Business Commons^™

An Examination Of Reward-Based Crowdfunding Performance And Success, Matthew Alan Grace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reward-based crowdfunding (RBCF), where fundraisers raise funds from a crowd of investors in return for a reward, has carved a niche as a proven option for not just entrepreneurs seeking early-stage funding, but also for established firms looking to presell or market a new product or service. Establishing crowdfunding performance and success factors is important for researchers and practitioners alike. Fortunately, a large portion of the RBCF academic literature is immediately applicable to entrepreneurs, with very little additional interpretation required. However, important questions about RBCF remain. The first paper in this three-part dissertation, a systematic literature review, examines some of …

For Love Or Money: Investor Motivations In Equity-Based Crowdfunding, Jason C. Cherubini

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Crowdfunding is an increasingly popular method for entrepreneurial ventures to raise financing from a large number of small supporters (the “crowd”) instead of raising it through a small number of larger supporters. Crowdfunding is normally conducted through online platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, where the entrepreneurial venture runs a campaign directly seeking support from individual funders. Most of the research into crowdfunding to date has been focused on what elements of the crowdfunding campaign lead to eventual successful funding, especially in the rewards-based crowdfunding space. The comparatively new equity-based crowdfunding has not been as heavily researched and is technically …

Microbusinesses Practices During Disruptor Events: Perceptions, Adaptations, And Performance, Debra Lynn Frank

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During COVID-19 closures, business owners and managers experienced a disruptor event that pushed them to find new ways to navigate their businesses practices. The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn how business owners and managers adapt their business models to survive disruptor events. The objective was identification of factors owners and managers of microbusinesses perceived as critical to avoiding closures, assessment of the effectiveness of the adaptations adopted during closures that enabled businesses to remain open, and analysis of the results of those adaptations. Owners and managers of businesses in the craft brewing industry were interviewed. The four …

Strengthening The Entrepreneurial Support Community, Andrew J. Hafer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to discover ways of improving the impact and effectiveness of entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem of Tampa Bay, Florida. First, the study establishes a comprehensive catalog (called the “Superset”) of potential support programs that might be offered by ESOs and consumed by entrepreneurs. Through empirical data collection, the programs in the Superset are ranked by entrepreneurs and ESO leaders according to their opinion of perceived value and importance for gaining the competency in said program. The rankings allow a mapping of the regional ecosystem to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities.

The study …

Women Entrepreneurs In China: Dialectical Discourses, Situated Activities, And The (Re)Production Of Gender And Entrepreneurship, Zhenyu Tian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the number of women entrepreneurs on the rise globally, the business world and the identity of the entrepreneur remain to be normed masculine and male gender stereotyped. This male gender stereotyping situates women who practice entrepreneurship in disadvantages, limiting their access to resources on which they depend to make meaning of their activities and identities. This imbalanced masculine gender order also manifests in China’s economy. Women entrepreneurs in China face complex contradictions and challenges when navigating an arena that privileges men and masculinity. However, not much is known about the micro-dynamics of Chinese women’s entrepreneurial experiences in light of …

Bridging The Innovatino Gap At Socom, Gregory J. Ingram

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to provide a case study of how a highly bureaucratic organization located on a relatively inaccessible military base created organizational structures and climates to minimize innovation time and efforts. Typical approaches to government acquisition are not conducive to innovation and inhibit it in many cases. Conducting business with any government element, including the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), can be difficult. A few of the physical and regulatory challenges include gaining access to MacDill Air Force Base, entering the SOCOM compound and the prohibition of electronic devices on the compound. Another noteworthy challenge …

Identification Of Entrepreneurial Competencies In I-Corps Site Teams At The University Of South Florida, Mark A. Giddarie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Innovators to Entrepreneurs Act was introduced by Congressman Daniel Lipinski of Illinois and several other congressional colleagues in January of 2019. This bill enables broader participation in the successful National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program and provides additional training for innovators to learn how to turn their research into new products and businesses. I-Corps connects scientists and engineers within the technological, entrepreneurial, and business communities to move discoveries from the laboratory to the market.

The most successful federal program of its kind, I-Corps has trained over 1,300 teams, led to the formation of 644 startup companies and resulted …

Locating A New Collegiate Entrepreneurship Program, A Framework For A University Campus, Douglas H. Carter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

University Entrepreneurship Programs reside is a variety of places within a Campus Community. As a relatively new university, the question arises as to where such a program should reside? Should such a program be relegated to a single college or is there an opportunity for a cross-disciplinary approach to its establishment? With limited resources, it is imperative to make an educated and informed decision so as to be good stewards of limited funding.

An Examination Of The Progressive And Regressive Factors That Business Owners Consider When Choosing Whether Or Not To Implement An Exit Strategy, David C. Pickard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this dissertation is to examine the progressive and regressive factors that affect a small business owner’s decision to implement an exit strategy. An exit strategy can be defined as an entrepreneur's strategic plan to sell his or her investment in a company he or she has controlling interest in. An exit strategy gives a business owner a way to reduce or eliminate his or her stake in the business and, if the business is successful, make a substantial profit. Exiting a business is a complicated process which includes among other things, the evaluation, preparation, marketing, and ultimate …

Faculty Perceptions Of Core Components Perceived To Be Effective In Their Prominent Graduate Entrepreneurship Education Programs, James Grant Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify Core components perceived by faculty to be effective in their prominent graduate entrepreneurship education programs. The study sought to identify the best practices in graduate entrepreneurship education programs from the perceptions of faculty in the field.

Research questions guiding the study were: (1) What Core components related to the following Broad question areas are perceived by faculty to be effective in their prominent graduate entrepreneurship education programs: Activities and initiatives; Adult education principles and practices; Alumni and mentoring; Course offerings; Curriculum and degrees; Faculty data; Institutional characteristics; Instructional methods; Student companies; and …

What Factors During The Genesis Of A Startup Are Causal To Survival?, Gilbert T. Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research presents the results of a qualitative and quantitative investigation into what factors are present at time zero that increase the probability that a startup will achieve long term sustainability.

Survival rates for startups in the United States (U.S.) are disappointingly low and economically inefficient. The data shows that the U.S. clearly lags its peer countries in the survival rates of startups. The U.S ranked an unacceptable 11th of 14 among its peer countries in first-year survival rates in recent years. Startup failure does not only impact the entrepreneur; it also impacts creditors, vendors, community stakeholders, and employees. While …

Renewable Energy Investment Planning And Policy Design, Alireza Ghalebani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we leverage predictive and prescriptive analytics to develop decision support systems to promote the use of renewable energy in society. Since electricity from renewable energy sources is still relatively expensive, there are variety of financial incentive programs available in different regions. Our research focuses on financial incentive programs and tackles two main problem: 1) how to optimally design and control hybrid renewable energy systems for residential and commercial buildings given the capacity based and performance based incentives, and 2) how to develop a model-based system for policy makers for designing optimal financial incentive programs to promote investment …