The circular economy emerged as an alternative model to the linear system, which now appears to be reaching its physical limitations. To transition to a circular economy, companies must not only be aware of but also engage in more sustainable practices. For such a transition, companies must rethink and innovate their business models and the ways they propose value to their clients while simultaneously considering environmental and social facets. This systematic literature review sought to map out from the company perspective the key topics interrelated with innovation and the circular economy, describing the internal and external factors to consider in such transition processes. Key lines of research were identified, and suggestions for future research and for facilitating movement toward a circular economy are provided. This work contributes to deepening the literature by identifying the priority areas concerning the circular economy and encouraging future research that meets international standards of excellence.

The main objective of this contribution is to shed light on the different perceptions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of females compared to those of their male counterparts. EO and its links to performance are examined at the level of both the individual and the firm. Design/methodology/approach-Multiple linear regression analyses of a dataset with 301 employees in different industries reveal significant differences between genders. Findings-EO has a positive impact on performance at both individual and firm levels of analysis. Females tend to perceive their individual EO as lower than males, but their selfevaluated work performance is higher than that of males. The firm's EO is also perceived differently by men and by women, but the perceptions of firm's performance are similar. Research limitations/implications-The results draw attention to the differences between individuals when they evaluate firm-level constructs like EO. While our sample is based on a small number of firms, our findings suggest that EO is neither pervasive throughout the firm nor gender-neutral. Practical implications-The different gender-related perceptions should be kept in mind when promoting entrepreneurially oriented behaviour within organizations. A strong focus on EO in entrepreneurship policy or education may discourage women. Originality/value-So far, multi-level organizational interrelationships have been substantially neglected with respect to the gender dimension.

Institutional and cultural contexts shape social entrepreneurship differently. This paper explores the roles of culture, socioeconomic development, and governance institutions on the prevalence of social entrepreneurship. The empirical results are based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data, including 49 countries across the globe. The results indicate that the negative effect of the level of development holds for entrepreneurial activity in general, but there is no such effect on social entrepreneurship. Of Hofstede's (1980) cultural dimensions, power distance is negatively related to all types of entrepreneurship, and Inglehart's (1997) secular-rational values are positively related to established entrepreneurship. Self-expressive values relate positively with established social entrepreneurship. The results imply that the existence of social problems and/or market failures does not result in higher levels of social entrepreneurship unless the formal institutions are sufficiently developed.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in global economic crisis and whether it can mitigate the negative effects of economic crisis both on firm's operations and on firm's financial performance. Design/methodology/approach -A quantitative approach is used to test the hypotheses. Principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis are used on the empirical survey data. Findings -Results based on a sample of almost 200 Finnish small and medium-sized enterprises indicated that the different dimensions of the EO can have diverging effects on how firms are impacted by the recession. In general, the more innovative and proactive the firm is, the less its operations are affected by the recession and the more risk-taking the firm is, the more its profitability is affected by recession. Research limitations/implications -A longitudinal design -rather than the current cross-sectional design -would give a better premiss to explore the causal relationships among the research variables. Originality/value -The paper is one of the first works linking EO with the effects of recession at the firm's operational level and the paper expands prior knowledge by taking the EO-performance relationship into the context of recession.

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