Pedagogy and Professional Development

Student Entrepreneurs’ Start-Up of Apparel and Lifestyle Business Ventures During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social Embeddedness Perspective

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Abstract

The overwhelming impacts of the coronavirus pandemic were widespread and fast-moving. However, within the chaos entrepreneurial rates increased to an all-time high. Limited literature has focused on student entrepreneurial activity during the pandemic. Student entrepreneurs are unique given their life stage, decision-making logic, and reasoning compared to traditional entrepreneurs. This study investigates the social and contextual factors influencing motivations and decision-making of student entrepreneurs to launch apparel and lifestyle related business ventures during the pandemic. The study employed a multi-case methodology. A total of five student entrepreneurs who launched an apparel or lifestyle business between March 2020 and March 2021 participated in the study. The findings suggest that student entrepreneurs responded similarly and with marked differences from traditional entrepreneurs. These differences were based on students' decision-making, social embeddedness, positioning and involvement within the university campus, and personal character traits.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, student entrepreneurship, social embededdness theory, effectuation theory, COVID-19 entrepreneurship

How to Cite:

Schumm, C. Z., Schrimpf, E. & Linda, N. S., (2022) “Student Entrepreneurs’ Start-Up of Apparel and Lifestyle Business Ventures During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social Embeddedness Perspective”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15973