Agentic, powerful, but unethical: New ventures’ ethical practices as the outcome of entrepreneurs’ networking behaviors and structural holes

Key Points

• New ventures display varying ethical practices directly tied to entrepreneurs' networking behaviors—structural holes play a crucial role.
• Higher levels of social capital, derived from effective networking, significantly enhance the ethical standards of new ventures.
• Observational analysis of networking behaviors highlights the connection between ethical practices and structural barriers in entrepreneurial ecosystems.
• Findings suggest that strengthening ethical practices in entrepreneurship requires mindful networking and addressing structural gaps.