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Understanding the ethical conduct of entrepreneurs is becoming increasingly important. Previous research has focused on the differences between entrepreneurs and managers in terms of their ethical values and behaviors and has investigated the antecedents of ethical behaviors. However, the question that whether entrepreneurs' ethical behaviors contribute to or hamper crucial aspects of new venture development, such as effective information acquisition, has remained unanswered. In this paper, we extend previous research on ethics and entrepreneurship by examining the impact of entrepreneurs' ethically suspect behaviors on information acquisition. Data from 139 entrepreneurs in China revealed the negative influence of ethically suspect behaviors on information acquisition. Further, this relationship is weakened by entrepreneurs' impression management tactics such as ingratiation and self-promotion. Implications of these findings for entrepreneurs and research at the interface of entrepreneurship and ethics are discussed.

PurposeThe rapid development of digital technologies drives digital entrepreneurs to pivot, a behavior that allows entrepreneurs to adjust original opportunities and explore new opportunities. This study aims to investigate the effect of the structural characteristics of digital entrepreneurial teams, the functional heterogeneity, on pivoting from the perspective of digital agility. Moreover, this study also examines the moderating effect of knowledge sharing.Design/methodology/approachTwo-phase survey data were sourced from Chinese digital entrepreneurial teams through the entrepreneurial networks of MBA programs of a Chinese business school and entrepreneurial support organizations in China. The sample of 272 teams with 708 entrepreneurs was collected to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe functional heterogeneity of digital entrepreneurial teams, including industry background heterogeneity and occupational experience heterogeneity, positively impacts pivoting by providing heterogeneous knowledge and resources. Moreover, this relationship is mediated by the digital agility of the digital team, and knowledge sharing moderates the relationship between functional heterogeneity and digital agility.Originality/valueWhile existing studies have mainly focused on the external factors, this study empirically investigates the team-level internal factors of digital pivoting in digital entrepreneurial teams, enriching the research perspective of pivoting. Moreover, the current study bridges the literature on digital agility with pivoting, broadening the theoretical mechanism of pivoting and expanding the theoretical boundaries of digital agility.

PurposeAlthough it is acknowledged that entrepreneurial networks play a crucial role in fostering business model innovation (BMI) for start-ups, it is unclear how and when these networks affect BMI. This research developed a moderated mediation model to explore the impact of entrepreneurial networks on BMI in start-ups and examined the dual mediating effects of causation and effectuation, as well as the moderation of environmental dynamism.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed framework was tested by hierarchical regression analyses and bootstrapping using samples of 248 start-ups in China.FindingsThe results showed that entrepreneurial networks significantly positively impacted start-up BMI. Causation and effectuation played dual mediating roles between entrepreneurial networks and BMI. Furthermore, the entrepreneurial networks-effectuation-BMI association was more substantial in highly dynamic environments, whereas the entrepreneurial networks-causation-BMI relationship was unaffected.Research limitations/implicationsThere are several theoretical contributions resulting from this research. The findings offer new insights for understanding the antecedents of start-up BMI from the network perspective. This research adds to the growing literature on resource orchestration (RO) by exploring the dual mediating influences of causation and effectuation in resource management. This investigation revealed the boundary condition between entrepreneurial networks and BMI by testing the moderating influence of environmental dynamism.Practical implicationsStart-ups must effectively use external resources embedded within networks to advance BMI. Start-up entrepreneurs should apply causation and effectuation to transform entrepreneurial network resources into BMI. Start-up entrepreneurs must dynamically manage resources in response to ever-changing environmental conditions. Resource acquisition and management of entrepreneurial networks can vary significantly in their influence on start-up BMI under different environmental contexts.Originality/valueUnlike previous BMI research focused on internal organizational factors, this study highlighted the critical importance of entrepreneurial networks as a prerequisite for achieving start-up BMI, contributing to the literature on open innovation and resource-based view. Examining the dual mediating roles of causation and effectuation illustrated the bridging role of strategic decision-making logic in connecting resources to value creation, contributing to the developing RO literature. The moderating influence of environmental dynamism was explored, clarifying how start-up BMI benefits from entrepreneurial networks in differing situations. A framework for reconciling contradictory findings concerning the association between entrepreneurial networks and innovation is provided.