Katja Crnogaj

Building an Entrepreneurial Society : 25 years of entrepreneurship at FEB UM

The present scientific monograph was formed on the occasion of the anniversary celebrated in the academic year 2017/2018 by current and former members of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Economics, and the members of the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management at the University of Maribor. Twenty-five years – a quarter of a century – is a period after which it is worth looking back on the past and summing up the memories of the achievements and milestones that have marked it. The monograph is also an acknowledgment and tribute to the initiator and founder of the first study track for entrepreneurship education, and the head of the Department and Institute, Professor Doctor Miroslav Rebernik. The collection of selected scientific contributions is thus put together in such a way that he is the co-author of all of them, with individual members of the Department. A collection was created that chronologically presents some of the most visible contributions of the 25-year period. We would like to thank all publishing houses that approved the reprint of the contributions.

Dynamics of Entrepreneurial Potential: GEM Slovenia 2016, Executive summary

The book presents the results of the largest longitudinal study of entrepreneurship in the world, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. It is based on data collected in 2016 and before, and deals with the interconnectedness of entrepreneurship and economic development. This monograph brings the results of the study of entrepreneurship in Slovenia and compares them with the results of other countries. It is based on a joint methodology and performed within a closely linked and interconnected global network of researchers, allowing detailed international comparisons. The book enables a better understanding of societal values about entrepreneurship and the specific individual characteristics of persons, such as their perception of their own entrepreneurial capabilities, their ability to perceive business opportunities, their entrepreneurial intentions and their fear of failure. Because the survey monitored entrepreneurial activity in all phases of the life cycle (nascent, new and established businesses, business discontinuation), and according to the impact and type of activity, it delivers a comprehensive picture of entrepreneurship processes and their ecosystem. A substantial amount of attention is also devoted to entrepreneurial aspirations and the quality of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, since the latter may significantly foster (or constrain) entrepreneurial processes in a society.

Gender Perspectives of SMEs Networking Activities: Evidence from Slovenia

The basic purpose of the current chapter is to examine one of the most well-known organizational concepts from the end of the 1990s – the concept of networking. In so-called networking economy, each network actor (individual, team, or organization) is embedded in a larger economic web that affects each participant and, in return, is influenced by that participant. By analyzing networking activities between enterprises and organizations (business networking) as well as entrepreneurs’ personal networking (entrepreneurial networking), this study seeks to empirically address the following research question: “How does activity in network relationships differ between male and female entrepreneurs and the companies they are directing?” The gender perspective is important because of the limited understanding of the gendered influences of economic development that entrepreneurship activity undoubtedly has on a society. The analysis is based on a data set and questionnaires with 193 entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized companies in Slovenia. The results revealed interesting findings. It appears that male entrepreneurs have less intensive cooperation with supportive institutions as female entrepreneurs who are largely separating their private life from business. The initial findings represent a signal for the entrepreneurial supportive environment; it should be better adapted to meet the needs of the specific SME segment.