfunding can be achieved even when an individual anchor investor makes a small relative investment, if this small relative investment is compensated for by a detailed resume. Experience in entrepreneurial investment is crucial when individual anchor investors have few previous investments. Regardless of the anchor investor's identity, investment in absolute terms is crucial for crowdfunding success when experience in entrepreneurial investment is low. Such experience must be extensive if the anchor investor's resume is not detailed.Practical implications: Both entrepreneurs and crowdfunding platforms can benefit from the findings in relation to the design of campaigns that use anchor investors' informational cues to achieve success and overfunding.Originality/value: The study examines the importance of anchor investors' information disclosure in digital crowdfunding environments, differentiating between individual and corporate anchor investors.

Entrepreneurship has increasingly captured policymaker’s attention due to the need to promote economic development and job creation. Among the drivers of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial education is of particular significance. This paper reviews entrepreneurship education from a research and practice perspective. Firstly, a discussion is held as to whether entrepreneurial talent is born or bred. Secondly, the different approaches to entrepreneurship education are revised, specifying their distinctive characteristics. This is followed by a review of research on the potential of entrepreneurship education to awaken individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions. Finally, a series of practical considerations aimed at improving entrepreneurship education programs are proposed. Ultimately, this paper contextualizes entrepreneurship education, advocating its relevance in the promotion of entrepreneurial activity.