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The World War Ii Experience And The Leadership Of Entrepreneurship And Venture Investing Around Stanford University, Martha L. Reiner

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

Dr. Frederick Terman has been widely recognized as the "godfather of Silicon Valley" (Lowood, 1982). Terman, a Stanford University electrical engineering professor, managed Harvard University's Radio Research Laboratory during World War II and returned as Stanford's dean of engineering. His commitment to seeing California companies in science-based industries seize postwar opportunities to push ahead of their Eastern counterparts influenced the venture investing as well as the entrepreneurship that built a thriving high-technology industrial community around Stanford University. Terman's wartime experience shaped his postwar role as a leader of high-technology entrepreneurship. Wartime experiences similarly influenced individuals who invested in California ventures …

The Hidden Challenges Of Retail Expansion, Larry N. Bitner, Judith D. Powell

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

Successful small retailers invariably are tempted to test the adage "more is better." While the expansion allure is more than many can resist, it must be tempered by the realization that many hidden challenges await the unsuspecting entrepreneur.

Success of the new organization will required not only ore but a different kind of effort than used in managing the single store. First, successful operation will now depend on delegating operating decision to professional managers. The autonomy given these managers in a complex decision and may be placed anywhere within a three dimensional continuum depending on the desired image, supervision, and …