Performance measurement in social enterprises is important; however, up to now, there is no agreement on which tool to use, especially for those in emerging markets. Therefore, this study used a balanced scorecard to quantitatively measure performance of 446 social enterprises in South Africa. The findings show that the adapted perspectives of a balanced scorecard such as customer, organizational learning and growth, finance and internal processes can be used as performance indicators. This study developed and tested an adapted balanced scorecard that can be used as a performance instrument for enterprises that do not have specific measurement tools.

Skills are important in the creation and management of a business venture. However, the extant research focuses on skills required by entrepreneurs without distinguishing which skills are needed at each entrepreneurial phase. To understand the research conducted to date, this paper examined a total of 72 articles in some of the leading entrepreneurship and management journals.The reviewed literature demonstrates that entrepreneurial studies on skills tend to adopt a singular-phase rather than a multi-phase approach. Examining skills at the different entrepreneurial phases shows that the importance and complexity of skills change across the phases. Further, the context in which an entrepreneur is situated has an influence on the development and application of skills. Finally, the study puts forth a conceptual model and propositions that demonstrate an interplay between skills, entrepreneurial phases, and context. The paper identifies implications for theory, practice and future research.

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore how woman entrepreneurs in a developing country context such as Botswana create their own entrepreneurial ecosystems that support their business-venturing activities.Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative research collected data via in-depth interviews from a purposive sample of 11 women who owned established enterprises in Gaborone, Botswana.Findings/results: Firstly, woman entrepreneurs in Botswana displayed entrepreneurial behaviours, skills and characteristics, an ability to overcome marginalisation and a positive attitude towards failure. Secondly, the entrepreneurial ecosystems created by women included social capital ties, human capital development, alternative funding mechanisms, access to local and international markets and inclusion of digital technology as part of the ecosystem. The woman entrepreneurs were influenced by the entrepreneurial institutional conditions in Botswana. Lastly, the findings showed the significance of changes to each component of the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the stages of the entrepreneurial journey.Practical implications: In a context of limited entrepreneurial resources, woman entrepreneurs should build their own ecosystem by leveraging the existing social networks and collaborating with local and international stakeholders. Government should design tailor-made entrepreneurial programmes and foster public and private partnerships to support the advancement of woman entrepreneurs. Lastly, ecosystem players including private institutions should collaborate to support women-owned entrepreneurial ventures.Originality/value: This study adopted an alternative view that woman entrepreneurs can be the key drivers of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This system must be built up from the level of the women entrepreneurs to better understand their specific stance and also the context in which they operate.

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