This study analyzes differences existing between new and established agri-entrepreneurs as well as differences in relation to their counterparts in non-agricultural ventures. This study uses the resource-based view and institutional economics as conceptual frameworks and focuses on the analysis of the resources and capabilities, entrepreneurial orientation (risk-taking, proactiveness and innovativeness) and legitimation affecting the entrepreneurial process. The literature points out that the specific characteristics of the sector (strong family links and institutional support) can condition the entrepreneurship process. Thus, hypotheses are developed to test these relationships. We use random effects models to test our hypotheses with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for 20 European countries. Results show that agri-entrepreneurs have weaker entrepreneurial capabilities than other sectors. However, new entrants into the agricultural sector are not less entrepreneurial in relation to other sectors. On the other hand, established agrientrepreneurs are less proactive than other sectors. Results suggest that new entrants into agriculture are more entrepreneurially oriented than established ones. Our study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by contextualizing the entrepreneurship process and providing valuable insights for policy-makers to enhance farmers' entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial orientation.

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PurposeThis paper investigates the use of Twitter for studying the social representations of different regions across the world towards new food trends.Design/methodology/approachA density-based clustering algorithm was applied to 7,014 tweets to identify regions of consumers sharing content about food trends. The attitude of their social representations was addressed with the sentiment analysis, and grid maps were used to explore subregional differences.FindingsTwitter users have a weak, positive attitude towards food trends, and significant differences were found across regions identified, which suggests that factors at the regional level such as cultural context determine users' attitude towards food innovations. The subregional analysis showed differences at the local level, which reinforces the evidence that context matters in consumers' attitude expressed in social media.Research limitations/implicationsThe social media content is sensitive to spatio-temporal events. Therefore, research should take into account content, location and contextual information to understand consumers' perceptions. The methodology proposed here serves to identify consumers' regions and to characterize their attitude towards specific topics. It considers not only administrative but also cognitive boundaries in order to analyse subsequent contextual influences on consumers' social representations.Practical implicationsThe approach presented allows marketers to identify regions of interest and localize consumers' attitudes towards their products using social media data, providing real-time information to contrast with their strategies in different areas and adapt them to consumers' feelings.Originality/valueThis study presents a research methodology to analyse food consumers' understanding and perceptions using not only content but also geographical information of social media data, which provides a means to extract more information than the content analysis applied in the literature.

Using a multilevel approach, this study examines how new entrants’ resources, capabilities and context influence growth-oriented new agricultural ventures. Results indicate that growth orientation is largely self-determined. The knowledge base of the new entrants, their social ties with entrepreneurs, together with the capabilities to identify and exploit opportunities, as well as those to effectively offer new products, trigger these growth-oriented ventures. Industry contexts also influence them, as those operating in less agriculturally competitive countries have a greater probability of becoming growth-oriented, suggesting convergence forces. Lastly, results reveal that competitiveness positively moderates the relationship between product innovation capabilities and growth orientation.

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