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The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation


eISSN: 20436882 | ISSN: 14657503 | Current volume: 25 | Current issue: 1 Frequency: Quarterly
The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, an international peer reviewed journal which is published quarterly, provides a worldwide forum for the exploration and dissemination of ideas and experience relating to the development and application of entrepreneurship. The journal takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the highest-quality work in business and management and in the social sciences.



This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Other sites of interest:

University Industry Innovation Network
European University Network on Entrepreneurship

The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, an international peer reviewed journal, has been disseminating pioneering research about entrepreneurship, enterprise and social innovation for more than 20 years. In that time, the discipline has evolved to include reference to and use of interdisciplinary approaches, drawing from all disciplines within the social sciences and management theory. Consequently, IJEI embraces an holistic approach to knowledge, theory and practice of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is many things, and by taking an inclusive approach to the varied understanding of entrepreneurship, IJEI publishes the following regular sections in each of its volumes:

  • Research papers including Empirical and Conceptual papers that report robust and interesting research.
  • Teaching Case Studies, designed for use in classes and supported by questions and recommendations for teaching. These should support balance be-tween practice and theory.
  • Fresh Perspectives Research Notes that provide an opportunity for postgraduate and early career researchers to publish with the journal. These are an opportunity for scholars to write a relatively short piece voicing their own perspective and critiquing theoretical and/or methodological themes, ideas and concepts within the field.

However interpreted, entrepreneurship is a driver of social and economic participation, ranging from the spectacular in terms of economic value-added, to more modest contributions of those who employ themselves. Alongside independent enter-prise activities, entrepreneurship is observable in the strategies of entrepreneurs and intrapreneurship within organisations, and in new types of organisations and work contexts.

Key questions continuing to develop in entrepreneurship studies: Who are entrepreneurs? Why do people pursue entrepreneurship and how? What does success look like? How can it be best supported, if at all? The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation addresses these and many other questions.Of relevance as well are contributions related to innovation that are associated with entrepreneurship in new ventures or corporate venturing. Considerations of innovation networks, knowledge transfers, processes or social and environmental aspects of innovation need to be informed by a clear understanding of entrepreneurial opportunities, theory and practice. Published quarterly, IJEI provides a worldwide forum for the exploration and dissemination of ideas and research relating to the development and application of entrepreneurship.

Contributors and readers are drawn from academia and practice. In particular, IJEI appeals to scholars concerned with entrepreneurship and those whose objective is to promote and support entrepreneurial and innovative activity and to those who make their living (and sometimes their fortune) from their entrepreneurial efforts. Key topics include:

  • Critical perspectives on entrepreneurship
  • Social innovation
  • Entrepreneurship in atypical contexts (e.g. rural and remote locations, con-strained circumstances, entrepreneurship in crisis)
  • Entrepreneurship in marginalized contexts (e.g. migrant, refugee and minority entrepreneurship)
  • Women and entrepreneurship
  • The entrepreneur and the growing company
  • Entrepreneurial success
  • New forms of organization
  • Entrepreneurial behaviour within organizations
  • Entrepreneurship in developing countries
  • Ethics and entrepreneurship, including debates on illicit, informal and illegal entrepreneurship
  • Social entrepreneurship
  • Supporting entrepreneurship & enterprise
  • Innovative business models
  • Innovation and collaboration networks
  • Innovation for international entrepreneurship
  • User-led innovation opportunities 
Joint Editors
Laura Galloway Heriot-Watt University, UK
Deema Refai University of Leeds, UK
Founding Editor
Gerard McElwee University of Huddersfield, UK
Associate Editor
James Cunningham Robert Gordon University, UK
Peter Gittins University of Leeds, UK
Isla Kapasi Zero Waste Scotland, UK
Endrit Kromidha University of Birmingham, UK
Rebecca Stirzaker University of South Eastern Norway, Norway
Pattanapong Tiwasing Keele University, UK
Fresh Perspectives Research Notes Editor
Alex Kevill University of Leeds, UK
Teaching Case Studies Editor
Steven Pattinson University of Sheffield, UK
Social Media Editor
Doyin Olorunfemi University of Sunderland in London, UK
Editorial Advisory Board
Moheeb Abualqumboz Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Haya Al-Dajani Prince Mohammad Bin Salman College (MBSC), Saudi Arabia
Jo Bensemann Massey University, New Zealand
David Brown Heriot-Watt University, UK
Tom Cooney Technological University Dublin, Ireland
Simon Down Anglia Ruskin University, UK
Alain Fayolle EM Lyon, France
Lene Foss The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
Radi Haloub University College London
Christian Harrison University of Bolton, UK
Ulla Hytti University of Turku, Finland
Paul Jones Swansea University, UK
Jill Kickul University of Southern California, USA
Sascha Kraus Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
John Lever University of Huddersfield, UK
Gideon Maas Coventry University, UK
Nnamdi Madichie Bloomsbury Institute London, UK
Susan Marlow Nottingham University Business School, UK
Lynn Martin Anglia Ruskin University, UK
Harry Matlay Global Independent Research, UK
Susan Mayson Monash University, Australia
Pauric McGowan University of Ulster, UK
Kevin Mole University of Warwick, UK
Michael Morris Oklahoma State University, USA
Robert Newbery Northumbria University, UK
Mette Nielsen University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Leo Paul Dana University of Canterbury, New Zealand
David Pickernell University of Portsmouth, UK
Annie Roos Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Wai-sum Siu Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Anne Smith Glasgow Caledonian University
Robert Smith Independent Scholar, UK
George Solomon Geroge Washington University, USA
Kiran Trehan University of York, UK
Peter van der Sijde Free University Amsterdam, Netherlands
Natalia Vershinina Audencia Business School, France
Geoff Whittam Glasgow Caledonian University, UK
Colin Williams University of Sheffield, UK
  • Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS)
  • Clarivate Analytics: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
  • Comité National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
  • EBSCOhost
  • Elsevier BV Scopus
  • ProQuest
  • Manuscript Submission Guidelines: The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

    This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics

    Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/iei to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

    Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation will be reviewed.

    There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

    As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation may accept submissions of papers that have been posted on pre-print servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy. If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

    If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal

    1. What do we publish?
      1.1 Aims & Scope
      1.2 Article types
      1.3 Writing your paper
    2. Editorial policies
      2.1 Peer review policy
      2.2 Authorship
      2.3 Acknowledgements
      2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests
      2.5 Data
    3. Publishing policies
      3.1 Publication ethics
      3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
      3.3 Open access and author archiving
    4. Preparing your manuscript
      4.1 Formatting
      4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
      4.3 Supplemental material
      4.4 Reference style
      4.5 English language editing services
    5. Submitting your manuscript
      5.1 ORCID
      5.2 Information required for completing your submission
      5.3 Permissions
    6. On acceptance and publication
      6.1 Sage Production
      6.2 Online First publication
      6.3 Access to your published article
      6.4 Promoting your article
    7. Further information

    1. What do we publish?

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    Before submitting your manuscript to The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

    1.2 Research Papers

    Each issue of IJEI includes four to six double-anonymize peer-reviewed articles. Articles should be in the region of 6,000 - 8,000 words and no more than 40 pages long (whichever is less), including tables and references. Please click on Publishing policies, Preparing your manuscript and Submitting your manuscript to get more information on the submission guidance.

    1.2.1 Teaching Case Studies

    We aim to include one double-anonymize peer-reviewed teaching case study in each issue of IJEI. Case studies should be no more than 7,000 words or 35 pages long (whichever is less). Teaching case studies will be diverse in coverage and approach. To get more understanding of the main themes covered in IJEI’s teaching case studies and the submission guidelines, click here.

    1.2.2 Fresh Perspectives Research Notes

    Each issue of IJEI will endeavour to include one double-anonymize peer-reviewed Fresh Perspectives Research Note of no more than 2000 words. Fresh Perspectives Research Notes provide an opportunity for postgraduate researchers (PGRs) and early career researchers (ECRs) to publish with the journal. Therefore, the lead author of each should be a PGR or ECR, although more established scholars are welcome to co-author and support the process. ECRs are defined as scholars who have completed their PhD in the last five years or who have had limited publication experience.

    Fresh Perspectives Research Notes offer an opportunity for scholars to write a relatively short piece voicing their own perspective and critiquing theoretical and / or methodological themes, ideas and concepts within the field. Through the Fresh Perspectives Research Notes series, IJEI is keen to promote debates that engage critically in entrepreneurship studies. Methodological pieces are also encouraged and as such the series offers a platform to showcase innovative methodologies adopted in the field and discussion about originality, value, challenges, mistakes, and important lessons to be learnt.

    Please ensure your manuscript is within the word limit. The editor will reject manuscripts that are above the suggested word limit. Please also confirm in your cover letter that the lead author is a PGR or ECR.

    Please click here to see the journal guide for Fresh Perspectives Research Note submissions to IJEIWe recommend you read these before submitting. You may also find this editorial useful. 

     

    1.3 Writing your paper

    The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources.

    1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

    When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online

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    2. Editorial policies

    2.1 Peer review policy

    For academic papers, the journal adheres to a rigorous double-anonymize reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties. Papers by authors who are not academics (such as submissions from practicing entrepreneurs) will also be subject to peer review before acceptance, but their distinct nature and aims will be fully taken into account.

    As part of the submission process you will be asked to provide the names of peers who could be called upon to review your manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) the below:

    • The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of your submission
    • The reviewer should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors
    • Reviewer nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted

    You will also be asked to nominate peers who you do not wish to review your manuscript (opposed reviewers).

    Please note that the Editors are not obliged to invite/reject any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript.

    2.2 Authorship

    All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

    Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

    2.3 Acknowledgements

    All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

    Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

    2.3.1 Third party submissions
    Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

    • Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
    • Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
    • Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

    Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

    2.3.2 Writing assistance

    Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

    2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests

    The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway

    2.5 Research data

    The journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages.

    Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

    • share your research data in a relevant public data repository
    • include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, we encourage you to consider using the statement to explain why it cannot be shared.
    • cite this data in your research

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    3. Publishing Policies

    3.1 Publication ethics

    Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway

    3.1.1 Plagiarism

    The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

    3.1.2 Prior publication

    If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

    3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement

    Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway

    3.3 Open access and author archiving

    The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

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    4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

    4.1 Formatting

    The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

    Please note that single inverted commas should be used for secondary quotes and double inverted commas for primary quotes.

    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

    For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.

    Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

    4.3 Supplemental material

    This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files

    4.4 Reference style

    The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation adheres to the Sage Harvard reference style. View the Sage Harvard guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

    If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the Sage Harvard EndNote output file.

    4.5 English language editing services

    Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

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    5. Submitting your manuscript

    The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/iei to login and submit your article online.

    IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

    5.1 ORCID

    As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

    The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

    If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

    5.2 Information required for completing your submission

    You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

    5.3 Permissions

    Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway

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    6. On acceptance and publication

    6.1 Sage Production

    Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

    6.2 Online First publication

    Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

    6.3 Access to your published article

    Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

    6.4 Promoting your article

    Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

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    7. Further information

    Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation editorial office as follows:

    Dr. Deema Refai 
    D.Refai@leeds.ac.uk 

    and 

    Professor Laura Galloway
    Laura L.Galloway@hw.ac.uk
     

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