Digital Commons Network^™

Mentoring And Perpetuating The Entrepreneurial Spirit Within Family Business By Telling Contingent Stories, Robert Smith

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Family businesses do not perpetuate themselves. Entrepreneurs must nurture and propagate the values that led to the creation of the very thing most precious to them—their business.This of course depends on stability. Nor do these cherished values propagate themselves. To be made meaningful for others, and for future generations, family experiences, values, and achievements must be communicated to others via language, narrative and storytelling, or other forms embedded in the narrative such as symbols. Often a variety of different socially constructed stories may be necessary contingent upon situation, purpose, or need.

Developing An Entrepreneurial Education In A Residential College: An Exploratory Case Study, James Mcalexander, Rachel Nelson, Chris Bates

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a source of innovation, job creation, and vibrancy for local and regional economies. As a direct result, there is a profound interest in creating an infrastructure that effectively encourages entrepreneurship and incubates entrepreneurial endeavors. Western State University has responded to this call by developing the Harvey Entrepreneurship Program, which is integrated in the Enterprise Residential College.The Harvey program provides a socially embedded experiential learning approach to entrepreneurial education. Faculty, students, entrepreneurs, and technical experts are drawn together in an environment that provides space for business incubators and an entrepreneurially focused curriculum. In this article, we present a case …

Entrepreneurial Expansion Plans: An Empirical Investigation Of Infrastructure Predictors, Jianwen (Jon) Liao, Harold P. Welsch, David Pistrui

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship and the development of new business continue to be the forefront of socioeconomic development in virtually all economies today. Despite evidence of increasing research into entrepreneurial growth, the existing research is limited by the fact that most studies define entrepreneurial growth as a unidimensional construct and operationalize it as “realized” growth relying on financially based measures. Consequently, this article has two objectives: (1) to develop a set of accurate and comprehensive entrepreneurial growth measures; and (2) to test a series of hypotheses regarding precursors of growth intentions—more specifically, to what extent, infrastructure factors affect entrepreneurial growth intentions. These two …

Revisiting Doing Business In The Middle East, David Desplaces, Nancy K. Mcintyre

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This case engages students on a number of issues common to doing business in other countries, specifically in the Middle East. It is intended to be a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of the situation. The case seeks to integrate issues of international management and cross-cultural conflict and negotiation. Students are challenged to diagnose a cross-culturally sensitive situation and develop solutions in a team environment under limiting time restraints. This case is also designed to help students understand the cultural aspects of a situation and how different solutions could have major consequences …

From The Editors, Herbert Sherman, Joshua Shuart, Laurence Weinstein

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

Ethical Compliance Behavior In Small And Young Firms: The Role Of Employee Identification With The Firm, Susan Houghton, Mark Simon, Ph.D.

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

We explored whether employees in smaller, younger firms would be more ethically compromised, and whether employee identification moderates this relationship.We collected survey data from 154 working professionals enrolled in an MBA program in the southeastern United States. We found that employees of smaller, younger firms selected more compromised ethical choices than employees of larger, older firms. Contrary to our expectations, employee identification had no effect in smaller, younger, firms, yet in larger, older firms, identification actually reduced ethical compliance, suggesting that there is not a simple relationship between identification and ethical compliance.

Internal Branding And Brand Commitment: A Quantitative Investigation Into Corporate Brand Building In A Retail Store Network, Edmund O'Callaghan

Conference proceedings

The aim of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between the perceived effectiveness of internal branding activities on brand commitment among owner managers within a retail store network of previously independent retailers. Brand commitment was hypothesized as essential for coherent and consistent corporate brand building within this context. Two new scales were developed and tested to measure internal branding and brand commitment. Perceived clarity of vision, core values and brand communications were highly correlated with strong brand commitment, while lack of perceived business supports and adequate reward systems were potential inhibitors. Interalia, findings validate the significance of internal …

An Exploratory Study Of How Potential "Family And Household Capital" Impacts New Venture Start-Up Rates, Peter Rodriguez, Chris S. Tuggle, Sean M. Hackett

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Drawing from social capital theory, the authors examine the relationship between family capital characteristics and new venture start-up rates in the United States. The results of this study improve the understanding of (a) how families matter in an entrepreneur’s decision to start a business, (b) how wealth and health care considerations affect the start-up decision, and (c) whether and how these effects differ among the largest ethnic groups in the United States.

Competitive Strategy, Alliance Networks, And Firm Performance, Goce Andrevski

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the interplay between competitive strategy and alliance network structure in explaining firm performance in highly volatile environments (e.g., personal computers or consumer electronics). In particular, I examine the following three questions: (1) Which competitive strategies enable firms to gain superior performance? (2) How do these strategies affect the firm‘s networking behavior and lead to the formation of particular network positions? (3) What optimal combinations of competitive strategies and network structures maximize firm performance?

Firms can outperform rivals by pursuing two types of competitive strategies: advantage-creating and advantage-enhancing. Each of these strategies creates different needs, motivations, and opportunities …

A Review Of Interventions To Encourage Smes To Make Environmental Improvements, Craig M. Parker, Janice Redmond, Mike Simpson

Research outputs pre 2011

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are an important part of the world economy but they are thought to be responsible for around 60% of all carbon dioxide emissions and 70% of all pollution. SMEs often have major problems with limited resources, limited knowledge and limited technical capabilities to deal with their own negative environmental impact. SMEs exhibit widely differing characteristics and commitment where environmental issues are concerned. Yet under these conditions they are all expected to engage in environmental improvement. Interventions that encourage environmental improvement are often polarised between regulation and legislation at one extreme and voluntary environmental agreement …

Environmental Education In Small Business: The Owner-Manager's Perspective, Janice Redmond, Elizabeth Walker

Research outputs pre 2011

Traditionally, environmental education has been aimed at the community or in primary schools and governmental pressure to reduce environmental damage has focussed on large businesses. More recently, the role and importance of small business and how to engage them in the environmental debate has come under scrutiny. Researchers have identified education as one method of increasing the understanding of small business owner-managers’ role and knowledge of practices that, when implemented, will reduce the negative impacts of their businesses. However, there is little attention given in the literature to the perspective of the small business owner-manager and environmental education. This research …

Big-Time Small-Scale Innovations, Corline Van Es, Chris Sigaloff

Social Space

Is there value in supporting small-scale, yet innovative projects? Based on their experience in Digital Pioneers – a programme supporting innovative Dutch civil society initiatives – Corline Van Es and Chris Sigaloff of Kennisland, Netherlands, make a case for this latest sector trend and the support it deserves.

Sustainability Amidst Uncertainty: Columbia Forest Products’ Pursuit Of Sustainability In A Changing Market, Scott Marshall, Zachary Anderson, Matthew Flax, Daniel Gambetta, Jacen Greene, Madeleine E. Pullman

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Upon reading the latest report from the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs, Harry Demorest found his concerns confirmed – the construction of new homes had fallen yet again across the United States. Over the past month, new home starts had declined over 14% in December; this marked the end of 2007 during which housing starts were down 25% compared to the previous year and hit a low not experienced since 1993. The question was no longer “will there be a recession?” but rather “how long will the recession last?”

The fate of Columbia Forest Products, the company that Harry …

Entrepreneurial Competencies As An Entrepreneurial Distinctive: An Examination Of The Competency Approach In Defining Entrepreneurs, Xiang Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Entrepreneurship is of critical importance to the modern economy. Researchers have studied entrepreneurship for decades. In recent years, significant relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and firm performance has been reported in empirical studies. Applying the competency approach, researchers have assumed that entrepreneurial competency differentiates entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs without empirically examining if this is the case. The research conducted under this thesis addresses this gap. Drawing upon a thorough literature review regarding the components, antecedents and performance outcomes of the entrepreneurial competency, we propose the following hypothesis: the entrepreneurs generally possess higher level of entrepreneurial competencies than the non-entrepreneurs, and the entrepreneurs …

Do Campus Incubation Centres Provide A Successful Linkage Between Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Ventures And The Irish Institutes Of Technology?, Fiona Fox

Theses

This study is an examination of the issues that are pertinent to the development of linkages, which campus incubation centres provide between their host Institutes of Technology (loT) and their tenant firms. This research incorporates the views, opinions and recommendations of new firm entrepreneurs, campus incubation centre management, senior academic staff and researchers. This study responds to the lacuna of research on campus incubators hosted by the Institutes of Technology. This study confirms that campus business incubators that are affiliated to the loTs are still in their infancy. The research acknowledges that these campus incubators are in a ‘startup’ phase …

Little To Large: Critical Success Factors & Implications For Sme's In Kerry And Rural Ireland., Noelle Foley

Theses

This research is unique in that it profiles the growth trajectories of three global knowledge based companies in rural Ireland. The chosen companies were start-up small businesses that became international global leaders in their selected fields. The selected companies range from different industries but share similar growth trajectories and factors which have enabled high growth. There was a gap in research regarding the growth factors which have allowed small to medium-sized enterprises develop into large corporations. This study took an in-depth look at how each company has managed the vital factors in their growth transition in the hope of applying …

A Model Of Social Entrepreneurial Discovery., Patrick Murphy, Susan Coombes

Patrick J. Murphy

Social entrepreneurship activity continues to surge tremendously in market and economic systems around the world. Yet, social entrepreneurship theory and understanding lag far behind its practice. For instance, the nature of the entrepreneurial discovery phenomenon, a critical area of inquiry in general entrepreneurship theory, receives no attention in the specific context of social entrepreneurship. To address the gap, we conceptualize social entrepreneurial discovery based on an extension of corporate social responsibility into social entrepreneurship contexts. We develop a model that emphasizes mobilization and timing as underpinnings of social entrepreneurial discovery and offer distinct conceptual aspects and theoretic propositions instrumental to …

Entrepreneurship Theory And The Poverty Of Historicism., Patrick Murphy

Patrick J. Murphy

Purpose – The author applies methodological concepts from The Poverty of Historicism to contemporary research in the area of entrepreneurship. This paper aims to explain why current theoretic models do not adequately explain entrepreneurial phenomena and to present outlines of a

distinct entrepreneurship research paradigm.

Design/methodology/approach – The author examines the essay from the perspective of a historian and then summarizes its concepts. Next, the author reviews the current state of entrepreneurship research and theory and applies concepts from the essay to its contemporary

challenges. Finally, the author presents five implications.

Findings – The five implications are that entrepreneurship research …

"Athleticated" Versus Educated: A Qualitative Investigation Of Campus Perceptions, Recruiting And African American Male Student-Athletes, Keith Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative investigation of student narratives (N= 167) about the contemporary issue of recruiting high-profile African American male student-athletes. Participants were asked to view a scene on recruiting from the film, The Program (1994). Participants were then presented with questions regarding a recruiting trip by an African American football player to a traditionally white campus. Findings indicate that both Black and White students perceived the African American male student-athletes in the film scene to be more "athleticated" than educated. They were also perceived as stereotypical sex-objects. "When athletes (especially male) show up …

A Model Of The Discovery, Assembly, And Viability Of Entrepreneurial Opportunities., Patrick J. Murphy

Patrick J. Murphy

No abstract provided.

Entrepreneurial Alertness, Technological Innovation, And New Product Development [Article Published In Chinese]., Ren Hong Zhu, Jin Tong Tang, Patrick J. Murphy

Patrick J. Murphy

Alertness is a key precondition for opportunity recognition. However, models of alertness are still immature because of theoretic ambiguity and wide differences of definitions. This paper tries to re-define the concept of alertness from a perspective of information processing in terms of accumulation, transformation, and selection of opportunity-relevant information. It raises an assumption that alertness precedes innovation, while innovation plays a role of intermediary variable to breed business development of new products and services. During the empirical studies, data is collected in the two countries with different cultural backgrounds, and the findings of the hierarchical regression analysis give support to …

A Day In The Life Of A Male College Athlete: A Public Perception And Qualitative Campus Investigation, Keith Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

Perceptual confirmation paradigm (PCP) rooted in social psychology, can be implemented to frame sport science research questions (Stone, Perry, & Darley, 1997). Public perception of college athletes’ lives has been scarcely investigated in the sport sciences (Keels, 2005) using the PCP to prime stereotypes. The purpose of this study was to prime stereotypes about a day in the life of a college athlete by using qualitative inquiry to assess college students’ (N = 87) perceptions. Participants provided written responses about a day in the life of a college athlete. Two different college athlete targets were used “Tyrone Walker” (n = …

"Conscious Leadership And The Substance Of Change", Art Stewart

Art Stewart

No abstract provided.

"Communicating Politics - Big Budget Branding, Micro-Management Of Issues, Change As Strategic Positioning", Art Stewart

Art Stewart

No abstract provided.

Defining And Measuring Entrepreneurship For Regional Research: A New Approach, Sarah A. Low

Sarah A. Low

A strong correlation might exist between entrepreneurship and long-term regional

employment growth (Acs and Armington, 2003). Entrepreneurship may be a more

sustainable economic development strategy than alternatives, like industrial recruitment,

because entrepreneurs tend to locate in their home region. Research and policies on

fostering entrepreneurship are hindered, however, by the lack of a clear definition and

measure of entrepreneurship (Bruyat and Pierre-Andre, 2000). Multiple definitions of

entrepreneurship, often flawed, lead to contradictory findings that fuel policymaker

confusion (Tamasy, 2006). Most importantly, the commonly used measures of

entrepreneurship ignore innovation—a long established defining attribute of

entrepreneurship for economic development. This is …

Evaluating The Extent And Nature Of 'Envelope Wages' In The European Union: A Geographical Analysis, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

To evaluate the spatialities of the illegal wage practice where employers pay their declared employees both an official declared wage and an undeclared ‘envelope’ wage so as to avoid tax liabilities, a 2007 survey conducted in 27 European Union (EU) member states is reported. The finding is that 5% of employees received envelope wages which amount on average to some two-fifths of their wage packet. Revealing how, although heavily concentrated in a small group of East-Central European nations, this wage practice is nonetheless ubiquitous, the paper concludes by discussing how this practice might be tackled.

Constructing An Innovative Model Of Entrepreneurship Education Through Regional Collaboration, Todd A. Finkle, Jack Soper, Dan Fox, Jack Reece, Julie Messing

Todd A Finkle

Measures To Tackle Undeclared Work In 27 European Countries, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Review of range and type of policy measures used for tackling undeclared work in 27 European Union member states and an evaluation fo their transferability to other nations, sectors and/or occupations

Repaying Favours: Unravelling The Nature Of Community Exchnage In An English Locality, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

A recurring assumption in community development has been that when material support is provided on a one-to-one basis to the extended family or social and neighbourhood networks, such favours are repaid by offering help in return rather than money. Reporting a study of the community exchanges of 120 households in an English locality, however, the finding is that well over one-third of these were repaid using money. The outcome is a call for the community development literature to recognise and respond to the existence of this sphere of ‘paid favours’ which demonstrates how monetary transactions can be neither market-like nor …