Articles

Ikigai and Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Literature Review of Purpose-Driven Ventures and Sustainable Performance

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This systematic literature review examines the convergence of Ikigai — the Japanese philosophical notion of purposeful living — with entrepreneurship, integrating evidence from peer-reviewed journals, practitioner literature, and multidatabase academic sources from 2016 to 2026. The review utilises a PRISMA-adapted protocol on a final corpus of 42 key sources, incorporating additional citations from Scopus, Google Scholar, and CrossRef databases to delineate the current state of knowledge in this nascent field. The analysis reveals three predominant thematic clusters: (1) the psychological underpinnings of Ikigai and their implications for entrepreneurial resilience and well-being; (2) the strategic incorporation of Ikigai principles into organisational management and sustainable performance; and (3) persistent conceptual discussions regarding cultural portability, measurement validity, and definitional limits. The evidence collectively indicates that purpose-driven founders, aligned with Ikigai principles, exhibit significantly greater psychological resilience, lower operational volatility, and more sustainable financial trajectories than their solely profit-driven counterparts. The review identifies a substantial gap in founder-centric, psychometrically sound empirical research and proposes three testable hypotheses to guide subsequent scholarly investigations. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), ensuring that all 42 included sources met a minimum threshold of methodological rigour. The results have direct implications for entrepreneurial educators, startup ecosystems, and policymakers seeking to encourage more sustainable, people-centred approaches to new venture creation.

A Study of the Financial Sustainability of Cameroonian SMEs: The Role of Internal Audit

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This research article mainly aims to analyse the influence of internal audit on the financial sustainability of SMEs in Cameroon. Specifically, it aims to analyse the nature of the effect of internal control system on the growth of the company’s workforce on one hand, and on the other and to analyse the nature of the effect of risk mapping on changes in the company’s net profit in Cameroon. Using quantitative analysis, in particular analysis of variance and linear regression, we find that internal audit significantly influences the sustainability of Cameroonian SMEs. It is therefore recommended that SMEs, no matter their size and experience, should put in place tough internal audit functions to assure sustainable performance.