Flipped and blended learning pedagogies are increasingly being adopted by institutions that see in these novel pedagogies, mechanisms that might contribute to improved student outcomes and, in the case of the institutions, student retention. However, the as yet limited research does not definitively demonstrate the empirical link between flipped and blended learning pedagogies and the desirable student outcomes of engagement, performance and satisfaction. During four semesters, 348 responses were collected and analysed. The findings are that flipped and blended learning do positively influence perceptions of engagement, performance and satisfaction, but that flipped learning mediates the effects of blended learning, underscoring that blended learning pedagogies are delivery mechanisms that do not influence learning. Furthermore, the engagement stimulated by flipped learning pedagogy is inherently satisfying to students independent of their perceptions of performance. These findings contribute to closing the gap between what we believe and what we confirm with respect to flipped learning pedagogies, and provide additional evidence that the financial, cultural and individual investment by education institutions in flipped learning pedagogies will lead to the outcomes sought.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only had a significant and catastrophic effect on business and economies globally, but has identified the external and internal enablement of new venture creation. This paper aims to provide entrepreneurship insights, implementations and dynamics to demonstrate the role of entrepreneurship in times of such adversity within an Australian context. We provide emergent enquiry narratives from leading Australian scholars, identifying entrepreneurial initiatives as a catalyst to new venture creation and growth. Narratives include insights associated with the entrepreneurial mindset, the multidimensional effects of resilience and entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship enablers and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Opportunities for further research are identified, particularly regarding context and empirical outcomes. We postulate that entrepreneurship may well be the unsung hero during the current COVID-19 economic crisis.

Purpose: Why is self-employment an attractive option for certain seniors and what drives seniors into business start-ups? In this study, the motivations and preferences of senior entrepreneurs in Australia, to become self-employed, by means of business start-ups, are explored. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical basis for policy implications.Design/methodology/approach: A mixed methods study is conducted. Members of the National Senior’s Association in Australia were interviewed and surveyed. The semi-structured interviews identified the key factors influencing senior entrepreneurs in relation to self-employment and entrepreneurial choices at a later career stage. The survey collected information on intentionality, motivation, skills, opportunities, success, satisfaction, participation, barriers, benefits, education and training, and perceptions of policy support for senior entrepreneurs.Findings: Respondents gave an account of the prevalence of pull factors motivating their choice of an entrepreneurial career. Multivariate statistical analysis of survey responses showed that senior entrepreneurs are more driven by opportunity than necessity and are primarily internally motivated.Research limitations/implications: Results of this study suggest a weak link between motivation by others and the act of start-up, but this may also imply that those seniors who are more likely to become entrepreneurs are more likely to ignore the impulses from their social context. This requires further investigation to ensure a robust identification of drivers and an elimination of contextual effects. Further research is suggested to compose a relevant model structure in different contexts and a representative sample to confirm the model outcomes.Originality/value: This is the first mixed methods study of the antecedents of senior entrepreneurs’ start-up intentions in Australia. The study also uses entrepreneurial activity as opposed to intention as its dependent variable, which allows for a more accurate evaluation of antecedents to the senior entrepreneurship phenomenon.

This paper investigates the body of international entrepreneurship knowledge to identify key trends, research directions and emerging research topics. First, 21 systematic and 6 non-systematic review articles published between 1998 and 2018 are reviewed. The analysis of these 27 review articles explores the trends and directions of development in the field, and provides a set of dimensions for evaluating the body of literature. A systematic review of 126 special issue articles using these dimensions proceeds with an assessment of the breadth and depth of international entrepreneurship special issue literature, and provides validation for the key areas and directions of development for international entrepreneurship research. Trends identified include the convergence between international business and entrepreneurship literatures, the focus on SME internationalization and various forms of international new ventures and born globals. Later years show the emergence of comparative international entrepreneurship and comparative entrepreneurial internationalization as research topics, emphasizing the importance of integrating empirical evidence between countries and contexts. There is a gap in the body of knowledge regarding emerging and transitional country contexts. There is also more room for comparative research that could also support the adaptation and development of context specific theories, providing a future direction for international entrepreneurship researchers.

This mixed-method study examines entrepreneurial networks as informal institutions established by local entrepreneurs in order to navigate the voids of formal institutions in the context of transitional economies. We first hypothesize the model developed in the qualitative study based on the voice of local practitioners and supported with literature. Then, we quantitatively test the model in two different contexts of institutional void – in the rent-seeking Ukraine and state-controlled Belarus in 2000s. It reveals that entrepreneurs who embrace norms of ‘right ties,’ ‘right identity,’ ‘right interests’ and ‘right actions’ rease their chances to join local entrepreneurial networks as perceived reliable personally and professionally, which results in network support. In a rent-seeking economy, entrepreneurs refer to ‘right identity’ and ‘right interests’ as priorities for their networks as informal institutions, while in the state-controlled economy, entrepreneurs prioritize ‘right identity’ and ‘right actions’.