Effect of Rurality and Human Capital Resources in the Entrepreneurial Opportunity Identification Process

Irena Kedmenec; Urban Šebjan; Polona  Tominc

Irena Kedmenec
Urban Šebjan
Polona Tominc

Keywords: entrepreneurship, human capital, opportunity identification, rural areas

Abstract

In this paper, that is a country study of Slovenia, we tried to determine why individuals in rural residential areas are less likely to recognize entrepreneurial opportunities. Our results show that the increase in resources in human capital, consisting of education, skills, knowledge, and experiences in entrepreneurship, has a significant and positive effect on opportunity identification. For policy creators, our results suggest that policies focused on entrepreneurial education— especially education that would enable the acquisition of real-life entrepreneurial experiences and skills—are useful, especially in rural areas.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Irena Kedmenec

Faculty of Organisation and Informatics Varaždin, University of Zagreb, Croatia
E-mail: irena.kedmenec@foi.hr

Irena Kedmenec works as assistant in the Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, in Varaždin, where she finished her master’s degree in economics. She is currently finishing her doctoral studies in economics and business sciences at the Faculty of Economics and Business University of Maribor. She actively participates in different projects in the entrepreneurship field (EDU-PRENEUR, Youth in Action programs, etc.), in Croatia, Slovenia, and abroad. Her research activity comprises in particular rural entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial intentions.

Urban Šebjan

Faculty of Economics and Business Maribor, University of Maribor, Slovenia
E-mail: urban.sebjan@uni-mb.si

Urban Šebjan is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Quantitative Economic Analysis and Organization and Informatics at the University of Maribor–Faculty of Economics and Business. He has long worked with Triglav Insurance Company. His research focuses primarily on quantitative methods, statistical analysis software, analytical CRM, and modern information technology. He is employed by the Faculty of Economics and Business as an assistant in the field of quantitative economic analysis.

Polona Tominc

Faculty of Economics and Business Maribor, University of Maribor, Slovenia
E-mail: polona.tominc@uni-mb.si

Polona Tominc, PhD, is a full-time professor in the Department of Quantitative Economic Analysis at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor. Her research is focused on statistical methods in economics, especially in the field of entrepreneurship and gender differences. She teaches statistics and quantitative methods in entrepreneurial research. She has participated in more than 30 scientific and professional conferences, is the author of various chapters in books and articles in scientific and professional journals, and has published in Slovenia and abroad. She is participating in the DIANA network analyzing female entrepreneurship and is a team member of GEM Slovenia and the Slovenian entrepreneurship observatory research team.

References

Acs, Z. J., Arenius, P., Hay, M., & Minniti, M. (2005). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2004 executive report.London, UK: Babson College and London Business School. Retrieved from http://www.gemconsortium.org/docs/download/260

Aldrich, H. E., & Zimmer, C. (1986). Entrepreneurship through social networks. In D. L. Sexton & R. W. Smilor (Eds.), The art and science of entrepreneurship (pp. 3–23). Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.

Alvarez, S. A., & Busenitz, L. W. (2001). The entrepreneurship of resource-based theory. Journal of Management, 27, 755–775. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014920630102700609

Arenius, P., & De Clercq, D. (2005). A network-based approach on opportunity recognition. Small Business Economics, 24, 249–265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-005-1988-6

Arenius, P., & Minniti, M. (2005). Perceptual variables and nascent entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 24(3), 233–247. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-005-1984-x

Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of Business Venturing, 9(3), 223–242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0883-9026(94)90031-0

Bryden, J. M. (2007). The role of higher education institutions in rural development. Education in Rural Areas, 17(1), 7–16.

Chiappe, M. B., & Flora, C. B. (1998). Gendered elements of the alternative agriculture paradigm. Rural Sociology, 63(3), 372–393. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.1998.tb00684.x

Clausen, T. H. (2006). Who identifies & exploits entrepreneurial opportunities?. Oslo, Norway: Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo. Retrieved from http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/methods/festival/programme/18QM/documents/PaperTommy-Clausen2_000.pdf

Clemenz, D., Helfenberger, R., Joris, E., Rossier, R., & Wacker, C. (1995). Women in Swiss agriculture: A series of portraits. Zürich: Women in Swiss Agriculture.

Cooper, A. C. (1981). Strategic management: New ventures and small businesses. Long Range Planning, 14(5), 39–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0024-6301(81)90006-6

Cooper, A. C., & Folta, T. (2000). Entrepreneurship and high-technology clusters. In D. L. Sexton & H. Lanstrompp (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of entrepreneurship (pp. 348–367). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Čančer, V. (2014). Teaching creative problem solving methods to undergraduate economics and business students. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 38(4), 485–500. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2012.726968

Davidsson, P., & Honig, B. (2003). The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, 18(3), 301–331.

Dolinsky, A. L., Caputo, R. K., Pasumaty, K. & Quanzi, H. (1993). The effects of education on business ownership: A longitudinal study of women entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18(1), 43–53.

Driga, O., Lafuente, E., & Vaillant, Y. (2009). Reasons for the relatively lower entrepreneurial activity levels of rural women in Spain. Sociologia Ruralis, 49(1), 70–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00475.x

Eckhardt, J. T., & Shane, S. A. (2003). Opportunities and entrepreneurship. Journal of Management, 29(3), 333–349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0149-2063(02)00225-8

European Commission. (2012, June). Women in EU agriculture and rural areas: Hard work, low profile (Brief No. 7). Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/agrista/economic-briefs/07_en.pdf

European Commission, Agriculture and Rural Development, European Network for Rural Development. (2011). Rural entrepreneur- ship. EU Rural Review, The magazine from the European Network for Rural Development, 10. Retrieved from http://enrd.ec.europa.eu/app_templates/filedownload.cfm?id=ED5808AC-994A-47AD-928F-0D3088716910

Eurostat. (2012). News release 51/2012. Retrieved from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/1-30032012-BP/EN/1-30032012-BP-EN.PDF

Floyd, S. W., & Wooldridge, B. (1999). Knowledge creation and social networks in corporate entrepreneurship: The renewal of organizational capability. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23(3), 123–143.

Högbacka, R., & Siiskonen, P. (1996). Change and continuity in the economic role of rural women. Finnish Journal of Rural Research and Policy, 3, 94–108.

Hosmer, D. W., & Lemeshow, S. (2000). Applied logistic regression (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/0471722146

Ilbery, B., Healy, M., & Higginbottom, J. (1997). On and off farm business diversification by farm households in England. In B. Ilbery,

Q. Chiotti, & T. Richard (Eds.), Agricultural restructuring and sustainability, a geographical perspective (pp. 135–152). Wallingford: CAB International.

Istenič, M. Č. (2006). Farm women in Slovenia. In B. B. Bock & S. Shortall (Eds.), Rural gender relations: Issues and case studies (pp. 63–96). Oxfordshire: CABI Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/9780851990309.0063

Istenič, M. Č. & Kveder, A. (2008). Urban-rural life setting as the explanatory factor of differences in fertility behaviour in Slovenia. Informatica, 32(2), 111-122.

Johannisson B., Alexanderson, O., Nowicki, K., & Senneseth, K. (1994). Beyond anarchy and organization: Entrepreneurs in contextual networks. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 6(4), 329–356. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08985629400000020

Kelley, D. J., Brush, C. G., Greene, P. G., & Litovsky, Y. (2011). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: 2010 women’s report. Babson Park, MA: Global Entrepreneurship Research Association.

Kirzner, I. M. (1979). Perception, opportunity, and profit: Studies in the theory of entrepreneurship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Kirzner, I. M. (2009). The alert and creative entrepreneur: A clarification. Small Business Economics, 132(2), 145–152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-008-9153-7

Korez-Vide, R., Bobek, V., Čančer, V., Perko, I., & Hauptman, L. (2010). The efficiency of entrepreneurship policy support for the internationalisation of SMEs: The case of Slovenia. European Journal of International Management, 4(6), 644–664. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2010.035593

Kulawczuk, P. (1998). The development of entrepreneurship in rural areas. In J. D. Kimball (Ed.), The transfer of power: Decentralization in Central and Eastern Europe (pp. 97–109). Budapest: The Local Government and Service Form Initiative.

Low, M. B., & MacMillan, I. C. (1988). Entrepreneurship: Past research and future challenges. Journal of Management, 14(2), 139–161. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014920638801400202

North, D., Smallbone, D., & Vickers, I. (2001). Public support policy for innovative SMEs. Small Business Economics, 16(4), 303–317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1011164801073

OECD. (2004). Women’s entrepreneurship: Issues and policies. Paper presented by F. Delmar and C. Holmquist at the 2nd OECD Conference of Ministers Responsible for SMEs, Promoting entrepreneurship and innovative SMEs in a global economy. Istanbul, June 3–5.

Perpar, A. (2007). Characteristics of rural areas in Slovenia: Advantages, weaknesses and possibilities for improvement of present situation from viewpoint of sustainable rural development. Journal of Central European Agriculture, 8(2), 229–236.

Pezzini, M. N., Ortensi, P., Mancini, M. P., & Baracani, N. (1997). Doppia presenza, tradizione e innovazione in agricultura: Una ricerca sulle conduttrici di aziende agricole in provincia di Livorno. Livorno: Pacini Editore.

Regidor, J. (2000). El futuro del medio rural en Espańa. Madrid: Consejo Económico y Social.

Reynolds, P., Bosma, N., Autio, E., Hunt, S., De Bono, N., Servais, I., … Chin, N. (2005). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: Data collection design and implementation 1998–2003. Small Business Economics, 24(3), 205–231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-005-1980-1

Shane, S. A. (2003). A general theory of entrepreneurship: The individual opportunity nexus. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Shane, S. A., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25, 217–226. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2000.2791611

Short, J. C., Ketchen, D. J., Shook, C. L., & Ireland, R. D. (2010). The concept of opportunity in entrepreneurship research: Past accom- plishments and future challenges. Journal of Management, 36, 40–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0149206309342746

Stathopoulou, S., Psaltopoulos, D., & Skuras, D. (2004). Rural entrepreneurship in Europe: A research framework and agenda. Inter- national Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 10, 404–425. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13552550410564725

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. (2012). Statistical yearbook of Slovenia 2012. Retrieved from http://www.stat.si/letopis/LetopisPrvaStran.aspx?lang=en

Širec, K., & Rebernik, M., (2011). Izobraževanje za podjetnost in podjetništvo. Pedagoška obzorja, 26(4), 129–145.

Toutain, X. (1995). Femmes en milieu rural: Des initiatives pour l’animation, le développement des service et l’emploi. Paris: Ministère des affaires sociales, de la santé et de la ville, Service de droits de femmes with SEGESA.

Van der Zwan, P., Verheul, I., & Thurik, A. R. (2011). The entrepreneurial ladder, gender, and regional development. Small Business Economics, 39(3), 627–643. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-011-9334-7

Venkataraman, S. (1997). The distinctive domain of entrepreneurship research: An editor's perspective. In J. Katz & R. Brockhaus (Eds.), Advances in entrepreneurship, firm emergence, and growth (pp. 119–138). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Venkataraman, S., & Sarasvathy, S. D. (2001). Strategy and entrepreneurship: Outlines of an untold story. Darden Business School Working Paper No. 01–06. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.275186