Unleashing employees’ entrepreneurial potential in Saudi start-up companies: The role of psychological empowerment as a mediator between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ entrepreneurial behavior

Unleashing employees’ entrepreneurial potential in Saudi start-up companies: The role of psychological empowerment as a mediator between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ entrepreneurial behavior | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Unleashing employees’ entrepreneurial potential in Saudi start-up companies: The role of psychological empowerment as a mediator between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ entrepreneurial behavior Razan Abanumay, Eman Alalwani, Suad Dukhaykh This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4660902/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Psychology → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The business market through which start-ups operate has become intensively competitive in recent years. Developing employees’ entrepreneurial behavior is thus a priority for thriving in such conditions. This research attempts to explore the antecedent of such behavior by testing a research model that incorporates the linkages between entrepreneurial leadership, psychological empowerment, and employees' entrepreneurial behavior. The SEM analysis performed on a sample of 256 employees working in Saudi start-up companies showed that entrepreneurial leadership has no direct effect on employees’ entrepreneurial behavior; instead, the impact turned out to be indirect through enhancing employees’ psychological empowerment. The study holds several implications for researchers and practitioners in the field. Entrepreneurial leadership Psychological Empowerment Risk Taking Proactiveness Innovativeness Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 1. Introduction Growing in the market and maintaining the organization’s sustainability is no longer guaranteed through traditional approaches. Hence, organizations should be inclined toward building innovative, flexible, visionary, and entrepreneurial competencies to react effectively to the constantly changing competitive environment (Zuraik & Kelly, 2019 ). This process is incredibly challenging for start-up companies, given the sensitive nature of these businesses that require them to make extra efforts to maintain their longevity. One unconventional approach that has proven its vital and valuable contribution in boosting organizations' growth is employees’ entrepreneurial behavior (hereafter EB) (Abdelwahed et al., 2022; Antoncic et al., 2001 ). The EB literature has primarily focused on entrepreneurs’ behaviors (e.g., Dyer et al., 2008; Gruber & MacMillan, 2017 ; Metalloa et al., 2021 ; Ozaralli & Rivenburgh, 2016 ). Nevertheless, in recent years, research has shown that such behavior is not limited to entrepreneurs and can be extended to individual workers within organizations (e.g., Jong et al., 2013 ). This behavior could be viewed as an “extra-role behavior” (Valsania et al., 2014) associated with employees' contribution and involvement in the organization’s development and entrepreneurial prosperity. Nevertheless, such contribution is exhibited voluntarily when it is neither a mandatory obligation nor a part of their job requirements (Rigtering & Weitzel, 2013 ). Meaning that to behave in an entrepreneurial way remains the employee’s choice. Given this, identifying the triggers that motivate employees to exhibit such behavior has become vitally important. Previous research has sought to identify the antecedents of this behavior and how it can be encouraged in organizations. Leadership, among other antecedents, has received significant attention, which could be attributed to the ability of leaders to influence employees’ behaviors and attitudes (Bilal et al., 2021 ). More precisely, scholars have found several leadership styles to be significant contributors to employees' EB, including transformational (e.g., Afsar et al., 2017 ; Farrukh et al., 2019 ), empowering (e.g., Kim & Beehr, 2023 ) and authentic (e.g., Edú Valsania et al., 2014 ; Farrukh et al., 2019 ) leadership styles. However, even though entrepreneurial leadership (EL) – one of the recent leadership styles - was noted by Renko et al. ( 2015 ) as a potential driver of EB, efforts to study how such leadership style may promote employees' EB within organizations remain scarce. EL reflects a style of leadership that emphasizes leading and influencing followers to look for and utilize entrepreneurial avenues to attain business objectives. (Renko et al., 2015 ). This leadership style is deemed to be one of the most effective for various kinds of organizations. However, It is primarily familiar in startup businesses (Pu et al., 2022 ) due to the entrepreneurial nature of these businesses. EL has been identified as a driving force for many positive work outcomes, including creativity (Mehmood et al., 2020 ) and excellence (Darling et al., 2007 ), thereby emphasizing the influential role of this leadership style in supporting and stimulating positive work behaviors within the organizational context. Indeed, few contributions were found concerning the impact of EL on different types of work behaviors that are indirectly linked to the EB, like innovative work behavior (e.g., Iqbal et al., 2022 ; Li et al., 2020 ; Malibari & Bajaba, 2022 ; Newman et al., 2018 ) and proactive work behavior (e.g., Bilal et al., 2021 ). Although these contributions provide valuable insights into how EL fosters several aspects linked to EB, it does not capture the whole meaning of this behavior, given that an entrepreneurial employee is mainly recognized by demonstrating innovative, proactive, and risk-taking behaviors (de Jong et al., 2013 ; Farrukh et al., 2019 ). Accordingly, one might argue that the impact of EL on the three dimensions of EB simultaneously under one construct remained unexplored, which indicates a need for further studies to understand better the direct impact of EL on EB, as well as the mechanism in which the EL may influence EB. Exploring the association between these constructs is crucial for organizations aiming to motivate their employees to be engaged in EB. Besides, previous research shows that leadership's impact on certain behaviors is not only limited to the direct one, as they found that psychological empowerment (PE) is one factor that can be impacted by leadership and, in turn, play a role in shaping employees’ behaviors (Liorente-Alonso et al., 2023). As Maynard et al. ( 2012 ) noted, the PE literature has been concerned with PE as a bridge through which they understand the nexus between leadership styles and several work-related outcomes. Drawing on that, we expect in this research that the effect of EL on EB will not be limited only to the direct effect, but it is also expected that EL may indirectly affect employees’ EB through the presence of PE. Especially that prior works have documented that EL enhances an employee’s PE (Mehmood et al., 2020 ), and PE encourages employees to behave in an entrepreneurial way (Farrukh et al., 2019 ). Based on that, this research aims to fill the gaps mentioned above and shed light on the impact of EL on EB and its mechanisms by incorporating PE as a mediator. The remainder of this article is outlined as follows: a literature review will be provided in section 2 , followed by an explanation of the research methodology in section 3 . Then, in sections 4 and 5 , the research findings will be presented and discussed, whereas, in section 6 , the research implications will be highlighted. Finally, in section 7 , a conclusion will be drawn, the limitations will be discussed, and possible research avenues will be identified. 2. Literature review 2.1 Employees’ Entrepreneurial Behavior (EB) Much scholarly attention has been placed on employees’ EB inside organizations over the past years. Accordingly, several attempts have been made to clarify and conceptualize this concept and its dimensions. For the purpose of this research, employees’ EB is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct manifested in three main types of behaviors, namely, innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking (Afsar et al., 2017 ; de Jong et al., 2013 ; Farrukh et al., 2019 ; Mustafa et al., 2018 ). That is, behaving entrepreneurially implies having the capacity to search for innovative ways and solutions and proactively take the lead to identify new business opportunities while taking some calculated risks (de Jong et al., 2013 ). Employees’ EB is a bottom-up approach (Farrukh et al., 2019 ) that can be observed at all organizational levels. It reflects “the extent to which individual workers proactively engage in the creation, introduction, and application of opportunities at work, marked by taking business-related risks”(de Jong et al., 2013 , p. 2). Demonstrating such behavior can be regarded as a significant force that assists organizations in developing novel, enhanced, and innovative offerings (Neessen et al., 2019 ). As Simsek et al. ( 2003 ) stated, this behavior is more about making novel things instead of improving the current ones. Indicating that encouraging such behavior inside organizations can result in numerous benefits for business renewal. Notably, due to its potential to contribute to business prosperity, an increasing number of organizations have started identifying and developing the means by which they can stay entrepreneurial and foster employees’ EB (Wakkee et al., 2010 ). Although EB is promoted in big, established organizations (Mair, 2005 ), it is also vital for start-up businesses. In consideration of this, Moser et al. ( 2017 ) highlighted that the presence of such behavior in new ventures is particularly important due to its pivotal role in overcoming obstacles that may prevent business success. This means that having such employees is expected to help these companies navigate business challenges effectively and flourish in their entrepreneurial state. Despite the significant benefits of EB, triggering it remains a difficult mission (Wakkee et al., 2010 ) as it is mainly viewed as an extra-role behavior that is performed voluntarily. This, therefore, requires a detailed investigation from the side of these organizations to identify the means by which this behavior can be stimulated among employees. In this regard, an extensive body of literature explored the role of several organizational, individual, and contextual antecedents (Blanka, 2019 ), such as personality traits (e.g., Alam et al., 2020 ), job design (e.g., Jong et al., 2013 ), work context (e.g., Rigtering & Weitzel, 2013 ), and different styles of leadership (e.g., Afsar et al., 2017 ; Edú Valsania et al., 2014 ; Farrukh et al., 2019 ; Kim & Beehr, 2023 ). Although these studies enriched our understanding of the different factors that may foster EB, more research is still required to examine other variables that were not identified previously and may positively influence this behavior; such variables may include EL due to its ability to drive innovation (Huang et al., 2014 ) and creativity (Chen, 2007 ). 2.2 Entrepreneurial leadership (EL) Starting from the early 1990s, research on EL has evolved tremendously (Leitch & Volery, 2017 ). Excessive scientific efforts have been demonstrated in the literature to conceptualize EL from different perspectives. However, there is still a lack of agreement on the term's conceptualization (Dvalidze & Markopoulos, 2020 ), which might be attributed to the ongoing debate on the origins of EL. Even though the origin of EL is critical to the literature, the focus of this research is on its characterization and impact as a leadership style on followers. Accordingly, EL in this research is conceptualized by adopting the definition provided by Renko et al. ( 2015 ), who stated that “Entrepreneurial leadership entails influencing and directing the performance of group members toward the achievement of organizational goals that involve recognizing and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities” (p.2). EL emphasizes entrepreneurial outcomes (Renko, 2018 ) and has been proven to influence various positive behaviors and outcomes. Research has shown that leaders who adopt such a leadership style can direct their follower's behaviors toward innovation (Li et al., 2020 ) and creativity (Lee et al., 2020 ; Mehmood et al., 2020 ). On top of that, if successfully implemented, EL can enhance the organizations’ competitiveness (Kearney, 2020 ); accordingly, it is a needed leadership style to tackle the challenges associated with today’s business conditions (Kasim, 2021 ). Notwithstanding the contributions of EL, the role an entrepreneurial leader plays is impactful yet demanding. In this regard, Gupta et al. ( 2004 ) highlighted two main related challenges that entrepreneurial leaders usually confront: “scenario enactment” and “cast enactment” (p.247). According to them, for entrepreneurial leaders to add value, they have to provide a vision for the company’s prospects (scenario enactment) and then assemble a team of skilled and competent individuals to attain this envisioned future (cast enactment). In the same vein, Renko ( 2018 ) highlighted two pillars of EL, which entail entrepreneurial leaders acting as both accelerators and doers. While the former reflects the entrepreneurial leaders’ role of channeling their followers’ energy to stimulate innovative behaviors to challenge the organizations’ conventional approaches in their business, the latter reflects the entrepreneurial opportunity-seeking behaviors that entrepreneurial leaders themselves engage in to attain entrepreneurial endeavors and to gain their followers' commitment to imitate their EB. EL is not limited to specific organizations’ type, size, or age (Renko et al., 2015 ). Nevertheless, its benefits in the start-up business context have been emphasized in the literature (e.g., Dvalidze & Markopoulos, 2020 ). The nature of start-up businesses’ environment is dynamic and represented by uncertainty (Moroni et al., 2015 ), which imposes more pressure on these companies to reinforce innovative behaviors among their employees. In this regard, Huang et al. ( 2014 ) have shown that this leadership style serves as a substantial driver of Chinese venture innovation and performance. Similarly, Chen's (2007) study revealed that EL is an impetus for teams’ creative potential in Taiwan’s ventures. Besides their role in enhancing creativity and innovation capabilities, entrepreneurial leaders can also stimulate start-up employees’ knowledge-sharing and affective commitment (Pu et al., 2022 )Consequently, the value of such a leadership style for start-up companies revolves around the influence an entrepreneurial leader can exert to stimulate their followers’ positive behaviors and attitudes, which, in turn, will lead to better outcomes for the company as a whole. In addition, since entrepreneurial leaders demonstrate a greater tendency toward consistent learning and flexibility in response to rapidly changing environments (Kearney, 2020 ), one might argue that they may successfully guide start-ups to survive and thrive in the market, thereby enhancing their entrepreneurial status. 2.3 Phycological Empowerment (PE) Research investigating empowerment has identified two perspectives in which it can be understood: structural and psychological (Oliveira et al., 2023 ; Spreitzer, 2008 ). While the former is concerned with the delegation of responsibilities across organizational levels, the latter can be understood as the state of mind about one’s empowerment (Maynard et al., 2012 ). In this paper, we focus our attention on the psychological type of empowerment, which focuses on the inner psychological status of the empowered person (Menon, 2001 ) and reflects the cognitive state that enhances a person’s self-belief in having control and a sense of authority while performing work-related tasks (Llorente-Alonso et al., 2023 ; Maynard et al., 2012 ). In recent decades, a significant amount of research works have taken place to develop the theoretical foundation of PE further while examining its causes and outcomes (Wang & Lee, 2009 ). In an attempt to provide a comprehensive conceptualization of it in the organizational context, Spreitzer ( 1995 ), on the basis of Thomas & Velthouse's (1990) work, defined PE as “a motivational construct manifested in four cognitions: meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact.” (p.1444). She found it to be a multidimensional construct comprising the four facets mentioned in the definition above; these facets form the construct's base instead of acting as antecedents or consequences of it (Spreitzer et al., 1997 ). The first dimension, i.e., the (meaning) dimension, illustrates the extent to which an individual perceives the work as valuable with respect to personal beliefs (Jha, 2014 ; Thomas & Velthouse, 1990 ). In contrast, the (competence) dimension is linked to self-efficacy and reflects individuals' inner beliefs regarding their capability of performing work-related tasks competently (Thomas & Velthouse, 1990 ; Usman et al., 2021 ). Moreover, the (self-determination) dimension is defined as an employee’s sense of independence over the performance of work tasks (Farrukh et al., 2019 ), whereas (Impact) is illustrated as the influence an individual can exert on several aspects of work outcomes (Jha, 2014 ; Usman et al., 2021 ). PE has been widely regarded as a motivational factor (Llorente-Alonso et al., 2023 ; Muduli & Pandya, 2018 ; Spreitzer, 1995 ; Thomas & Velthouse, 1990 ) that enhances employees' enthusiasm and contributes to many positive outcomes. In this context, Muduli and Pandya ( 2018 ) found that fostering PE in employees led to increased resilience among them. Similarly, Farrukh et al. ( 2019 ) found that psychologically empowered employees tend to get involved in extra-role behaviors, like the EB. Likewise, Llorente-Alonso et al. ( 2023 ) found in their meta-analysis that PE has significantly affected employees’ creative capabilities, performance, and citizenship behaviors. This elucidates the vital role PE plays in motivating and encouraging several positive consequences that have an essential role in the overall success of organizations, which necessitates dedicating sincere efforts to foster and increase the sense of PE among employees in organizations. 3. Hypotheses Development and Research Model 3.1 Hypotheses development 3.1.1 Entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneurial behavior The literature on EB suggests that the willingness of an employee to exhibit such a behavior can be driven and influenced by several leadership styles (e.g., Afsar et al., 2017 ; Edú Valsania et al., 2014 ; Farrukh et al., 2019 ; Kim & Beehr, 2023 ). In light of the start-up businesses context, Yang et al. ( 2019 ) noted that start-up companies’ leaders are widely acknowledged to impact how employees act. This may point to the potential substantial role leaders in such companies can play in inspiring, fostering, and increasing the likelihood of employees exhibiting EBs and practices. In this research, the Social Learning Theory (SLT) serves as a theoretical lens that can assist in explaining the relationship between EL and EB. This theory asserts that experience and observation of others’ behaviors are the means by which an individual can learn and acquire a new behavior (Bandura, 1971 ). The theory presumes that in organizational contexts, role models are a crucial tool for achieving behavioral transformation and developing new habits (Sims & Manz, 1982 ). That is, Individuals learn most of their exhibited behaviors either consciously or unconsciously through the influence of role modeling (Bandura, 1971 ). Role models in our research context could be entrepreneurial leaders, given that role modeling is a significant part of this leadership style (Renko, 2018 ; Renko et al., 2015 ). Consequently, the utilization of the idea of social learning in the leader-subordinate context allows us to argue that interacting with and observing a leader with an EL style may lead the subordinates, i.e., employees, to learn and display EB. That is, when entrepreneurial leaders themselves behave in an entrepreneurial way, they will inspire their followers to acquire and simulate the same behavior (Renko et al., 2015 ), as they will observe their leaders actively and successfully searching for new entrepreneurial opportunities, finding new solutions and ideas, and bearing the risks of failure. Indeed, several studies provided partial support for the above argument. Particularly, the studies of Newman et al. ( 2018 ), Malibari and Bajaba ( 2022 ), and Li et al. ( 2020 ) revealed that EL possesses the ability to influence employees' innovative work behavior in numerous contexts. Moreover, Bilal et al. ( 2021 ) pointed out an entrepreneurial leader's essential role in shaping employees' proactive work behavior. Although these studies are not directly linked to EB, they may serve as a base to support the possibility of a potential relation between EL and EB, given that innovative and proactive work behaviors reflect two dimensions of employees’ EB construct (Afsar et al., 2017 ; de Jong et al., 2013 ; Farrukh et al., 2019 ). Therefore, on the basis of social learning theory, we propose the following hypothesis: H1. Entrepreneurial leadership has a positive impact on employees’ entrepreneurial behavior. 3.1.2 Entrepreneurial leadership and psychological empowerment PE has been recognized as an essential aspect that is embedded in leadership studies. In a meta-analysis of the nexus between leadership and PE, Schermuly et al. ( 2022 ) revealed that various styles of leadership (i.e., transformational, empowering, and servant) can be regarded as positive contributors to PE. EL, in essence, is characterized by the inspiration those leaders provide to motivate their followers to look for entrepreneurial avenues (Renko, 2018 ; Renko et al., 2015 ). Therefore, when an entrepreneurial leader urges their followers to identify entrepreneurial work ideas and growth opportunities that can be utilized, those followers will realize that their contribution to the organization goes beyond the performance of day-to-day tasks and extends to cover other major success areas at the organizational level. This, consequently, may contribute to experiencing higher levels of PE in terms of meaning and impact. The key here is that the inclusion of employees in such value-adding activities may strengthen their belief in the meaning of their role (Miao et al., 2018 ) and the influence they can exert in their workplace. Besides, entrepreneurial leaders, instead of motivating their teams with incentives, provide them with an inspiring opportunity-focused vision (Renko et al., 2015 ). Articulating a vision clarifies the path and increases employees' sense of independence to determine how they work rather than waiting for others’ instructions (Robert, 1999 ). It should also signal to them that they are in charge not only of their company’s entrepreneurial prospects but also of their own (Renko et al., 2015 ), which, as a consequence, fosters their feelings of self-determination. Moreover, even though employees in start-up companies may experience a lower sense of competence due to the uncertainty that characterizes their offerings in the market (Conger & Kanungo, 1988 ), entrepreneurial leaders have a substantial role in mitigating such uncertainty, thereby boosting their followers’ confidence to work as if nothing hinders reaching the envisioned goals (Gupta et al., 2004 ). Because of this, entrepreneurial leaders are thus expected to boost employees’ beliefs in their abilities to accomplish their tasks competently. Extant research has supported the above arguments and highlighted a positive connection between EL and PE (e.g., Mehmood et al., 2020 ; Miao et al., 2018 ). These studies provided empirical evidence regarding the crucial role played by entrepreneurial leaders in facilitating employees’ PE. Such a role will contribute to the organization’s value and underline the employees’ worthiness and self-assurance that they act as agents who contribute to the organization’s development (Mehmood et al., 2020 ; Renko et al., 2015 ). Hence, it is possible to hypothesize: H2. Entrepreneurial leadership has a positive impact on employee’s psychological empowerment. 3.1.3 Phycological empowerment and entrepreneurial behavior The attitudes and job-related behaviors of individual workers can be developed with empowerment strategies (Seibert et al., 2011 ), and employees tend to provide positive contributions when they perceive that they are empowered at their workplace (Spreitzer, 2008 ). Accordingly, it is possible to state that PE may act as a motivational factor that increases the chances of behaving entrepreneurially. That is, employees have a higher probability of acting innovatively and proactively while taking calculated risks when they have a strong sense of competence, independence, influence, and meaningfulness. As Kim and Beehr ( 2023 ) argued that getting involved in such behavior may require employees to feel certain about their capabilities or the value of what they do. Likewise, Farrukh et al. ( 2019 ) noted that previous research works have elucidated that companies that foster their employee's sense of PE enhance their positive attitude toward their job duties, leading them to exhibit extra-role behaviors. These arguments align with Mahmoud et al. ( 2022 ) and Farrukh et al. ( 2019 ) studies, which found that PE catalyzes employees' EB. Hence, when employees are psychologically empowered, chances are better that they will be motivated to exhibit EB. In addition to the direct impact of PE in fostering employees' EB, Farrukh et al. ( 2019 ) noted that an extensive body of literature suggests that empowerment is a variable through which one can understand the indirect association between leadership and employees’ work deliverables. In this regard, researchers have investigated the mediator role of PE in the nexus between EL and innovative work behavior, which reflects a dimension of employees’ EB. For example, Miao et al. ( 2018 ) concluded that two dimensions of PE, namely impact and meaning, proved to mediate the link through which EL impacts the innovative behavior of public sector employees. Although the role of PE as a mediator between EL and EB is not explored yet, one might argue that this relationship may exist, taking into account that previous contributions have found that EL positively impacts PE (e.g., Mehmood et al., 2020 ; Miao et al., 2018 ) and PE leads employees to get involved in EB (e.g., Farrukh et al., 2019 ; Mahmoud et al., 2022 ). Thus, drawing on the discussion above, we hypothesize: H3. Psychological empowerment has a positive impact on employee’s entrepreneurial behavior. H4. Psychological empowerment mediates the positive relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneurial behavior. 3.2 Research Model The following research model represented in Fig. 1 can be proposed based on our discussion of the research hypotheses. 4. Research Methodology 4.1 Research Instrument Development A quantitative research methodology was employed in this research, in which a self-administrated electronic questionnaire (i.e., SurveyMonkey forums) was used as the data collection method. The survey instrument was constructed based on items previously used in the literature, and these items were all measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The process involved translating the items into Arabic by a bilingual Saudi translator; the translator was provided with the necessary information about the research constructs being measured to maintain the meaning of the items. Then, the researchers reviewed the translated version to ensure its compatibility with the original version. Finally, before proceeding with data collection, two bilingual academics in the business field assessed the face validity of the research instrument, and only minor adjustments to the Arabic version were suggested and addressed. The instrument comprises three parts: the first clearly and concisely explains the research aim and includes the consent form that emphasizes the participation’s voluntary nature and the confidentiality and anonymity of the provided responses. The second part contains the research items, and the last part collects demographic information (i.e., age, experience, the department they work in, and their qualifications). 4.2 Sample and Data Collection The research population comprises start-up companies operating in Saudi Arabia; we chose to focus on this research context given that entrepreneurial leaders are primarily common in these companies (Pu et al., 2022 ). To gather the data, an invitation describing the aim of the research was randomly sent through LinkedIn to 743 employees working in 47 Saudi start-ups, of which 316 agreed to participate. After two weeks, a reminder was sent to those who initially agreed to take part in this research, asking them to submit their responses and emphasizing the importance of their participation for the fulfillment of the research objectives; however, upon finalizing the data collection stage, only 256 surveys were submitted, with a response rate of 34.4%. The demographics of the study’s sample are demonstrated in Table 1 . As can be noted, the majority of the participating employees were male (64.8%), held bachelor’s degrees (82.4%), and their ages ranged from 25 to 34 years old (79.7%). Regarding the department, the respondents work in various departments; however, it can be noted that most of them work in operations (22.7%) and marketing (13.7%). Finally, as the table depicts, most participants have 1 to 4 years of work experience (59.8%). 4.3 Measures 4.3.1 Entrepreneurial Leadership To assess the leader’s EL style, we utilized the “ENTRELEAD” scale provided by Renko et al. ( 2015 ). The scale comprises eight items designed to measure the level of employees’ agreement or disagreement regarding how much the items reflect their leader’s leadership style. A sample item includes “Challenges and pushes me to act in a more innovative way”. 4.3.2 Psychological Empowerment The employees’ PE was measured using Spreitzer's PE scale (Spreitzer, 1995 ). The scale is divided into four main sub-scales, each with three items to evaluate different facets of the PE construct. Example items are (meaning) “The work I do is meaningful to me,” (competence) “I am confident about my ability to do my job,” (self-determination) “I can decide on my own how to go about doing my work,” and (impact) “I have significant influence over what happens in my department.” The employees were requested to evaluate whether they agreed or disagreed that the items reflected their beliefs about their PE. 4.3.3 Entrepreneurial Behavior A 15-item scale of the EB was adopted from Stull ( 2005 ). More specifically, five items were utilized to assess each dimension of the construct. A Sample item includes, (innovativeness) “I approach business tasks in innovative ways,” (proactiveness) “I act in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes,” and (risk-taking) “I will take calculated risks despite the possibility of failure.” The employees were asked to rate their agreement or disagreement levels to whether the items describe their usual way of doing work. Table 1 Sample demographics (N = 256) Demographic profile Category Frequency Percent (%) Gender Male 166 64.8 Female 90 35.2 Experience Less than one year 14 5.4 1–4 years 153 59.8 > 5 years 89 34.8 Age 18–24 31 12.1 25–34 204 79.7 35–44 20 7.8 45–54 1 0.4 Qualification High school 8 3.1 Diploma 10 3.9 Bachelor 211 82.4 Masters Other 25 2 9.8 0.8 Department Marketing 35 13.7 R&D 20 7.8 HR 11 4.3 Finance 12 4.7 Operations 58 22.7 Sales 27 10.5 Product Development 16 6.3 Other 77 30 4.4 Statistical Analysis A two-step structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed in this research to first evaluate the measurement model and then test the hypothesized structural relationships. Choosing SEM for the current study is justified by the fact that SEM is appropriate when testing complex relationships between latent and observed variables while counting for measurement error (Hair et al., 2021 ). To apply this approach, in the first step, we carried out a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test the measurement model’s factor structure and its fit with the data. Such factor analysis is suitable when the measurement model, i.e., the relations between the factors and their indicators, are hypothesized based on previous theories (Dimitrov, 2012 ; Jackson et al., 2009 ). Once the first step was finalized, we moved to the second step, which involved testing the structural model in which we tested the research hypotheses. The CFA and SEM analyses were all estimated using the WLSMV estimator in MPLUS software (version 8.9). 5. Results 5.1 Measurement model assessment To verify the constructs’ psychometric properties, we ran the CFA analysis for all the constructs simultaneously while treating the EB and PE constructs as second-order factors as specified in earlier studies (e.g., Farrukh et al., 2019 ; Spreitzer, 1995 ). The model fit of the factorial structure was evaluated based on the widely used data-model fit indices criteria of Hu and Bentler ( 1999 ). Accordingly, as can be noted in Table 2 , our three-factor model resulted in an almost excellent fit (CFI = 0.955, SRMR = 0.069, RMSEA = 0.055). Concerning the items’ factor loadings, three items of the EB scale (i.e., two items from the risk-taking dimension and one item from the proactive dimension) were dropped as they showed low factor loadings ( 0.5) (Hair et al., 2010 ), reflecting that the factors are well-defined by their indicators. The internal consistency of the items was examined through Cronbach's alpha test. As Table 3 depicts, based on the thresholds presented by Ursachi et al. ( 2015 ), most of the values show a very good level of reliability (α > 0.80), while the remaining are within the acceptable range (i.e., α = 0.6–0.7). Furthermore, to examine the convergent validity, we relied on the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and Composite Reliability (CR) metrics of Fornell and Larcker (1981). As illustrated in Table 4 , most of the AVE and CR values have met the accepted threshold of 0.5 and 0.7 for the AVE and CR, respectively (Hair et al., 2010 ). Nevertheless, although the AVE value of the PE was slightly below 0.5, this will not affect the convergent validity, given that all the values of the CR were within the acceptable level (> 0.7). As Fornell and Larcker (1981) stated, “On the basis of ρc alone, the researcher may conclude that the convergent validity of the construct is adequate, even though more than 50% of the variance is due to error” (p. 46). Based on that, we can conclude that an adequate level of convergent reliability was achieved. To evaluate the discernment validity, we relied on the criterion of Fornell and Larcker (1981). As Table 4 shows, all the square root values of the AVE exceeded the correlations between the latent factors except for the correlation between PE and EB; as the square root of the AVE equaled the correlation between the two constructs. Therefore, to further examine the discriminate validity between these constructs, a chi-square difference test was performed according to the procedure mentioned in Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) paper. This process involves the estimation of two CFA models in which the correlation between the constructs will be freely estimated in the first model while it will be constrained to 1 in the second model (Cheung et al., 2023 ). A significant difference in the chi-square values between the two models indicates the presence of discriminate validity. Since the WLSMV estimator is used in this research, this test was performed using the DIFFTEST option in Mplus software (Thuynsma & De Beer, 2017 ). Accordingly, our results showed that the difference between the freely estimated and constrained models is significant ( \(\varDelta {x}^{2}\) (df) = 37.707 (1); p = 0.000), indicating that the correlation between PE and EB is different from unity and that the unconstrained model has a significantly better fit than the constrained model. Hence, based on the results of Fornell and Larcker (1981) criterion, and based on the chi-square difference test, it can be stated that a sufficient degree of discriminate validity is achieved in the study’s model. Finally, as the data for all variables were gathered from the same respondent through one data collection method, the Common Method Bias (CMB) may present an issue (Kock et al., 2021 ) that requires special attention. Harman's one-factor test is among the vastly applied statistical procedures to check for the existence of CMB (Podsakoff et al., 2003 ). This test can be applied by performing a factor analysis either through EFA, in which we check whether the first factor explains more than 50% of the variance, or CFA, where all items will be loaded on one general factor and assess whether the data fits the model well compared to the hypothesized CFA model (Kock et al., 2021 ). In this research, we applied both the EFA and the CFA methods. First, the exploratory factor analysis performed in SPSS yielded more than one factor, i.e., eight factors with an eigenvalue greater than one. The first factor explained 23.1% of the variance. In addition, we performed a CFA using MPLUS software and loaded all the items on one factor and, as a result, obtained the following model fit indices (RMSEA = 0.165, CFI = 0.578, TLI = 0.549, SRMR = 0.173), which shows that the data does not fit the one-factor model. Comparing these indices with our three-factors CFA model and drawing on the results provided by the EFA analysis, we can conclude that the issue of CMB is not present in this research. 5.2 Structural Model Assessment 5.2.1 Descriptive Statistics The descriptive statistics of the research constructs (i.e., mean, standard deviation, and correlations among the latent constructs) are shown in Table 5 . 5.2.2 Hypotheses Testing A covariance-based (SEM) was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. As depicted in Table 6 and Fig. 2 , our SEM analysis shows that EL has a negative but insignificant influence on employees’ EB (β = -0.106); as such, H1 is not supported. Our results also demonstrate that the paths between EL and PE and between PE and EB were all positively significant (β = 0.360, p < 0.001; β = 0.729, p < 0.001), thereby supporting H2 and H3. Finally, our mediation analysis supports H4 and reveals that PE has a positive full mediator role between EL and EB (β = 0.263, p < 0.001). Regarding the explained variance in the dependent variables, as per the findings reported in Table 7 , the EL accounts for 13% of the variance in the PE, whereas other variables in the model account for 49% of the EB construct’s variance. Table 2 CFA model fit indices \({\varvec{x}}^{2}\) \(\varvec{d}\varvec{f}\) \(\varvec{C}\varvec{F}\varvec{I}\) \(\varvec{S}\varvec{R}\varvec{M}\varvec{R}\) \(\varvec{R}\varvec{M}\varvec{S}\varvec{E}\varvec{A}\) 90% CI LL UL Model 803.933 *** 454 0.955 0.069 0.055 0.049 0.061 Note. Statistically significant: *** P < .001. df = degrees of freedom, CFI = comparative fit index, SRMR = Standardized Root Mean Square Residual, RMSEA = Root Mean Square of Error Approximation, CI = Confidence interval, LL = Lower limit, UL = Upper limit (of the 90%CI). Table 3 Standardized factor loadings 1st Order factors 2nd Order factors Item Loadings t-statistics p-value Cronbach Alpha Entrepreneurial leadership ENL1 0.791 26.472 0.000 0.92 ENL2 0.773 25.605 0.000 ENL3 0.750 25.738 0.000 ENL4 0.795 30.77 0.000 ENL5 0.752 21.428 0.000 ENL6 0.839 35.054 0.000 ENL7 0.897 55.678 0.000 ENL8 0.808 30.953 0.000 Meaning MEA1 0.814 24.266 0.000 0.84 MEA2 0.822 26.339 0.000 MEA3 0.939 38.175 0.000 Competence COM1 0.961 35.033 0.000 0.69 COM2 0.897 25.728 0.000 COM3 0.525 8.496 0.000 Sel-Determination SLD1 0.860 36.105 0.000 0.88 SLD2 0.885 33.102 0.000 SLD3 0.914 38.848 0.000 Impact IMP1 0.841 33.901 0.000 0.86 IMP2 0.852 33.653 0.000 IMP3 0.938 54.277 0.000 Psychological Empowerment Meaning 0.606 11.844 0.000 Competence 0.758 15.252 0.000 Self-determination 0.665 15.572 0.000 Impact 0.714 14.770 0.000 Risk-Taking RIT2 0.521 9.045 0.000 0.69 RIT4 0.597 9.848 0.000 RIT5 0.990 11.466 0.000 Proactiveness PRO2 0.647 15.696 0.000 0.69 PRO3 0.570 13.498 0.000 PRO4 0.814 25.975 0.000 PRO5 0.653 18.327 0.000 Innovativeness INO1 0.816 29.281 0.000 0.80 INO2 0.690 20.972 0.000 INO3 0.818 34.142 0.000 INO4 0.719 20.287 0.000 INO5 0.691 20.728 0.000 Entrepreneurial Behavior Risk-taking 0.436 6.942 0.000 Proactiveness 0.951 25.556 0.000 Innovativeness 0.907 21.129 0.000 Table 4 Reliability and validity tests for the Second-order factors. Constructs CR AVE 1 2 3 1. EL 0.94 0.64 0.80 2. PE 0.78 0.47 0.36 0.69 3. EB 0.83 0.64 0.16 0.69 0.80 Note. The bold diagonal is the square root of AVE to assess the discriminant validity. AVE = Average variance extracted, CR = Composite reliability, EL = Entrepreneurial leadership, PE = Psychological Empowerment, EB = Entrepreneurial Behavior. Table 5 Descriptive statistics (Mean and Standard deviation and correlations between latent factors) 1st order constructs Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1. EL 3.92 0.86 1.00 2. M 4.22 0.75 0.22 1.00 3. CO 4.49 0.49 0.27 0.46 1.00 4. SD 4.04 0.84 0.24 0.40 0.50 1.00 5. IM 4.06 0.86 0.26 0.43 0.54 0.47 1.00 6. RT 3.63 0.75 0.07 0.18 0.23 0.20 0.22 1.00 7. PB 3.97 0.63 0.15 0.40 0.50 0.44 0.47 0.42 1.00 8. IN 4.09 0.60 0.14 0.38 0.48 0.42 0.45 0.40 0.86 1.00 Note . All correlations are significant at the p < 0.001 significance level. SD = Standard Deviation, EL = Entrepreneurial leadership, M = Meaning, CO = Competence, SD = Self-Determination, IM = Impact, RT = Risk Taking, PB = Proactive Behavior, IN = Innovative Behavior Table 6 Standardized Hypotheses testing results. Hypothesis Paths Direct effects Indirect effects Total effects Result H1 EL ⇾ EB -0.106 (ns) Not supported H2 EL ⇾ PE 0.360*** Supported H3 PE ⇾ EB 0.729*** Supported H4 EL ⇾ PE ⇾ EB 0.263*** 0.157* Supported Note . Statistically significant: *** P < .001; * P < 0.05; (ns) = not significant. Table 7 R-square Dependent Variable Estimate P-value PE 0.13 0.005 EB 0.49 0.000 Note (significance level *** P < 0.001) (NS) = Not Significant 6. Discussion Due to the adaptation required to survive the dynamic nature of their environment, start-ups are expected to demonstrate entrepreneurial outcomes by empowering their employees and fostering their EB. Hence, this research aimed to examine if EL is an antecedent that promotes employees’ EB in startup businesses. This relationship was investigated directly and indirectly by incorporating psychological empowerment as a mediator. The study's results revealed some unexpected findings regarding H1, which determine the relationship between EL and EB. Surprisingly, there was no statistical support for this hypothesis. This finding contradicts the research conducted by Newman et al. ( 2018 ), Malibari and Bajaba ( 2022 ), Li et al. ( 2020 ), and Bilal et al. ( 2021 ), which found that EL fosters extra-role behaviors linked to the EB, such as innovative and proactive work behaviors. A possible explanation for this insignificant effect could be that EB is usually viewed as an extra-role behavior (Valsania et al., 2014) that is not part of the job requirements; as such, for this behavior to occur, employees may need to feel empowered to some extent; otherwise, the effects that entrepreneurial leaders can exert may become limited. On the contrary, our study shows statistical support for H2 regarding the impact of EL on PE. This result supports previous contributions that revealed that EL positively influences PE (e.g., Mehmood et al., 2020 ). This indeed points out the entrepreneurial leaders' instrumental role in enhancing their employees' sense of empowerment and strengthening their inner beliefs about their impact, meaning, competence, and self-determination. Furthermore, our research also revealed support for H3, which proves the role of PE as a motivational factor that instigates employees' positive deliverables, which is well-established and supported in the literature (Llorente-Alonso et al., 2023 ; Mahmoud et al., 2022 ; Maynard et al., 2012 ; Muduli & Pandya, 2018 ; Spreitzer, 1995 ). Mainly, It aligns with Farrukh et al. ( 2019 ) and Mahmoud et al. ( 2022 ) studies in which they found that PE positively influences EB. This, therefore, indicates that to foster employees' willingness to display EBs, employees should be psychologically supported and empowered so that they can take the initiative to pursue entrepreneurial outcomes. Ultimately, the indirect effect of EL on EB was tested using PE as a mediator. The current research findings demonstrated that PE fully mediates the relation between EL and EB, which supports H4. This result complements the study of Miao et al. ( 2018 ), which showed that PE (i.e., impact and meaning dimensions) were significant mediators between EL and innovative work behavior. Hence, this implies that for entrepreneurial leaders to influence their employees’ EB, they must empower and support them psychologically. This, in turn, will lead them to display EB. 7. Implications 7.1 Theoretical Implications This research offers two implications for EB research. Specifically, while previous research opted to investigate the linkage between EL and PE (e.g., Mehmood et al., 2020 ; Miao et al., 2018 ) and between PE and EB (e.g., Farrukh et al., 2019 ; Mahmoud et al., 2022 ) separately, our study is one of the first studies that took a step further and explored these relationships simultaneously in one research model. This advances the body of knowledge and provides novel evidence regarding the mechanisms by which EL influences EB through PE as a mediator. Furthermore, it emphasizes the notion that PE can act as a motivational factor that leads to positive outcomes at work. Besides, given that most of the previous work on the association between EL and PE and between PE and EB were conducted in different contexts, i.e., the manufacturing sector in Pakistan, the public sector in Shanghai, the educational sector in Pakistan, and Micro firms in Nigeria (e.g., Farrukh et al., 2019 ; Mahmoud et al., 2022 ; Mehmood et al., 2020 ; Miao et al., 2018 ), our study extended these efforts and provided evidence from the Saudi startups' companies context. It thereby contributes further insights and enriches our understanding regarding the conditions on which these relationships may hold. 7.2 Practical Implications This research holds several valuable lessons for Saudi start-up companies looking to foster their employees’ EB. First, our findings highlight the importance of fostering EL across all levels of management in the company and not only in executive roles. This entails recruiting leaders who demonstrate such a leadership style and placing them in different leadership roles that are not limited to the top management level but extend to cover middle and operational levels of management. Moreover, training sessions should be provided to the employees in leadership positions to help them learn and acquire the qualities of such a leadership style. This will indirectly enhance the employee's EB and work-related outcomes. Moreover, our study emphasizes entrepreneurial leaders' crucial role in enhancing employees' PE, as we found it to be a vital factor that employees need to be engaged in EBs, i.e., innovative work behavior, proactive work behavior, and risk-taking behavior. Hence, it is suggested that entrepreneurial leaders consider engaging their followers in opportunity exploration and exploitation, making them part of the organization's success. This can foster the employees’ inner beliefs regarding their competence, self-determination, meaning, and influence at work and, in turn, lead them to exhibit EBs. 8. Limitations, Recommendations, and Future Research In this research, we attempt to examine the direct and indirect impact of EL on the employees’ EB in start-up companies operating in Saudi Arabia. By performing an SEM analysis on a sample of 256 employees, the findings have shown the direct effect between EL and EB to be negative and insignificant. Nevertheless, it revealed a direct relation between EL and PE on the one hand and between PE and EB on the other. Furthermore, it was found that EL can enhance employees' EB indirectly through PE as a mediator. Although this study adds novel contributions, it is subject to some limitations that could open the space for further research. First, this study employed self-report measures for the EB construct; that is, the employees were asked to rate their EB. This may increase the chances of having a bias due to social desirability. Therefore, future research is advised to measure this construct by using other rating methods, such as leaders' ratings. Second, this research adopted a cross-sectional design in which the data was gathered at one time period; such a research design might limit our understanding of changes that may occur in the future regarding the relationship between the constructs. Therefore, future studies are thus suggested to employ a longitudinal design in which the data will be collected in two periods to explore the changes regarding the relationships between the studied constructs. Third, our study considered only the mediator role of PE. However, given that EL was found to affect other psychological factors, including psychological safety (Iqbal et al., 2022 ; Mehmood et al., 2020 ) and that EB was found to be influenced by the same psychological factor (Mahmoud et al., 2022 ), future research is suggested to examine if such a construct may explain the mechanism through which EL can affect EB. Moreover, as this research focused on the context of start-up companies, future research in Saudi Arabia is advised to draw samples from other sectors, such as the public sector, to extend the generalizability of current findings. Finally, although our research found a nonsignificant relationship between EL and EB, our study highlighted a neglected research area that is worth further exploration; by this, we urge researchers interested in this area to explore the potential association between EL and EB more in-depth. Declarations Funding & Acknowledgment This research is supported by research supporting program (RSPD2023R1023). Institutional Review Board Statement The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of King Saud University No.: KSU- HE-24-012. Informed Consent Statement Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Data Availability Statement Data sharing is not applicable. The data are not publicly available due to participants’ privacy. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. Author Contribution Methodology,R.A. and E.A.; Validation, S.D. ; Investigation, R.A. and E.A. Data curation, R.A. and E.A. Writing – original draft,R.A. and E.A.; Writing – review & editing, S.D.and R.A. and E.A.; Supervision, S.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version ofthe manuscript. References Abdelmegeed Abdelwahed, N. A., Soomro, B. A., & Shah, N. (2022). Determining employee satisfaction, intrapreneurship and firm growth among managers of Pakistan. 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International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 9 (3), 337–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-013-0258-3 Robert, Q. (1999). Effective Organizations The Road to Empowerment : Seven Questions Every Leader Should Consider. Center for Effective Organizations , 315 , 0–16. Schermuly, C. C., Creon, L., Gerlach, P., Graßmann, C., & Koch, J. (2022). Leadership Styles and Psychological Empowerment: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies , 29 (1), 73–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/15480518211067751 Seibert, S. E., Wang, G., & Courtright, S. H. (2011). Antecedents and Consequences of Psychological and Team Empowerment in Organizations: A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of Applied Psychology , 96 (5), 981–1003. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022676 Sims, H. P., & Manz, C. C. (1982). Social learning theory: The role of modeling in the exercise of leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management , 3 (4), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/J075v03n04_06 Simsek, Z., Lubatkin, M. H., & Floyd, S. W. (2003). Inter-firm networks and entrepreneurial behavior: A structural embeddedness perspective. Journal of Management , 29 (3), 427–442. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-2063(03)00018-7 Spreitzer, G. (2008). Taking Stock: A Review of More Than Twenty Years of Research on Empowerment at Work1. In Organizational Behavior (pp. 54–72). SAGE Publications Ltd. Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT IN THE WORKPLACE: DIMENSIONS, MEASUREMENT, AND VALIDATION. Academy of Management Journal , 38 (5), 1442–1465. Spreitzer, G. M., Kizilos, M. A., & Nason, S. W. (1997). A dimensional analysis of the relationship between psychological empowerment and effectiveness, satisfaction, and strain. Journal of Management , 23 (5), 679–704. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639702300504 Stull, M. G. (2005). Intrapreneurship in Nonprofit Organizations: Examinig The Factors That Facilitate Entrepreneurial Behavior Among Employees. Case Western Reserve University , April 2005 , 1–88. Thomas, K., & Velthouse, B. (1990). Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An “Interpretive” Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation. Academy of Management Review , 15 (4), 665–681. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/45984 Thuynsma, C., & De Beer, L. T. (2017). Burnout, depressive symptoms, job demands and satisfaction with life: Discriminant validity and explained variance. South African Journal of Psychology , 47 (1), 46–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246316638564 Ursachi, G., Horodnic, I. A., & Zait, A. (2015). How Reliable are Measurement Scales? External Factors with Indirect Influence on Reliability Estimators. Procedia Economics and Finance , 20 (15), 679–686. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2212-5671(15)00123-9 Usman, M., Ali, M., Ogbonnaya, C., & Babalola, M. T. (2021). Fueling the intrapreneurial spirit: A closer look at how spiritual leadership motivates employee intrapreneurial behaviors. Tourism Management , 83 (September 2020), 104227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104227 Wakkee, I., Elfring, T., & Monaghan, S. (2010). Creating entrepreneurial employees in traditional service sectors: The role of coaching and self-efficacy. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 6 (1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-008-0078-z Wang, G., & Lee, P. D. (2009). Psychological empowerment and job satisfaction: An analysis of interactive effects. Group and Organization Management , 34 (3), 271–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601108330089 Yang, J., Pu, B., & Guan, Z. (2019). Entrepreneurial leadership and turnover intention in startups: Mediating roles of employees’ job embeddedness, job satisfaction and affective commitment. Sustainability (Switzerland) , 11 (4). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041101 Zuraik, A., & Kelly, L. (2019). The role of CEO transformational leadership and innovation climate in exploration and exploitation. European Journal of Innovation Management , 22 (1), 84–104. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-10-2017-0142 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Psychology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 05 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 05 Jul, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Jul, 2024 First submitted to journal 29 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4660902","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":323076370,"identity":"44758cf4-a2a3-4d08-ac40-a171be285551","order_by":0,"name":"Razan Abanumay","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"King Saud University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Razan","middleName":"","lastName":"Abanumay","suffix":""},{"id":323076371,"identity":"2f63b6eb-352f-4fc2-88e0-9db7d6c65460","order_by":1,"name":"Eman Alalwani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"King Saud University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eman","middleName":"","lastName":"Alalwani","suffix":""},{"id":323076372,"identity":"3093ef09-e370-41ea-aaf5-1337733438f8","order_by":2,"name":"Suad Dukhaykh","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCBGZmIGlgwN4G5jI2EK+F5xjJWiTSiNQi355jbFxQc9jYXPJZ8mceBhvZDQfYH37Ap8XgzBvj5BnHDptZzk47Js3DkGa84QCPsQReLRI5xod52A7bGNxOb2PmYTicCNTCgFeL/AyQln9ALTePNwMd9h+ohf3xD7yeuZFjnMzbdtjM4AbbAaDDDgC1MJjhd9iZZ8XGvH3pxgZn0tIk5xgkG888zGNmgddh7cmbpXm+WRtuOH7M+MObCjvZvuPtj2/gdRgENMMsBWJmItQDQR1xykbBKBgFo2BkAgCt+0qB/BSzcQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"King Saud University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Suad","middleName":"","lastName":"Dukhaykh","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-06-30 01:38:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4660902/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4660902/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02680-6","type":"published","date":"2025-04-10T16:04:59+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":61308940,"identity":"769bd194-7463-4616-ac39-5d19553c677b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-29 10:36:43","extension":"jpeg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":123643,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe Research Model\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4660902/v1/8bfce21da5629a1211dfa8f6.jpeg"},{"id":61308941,"identity":"3ba79d24-f68f-42b3-bc9e-53dc5bd48244","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-29 10:36:43","extension":"jpeg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":132650,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eStandardized estimates for the structural paths\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNote.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e(significance level *** P \u0026lt; 0.001) (NS) = Not Significant\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4660902/v1/e2374934ba0183e24ca767e9.jpeg"},{"id":80558212,"identity":"844327ac-4b94-41c1-a3e7-095c6c74453a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-14 16:13:12","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1848003,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4660902/v1/e8241379-41e4-4660-9824-8df0be5cadd9.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Unleashing employees’ entrepreneurial potential in Saudi start-up companies: The role of psychological empowerment as a mediator between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ entrepreneurial behavior","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eGrowing in the market and maintaining the organization\u0026rsquo;s sustainability is no longer guaranteed through traditional approaches. Hence, organizations should be inclined toward building innovative, flexible, visionary, and entrepreneurial competencies to react effectively to the constantly changing competitive environment (Zuraik \u0026amp; Kelly, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR75\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). This process is incredibly challenging for start-up companies, given the sensitive nature of these businesses that require them to make extra efforts to maintain their longevity. One unconventional approach that has proven its vital and valuable contribution in boosting organizations' growth is employees\u0026rsquo; entrepreneurial behavior (hereafter EB) (Abdelwahed et al., 2022; Antoncic et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe EB literature has primarily focused on entrepreneurs\u0026rsquo; behaviors (e.g., Dyer et al., 2008; Gruber \u0026amp; MacMillan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Metalloa et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Ozaralli \u0026amp; Rivenburgh, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Nevertheless, in recent years, research has shown that such behavior is not limited to entrepreneurs and can be extended to individual workers within organizations (e.g., Jong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). This behavior could be viewed as an \u0026ldquo;extra-role behavior\u0026rdquo; (Valsania et al., 2014) associated with employees' contribution and involvement in the organization\u0026rsquo;s development and entrepreneurial prosperity. Nevertheless, such contribution is exhibited voluntarily when it is neither a mandatory obligation nor a part of their job requirements (Rigtering \u0026amp; Weitzel, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Meaning that to behave in an entrepreneurial way remains the employee\u0026rsquo;s choice. Given this, identifying the triggers that motivate employees to exhibit such behavior has become vitally important.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrevious research has sought to identify the antecedents of this behavior and how it can be encouraged in organizations. Leadership, among other antecedents, has received significant attention, which could be attributed to the ability of leaders to influence employees\u0026rsquo; behaviors and attitudes (Bilal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). More precisely, scholars have found several leadership styles to be significant contributors to employees' EB, including transformational (e.g., Afsar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), empowering (e.g., Kim \u0026amp; Beehr, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) and authentic (e.g., Ed\u0026uacute; Valsania et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) leadership styles. However, even though entrepreneurial leadership (EL) \u0026ndash; one of the recent leadership styles - was noted by Renko et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) as a potential driver of EB, efforts to study how such leadership style may promote employees' EB within organizations remain scarce.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEL reflects a style of leadership that emphasizes leading and influencing followers to look for and utilize entrepreneurial avenues to attain business objectives. (Renko et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). This leadership style is deemed to be one of the most effective for various kinds of organizations. However, It is primarily familiar in startup businesses (Pu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) due to the entrepreneurial nature of these businesses. EL has been identified as a driving force for many positive work outcomes, including creativity (Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and excellence (Darling et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e), thereby emphasizing the influential role of this leadership style in supporting and stimulating positive work behaviors within the organizational context.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndeed, few contributions were found concerning the impact of EL on different types of work behaviors that are indirectly linked to the EB, like innovative work behavior (e.g., Iqbal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Li et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Malibari \u0026amp; Bajaba, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Newman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) and proactive work behavior (e.g., Bilal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Although these contributions provide valuable insights into how EL fosters several aspects linked to EB, it does not capture the whole meaning of this behavior, given that an entrepreneurial employee is mainly recognized by demonstrating innovative, proactive, and risk-taking behaviors (de Jong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Accordingly, one might argue that the impact of EL on the three dimensions of EB simultaneously under one construct remained unexplored, which indicates a need for further studies to understand better the direct impact of EL on EB, as well as the mechanism in which the EL may influence EB. Exploring the association between these constructs is crucial for organizations aiming to motivate their employees to be engaged in EB.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBesides, previous research shows that leadership's impact on certain behaviors is not only limited to the direct one, as they found that psychological empowerment (PE) is one factor that can be impacted by leadership and, in turn, play a role in shaping employees\u0026rsquo; behaviors (Liorente-Alonso et al., 2023). As Maynard et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) noted, the PE literature has been concerned with PE as a bridge through which they understand the nexus between leadership styles and several work-related outcomes. Drawing on that, we expect in this research that the effect of EL on EB will not be limited only to the direct effect, but it is also expected that EL may indirectly affect employees\u0026rsquo; EB through the presence of PE. Especially that prior works have documented that EL enhances an employee\u0026rsquo;s PE (Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), and PE encourages employees to behave in an entrepreneurial way (Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Based on that, this research aims to fill the gaps mentioned above and shed light on the impact of EL on EB and its mechanisms by incorporating PE as a mediator.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe remainder of this article is outlined as follows: a literature review will be provided in section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, followed by an explanation of the research methodology in section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. Then, in sections \u003cspan refid=\"Sec12\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Sec20\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, the research findings will be presented and discussed, whereas, in section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec25\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e, the research implications will be highlighted. Finally, in section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec26\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e, a conclusion will be drawn, the limitations will be discussed, and possible research avenues will be identified.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Literature review","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Employees\u0026rsquo; Entrepreneurial Behavior (EB)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMuch scholarly attention has been placed on employees\u0026rsquo; EB inside organizations over the past years. Accordingly, several attempts have been made to clarify and conceptualize this concept and its dimensions. For the purpose of this research, employees\u0026rsquo; EB is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct manifested in three main types of behaviors, namely, innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking (Afsar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; de Jong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Mustafa et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). That is, behaving entrepreneurially implies having the capacity to search for innovative ways and solutions and proactively take the lead to identify new business opportunities while taking some calculated risks (de Jong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmployees\u0026rsquo; EB is a bottom-up approach (Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) that can be observed at all organizational levels. It reflects \u0026ldquo;the extent to which individual workers proactively engage in the creation, introduction, and application of opportunities at work, marked by taking business-related risks\u0026rdquo;(de Jong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e, p. 2). Demonstrating such behavior can be regarded as a significant force that assists organizations in developing novel, enhanced, and innovative offerings (Neessen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). As Simsek et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e) stated, this behavior is more about making novel things instead of improving the current ones. Indicating that encouraging such behavior inside organizations can result in numerous benefits for business renewal.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotably, due to its potential to contribute to business prosperity, an increasing number of organizations have started identifying and developing the means by which they can stay entrepreneurial and foster employees\u0026rsquo; EB (Wakkee et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). Although EB is promoted in big, established organizations (Mair, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e), it is also vital for start-up businesses. In consideration of this, Moser et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e) highlighted that the presence of such behavior in new ventures is particularly important due to its pivotal role in overcoming obstacles that may prevent business success. This means that having such employees is expected to help these companies navigate business challenges effectively and flourish in their entrepreneurial state.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite the significant benefits of EB, triggering it remains a difficult mission (Wakkee et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e) as it is mainly viewed as an extra-role behavior that is performed voluntarily. This, therefore, requires a detailed investigation from the side of these organizations to identify the means by which this behavior can be stimulated among employees. In this regard, an extensive body of literature explored the role of several organizational, individual, and contextual antecedents (Blanka, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), such as personality traits (e.g., Alam et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), job design (e.g., Jong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e), work context (e.g., Rigtering \u0026amp; Weitzel, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e), and different styles of leadership (e.g., Afsar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Ed\u0026uacute; Valsania et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Kim \u0026amp; Beehr, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Although these studies enriched our understanding of the different factors that may foster EB, more research is still required to examine other variables that were not identified previously and may positively influence this behavior; such variables may include EL due to its ability to drive innovation (Huang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) and creativity (Chen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Entrepreneurial leadership (EL)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eStarting from the early 1990s, research on EL has evolved tremendously (Leitch \u0026amp; Volery, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Excessive scientific efforts have been demonstrated in the literature to conceptualize EL from different perspectives. However, there is still a lack of agreement on the term's conceptualization (Dvalidze \u0026amp; Markopoulos, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), which might be attributed to the ongoing debate on the origins of EL. Even though the origin of EL is critical to the literature, the focus of this research is on its characterization and impact as a leadership style on followers. Accordingly, EL in this research is conceptualized by adopting the definition provided by Renko et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), who stated that \u0026ldquo;Entrepreneurial leadership entails influencing and directing the performance of group members toward the achievement of organizational goals that involve recognizing and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities\u0026rdquo; (p.2).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEL emphasizes entrepreneurial outcomes (Renko, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) and has been proven to influence various positive behaviors and outcomes. Research has shown that leaders who adopt such a leadership style can direct their follower's behaviors toward innovation (Li et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and creativity (Lee et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). On top of that, if successfully implemented, EL can enhance the organizations\u0026rsquo; competitiveness (Kearney, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e); accordingly, it is a needed leadership style to tackle the challenges associated with today\u0026rsquo;s business conditions (Kasim, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotwithstanding the contributions of EL, the role an entrepreneurial leader plays is impactful yet demanding. In this regard, Gupta et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e) highlighted two main related challenges that entrepreneurial leaders usually confront: \u0026ldquo;scenario enactment\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;cast enactment\u0026rdquo; (p.247). According to them, for entrepreneurial leaders to add value, they have to provide a vision for the company\u0026rsquo;s prospects (scenario enactment) and then assemble a team of skilled and competent individuals to attain this envisioned future (cast enactment). In the same vein, Renko (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) highlighted two pillars of EL, which entail entrepreneurial leaders acting as both accelerators and doers. While the former reflects the entrepreneurial leaders\u0026rsquo; role of channeling their followers\u0026rsquo; energy to stimulate innovative behaviors to challenge the organizations\u0026rsquo; conventional approaches in their business, the latter reflects the entrepreneurial opportunity-seeking behaviors that entrepreneurial leaders themselves engage in to attain entrepreneurial endeavors and to gain their followers' commitment to imitate their EB.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEL is not limited to specific organizations\u0026rsquo; type, size, or age (Renko et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Nevertheless, its benefits in the start-up business context have been emphasized in the literature (e.g., Dvalidze \u0026amp; Markopoulos, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). The nature of start-up businesses\u0026rsquo; environment is dynamic and represented by uncertainty (Moroni et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), which imposes more pressure on these companies to reinforce innovative behaviors among their employees. In this regard, Huang et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) have shown that this leadership style serves as a substantial driver of Chinese venture innovation and performance. Similarly, Chen's (2007) study revealed that EL is an impetus for teams\u0026rsquo; creative potential in Taiwan\u0026rsquo;s ventures. Besides their role in enhancing creativity and innovation capabilities, entrepreneurial leaders can also stimulate start-up employees\u0026rsquo; knowledge-sharing and affective commitment (Pu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e)Consequently, the value of such a leadership style for start-up companies revolves around the influence an entrepreneurial leader can exert to stimulate their followers\u0026rsquo; positive behaviors and attitudes, which, in turn, will lead to better outcomes for the company as a whole. In addition, since entrepreneurial leaders demonstrate a greater tendency toward consistent learning and flexibility in response to rapidly changing environments (Kearney, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), one might argue that they may successfully guide start-ups to survive and thrive in the market, thereby enhancing their entrepreneurial status.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3 Phycological Empowerment (PE)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eResearch investigating empowerment has identified two perspectives in which it can be understood: structural and psychological (Oliveira et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Spreitzer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). While the former is concerned with the delegation of responsibilities across organizational levels, the latter can be understood as the state of mind about one\u0026rsquo;s empowerment (Maynard et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). In this paper, we focus our attention on the psychological type of empowerment, which focuses on the inner psychological status of the empowered person (Menon, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e) and reflects the cognitive state that enhances a person\u0026rsquo;s self-belief in having control and a sense of authority while performing work-related tasks (Llorente-Alonso et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Maynard et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn recent decades, a significant amount of research works have taken place to develop the theoretical foundation of PE further while examining its causes and outcomes (Wang \u0026amp; Lee, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). In an attempt to provide a comprehensive conceptualization of it in the organizational context, Spreitzer (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e), on the basis of Thomas \u0026amp; Velthouse's (1990) work, defined PE as \u0026ldquo;a motivational construct manifested in four cognitions: meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact.\u0026rdquo; (p.1444). She found it to be a multidimensional construct comprising the four facets mentioned in the definition above; these facets form the construct's base instead of acting as antecedents or consequences of it (Spreitzer et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe first dimension, i.e., the (meaning) dimension, illustrates the extent to which an individual perceives the work as valuable with respect to personal beliefs (Jha, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Thomas \u0026amp; Velthouse, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1990\u003c/span\u003e). In contrast, the (competence) dimension is linked to self-efficacy and reflects individuals' inner beliefs regarding their capability of performing work-related tasks competently (Thomas \u0026amp; Velthouse, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1990\u003c/span\u003e; Usman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Moreover, the (self-determination) dimension is defined as an employee\u0026rsquo;s sense of independence over the performance of work tasks (Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), whereas (Impact) is illustrated as the influence an individual can exert on several aspects of work outcomes (Jha, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Usman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePE has been widely regarded as a motivational factor (Llorente-Alonso et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Muduli \u0026amp; Pandya, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Spreitzer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e; Thomas \u0026amp; Velthouse, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1990\u003c/span\u003e) that enhances employees' enthusiasm and contributes to many positive outcomes. In this context, Muduli and Pandya (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) found that fostering PE in employees led to increased resilience among them. Similarly, Farrukh et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) found that psychologically empowered employees tend to get involved in extra-role behaviors, like the EB. Likewise, Llorente-Alonso et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) found in their meta-analysis that PE has significantly affected employees\u0026rsquo; creative capabilities, performance, and citizenship behaviors. This elucidates the vital role PE plays in motivating and encouraging several positive consequences that have an essential role in the overall success of organizations, which necessitates dedicating sincere efforts to foster and increase the sense of PE among employees in organizations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Hypotheses Development and Research Model","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Hypotheses development\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1.1 Entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneurial behavior\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe literature on EB suggests that the willingness of an employee to exhibit such a behavior can be driven and influenced by several leadership styles (e.g., Afsar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Edú Valsania et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Kim \u0026amp; Beehr, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). In light of the start-up businesses context, Yang et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) noted that start-up companies’ leaders are widely acknowledged to impact how employees act. This may point to the potential substantial role leaders in such companies can play in inspiring, fostering, and increasing the likelihood of employees exhibiting EBs and practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this research, the Social Learning Theory (SLT) serves as a theoretical lens that can assist in explaining the relationship between EL and EB. This theory asserts that experience and observation of others’ behaviors are the means by which an individual can learn and acquire a new behavior (Bandura, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1971\u003c/span\u003e). The theory presumes that in organizational contexts, role models are a crucial tool for achieving behavioral transformation and developing new habits (Sims \u0026amp; Manz, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1982\u003c/span\u003e). That is, Individuals learn most of their exhibited behaviors either consciously or unconsciously through the influence of role modeling (Bandura, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1971\u003c/span\u003e). Role models in our research context could be entrepreneurial leaders, given that role modeling is a significant part of this leadership style (Renko, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Renko et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently, the utilization of the idea of social learning in the leader-subordinate context allows us to argue that interacting with and observing a leader with an EL style may lead the subordinates, i.e., employees, to learn and display EB. That is, when entrepreneurial leaders themselves behave in an entrepreneurial way, they will inspire their followers to acquire and simulate the same behavior (Renko et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), as they will observe their leaders actively and successfully searching for new entrepreneurial opportunities, finding new solutions and ideas, and bearing the risks of failure.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndeed, several studies provided partial support for the above argument. Particularly, the studies of Newman et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), Malibari and Bajaba (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), and Li et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) revealed that EL possesses the ability to influence employees' innovative work behavior in numerous contexts. Moreover, Bilal et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) pointed out an entrepreneurial leader's essential role in shaping employees' proactive work behavior. Although these studies are not directly linked to EB, they may serve as a base to support the possibility of a potential relation between EL and EB, given that innovative and proactive work behaviors reflect two dimensions of employees’ EB construct (Afsar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; de Jong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTherefore, on the basis of social learning theory, we propose the following hypothesis:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eH1.\u003c/b\u003e Entrepreneurial leadership has a positive impact on employees’ entrepreneurial behavior.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1.2 Entrepreneurial leadership and psychological empowerment\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePE has been recognized as an essential aspect that is embedded in leadership studies. In a meta-analysis of the nexus between leadership and PE, Schermuly et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) revealed that various styles of leadership (i.e., transformational, empowering, and servant) can be regarded as positive contributors to PE.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEL, in essence, is characterized by the inspiration those leaders provide to motivate their followers to look for entrepreneurial avenues (Renko, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Renko et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, when an entrepreneurial leader urges their followers to identify entrepreneurial work ideas and growth opportunities that can be utilized, those followers will realize that their contribution to the organization goes beyond the performance of day-to-day tasks and extends to cover other major success areas at the organizational level. This, consequently, may contribute to experiencing higher levels of PE in terms of meaning and impact. The key here is that the inclusion of employees in such value-adding activities may strengthen their belief in the meaning of their role (Miao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) and the influence they can exert in their workplace.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBesides, entrepreneurial leaders, instead of motivating their teams with incentives, provide them with an inspiring opportunity-focused vision (Renko et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Articulating a vision clarifies the path and increases employees' sense of independence to determine how they work rather than waiting for others’ instructions (Robert, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e). It should also signal to them that they are in charge not only of their company’s entrepreneurial prospects but also of their own (Renko et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), which, as a consequence, fosters their feelings of self-determination.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoreover, even though employees in start-up companies may experience a lower sense of competence due to the uncertainty that characterizes their offerings in the market (Conger \u0026amp; Kanungo, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1988\u003c/span\u003e), entrepreneurial leaders have a substantial role in mitigating such uncertainty, thereby boosting their followers’ confidence to work as if nothing hinders reaching the envisioned goals (Gupta et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e). Because of this, entrepreneurial leaders are thus expected to boost employees’ beliefs in their abilities to accomplish their tasks competently.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExtant research has supported the above arguments and highlighted a positive connection between EL and PE (e.g., Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Miao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). These studies provided empirical evidence regarding the crucial role played by entrepreneurial leaders in facilitating employees’ PE. Such a role will contribute to the organization’s value and underline the employees’ worthiness and self-assurance that they act as agents who contribute to the organization’s development (Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Renko et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Hence, it is possible to hypothesize:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eH2.\u003c/b\u003e Entrepreneurial leadership has a positive impact on employee’s psychological empowerment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1.3 Phycological empowerment and entrepreneurial behavior\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe attitudes and job-related behaviors of individual workers can be developed with empowerment strategies (Seibert et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), and employees tend to provide positive contributions when they perceive that they are empowered at their workplace (Spreitzer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). Accordingly, it is possible to state that PE may act as a motivational factor that increases the chances of behaving entrepreneurially. That is, employees have a higher probability of acting innovatively and proactively while taking calculated risks when they have a strong sense of competence, independence, influence, and meaningfulness. As Kim and Beehr (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) argued that getting involved in such behavior may require employees to feel certain about their capabilities or the value of what they do. Likewise, Farrukh et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) noted that previous research works have elucidated that companies that foster their employee's sense of PE enhance their positive attitude toward their job duties, leading them to exhibit extra-role behaviors. These arguments align with Mahmoud et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) and Farrukh et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) studies, which found that PE catalyzes employees' EB. Hence, when employees are psychologically empowered, chances are better that they will be motivated to exhibit EB.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition to the direct impact of PE in fostering employees' EB, Farrukh et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) noted that an extensive body of literature suggests that empowerment is a variable through which one can understand the indirect association between leadership and employees’ work deliverables. In this regard, researchers have investigated the mediator role of PE in the nexus between EL and innovative work behavior, which reflects a dimension of employees’ EB. For example, Miao et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) concluded that two dimensions of PE, namely impact and meaning, proved to mediate the link through which EL impacts the innovative behavior of public sector employees. Although the role of PE as a mediator between EL and EB is not explored yet, one might argue that this relationship may exist, taking into account that previous contributions have found that EL positively impacts PE (e.g., Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Miao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) and PE leads employees to get involved in EB (e.g., Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Mahmoud et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThus, drawing on the discussion above, we hypothesize:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eH3.\u003c/b\u003e Psychological empowerment has a positive impact on employee’s entrepreneurial behavior.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eH4.\u003c/b\u003e Psychological empowerment mediates the positive relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneurial behavior.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Research Model\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe following research model represented in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e can be proposed based on our discussion of the research hypotheses.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"4. Research Methodology","content":"\u003ch2\u003e4.1 Research Instrument Development\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA quantitative research methodology was employed in this research, in which a self-administrated electronic questionnaire (i.e., SurveyMonkey forums) was used as the data collection method. The survey instrument was constructed based on items previously used in the literature, and these items were all measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The process involved translating the items into Arabic by a bilingual Saudi translator; the translator was provided with the necessary information about the research constructs being measured to maintain the meaning of the items. Then, the researchers reviewed the translated version to ensure its compatibility with the original version. Finally, before proceeding with data collection, two bilingual academics in the business field assessed the face validity of the research instrument, and only minor adjustments to the Arabic version were suggested and addressed.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe instrument comprises three parts: the first clearly and concisely explains the research aim and includes the consent form that emphasizes the participation’s voluntary nature and the confidentiality and anonymity of the provided responses. The second part contains the research items, and the last part collects demographic information (i.e., age, experience, the department they work in, and their qualifications).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.2 Sample and Data Collection\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe research population comprises start-up companies operating in Saudi Arabia; we chose to focus on this research context given that entrepreneurial leaders are primarily common in these companies (Pu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo gather the data, an invitation describing the aim of the research was randomly sent through LinkedIn to 743 employees working in 47 Saudi start-ups, of which 316 agreed to participate. After two weeks, a reminder was sent to those who initially agreed to take part in this research, asking them to submit their responses and emphasizing the importance of their participation for the fulfillment of the research objectives; however, upon finalizing the data collection stage, only 256 surveys were submitted, with a response rate of 34.4%.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe demographics of the study’s sample are demonstrated in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. As can be noted, the majority of the participating employees were male (64.8%), held bachelor’s degrees (82.4%), and their ages ranged from 25 to 34 years old (79.7%). Regarding the department, the respondents work in various departments; however, it can be noted that most of them work in operations (22.7%) and marketing (13.7%). Finally, as the table depicts, most participants have 1 to 4 years of work experience (59.8%).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.3 Measures\u003c/h2\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.3.1 Entrepreneurial Leadership\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo assess the leader’s EL style, we utilized the “ENTRELEAD” scale provided by Renko et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). The scale comprises eight items designed to measure the level of employees’ agreement or disagreement regarding how much the items reflect their leader’s leadership style. A sample item includes “Challenges and pushes me to act in a more innovative way”.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.3.2 Psychological Empowerment\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe employees’ PE was measured using Spreitzer's PE scale (Spreitzer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e). The scale is divided into four main sub-scales, each with three items to evaluate different facets of the PE construct. Example items are (meaning) “The work I do is meaningful to me,” (competence) “I am confident about my ability to do my job,” (self-determination) “I can decide on my own how to go about doing my work,” and (impact) “I have significant influence over what happens in my department.” The employees were requested to evaluate whether they agreed or disagreed that the items reflected their beliefs about their PE.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.3.3 Entrepreneurial Behavior\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA 15-item scale of the EB was adopted from Stull (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). More specifically, five items were utilized to assess each dimension of the construct. A Sample item includes, (innovativeness) “I approach business tasks in innovative ways,” (proactiveness) “I act in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes,” and (risk-taking) “I will take calculated risks despite the possibility of failure.” The employees were asked to rate their agreement or disagreement levels to whether the items describe their usual way of doing work.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSample demographics (N = 256)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic profile\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGender\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e166\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e64.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExperience\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLess than one year\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1–4 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e153\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt; 5 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAge\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18–24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25–34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e204\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e79.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35–44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45–54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eQualification\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiploma\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBachelor\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e211\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMasters\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"7\" rowspan=\"8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDepartment\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarketing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u0026amp;D\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOperations\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct Development\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.4 Statistical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA two-step structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed in this research to first evaluate the measurement model and then test the hypothesized structural relationships. Choosing SEM for the current study is justified by the fact that SEM is appropriate when testing complex relationships between latent and observed variables while counting for measurement error (Hair et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). To apply this approach, in the first step, we carried out a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test the measurement model’s factor structure and its fit with the data. Such factor analysis is suitable when the measurement model, i.e., the relations between the factors and their indicators, are hypothesized based on previous theories (Dimitrov, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Jackson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce the first step was finalized, we moved to the second step, which involved testing the structural model in which we tested the research hypotheses. The CFA and SEM analyses were all estimated using the WLSMV estimator in MPLUS software (version 8.9).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5. Results","content":"\u003ch2\u003e5.1 Measurement model assessment\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo verify the constructs’ psychometric properties, we ran the CFA analysis for all the constructs simultaneously while treating the EB and PE constructs as second-order factors as specified in earlier studies (e.g., Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Spreitzer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e). The model fit of the factorial structure was evaluated based on the widely used data-model fit indices criteria of Hu and Bentler (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e). Accordingly, as can be noted in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, our three-factor model resulted in an almost excellent fit (CFI = 0.955, SRMR = 0.069, RMSEA = 0.055).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConcerning the items’ factor loadings, three items of the EB scale (i.e., two items from the risk-taking dimension and one item from the proactive dimension) were dropped as they showed low factor loadings (\u0026lt; 0.5); nevertheless, the remaining factor loadings as displayed in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e are statistically significant and substantial in magnitude (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\varvec{\\lambda }\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u0026gt; 0.5) (Hair et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e), reflecting that the factors are well-defined by their indicators.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe internal consistency of the items was examined through Cronbach's alpha test. As Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e depicts, based on the thresholds presented by Ursachi et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), most of the values show a very good level of reliability (α \u0026gt; 0.80), while the remaining are within the acceptable range (i.e., α = 0.6–0.7). Furthermore, to examine the convergent validity, we relied on the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and Composite Reliability (CR) metrics of Fornell and Larcker (1981). As illustrated in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, most of the AVE and CR values have met the accepted threshold of 0.5 and 0.7 for the AVE and CR, respectively (Hair et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). Nevertheless, although the AVE value of the PE was slightly below 0.5, this will not affect the convergent validity, given that all the values of the CR were within the acceptable level (\u0026gt; 0.7). As Fornell and Larcker (1981) stated, “On the basis of \u003cem\u003eρc\u003c/em\u003e alone, the researcher may conclude that the convergent validity of the construct is adequate, even though more than 50% of the variance is due to error” (p. 46). Based on that, we can conclude that an adequate level of convergent reliability was achieved.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo evaluate the discernment validity, we relied on the criterion of Fornell and Larcker (1981). As Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e shows, all the square root values of the AVE exceeded the correlations between the latent factors except for the correlation between PE and EB; as the square root of the AVE equaled the correlation between the two constructs. Therefore, to further examine the discriminate validity between these constructs, a chi-square difference test was performed according to the procedure mentioned in Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) paper. This process involves the estimation of two CFA models in which the correlation between the constructs will be freely estimated in the first model while it will be constrained to 1 in the second model (Cheung et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). A significant difference in the chi-square values between the two models indicates the presence of discriminate validity.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince the WLSMV estimator is used in this research, this test was performed using the DIFFTEST option in Mplus software (Thuynsma \u0026amp; De Beer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Accordingly, our results showed that the difference between the freely estimated and constrained models is significant (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\varDelta {x}^{2}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e(df) \u003cb\u003e=\u003c/b\u003e 37.707 (1); \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.000), indicating that the correlation between PE and EB is different from unity and that the unconstrained model has a significantly better fit than the constrained model. Hence, based on the results of Fornell and Larcker (1981) criterion, and based on the chi-square difference test, it can be stated that a sufficient degree of discriminate validity is achieved in the study’s model.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFinally, as the data for all variables were gathered from the same respondent through one data collection method, the Common Method Bias (CMB) may present an issue (Kock et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) that requires special attention. Harman's one-factor test is among the vastly applied statistical procedures to check for the existence of CMB (Podsakoff et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e). This test can be applied by performing a factor analysis either through EFA, in which we check whether the first factor explains more than 50% of the variance, or CFA, where all items will be loaded on one general factor and assess whether the data fits the model well compared to the hypothesized CFA model (Kock et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). In this research, we applied both the EFA and the CFA methods. First, the exploratory factor analysis performed in SPSS yielded more than one factor, i.e., eight factors with an eigenvalue greater than one. The first factor explained 23.1% of the variance. In addition, we performed a CFA using MPLUS software and loaded all the items on one factor and, as a result, obtained the following model fit indices (RMSEA = 0.165, CFI = 0.578, TLI = 0.549, SRMR = 0.173), which shows that the data does not fit the one-factor model. Comparing these indices with our three-factors CFA model and drawing on the results provided by the EFA analysis, we can conclude that the issue of CMB is not present in this research.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e5.2 Structural Model Assessment\u003c/h2\u003e\u003ch2\u003e5.2.1 Descriptive Statistics\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe descriptive statistics of the research constructs (i.e., mean, standard deviation, and correlations among the latent constructs) are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e5.2.2 Hypotheses Testing\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA covariance-based (SEM) was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. As depicted in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, our SEM analysis shows that EL has a negative but insignificant influence on employees’ EB (β = -0.106); as such, H1 is not supported. Our results also demonstrate that the paths between EL and PE and between PE and EB were all positively significant (β = 0.360, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.001; β = 0.729, p \u0026lt; 0.001), thereby supporting H2 and H3. Finally, our mediation analysis supports H4 and reveals that PE has a positive full mediator role between EL and EB (β = 0.263, p \u0026lt; 0.001). Regarding the explained variance in the dependent variables, as per the findings reported in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e, the EL accounts for 13% of the variance in the PE, whereas other variables in the model account for 49% of the EB construct’s variance.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCFA model fit indices\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({\\varvec{x}}^{2}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\varvec{d}\\varvec{f}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\varvec{C}\\varvec{F}\\varvec{I}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\varvec{S}\\varvec{R}\\varvec{M}\\varvec{R}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\varvec{R}\\varvec{M}\\varvec{S}\\varvec{E}\\varvec{A}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90% CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLL\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUL\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eModel\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e803.933 ***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e454\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.955\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.069\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.055\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.049\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.061\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eNote.\u003c/b\u003e Statistically significant: *** \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001. \u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e = degrees of freedom, CFI = comparative fit index, SRMR = Standardized Root Mean Square Residual, RMSEA = Root Mean Square of Error Approximation, CI = Confidence interval, LL = Lower limit, UL = Upper limit (of the 90%CI).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eStandardized factor loadings\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1st Order factors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2nd Order factors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eItem\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLoadings\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et-statistics\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep-value\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCronbach Alpha\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEntrepreneurial leadership\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eENL1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.791\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.472\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eENL2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.773\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.605\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eENL3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.750\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.738\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eENL4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.795\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eENL5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.752\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.428\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eENL6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.839\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35.054\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eENL7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.897\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55.678\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eENL8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.808\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.953\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeaning\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMEA1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.814\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.266\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMEA2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.822\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.339\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMEA3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.939\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.175\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCompetence\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCOM1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.961\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35.033\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCOM2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.897\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.728\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCOM3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.525\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.496\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSel-Determination\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSLD1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.860\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSLD2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.885\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.102\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSLD3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.914\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.848\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eImpact\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMP1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.841\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.901\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMP2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.852\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.653\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMP3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.938\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54.277\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePsychological Empowerment\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeaning\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.606\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.844\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCompetence\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.758\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.252\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf-determination\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.665\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.572\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eImpact\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.714\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.770\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRisk-Taking\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRIT2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.521\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.045\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRIT4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.597\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.848\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRIT5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.990\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.466\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eProactiveness\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePRO2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.647\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.696\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePRO3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.570\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.498\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePRO4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.814\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.975\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePRO5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.653\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.327\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eInnovativeness\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINO1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.816\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.281\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINO2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.690\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.972\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINO3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.818\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.142\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINO4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.719\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.287\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINO5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.691\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.728\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEntrepreneurial\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBehavior\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRisk-taking\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.436\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.942\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProactiveness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.951\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.556\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInnovativeness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.907\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.129\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReliability and validity tests for the Second-order factors.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAVE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. EL\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.80\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. PE\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.69\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. EB\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.80\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eNote.\u003c/b\u003e The bold diagonal is the square root of AVE to assess the discriminant validity. AVE = Average variance extracted, CR = Composite reliability, EL = Entrepreneurial leadership, PE = Psychological Empowerment, EB = Entrepreneurial Behavior.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDescriptive statistics (Mean and Standard deviation and correlations between latent factors)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1st order constructs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. EL\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. M\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. CO\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. SD\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5. IM\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6. RT\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7. PB\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8. IN\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"11\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote\u003c/b\u003e. All correlations are significant at the \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.001 significance level. SD = Standard Deviation, EL = Entrepreneurial leadership, M = Meaning, CO = Competence, SD = Self-Determination, IM = Impact, RT = Risk Taking, PB = Proactive Behavior, IN = Innovative Behavior\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eStandardized Hypotheses testing results.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHypothesis\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePaths\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirect effects\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndirect effects\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal effects\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eResult\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH1\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEL ⇾ EB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.106 (ns)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot supported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH2\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEL ⇾ PE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.360***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH3\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePE ⇾ EB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.729***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH4\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEL ⇾ PE ⇾ EB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.263***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.157*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote\u003c/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eStatistically significant: ***\u003c/b\u003e \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001; * \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.05; (ns) = not significant.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab7\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 7\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR-square\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDependent Variable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEstimate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.005\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNote\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(significance level *** P \u0026lt; 0.001) (NS) = Not Significant\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"6. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eDue to the adaptation required to survive the dynamic nature of their environment, start-ups are expected to demonstrate entrepreneurial outcomes by empowering their employees and fostering their EB. Hence, this research aimed to examine if EL is an antecedent that promotes employees’ EB in startup businesses. This relationship was investigated directly and indirectly by incorporating psychological empowerment as a mediator.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study's results revealed some unexpected findings regarding H1, which determine the relationship between EL and EB. Surprisingly, there was no statistical support for this hypothesis. This finding contradicts the research conducted by Newman et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), Malibari and Bajaba (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), Li et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), and Bilal et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e), which found that EL fosters extra-role behaviors linked to the EB, such as innovative and proactive work behaviors. A possible explanation for this insignificant effect could be that EB is usually viewed as an extra-role behavior (Valsania et al., 2014) that is not part of the job requirements; as such, for this behavior to occur, employees may need to feel empowered to some extent; otherwise, the effects that entrepreneurial leaders can exert may become limited.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the contrary, our study shows statistical support for H2 regarding the impact of EL on PE. This result supports previous contributions that revealed that EL positively influences PE (e.g., Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). This indeed points out the entrepreneurial leaders' instrumental role in enhancing their employees' sense of empowerment and strengthening their inner beliefs about their impact, meaning, competence, and self-determination.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, our research also revealed support for H3, which proves the role of PE as a motivational factor that instigates employees' positive deliverables, which is well-established and supported in the literature (Llorente-Alonso et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Mahmoud et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Maynard et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Muduli \u0026amp; Pandya, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Spreitzer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e). Mainly, It aligns with Farrukh et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and Mahmoud et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) studies in which they found that PE positively influences EB. This, therefore, indicates that to foster employees' willingness to display EBs, employees should be psychologically supported and empowered so that they can take the initiative to pursue entrepreneurial outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUltimately, the indirect effect of EL on EB was tested using PE as a mediator. The current research findings demonstrated that PE fully mediates the relation between EL and EB, which supports H4. This result complements the study of Miao et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), which showed that PE (i.e., impact and meaning dimensions) were significant mediators between EL and innovative work behavior. Hence, this implies that for entrepreneurial leaders to influence their employees’ EB, they must empower and support them psychologically. This, in turn, will lead them to display EB.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"7. Implications","content":"\u003ch2\u003e7.1 Theoretical Implications\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis research offers two implications for EB research. Specifically, while previous research opted to investigate the linkage between EL and PE (e.g., Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Miao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) and between PE and EB (e.g., Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Mahmoud et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) separately, our study is one of the first studies that took a step further and explored these relationships simultaneously in one research model. This advances the body of knowledge and provides novel evidence regarding the mechanisms by which EL influences EB through PE as a mediator. Furthermore, it emphasizes the notion that PE can act as a motivational factor that leads to positive outcomes at work.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBesides, given that most of the previous work on the association between EL and PE and between PE and EB were conducted in different contexts, i.e., the manufacturing sector in Pakistan, the public sector in Shanghai, the educational sector in Pakistan, and Micro firms in Nigeria (e.g., Farrukh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Mahmoud et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Miao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), our study extended these efforts and provided evidence from the Saudi startups' companies context. It thereby contributes further insights and enriches our understanding regarding the conditions on which these relationships may hold.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e7.2 Practical Implications\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis research holds several valuable lessons for Saudi start-up companies looking to foster their employees’ EB. First, our findings highlight the importance of fostering EL across all levels of management in the company and not only in executive roles. This entails recruiting leaders who demonstrate such a leadership style and placing them in different leadership roles that are not limited to the top management level but extend to cover middle and operational levels of management. Moreover, training sessions should be provided to the employees in leadership positions to help them learn and acquire the qualities of such a leadership style. This will indirectly enhance the employee's EB and work-related outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoreover, our study emphasizes entrepreneurial leaders' crucial role in enhancing employees' PE, as we found it to be a vital factor that employees need to be engaged in EBs, i.e., innovative work behavior, proactive work behavior, and risk-taking behavior. Hence, it is suggested that entrepreneurial leaders consider engaging their followers in opportunity exploration and exploitation, making them part of the organization's success. This can foster the employees’ inner beliefs regarding their competence, self-determination, meaning, and influence at work and, in turn, lead them to exhibit EBs.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"8. Limitations, Recommendations, and Future Research","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn this research, we attempt to examine the direct and indirect impact of EL on the employees’ EB in start-up companies operating in Saudi Arabia. By performing an SEM analysis on a sample of 256 employees, the findings have shown the direct effect between EL and EB to be negative and insignificant. Nevertheless, it revealed a direct relation between EL and PE on the one hand and between PE and EB on the other. Furthermore, it was found that EL can enhance employees' EB indirectly through PE as a mediator.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough this study adds novel contributions, it is subject to some limitations that could open the space for further research. First, this study employed self-report measures for the EB construct; that is, the employees were asked to rate their EB. This may increase the chances of having a bias due to social desirability. Therefore, future research is advised to measure this construct by using other rating methods, such as leaders' ratings. Second, this research adopted a cross-sectional design in which the data was gathered at one time period; such a research design might limit our understanding of changes that may occur in the future regarding the relationship between the constructs. Therefore, future studies are thus suggested to employ a longitudinal design in which the data will be collected in two periods to explore the changes regarding the relationships between the studied constructs. Third, our study considered only the mediator role of PE. However, given that EL was found to affect other psychological factors, including psychological safety (Iqbal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Mehmood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and that EB was found to be influenced by the same psychological factor (Mahmoud et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), future research is suggested to examine if such a construct may explain the mechanism through which EL can affect EB. Moreover, as this research focused on the context of start-up companies, future research in Saudi Arabia is advised to draw samples from other sectors, such as the public sector, to extend the generalizability of current findings. Finally, although our research found a nonsignificant relationship between EL and EB, our study highlighted a neglected research area that is worth further exploration; by this, we urge researchers interested in this area to explore the potential association between EL and EB more in-depth.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding \u0026amp; Acknowledgment\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research is supported by research supporting program (RSPD2023R1023).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInstitutional Review Board Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eby the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of King Saud University No.: KSU- HE-24-012.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInformed Consent Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInformed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData Availability Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData sharing is not applicable. The data are not publicly available due to participants’ privacy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflicts of Interest\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no conflict of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMethodology,R.A. and E.A.; Validation, S.D. ; Investigation, R.A. and E.A. Data curation, R.A. and E.A. Writing \u0026ndash; original draft,R.A. and E.A.; Writing \u0026ndash; review \u0026amp; editing, S.D.and R.A. and E.A.; Supervision, S.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version ofthe manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbdelmegeed Abdelwahed, N. A., Soomro, B. A., \u0026amp; Shah, N. (2022). 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Developing employees\u0026rsquo; entrepreneurial behavior is thus a priority for thriving in such conditions. This research attempts to explore the antecedent of such behavior by testing a research model that incorporates the linkages between entrepreneurial leadership, psychological empowerment, and employees' entrepreneurial behavior. The SEM analysis performed on a sample of 256 employees working in Saudi start-up companies showed that entrepreneurial leadership has no direct effect on employees\u0026rsquo; entrepreneurial behavior; instead, the impact turned out to be indirect through enhancing employees\u0026rsquo; psychological empowerment. The study holds several implications for researchers and practitioners in the field.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Unleashing employees’ entrepreneurial potential in Saudi start-up companies: The role of psychological empowerment as a mediator between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ entrepreneurial behavior","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-07-29 10:36:38","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4660902/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-07-05T09:21:06+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-07-05T09:11:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-07-04T08:04:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Psychology","date":"2024-06-30T01:37:06+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"240e51bd-cdd5-4138-9ee2-2760997e66b6","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 29th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-14T16:07:07+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4660902","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02680-6","journal":{"identity":"bmc-psychology","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Psychology"},"publishedOn":"2025-04-10 16:04:59","publishedOnDateReadable":"April 10th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-07-29 10:36:38","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s40359-025-02680-6","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02680-6","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4660902","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4660902","identity":"rs-4660902","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}