Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nexus of generative influence and entrepreneurial networking: the mediating role of informational differences and opportunity identification among small and medium enterprises in Uganda

  • Research
  • Published:
Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The study aims at examining the mediating effect of informational differences and opportunity identification in the relationship between nexus of generative influence and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda. A quantitative research approach was adopted for the study. The research is based on 228 survey responses which is comprised of SME owners/managers. The hypotheses were tested through partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS version 3.3.0 to analyze the quantitative responses and depict a model featuring entrepreneurial networking among SMEs. The study found that informational differences and opportunity identification positively and significantly mediate the relationship between nexus of generative influence and entrepreneurial networking. Policymakers should pay more attention to situations where the business owners/manager can act as a leader to create an enabling environment for employees to attach the value of dissimilarities in opinion and knowledge. In turn, understanding the business environment helps in exploiting prospects from entrepreneurial networks. The major limitation of the study is that the authors have used cross-sectional data to test the research hypotheses. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the management of SMEs by empirically testing the anecdotal and conceptual evidence of entrepreneurial networking using complex adaptive system theory.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Source: primary data

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The dataset generated and analyzed during the current study is not publicly available because the data is a segment of a larger survey and is currently being used for further studies. However, the dataset is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

SMEs:

Small and medium enterprises

CSLT:

Complexity adaptation theory

NGI:

Nexus of generative influence

CMB:

Common method bias

References

  • Abu-Rumman, A., Al Shraah, A., Al-Madi, F., et al. (2021). Entrepreneurial networks, entrepreneurial orientation, and performance of small and medium enterprises: Are dynamic capabilities the missing link? Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 10, 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-021-00170-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adam, N. A., & Alarifi, G. (2021). Innovation practices for survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the COVID-19 times: The role of external support. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 10, 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-021-00156-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, P. (1999). Perspective: Complexity theory and organization science. Organization Science, 10(3), 216–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anwar, M., & Ali Shah, S. Z. (2020). Managerial networking and business model innovation: Empirical study of new ventures in an emerging economy. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 32(3), 265–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ardic, O. P., Mylenko, N., & Saltane, V. (2011). Small and medium enterprises: A cross-country analysis with a new data set. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, (5538).

  • Ashley, W. G., & Van de Ven, A. (1983). Central perspectives and debates in organizational theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28(1), 245–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baer, M., Evans, K., Oldham, G. R., & Boasso, A. (2015). The social network side of individual innovation: A metaanalysis and path-analytic integration. Organizational Psychology Review, 5(3), 191–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bateson, G. (2000). Steps to an ecology of mind: Collected essays in anthropology, psychiatry, evolution, and epistemology. University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bensaou, B. M., Galunic, C., & Jonczyk-Sédès, C. (2014). Players and purists: Networking strategies and agency of service professionals. Organization Science, 25(1), 29–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhave, M. P. (1994). A process model of entrepreneurial venture creation. Journal of Business Venturing, 9(3), 223–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blomme, R. J. (2012). Leadership, complex adaptive systems, and equivocality: The role of managers in emergent change. Organization Management Journal, 9(1), 4–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blondel, V. D., Guillaume, J. L., Lambiotte, R., & Lefebvre, E. (2008). Fast unfolding of communities in large networks. Journal of statistical mechanics: theory and experiment, 2008(10), P10008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bohnet, I., & Saidi, F. (2011). Informational differences and performance: Experimental evidence. Working Paper, Harvard Kennedy School.

  • Bøllingtoft, A. (2012). The bottom-up business incubator: Leverage to networking and cooperation practices in a self-generated, entrepreneurial-enabled environment. Technovation, 32(5), 304–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnes, B. (2005). Complexity theories and organizational change. International Journal of \ Management Reviews, 7(2), 73–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cantù, C. (2018). Discovering the collective entrepreneurial opportunities through spatial relationships. IMP Journal, 12(2), 276–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carnevale, J. B., Huang, L., Crede, M., Harms, P., & Uhl-Bien, M. (2017). Leading to stimulate employees’ ideas: A quantitative review of leader–member exchange, employee voice, creativity, and innovative behavior. Applied Psychology, 66(4), 517–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cepeda-Carrion, G., Cegarra-Navarro, J. G., & Cillo, V. (2019). Tips to use partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in knowledge management. Journal of Knowledge Management, 23(1), 67–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, S., Puryear, J., & Cairney, J. (1993). A simple and efficient method for isolating RNA from pine trees. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter, 11(2), 113–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Das, M., & Goswami, N. (2019). Effect of entrepreneurial networks on small firm performance in Kamrup, a district of Assam. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 9, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-018-0122-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidsson, P., & Honig, B. (2003). The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, 18(3), 301–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Rosa, M., McElwee, G., & Smith, R. (2019). Farm diversification strategies in response to rural policy: A case from rural Italy. Land Use Policy, 81, 291–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dougherty, D. (2017). Organizing for innovation in complex innovation systems. Innovation, 19(1), 11–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/14479338.2016.1245109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durda, L., & Krajcik, V. (2016). The role of networking in the founding and development of start-up technology companies. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 14.

  • Engel, Y., Kaandorp, M., & Elfring, T. (2017). Toward a dynamic process model of entrepreneurial networking under uncertainty. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(1), 35–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ermilina, V., Farrell, M., Askarzadeh, F., & Zhang, J. (2022). Business owners’ features and access to entrepreneurial resources: New insights for accelerator acceptance. Review of International Business and Strategy, 32(2), 246–266. https://doi.org/10.1108/RIBS-12-2020-0163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fincham, J. E. (2008). Response rates and responsiveness for surveys, standards, and the Journal. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 72(2).

  • Fletcher, D. E. (2006). Entrepreneurial processes and the social construction of opportunity. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 18(5), 421–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of marketing research, 18(1), 39–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frese, M., & Gielnik, M. M. (2014). The psychology of entrepreneurship. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 413–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galkina, T., & Jack, S. (2022). The synergy of causation and effectuation in the process of entrepreneurial networking: Implications for opportunity development. International Small Business Journal, 40(5), 564–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geisser, S. (1975). The predictive sample reuse method with applications. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 70(350), 320–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George, G., Robley Wood, D., Jr., & Khan, R. (2001). Networking strategy of boards: Implications for small and medium-sized enterprises. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 13(3), 269–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerschewski, S., Evers, N., Nguyen, A. T., & Froese, F. J. (2020). Trade shows and SME internationalisation: Networking for performance. Management International Review, 60(4), 573–595.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, J. A., Hazy, J. K., & Silberstang, J. (2010). A complexity model of social innovation in the social enterprise. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 1, 101–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420671003629763

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grégoire, D. A., Corbett, A. C., & McMullen, J. S. (2011). The cognitive perspective in entrepreneurship: An agenda for future research. Journal of management studies, 48(6), 1443–1477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, M., Heinemann, F., Brettel, M., & Hungeling, S. (2010). Configurations of resources and capabilities and their performance implications: An exploratory study on technology ventures. Strategic Management Journal, 31(12), 1337–1356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis (ed.): Pearson Prentice Hall.

  • Hair, J. F., Jr., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L., & Kuppelwieser, V. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): An emerging tool in business research. European business review, 26(2), 106–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J., Hair Jr, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Gudergan, S. P. (2023). Advanced issues in partial least squares structural equation modeling. saGe publications.

  • Harms, R., Schulz, A., Kraus, S., & Fink, M. (2009). The conceptualisation of ‘opportunity’ in strategic management research. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 1(1), 57–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76(4), 408–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayter, C. S. (2013). Harnessing university entrepreneurship for economic growth: Factors of success among university spin-offs. Economic Development Quarterly, 27(1), 18–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazy, J. K. (2014). Is this “thermodynamic inquiry” metaphor or more?.

  • Hazy, J. K., Goldstein, J., & Lichtenstein, B. B. (Eds.). (2007). Complex systems leadership theory: New perspectives from complexity science on social and organizational effectiveness. ISCE Pub.

  • Hazy, J. K., & Silberstang, J. (2009). Leadership within emergent events in complex systems: Micro-enactments and the mechanisms of organisational learning and change. International Journal of Learning and Change, 3(3), 230–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazy, J. K., & Uhl-Bien, M. (2014). Changing the rules: The implications of complexity science for leadership research and practice.

  • Hazy, J. K., & Uhl-Bien, M. (2015). Towards operationalizing complexity leadership: How generative, administrative and community-building leadership practices enact organizational outcomes. Leadership, 11(1), 79–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hechavarría, D. M., & Welter, C. (2015). Opportunity types, social entrepreneurship and innovation: Evidence from the panel study of entrepreneurial dynamics. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 16(4), 237–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heider, F. (1958). The naive analysis of action.

  • Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernes, G. (1976). Structural change in social processes. American Journal of Sociology, 82(3), 513–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland John, H. (1995). Hidden Order, How Adaptation Builds Complexity. Redwood City.

  • Hollow, M. (2020). Historicizing entrepreneurial networks. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jack, S., Dodd, S. D., & Anderson, A. R. (2008). Change and the development of entrepreneurial networks over time: A processual perspective. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 20(2), 125–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, L. C. (2016). Identification, intentions and entrepreneurial opportunities: an integrative process model. International Journal of entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 22(2), 182–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenssen, J. I., & Greve, A. (2002). Does the degree of redundancy in social networks influence the success of business start‐ups? International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research.

  • Johannisson, B., & Mønsted, M. (1997). Contextualizing entrepreneurial networking: The case of Scandinavia. International Studies of Management & Organization, 27(3), 109–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jost, P. J. (2022). Friend or foe? Co-opetition and entrepreneurial networking. Small Business Economics, 59(3), 1043–1059.

  • Kaandorp, M., Van Burg, E., & Karlsson, T. (2020). Initial networking processes of student entrepreneurs: The role of action and evaluation. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 44(3), 527–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karamti, C., & Abd-Mouleh, N. W. (2022). Finding entrepreneurial opportunities in times of crisis: Evidence from Tunisia. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00888-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keating, K., Rosch, D. M., & Burgoon, L. A. (2014). Developmental Readiness for Leadership: The Differential Effects of Leadership Courses on Creating “Ready, Willing, and Able” Leaders. The Journal of Leadership Education, 13, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, N. U., Li, S., Safdar, M. N., & Khan, Z. U. (2019). The role of entrepreneurial strategy, network ties, human and financial capital in new venture performance. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 12(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm12010041

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, K. U., Atlas, F., Ghani, U., Akhtar, S., & Khan, F. (2021). Impact of intangible resources (dominant logic) on SMEs innovation performance, the mediating role of dynamic managerial capabilities: Evidence from China. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(5), 1679–1699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kibirango, M. M., Munene, J. C., Balunywa, W. J., & Obbo, J. K. (2017). Mediation effect of novelty ecosystems on intrapreneurial behaviour process within an organisational dynamic environment among Kenyan universities: A complexity approach. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 30(6), 957–977.

  • Kitson, A., Brook, A., Harvey, G., Jordan, Z., Marshall, R., O’Shea, R., & Wilson, D. (2018). Using complexity and network concepts to inform healthcare knowledge translation. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 7(3), 231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klyver, K., & Foley, D. (2012). Networking and culture in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(7–8), 561–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kock, N. (2015). Common method bias in PLS-SEM: A full collinearity assessment approach. International Journal of e-Collaboration (ijec), 11(4), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kock, N., & Hadaya, P. (2018). Minimum sample size estimation in PLS-SEM: The inverse square root and gamma-exponential methods. Information Systems Journal, 28(1), 227–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational andPsychological Measurement, 30(3), 607–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kreuzer, T., Lindenthal, A. K., Oberländer, A. M., et al. (2022). The effects of digital technology on opportunity recognition. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 64, 47–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-021-00733-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuckertz, A., Kollmann, T., Krell, P., & Stöckmann, C. (2017). Understanding, differentiating, and measuring opportunity recognition and opportunity exploitation. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 23(1), 78–97. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-12-2015-0290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lichtenstein, B. B., & Plowman, D. A. (2009). The leadership of emergence: A complex systems leadership theory of emergence at successive organizational levels.

  • Lindhult, E., & Hazy, J. K. (2016). Complexity approach to joint value discovery in service innovation management. International Journal of Complexity in Leadership and Management, 3(1–2), 115–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, F., Chow, I. H. S., Zhang, J. C., & Huang, M. (2019). Organizational innovation climate and individual innovative behavior: Exploring the moderating effects of psychological ownership and psychological empowerment. Review of Managerial Science, 13(4), 771–789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lux, S., Lamont, B. T., Ellis, K. M., Ferris, G. R., & Muchira, J. (2016). Developing and utilizing efficient ties in entrepreneurial networks in Africa. Africa Journal of Management, 2(1), 73–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, C., Yang, J., Chen, L., You, X., Zhang, W., & Chen, Y. (2020). Entrepreneurs’ social networks and opportunity identification: Entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial alertness as moderators. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 48(2), 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacGregor, R. C. (2004). Factors associated with formal networking in regional small business: some findings from a study of Swedish SMEs. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 11(1), 60–74.

  • Machery, E. (2007). 100 years of psychology of concepts: The theoretical notion of concept and its operationalization. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part c: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 38(1), 63–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P. (2000). Contrasts in multiple mediator models. Multivariate Applications in Substance Use Research: New Methods for New Questions, 141, 160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magno, F., Cassia, F., & Ringle, C. M. (2022). A brief review of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) use in quality management studies. The TQM Journal, (ahead-of-print).

  • Mayanja, S., Ntayi, J. M., Munene, J. C., Balunywa, W., Sserwanga, A., & Kagaari, J. R. (2019a). Informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises in Kampala, Uganda: The mediating role of ecologies of innovation. Cogent Business & Management, 6(1), 1617020.

  • Mayanja, S., Ntayi, J. M., Munene, J. C., Balunywa, W., Sserwanga, A., & Kagaari, J. R. (2019b). Informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises in Kampala, Uganda: The mediating role of ecologies of innovation. Cogent Business & Management, 6(1), 1617020

  • Mayanja, S., Ntayi, J. M., Munene, J. C., Wasswa, B., & Kagaari, J. R. (2020). Ecologies of innovation as a mediator between nexus of generative influence and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises in Uganda. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 1–27.

  • Mayanja, S., Omeke, M., Tibamwenda, J. V., Mutebi, H., & Mufta, F. (2021a). The mediating role of the novelty ecosystem between personality traits, entrepreneurial networks and entrepreneurial ambidexterity among small and medium enterprises. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 1–17.

  • Mayanja, S., Joseph, N. M., & Omeke, M. (2021b). Informational differences in organizations. A. Farazmand (ed.), Global encyclopaedia of public administration, public policy, and governance.

  • Mayanja, S., Ntayi, J. M., Munene, J. C., Balunywa, W., & Kagaari, J. R. (2021c). Informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises in Uganda. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 1–15.

  • Mayanja, S., Ntayi, J. M., Munene, J. C., Wasswa, B., & Kagaari, J. R. (2023). Ecologies of innovation as a mediator between nexus of generative influence and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises in Uganda. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 35(2), 236–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, W. J. (1973). The yin and yang of progress in social psychology: Seven koan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 26(3), 446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mertens, W., & Recker, J. (2017). Positive deviance and leadership: An exploratory field study. In Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 214–223). University of Hawaii.

  • Miller, N. J., Besser, T., & Malshe, A. (2007). Strategic networking among small businesses in small US communities. International Small Business Journal, 25(6), 631–665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mira-Solves, I., Estrada-Cruz, M., & Gómez-Gras, J. M. (2021). Analysing academics’ entrepreneurial opportunities: The influence of academic self-efficacy and networks. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 27(2), 100152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morel, B., & Ramanujam, R. (1999). Through the looking glass of complexity: The dynamics of organizations as adaptive and evolving systems. Organization Science, 10(3), 278–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nambisan, S., Lyytinen, K., Majchrzak, A., & Song, M. (2017). Digital innovation management. MIS quarterly, 41(1), 223–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navis, C., & Glynn, M. A. (2011). Legitimate distinctiveness and the entrepreneurial identity: Influence on investor judgments of new venture plausibility. Academy of Management Review, 36(3), 479–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odongo, I. (2021). Identification and evaluation of business opportunities: the experiences of South African and Ugandan youth entrepreneurs.

  • Omeke, M., Ngoboka, P., Nkote, I. N., & Kayongo, I. (2021). Dynamic capabilities and enterprise growth: the mediating effect of networking. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 17(1), 1–15.

  • Osgood, C. E., & Tannenbaum, P. H. (1955). The principle of congruity in the prediction of attitude change. Psychological Review, 62(1), 42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pittaway, L., Robertson, M., Munir, K., Denyer, D., & Neely, A. (2004). Networking and innovation: A systematic review of the evidence. International Journal of Management Reviews, 5(3–4), 137–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, C. M., & Woo, S. E. (2015). Untangling the networking phenomenon: A dynamic psychological perspective on how and why people network. Journal of Management, 41(5), 1477–1500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasanna, R. P. I. R., Jayasundara, J. M. S. B., Naradda Gamage, S. K., Ekanayake, E. M. S., Rajapakshe, P. S. K., & Abeyrathne, G. A. K. N. J. (2019). Sustainability of SMEs in the competition: A systemic review on technological challenges and SME performance. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 5(4), 100.

  • Quintane, E., Mitch Casselman, R., Sebastian Reiche, B., & Nylund, P. A. (2011). Innovation as a knowledge‐based outcome. Journal of knowledge management, 15(6), 928–947.

  • Ramachandran, K., & Ramnarayan, S. (1993). Entrepreneurial orientation and networking: Some Indian evidence. Journal of Business Venturing, 8(6), 513–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramoglou, S., & Tsang, E. W. (2016). A realist perspective of entrepreneurship: Opportunities as propensities. Academy of Management Review, 41(3), 410–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sapir, J. (2019). Thriving at the edge of chaos: Managing projects as complex adaptive systems. CRC Press.

  • Sarasvathy, S. D., & Venkataraman, S. (2011). Entrepreneurship as method: Open questions for an entrepreneurial future. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 35(1), 113–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, S., Hughes, M., & Ribeiro-Soriano, D. (2021). Towards a network-based view of effective entrepreneurial ecosystems. Review of Managerial Science, 1–31.

  • Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepherd, D. A., Wennberg, K., Suddaby, R., & Wiklund, J. (2019). What are we explaining? A review and agenda on initiating, engaging, performing, and contextualizing entrepreneurship. Journal of Management, 45(1), 159–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Short, J. C., Ketchen, D. J., Jr., Shook, C. L., & Ireland, R. D. (2010). The concept of “opportunity” in entrepreneurship research: Past accomplishments and future challenges. Journal of Management, 36(1), 40–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, H. (2009). Case study research in practice. Case study research in practice, 1–200.

  • Song, G., et al. (2017). The effects of network reliance on opportunity recognition: A moderated mediation model of knowledge acquisition and entrepreneurial. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.01.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Surie, G., & Hazy, J. K. (2006). Generative leadership: Nurturing innovation in complex systems. Emergence-Mahwah-Lawrence Erlbaum-, 8(4), 13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Surya, B., Menne, F., Sabhan, H., Suriani, S., Abubakar, H., & Idris, M. (2021). Economic growth, increasing productivity of SMEs, and open innovation. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(1), 20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takhumova, O., Bursa, I., & Nevodova, I. (2020). Essentials of entrepreneurship and leadership: Thinking or Acting?. In 6th International Conference on Social, economic, and academic leadership (ICSEAL-6-2019) (pp. 68–74). Atlantis Pres.

  • Thrane, C., Blenker, C., Korggaard, S., & Neergaard, H. (2016). The promise of entrepreneurship education: Reconceptualising the individual-opportunity nexus a competency framework for entrepreneurship education. International Small Business Journal, 34(7), 905–924. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242616638422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tourish, D. (2019). Is complexity leadership theory complex enough? A critical appraisal, some Modificat, ions and suggestions for further research. Organization Studies, 40(2), 219–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turkina, E. (2018). The importance of networking to entrepreneurship: Montreal’s artificial intelligence cluster and its born-global firm Element AI. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 30(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2017.1402154

  • Turkina, E., Van Assche, A., & Kali, R. (2016). Structure and evolution of global cluster networks: Evidence from the aerospace industry. Journal of Economic Geography, 16(6), 1211–1234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turyahikayo, E. (2015). Challenges faced by small and medium enterprises in raising finance in Uganda. International Journal of Public Administration and Management Research, 3(2), 21–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). (2013).

  • Udimal, T. B., Liu, E., & Lou, M. (2021). Network reliance and entrepreneurial performance, the role of external network behaviour and entrepreneurial orientation: The case of rural farmer-entrepreneurs. Innovation & Management Review, 18(3), 308–330. https://doi.org/10.1108/INMR-10-2019-0127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urban, B. (2019). Social networking and opportunity recognition: A focus on internationalized firms in South Africa. The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 28(2), 295–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkataraman, S., Sarasvathy, S. D., Dew, N., & Forster, W. R. (2012). Reflections on the 2010 AMR decade award: Whither the promise? Moving forward with entrepreneurship as a science of the artificial. Academy of Management Review, 37(1), 21–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vissa, B. (2012). Agency in action: Entrepreneurs’ networking style and initiation of economic exchange. Organization Science, 23(2), 492–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vissa, B., & Bhagavatula, S. (2012). The causes and consequences of churn in entrepreneurial networks. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 6(3), 273–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C. L., & Chung, H. F. (2020). Business networking and innovation of Asian enterprises in Western countries: The moderation of institutional distance. Industrial Marketing Management, 88, 152–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, J. (2012). Networking: Gender differences and the association with firm performance. International Small Business Journal, 30(5), 536–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, N., & Martin, L. (2015). Entrepreneurial opportunities for all? Entrepreneurial capability and the capabilities approach. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 16(3), 159–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Almighty God.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda

    Samuel S. Mayanja & Regis Zombeire

  2. Department of Finance, Accounting and Microfinance, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda

    Michael Omeke

  3. Faculty of Economics, Energy and Management Science, Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda

    Henry Mutebi

Authors
  1. Samuel S. Mayanja
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael Omeke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Henry Mutebi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Regis Zombeire
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

SM conceptualized the study from literature view, collected data, and participated discussing the findings of the study.

MO reviewed literature, research methods, and discussion.

HM analyzed data and developed the study model and methodology.

RZ participated in discussion and proofreading the document.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuel S. Mayanja.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

We thought permission of respondents to participate in the study.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mayanja, S., Omeke, M., Mutebi, H. et al. Nexus of generative influence and entrepreneurial networking: the mediating role of informational differences and opportunity identification among small and medium enterprises in Uganda. J Glob Entrepr Res 14, 4 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40497-023-00375-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40497-023-00375-z

Search

Navigation