Abstract
The world is on fire. Literally and metaphorically. Nothing, no institution, no alliance of governments, no think tank, no non-governmental organisation, no religious organisation, no business, can contain the egregious abandonment of a moral code of conduct that has been unleashed in its most violent form over the past 3 months or so (as I write) on humanity in one of the most fragile environments in the world today. There is no dialectic here that is crying out for a synthesis because reason and argument have been sacrificed at the altar of power and technology. At the heart of this wanton enterprise is the creation or growth of new firms wedded to the idea of destruction as their objective. Their existence is complemented by obscene valuations of their worth, making the case for the worst forms of destructive entrepreneurship as an acceptable means of generating wealth and value for a marauding few. The fire next time is here now, this time, burning the creative possibilities of the future.
Yet only last December, the earliest evidence of making fire made global headlines. The reason, of course, was different. Excavation at the edge of an overgrown clay pit at Barnham in Suffolk in the UK, found large stone assemblages linked to human habitats dating back to about 400,000 years, to a warm period known as the Hoxnian Interglacial period. This was a time when early Neanderthals made use of the deciduous woodlands around a small watering hole, together with extinct forms of elephant, rhinoceros, and a large species of lion. Excavations in 2013 had discovered clusters of heat-shattered flint tools. Later, in 2021, came the first hint of ‘in situ’ fire. The application of a form of science known as micromorphology showed that the reddening of the sediments was due to heated iron minerals and not naturally occurring iron. Later tests in 2023 and 2024 revealed that the newly formed iron minerals were the result of repeated burning events, as opposed to naturally occurring iron caused by a lightning strike. This use of human fires is associated with heavy hydrocarbons and not with the light hydrocarbons of natural fires.
The excavations in the surrounding areas found heat-shattered flint, including four handaxes, indicating that there were campfires on the edge of the Barnham watering hole almost 350,000–400,000 years ago. This was also a case of making fires and not simply using wildfires; this distinction is important to establish the controlled and, therefore, the creative use of fire. This was fire as technology, as opposed to dependence on natural wildfire events. These ‘made’ fires could provide warmth and protection, help with cooking, which could remove toxins from tubers and roots and pathogens from meat, and tenderise meat, allowing for improved digestion, better gut health and nourishment for the brain. In turn, these ‘fire-assists’ enabled increased population densities, leading to the formation of larger groups and networks of complex social relationships. At night, making fire facilitated the creation of social hubs, ensuing communication, early forms of storytelling and even belief systems (Davis et al., 2026).
As humans, we made fire through observation, the use of our intellect and creativity, our natural habitat and technology, to augment the lives that we lived then for the flourishing of civilisations. Therein lies the essence of all that we can ascribe to entrepreneurship and innovation. So, where do we find meaning in the development of all our extravagantly advanced technologies today if they could be used to destroy civilisations, grotesquely in the rhetoric of powerful men and rampantly with impunity in action?
Sometimes, part of an answer to intractable problems can be found in little acts or simple resolutions. As I write, I receive confirmation that one of my brightest postgraduate students from nearly a decade ago has started her doctoral studies in entrepreneurship in Germany. What makes this story interesting is that my Palestinian student made her journey from the West Bank, surviving and overcoming an arduous and frightening challenge to obtain permission to travel and start her programme. We are all aware of the desperation of people’s lives under civilian and military siege in that part of the world. Her personal sacrifices as a Palestinian woman, together with those of her family, make for a story of courage and determination that is truly admirable. I am humbled and honoured to have facilitated the opening of this chapter in her life.
It is with this paradox of dismay and warmth in the way of the world that I turn to this issue of JEIEE.
In This Issue
We have a set of research articles starting with Nadezhda I. Mullina, Dmitry S. Smirnov and Kelvin Wayne Willoughby, enlightening us about patents and a disciplined way of generating innovation through international patenting strategies. This is particularly interesting given that patenting is often being regarded as a controversial metric of innovation capability. Continuing with innovation, but moving to a different scenario, Phan Tan Luc, An Nguyen Thanh and Nguyen Xuan Hiep study the impact of organisational culture, cultivated through entrepreneurial orientation, on the innovation performance of social enterprises. A third research article by Milagro del Carmen Patron Noriega and Vanessa Paola Pertuz-Peralta examines university leadership and contextualised strategies as a model for innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in emerging regions. Still on the topic of innovation, Vasiliki Brimpou, Achilleas Barlas, Giovanni Zazzerini, Victoria Bellou and Yeoryios Stamboulis investigate innovation ranking and sectoral focus as determinants of the emergent European accelerators’ successes. The fifth research article steps out of the innovation zone, with Johnson Nchege and Chijindu Iheanacho Okpalaoka exploring how female entrepreneurship creates employment in the informal sector in Southeastern Nigeria: Miti. We return to social enterprises by way of a case study by Ramya S. and P. Santhi, on the influence of environmental factors on female social entrepreneurs in the organic food industry. Finally, Rafael Reimann Baptista takes us on a personal journey, offering his insights and point of view on innovation hubs in emerging economies and the entrepreneurial university in Porto Alegre, Brazil. There is so much to learn from all these research articles that sweep us across one country to another, from regions to organisations in their emerging forms.
Look out too for a new call for articles for a Special Issue on ‘The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Developing and Emerging Economies’, and the conference report for the 21st International Entrepreneurship Forum (IEF) Conference held in South Africa in September last year. The IEF goes from strength to strength as we demonstrate in the conference notice for the 22nd conference to be held in the fascinating city of Istanbul on 14–16 September. I hope many of you will be able to join us to engage with the critical questions of entrepreneurship, values, and wellbeing in the age of artificial intelligence. That should be a rewarding exercise.
Enjoy this feast of knowledge, dear reader, and have a lovely summer despite all the odds that threaten us.