Purpose – Entrepreneurial intentions have been extensively studied in student populations, with results suggesting that higher education does not promote formation of entrepreneurial intentions (e.g. Varamäki et al., 2013). However, the gap between intending to start a business and actually doing something to start one remains. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions with higher education students andto analyze the antecedents of actual behaviors related to start-ups with higher education students. The authors use theory of planned behavior (TPB) for both analyzing the intentions and analyzing the actual behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply Ajzen’s (1991) TPB to entrepreneurial intentions of higher education students and test their relevance as antecedents of actual behaviors. In addition to the basic elements of TPB (attitudes, subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC)) the authors test the impact of entrepreneurial characteristics (EC) (innovativeness, tolerance of ambiguity, creative problem solving and the ability to organize) of the student for intentions and for actual behaviors related to start-ups. Gender, entrepreneurial role models and basic education (upper secondary school vs vocational) are used as control variables. The data were collected in fall 2012 in seven different universities of applied sciences and consists of 3,754 responses, including 182 from respondents who were starting their own business at the time of the study. Findings – For entrepreneurial intentions, the model explains 47 percent of the variance. The best antecedent of intentions seems to be attitude followed by PBC. EC and SN are significant but their role in the model is quite small. For actual behavior related to starting up a firm, the results are quite different. Gender explains behavior significantly and so does basic education. The most important independent variable is EC followed by PBC. Attitude toward entrepreneurship is not significant in explaining the actual start-up behavior, nor is SN. Research limitations/implications – From an empirical standpoint, the sample was limited to higher education students in one country. This limits the scope of generalization. Further studies, comparing antecedents of intentions and behavior in multiple contexts should be undertaken. Another limitation of the study is that the authors have been unable, due to the small number of students engaged in start-up activities, to examine the differences between study years. Practical implications – The results raise interesting and difficult questions for entrepreneurship educators. Should entrepreneurship education aim at actual behaviors rather than intentions – or neither? What is vocational education doing “right” compared with upper secondary school or, indeed, higher education? Furthermore, if EC are this significant for actual behavior, what should or could be done to promote development of such characteristics in higher education? Originality/value – The paper contrasts entrepreneurial intentions with actual behaviors related to starting up a firm and tests the utility of the TPB antecedents in this context. As the development of entrepreneurial intention has generally been studied in isolation from actual activities, the paper presents an interesting counterpoint to previous research.

The ability to internationalize has become a competitive necessity for many firms, and one important for survival and growth in the era of globalization. At the same time, digitalization is transforming the locus of entrepreneurial opportunities and entrepreneurial practices, thus offering new perspectives on internationalization. Internationalization requires marketing capability as well as market orientation. However, there is a gap in the literature exploring the interplay of digitalization, market orientation and marketing capability in the internationalization process. The objective of the present study is to improve our understanding of (1) the impact of market orientation, marketing capability and digitalization on firm performance among small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and (2) the differences in this impact between internationalized SMEs and SMEs operating only in domestic markets. The data were gathered from 101 Finnish SMEs in the wood-product industry, and analyzed with AMOS using path analysis. The results show that marketing capability mediates the effect of market orientation on firm performance. For internationalized firms, market orientation and marketing capability are crucial to their success in foreign markets. However, digitalization has no effect on firm performance with internationalized firms. With other firms, the effect is direct and significant.

Previous research has shown a connection between market orientation (MO) and firm performance, as well as between performance measurement systems (PMS) adoption, but their mutual interactions are as yet little understood in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using empirical data collected by a survey from 123 Finnish SMEs, we analyze the relationship between MO, PMS adoption, and performance. According to the results, MO has positive relationships with PMS adoption and nonfinancial performance. However, the impact of MO on financial performance is mediated by PMS adoption. PMS adoption is thus an important factor in explaining variance in firm performance. Finally, empirical analysis shows that the larger SME firms adopt PMS more extensively.

PurposeThis paper examines how digitalization can affect three aspects of firm growth. The specific objectives are as follows: (1) to increase understanding of how digitalization affects pre-factors for growth, (2) to examine how digitalization transforms the growth process, especially growth strategies and (3) to examine how digitalization is apparent in the outcome of growth.Design/methodology/approachWe explore six Finnish growth companies in order to understand the relationship between digitalization and growth. We used qualitative data collection and the Digimat measurement test for analyzing patterns, themes and best practices to generate a deeper understanding of the impact of digital technologies on business growth and growth strategies in these companies.FindingsWe propose that business growth includes three aspects of growth: pre-factors of growth, growth as a process and growth as an outcome. Digitalization may affect all of these aspects and strategic flexibility can affect business growth. Digitalization and strategic flexibility are intertwined; strategic flexibility enables the application of new technology, and digitalization enables flexibility.Practical implicationsBuilding on the results of the case studies, this research identifies relationships between digitalization, business growth and strategic flexibility.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the growing literature on digitalization, providing new insight into its relation to business growth.

PurposeThis study aims to contribute to entrepreneurial intention research by examining the theory of planned behavior model in a longitudinal follow-up of the same individuals from a point at which they were studying until six to eight years after graduation and the link between entrepreneurial intention and actual behavior. The objectives of the paper are as follows: to examine the development and temporal stability of entrepreneurial intention and to examine the link between entrepreneurial intention and actual start-up behavior in a longitudinal setting.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this research originate in Finland and consist three data collection waves between years 2008 and 2018. In the second wave, 282 respondents were reached, and in the third wave, 89 respondents were reached. For examining the stability of entrepreneurial intention, latent growth curve modeling was used. In addition, a logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the link between intention and behavior.FindingsThe results suggest that entrepreneurial intention is a stable construct over time. High and low levels of entrepreneurial intention remain quite stable. Entrepreneurial intention measured during study time significantly explains entrepreneurial behavior both after one to three years (Exp (B) 2,069***) and after six to eight years (Exp (B) 1,830*). Gender and role models are significant factors in predicting entrepreneurial behavior.Originality/valueThis study provides new information on the stability of entrepreneurial intention in a rare longitudinal setting. The study verifies the value of intention measures in predicting entrepreneurial behavior in the long term.