Sílvia Fernandes Costa

Business Sense or Subjective Satisfaction? Exploring the Outcomes of Business Planning Comprehensiveness in the SME Context

Does business planning have any impact on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)? Despite numerous studies in management and entrepreneurship literature, the answer remains contested. The authors address this research question empirically by exploring the composite business planning comprehensiveness construct, reflecting the degree to which business planning practices are embraced in all domains of firm management. Employing a survey of SME owners in the USA and Canada (N = 568), they explore the performance outcomes of this construct. The results demonstrate that business planning comprehensiveness is positively associated with the operational and subjective performance of the firm, but not with its financial performance.

In times of uncertainty: do temporary workers have the intention and willingness to become entrepreneurs?

Temporary workers are an increasingly representative group in the labour market. They work in precarious situations and are aware that stability and predictability of employment are no longer guaranteed. Entrepreneurship may be an alternative for these workers, even in the form of self-employment. The purpose of this study is to analyse the entrepreneurial intentions and the willingness to consider entrepreneurship as a career option by temporary workers. Specifically, we aim to analyse the self-perception of entrepreneurial competencies of a group of temporary workers. Drawing from our results we conclude that the self-perception of different levels of entrepreneurial competencies is associated with different intentions and willingness to considering entrepreneurship as a career option. This study is a first step in understanding how temporary workers in a changing labour market perceive entrepreneurship as well as their skills to engage in entrepreneurial activities as a career option.