PurposeDespite a growing body of literature in the field, there is still considerable uncertainty as to whether entrepreneurs are born or made, which has led to an ongoing debate in the entrepreneurship academy about whether we can actually teach individuals to be entrepreneurs. With this in mind, this two‐part paper aims to address the question of whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught.Design/methodology/approachIn part I the importance of entrepreneurship in a modern, constantly changing environment is outlined, and the various ways in which entrepreneurship programmes can be categorised are considered. Attention is given to the various difficulties associated with the design of programmes, as well as their objectives, content and delivery methods. Part II of the paper focuses on the difficulties associated with programme evaluation and the various approaches adopted to determining and measuring effectiveness. This leads to a discussion on whether or not entrepreneurship can be successfully taught.FindingsDespite the growth in entrepreneurship education and training programmes, the paper reports that little uniformity can be found. Attention is drawn to the art and the science of entrepreneurship, with the consensus that at least some aspects of entrepreneurship can successfully be taught.Originality/valueThe authors highlight the need for evaluating programmes and for educators and trainers to have a fuller understanding of what they wish to achieve from their programme from the outset in order to ensure a more accurate assessment of the outcomes.

The paper presents the findings of a systematic literature review (SLR) of the gender and entrepreneurship literatures published in 18 journals over a 30-year period. The SLR sought to identify methodological trends in the field of gender and entrepreneurship, and to critically explore the type of methodological innovations needed in future scholarship. Findings reveal a proliferation of large-scale empirical studies focused on male/female comparisons, often with little detail provided on industry sector or sampling methods, and with either a weak or no feminist perspective. We argue that future scholars must develop the methodological repertoire to match emerging trends toward post structural feminist approaches; this may require a radical move toward more innovative, in-depth qualitative methodologies such as life histories, case study or discourse analysis.

This study investigated correlates of five time perspectives (TPs) and the Balanced Time Perspective (BTP) construct proposed by Zimbardo and colleagues. Two hundred and sixty Scottish participants completed the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI: Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999), Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky and Lepper, 1999) and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Brown and Ryan, 2003). The most prevalent TP profile was moderate to high scores on all five TPs of the ZTPI. BTP participants were significantly happier and more mindful. Happiness and mindfulness were positively correlated but a future TP did not correlate with subjective happiness

This paper focuses on women's entrepreneurship policy as a core component of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We use a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to critically explore the policy implications of women's entrepreneurship research according to gender perspective: feminist empiricism, feminist standpoint theory and poststructuralist feminist theory. Our research question asks whether there is a link between the nature of policy implications and the different theoretical perspectives adopted, and whether scholars' policy implications have changed as the field of women's entrepreneurship research has developed. We concentrate on empirical studies published in the "Big Five" primary entrepreneurship research journals (SBE, ETP, JBV, JSBM and ERD) over a period of more than 30 years (1983-2015). We find that policy implications from women's entrepreneurship research are mostly vague, conservative, and center on identifying skills gaps in women entrepreneurs that need to be 'fixed', thus isolating and individualizing any perceived problem. Despite an increase in the number of articles offering policy implications, we find little variance in the types of policy implications being offered by scholars, regardless of the particular theoretical perspective adopted, and no notable change over our 30-year review period. Recommendations to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem for women from a policy perspective are offered, and avenues for future research are identified.

Purpose -Despite a growing body of literature in the field, there is still considerable uncertainty as to whether entrepreneurs are born are made, which has led to an ongoing debate in the entrepreneurship academy about whether we can actually teach individuals to be entrepreneurs. With this in mind, this two-part paper aims to address the question of whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught. Design/methodology/approach -Part I of the paper dealt with the importance of entrepreneurship in a modern and constantly changing environment; the various ways in which entrepreneurship programmes and courses can be categorised, and the objectives, content and delivery of programmes. The second part of the paper, which is presented in this issue, deals with the topic of determining and measuring programme effectiveness. Findings -Despite the growth in entrepreneurship education and training programmes, the paper reports that little uniformity can be found. Attention is drawn to the art and the science of entrepreneurship, with the consensus that at least some aspects of entrepreneurship can successfully be taught. Originality/value -The authors highlight the need for evaluating programmes, and for educators and trainers to have a fuller understanding of what they wish to achieve from their programme from the outset, in order to ensure a more accurate assessment of the outcomes.

Purpose The role of women in Pakistani society – largely embedded in its patriarchal socio–cultural environment – has important implications for women’s entrepreneurial activity in the country. This study aims to investigate and analyse the influence of informal institutional factors on women’s entry into entrepreneurship in Pakistan, and determine how women exercise agency to cope with the constraints posed by such factors. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach is used to explore the normative context and lived experiences of women entrepreneurs in relation to the influence of socio–cultural beliefs and attitudes on their entrepreneurial career choices. Findings The findings suggest that women’s entrepreneurial career choices both revolve around and are shaped by a complex interplay of socio–cultural influences. Pakistani women entrepreneurs exercise their agency as a means of negotiating gender roles within both household and society, using religious descriptions as a means to justify their entrepreneurial activity. Research limitations/implications While every effort has been made to ensure that the data were objectively interpreted, and the derived findings were robustly analysed, the research team acknowledges the many difficulties associated with adopting a social constructionist approach. As articulated by Fletcher (2011), the key issues of contextual objectivity (i.e. where the researcher judges what is important), reflexive turn (the need for the researcher to constantly reconnect with the subject) and potential multiplicity of contexts (the various contextual and potentially conflicting influences on the researcher) presents ongoing challenges for researchers in this field. Originality/value This study offers valuable insights into the impact of the informal (socio–cultural) institutional factors on women’s entrepreneurial activity, opening up new avenues for further research. The study also contributes to the women’s entrepreneurship literature from the perspective of an Islamic developing country.

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In the last couple of decades there has been a growing interest in the role that small and new businesses can play in economic development. Despite this growth there is still a relative paucity of rigorous empirical research that attempts to assess the impact of initiatives, including those education and training programmes designed to support new business creation. In particular, the lack of longitudinal studies and studies employing control groups, has been noted in the literature. The research reported in this article, which was conducted in Ireland, represents an attempt to overcome such methodological deficiencies. The study presents some evidence that a range of qualitative and quantitative outcomes may emanate from training programmes directed at aspiring new business owners, which are worthy of further investigation. The limitations of the study are acknowledged, recommendations for further research are made and implications for policy makers and training providers are highlighted.