Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues is a peer-reviewed journal which publishes original research papers and case studies

We investigated whether rival estimation leads to team cohesion in a competitive situation, and examined the mediating role of team cohesion in the relationship between rival estimation and escalation of commitment. We used a semiexperimental design with a sample of 336 university students and conducted structural equation modeling with partial least squares. Results showed that escalation of commitment increased as rival estimation increased, but this increase was much lower than enhancement through team cohesion. In addition, overestimation of rivals enhanced team cohesion and greatly increased escalation of commitment. Thus, we have introduced novel predictors for team cohesion and escalation of commitment in a competitive situation. Our results provide a tool for leaders responsible for team performance to make significant adjustments in cohesion and rival estimation. Leaders should also be aware of the negative effect of strong team cohesion on the tendency to think in a way that can lead to systematic deviation from good judgment/rationality.

We studied the effect of two inconsistent emotions, fear and hope, in strategic decision‐making during a competition. We sought to examine which emotion will be more related to whether decision-makers accurately and objectively estimate their rival We developed a nuanced perspective on the effects of trait anxiety on rival estimation by integrating it with the competition shadow. Using a competition simulation and basing on data from 221 individuals across two countries, we found support for a predicted effect of trait anxiety on rival estimation. Several theoretical implications are discussed.

This study investigates the impact of a design thinking mindset on employee motivation, team cohesion, and innovative behavior within innovative businesses. Given the rising importance of intangible assets such as knowledge and creativity, particularly highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding how to effectively harness team potential has become crucial for organizations. Despite the recognized importance of innovation, a significant gap remains in understanding how to cultivate team cohesion and motivation to drive innovative behavior. This study used a quantitative research method to collect data from 283 employees across various innovative firms in Iran. The study employed Consistent Partial Least Squares (cPLS) analysis to test the proposed hypotheses and explore the relationships between the design thinking mindset, team cohesion, motivation, and innovative behavior. The findings reveal that a design thinking mindset significantly enhances both employee motivation and innovative behavior. The design thinking mindset was also found to mediate the relationships between motivation and innovative behavior, as well as between team cohesion and innovative behavior, indicating its pivotal role in fostering innovation within organizations. Key statistical results include the confirmation of most hypotheses, with t-values greater than 1.96 and p-values less than 0.05, highlighting the significant effects of the design thinking mindset on innovative outcomes. The R² values for final model indicated that the independent variables could explain 51.2% of the variance in the design thinking mindset and 68.7% of the variance in employees’ innovative behavior. The study concludes that integrating a design thinking mindset into organizational culture is crucial for enhancing motivation, team cohesion, and innovation. By emphasizing components such as abductive thinking, experiential intelligence, and optimism, organizations can foster a culture of innovation, ultimately leading to sustained competitive advantage. These findings provide valuable insights for practitioners and researchers seeking to implement design thinking principles to boost organizational innovation.

Novel and innovative ventures depend on adequate financial resources to succeed. Funding of startups is one of the most important issues in entrepreneurial financing. Crowdfunding and initial coin offerings are advanced innovations in the financial fields. Due to the resistance and negative attributions of the crowd, there are many challenges to successfully implementing these novel entrepreneurial financing methods because of their radical innovation. Hence, this is significantly compatible with the institutional change literature, as its success depends on its popularization and acceptance by the participants. Legitimacy is the main key to obtain these objectives. This study aims to investigate the different ways of gaining legitimacy for the aforementioned innovative financing methods. To fulfill this purpose, a structured literature review has been conducted and after screening and editing, 56 papers were selected among all papers. After analyzing selected papers, comprehensive definitions of crowdfunding, ICO, and organizational legitimacy have been presented, and then sources of the legitimacy of funding methods were introduced. Finally, productive solutions have been provided for the entrepreneurs, platforms, universities, governmental and non-governmental institutions, and legislators to institutionalize and legitimize crowdfunding and token offering.