Business Commons^™

Massteri: Promoting Translational Research And Entrepreneurship At The University Of Massachusetts Medical School, Melissa J. Moore, Celia A. Schiffer, Anastasia Khvorova, Anita Ballesteros, Cynthia Fuhrmann, Jean A. King, Margaret Koziel, Thomas Mccullough, Linda Plano

Celia A. Schiffer

MassTERi is a faculty-led initiative to foster entrepreneurship among UMass Medical School students, postdocs and faculty, and facilitate translation of UMMS discoveries into drugs, products, technologies and companies. The mission of MassTERi is to; foster a culture of entrepreneurship at UMass Medical School and facilitate dynamic partnerships with industry; bridge the gap between UMMS discoveries and their development into drugs, products, technologies and companies; educate and nurture the next generation of translational scientists and entrepreneurs; benefit the public good through development and commercialization of new therapies and creation of high-value life science jobs. We will present information about MassTERi and …

Huge Growth Potential In 2015 For Used Books Market - A Surney, Lissa Coffey

LissaCoffey

Selling Buying Used Books - A Market With Huge Potential in 2015 - Selling/buying books online is a great way to earn extra income and an upcoming market having huge growth potential in 2015. Size the US market for used books ... Conduct research on used book selling and buying activities. The starting point for their analysis is the double-edged impact of a used book market ... But there's another effect: the presence of a market for used books ... "The growth reflects how easy is has become to sell used books.The used book market for college textbooks has been …

Strategic Planning In Family Business: A Powerful Developmental Tool For The Next Generation, Pietro Mazzola, Gaia Marchisio, Joseph Astrachan

Gaia Marchisio

This article addresses the issue of training next-generation family members once they have joined the management team in their family firm. The qualitative analysis of strategic planning processes of 18 Italian family firms shows that involving next-generation family members in the planning process benefits their developmental process. The findings indicate that this involvement provides the next generation with crucial tacit business knowledge and skills, facilitating interpersonal work relationships between incumbents and next-generation leaders and building credibility and legitimacy for the next generation. The comparative analysis of the cases allowed us to identify the five variables that seem to combine in …

Corporate Venturing In Family Business: The Effects On The Family And Its Members, Gaia Marchisio, Pietro Mazzola, Salvatore Sciascia, M. Miles, Joseph Astrachan

Gaia Marchisio

Previous literature on corporate entrepreneurship (CE) in family business (FB) focusses on the determinants of CE and presents conflicting results on its effects on firm-level performance. We argue that previous studies have overlooked the idea of FBs being complex social systems comprising three components, controlling families, business entities and individual family members; and any business activity in a FB should also be studied with respect to its effects on the family and individual family members, which ultimately impacts the performance. Moreover, previous FB literature addresses CE as a monolithic concept and does not separate its two primary types: corporate venturing …

Entrepreneurial Burnout: Exploring Antecedents, Dimensions And Outcomes, C. David Shepherd, Gaia Marchisio, Sussie Morrish, Jonathan Deacon, Morgan Miles

Gaia Marchisio

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptually and empirically explore the antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurial burnout – that is burnout related to the process of discovery or creation of attractive economic opportunities, the assessment of these opportunities, and the decision on the exploitation of opportunities. Design/methodology/approach – This study is a survey of entrepreneurs in New Zealand who were alumni of a university sponsored executive development course for owner-managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises. Findings – It is found that role stress is positively related to burnout and that burnout has a negative impact on organizational …

The Proactive Behavior Of Younger Salespeople: Antecedents And Outcomes, Michael Mallin, Charles Ragland, Todd A. Finkle

Todd A Finkle

The purpose of this study is to model and test some of the antecedents (individual characteristics) and outcomes (selling performance) of proactive behavior among younger salespeople. Using social cognitive theory agency perspective, we extend the existing proactive behavior literature into the sales domain. We sampled 278 industrial salespeople and tested a model to confirm that younger salespeople tend to engage in proactive behaviors when they are intrinsically motivated, confident in the tasks of selling, and willing to take risks. Proactive behavior, in turn, resulted in our salesperson sample demonstrating high levels of behavior performance and job involvement. Our findings may …

Do Moocs Pose A Threat To Higher Education?, Todd A. Finkle, Evan Masters

Todd A Finkle

Oecd Policy Briefing Informal Entrepreneurship.Pdf, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

The Challenge Of Preserving Rural Industries And Traditions In Ultra-Peripheral Europe: Evidence From The Canary Islands, Abel Duarte Alonso, Lynnaire Sheridan, Pascal Scherrer

Abel D Alonso

Demographic, economic, environmental, and political changes shape many rural areas and their communities across Europe. As a result, some fundamental aspects of these communities, including traditions, culture, social fabric, and their very raison d'etre, are being tested and threatened by what seem to be irreversible events. Ultraperipheral European regions, including the Canary Islands, are not an exception; in fact, because of their physical isolation from the mainland and other barriers, these regions may be more susceptible to changes. While these dimensions are very important and need to be addressed, to date very few studies have attempted to do so with …

Using Strategic Partnerships To Create A Sustainable Competitive Position For Hi-Tech Start-Up Firms, Arnoud De Meyer

Arnoud DE MEYER

In most cases these companies chose or were forced to engage in a technology partnership in order to develop and survive. As one would expect, some of these partnerships succeeded whilst others failed. With hindsight it occurred to the author that success or failure was not necessarily a random event, or idiosyncratic to one particular company, but that there seemed to be a pattern. Some partnerships failed because they were a strategic misfit, others probably because they were badly implemented. Based on these clinical case studies, The author addresses these questions: when and under what conditions a partnership is needed; …

Under The Rust Belt Revealing Innovation In Northeast Ohio, Thomas Bacher

Thomas Bacher

Many areas of the Midwest faced economic challenges after large manufacturing industries, that once operated with three shifts, cut back or went out of business completely. Northeast Ohio was not immune to this downturn and experienced major declines in its population base and tax revenue streams. How could the area recover? This work looks at the post-manufacturing business climate in Northeast Ohio whose major cities, Cleveland, Akron, and Youngstown, were faced with re-inventing themselves and their industrial bases. Using an interview format, the book details how entrepreneurs saw opportunities to develop services and products in the area. Their stories illuminate …

Family Business Wealth And Knowledge Transfer, Justin Craig, Keith Duncan, Frank Barbera, Manuel Eberhard, Marina Skinner

Justin B. Craig

“Knowledge transfer is the key to successful wealth transfer” After years of creating the building blocks to understand family businesses within the greater community, BDO has partnered with The Australian Centre for Family Business (ACFB) and Bond University to undertake an Australian-first report to understand the dynamics of wealth and knowledge transfer, and identify the key trends and issues that will enhance successful transitions within private businesses. This report examines the wealth and knowledge transfer intentions of 320 respondent businesses, the majority of which classified themselves as family businesses. This report will provide an insight into issues such as family-first …

Do Corporate Governance Recommendations Improve The Performance And Accountability Of Small Listed Companies?, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart

Pamela Kent

This study examines whether the implementation of the 2003 Australian Securities Exchange Limited governance recommendations influenced the governance choices of small companies and whether compliance improves their accounting and market performance and earnings quality. Our analysis examines small and large companies because we are interested in the different effects of the governance recommendations on the two groups. The analysis shows a significant shift by small and large companies to comply with the recommendations around the time of their introduction. We find that formation of an audit committee surrounding the reform period is significantly associated with improved earnings quality for small …

Do Corporate Governance Recommendations Improve The Performance And Accountability Of Small Listed Companies?, Jacqueline Christensen, Pamela Kent, James Routledge, Jenny Stewart

James Routledge

This study examines whether the implementation of the 2003 Australian Securities Exchange Limited governance recommendations influenced the governance choices of small companies and whether compliance improves their accounting and market performance and earnings quality. Our analysis examines small and large companies because we are interested in the different effects of the governance recommendations on the two groups. The analysis shows a significant shift by small and large companies to comply with the recommendations around the time of their introduction. We find that formation of an audit committee surrounding the reform period is significantly associated with improved earnings quality for small …

Tackling The Undeclared Economy In Fyr Macedonia: A Baseline Assessment, Rositsa Dzhekova, Josip Franic, Lyubo Mishkov, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This report provides a detailed review of available evidence on the extent and nature of the undeclared economy in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), as well as on the institutional actors involved in tackling the phenomenon and their policy approach and measures used.

Extent and nature of the undeclared economy

Some widely cited international measurements that cover FYROM find that the share of its undeclared economy is larger than in all EU Member States, estimated at 35% of GDP in 2007 (Schneider et al, 2010). Data from the most recent national Labour Force Survey suggests that in 2012 …

Coping With Growth Transitions: The Case Of Chinese Family Businesses In Singapore, Wee-Liang Tan, Siew Tong Fock

Wee Liang TAN

Families control more than half of the corporations in East Asia. The contribution of family businesses to Asia's economic growth is predicated upon successfully growing their businesses. Many family businesses in East Asia, spanning countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, are Chinese owned and managed. Some claim that these businesses will never develop into full-fledged multinational enterprises because of their cultural heritage (Redding, 1990). However, some Chinese family businesses have successfully made the transition.This paper presents an in-depth study of five Chinese family businesses in Singapore that have successfully made the transition in growth and size …

Innova Technology (B): Growing The Business For Anti-Loss Devices, Desai Narasimhalu, Sarita Mathur

Arcot Desai NARASIMHALU

This case is the second part of a two-part series on Innova Technology, a technology start-up company based in Singapore. The two cases focus on: Case (A) – Developing, producing and marketing a product innovation Case (B) – Growth strategies and its related challenges for a young technology company The case is set in November 2012, two months after the launch of PROTAG, a new anti-loss device developed by Rick Tan and his partner, Jonathan Lim. Tan is the chief executive officer of Innova Technology Private Limited, the company that manufactures and sells PROTAG. After a highly successful product launch, …

Innova Technology (A): Seeking A Market For Anti-Loss Devices, Desai Narasimhalu, Sarita Mathur, Adina Wanjun Wong

Arcot Desai NARASIMHALU

This case is the first part of a two-part series on Innova Technology, a technology start-up company based in Singapore. The two cases focus on: Case (A) – Developing, producing and marketing a product innovation Case (B) – Growth strategies for a young technology company The case is set in May 2012, and begins with the protagonist, Rick Tan, chief executive officer of Innova Technology Private Limited, contemplating what his company’s go-to-market strategy should be. Tan and his business partner, Jonathan Lim, who is also the Chief Technology Officer for Innova Technology, developed PROTAG, a new anti-loss device, using Bluetooth …

Quantine: Virtualising The Interview Process, Arcot Desai Narasimhalu, Adina Wong

Arcot Desai NARASIMHALU

The case is set in January 2012, and begins with Kenneth Yap, the founder of Quantine Pte Ltd, strategising on an effective growth plan for his company. Quantine was a job candidate pre-screening service provider, which specialised in asynchronous video interviews. In the three years since its inception, market forces and internal factors had necessitated a change in its original corporate strategy. The business had started out in 2009, focusing on competency assessments for testing technical skills for the information technology industry. It also provided aptitude tests for companies to assess candidate qualities such as numerical skills and the ability …

The Role Of Organizational Learning Capabilities In Strategic Alliances, Wai Lau

Wai Kwan (Elaine) Lau

Recent studies on strategic alliance show great interest on how firms develop alliance capabilities to achieve alliance success. This study examines the relationship between organizational learning capabilities and alliance performance. The concept of organizational learning capabilities in this study is developed comprising training availability, technical expertise, and alliance experience. It proposes that a greater alliance learning capability is positively related to alliance goal achievement. The research further investigates how the inter- and intra-firm mechanism, the average level of technical expertise and alliance experience, and the gap of technical expertise and alliance experience between the partners impact alliance objectives.

Decision Making Regarding Employee Access To Training And Development In Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Proposed Study Employing The Critical Incident Technique, Alan Coetzer, Janice Redmond

Janice Redmond Dr

This paper outlines a proposed study employing the critical incident technique aimed at uncovering factors influencing owner-managers' decisions when employees in medium-sized enterprises request access to external training and development opportunities. Employees in these enterprises form part of a 'disadvantaged' group within the workforce that receives less access to formal training and development than employees in large firms. The owner-manager's decisional role is critical when considering employee access to training and development. Unfortunately, there is scant research into factors affecting owner-managers' decisions regarding employee access to a requested development opportunity in medium-sized enterprises. To address this research gap, we intend …

Decision Making Regarding Employee Access To Training And Development In Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Proposed Study Employing The Critical Incident Technique, Alan Coetzer, Janice Redmond

Alan Coetzer

This paper outlines a proposed study employing the critical incident technique aimed at uncovering factors influencing owner-managers' decisions when employees in medium-sized enterprises request access to external training and development opportunities. Employees in these enterprises form part of a 'disadvantaged' group within the workforce that receives less access to formal training and development than employees in large firms. The owner-manager's decisional role is critical when considering employee access to training and development. Unfortunately, there is scant research into factors affecting owner-managers' decisions regarding employee access to a requested development opportunity in medium-sized enterprises. To address this research gap, we intend …

Contributions Of Home-Based Businesses To Regional Economic Development, Calvin Wang, Elizabeth Walker, Janice Redmond, John Breen

Janice Redmond Dr

Home-based businesses (HBBs) are the most dominant form of enterprise and the fastest growing business segment in most Western economies. HBBs have raised significant government interest based on their potential to deliver economic development and growth for the communities that they operate in. While international knowledge of the home-based sector is growing in the areas of HBB occurrence, operator characteristics and business activities, there is limited focus on HBBs operating within a regional context even though HBBs are thought to be more common outside urban areas. This paper presents results from a West Australian study that explored the profile of …

A Proposed Methodology To Promote Adoption Of 'Green' Production By Small Firms, Elizabeth Walker, Janice Redmond, Margaret Giles

Janice Redmond Dr

Small firms are critical to all economies but also have a significant negative impact on the environment. Their collective footprint equates to 60% of industrial pollution yet small firm owner-managers are not convinced of the necessity for behaviour change. This paper develops a proposed methodology to engage small firm owner-managers in 'green' production, in particular adoption of energy saving and waste recycling practices. This methodology includes a suggested approach to determining the 'tipping point' for the investment of time and resources by small firms. The paper argues that knowing the 'tipping point' and making a realistic business case should encourage …

Waste Recycling: Local Methods For Successful Interaction With Small Business, Elizabeth Walker, Janice Redmond, Calvin Wang

Janice Redmond Dr

Environmental management practices are common in large companies, but rare in small businesses even though, collectively, their environmental footprint is substantially greater. There is, therefore, a crucial need to engage small businesses in practices that reduce their environmental impact and assist sustainability. However, the management of environmental issues in small business is the domain of the owner-manager who is often resource poor, both financially and in the amount of time available to implement new sustainable practices. A survey of 139 small businesses in a light industrial area has provided an indication of the environmental footprint of small business by showing …

Making Plans - Home-Based Businesses, Calvin Wang, Elizabeth Walker, Janice Redmond, John Breen

Janice Redmond Dr

Home-based businesses are a ‘hidden engine’ that are poorly understood and inadequately supported, claim Calvin Wang, Elizabeth A. Walker, Janice Redmond and John Breen. They undertook research to gain more insight into this sector. Continuous economic activity is vital to Australia and the main driver for the past 20 years has been small business, often referred to by politicians as the ‘engine room’ of the economy. However, little is known about those businesses that operate from a home-base, even though these represent the largest cohort both within the small business sector and the wider business community. This is potentially an …

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

Janice Redmond Dr

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 …

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

Janice Redmond Dr

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 …

Intervention Strategies To Engage Small And Medium Sized Enterprises In Environmental Good Practice, Craig Parker, Janice Redmond, Mike Simpson

Janice Redmond Dr

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 by businesses in the UK and 70% of all pollution. SMEs often have major problems with limited resources, limited knowledge and limited technical capabilities to deal with their own environmental impact. SMEs exhibit widely differing characteristics and behaviours where environmental issues are concerned. Yet under these conditions they are all expected to engage in environmentally responsible business for the greater good of society. Interventions that encourage good environmental behaviour are often …

Issues For Small Businesses With Waste Management, Janice Redmond, Elizabeth Walker, Calvin Wang

Janice Redmond Dr

Participation by small and medium enterprise (SME) in corporate social responsibility issues has been found to be lacking. This is a critical issue, as individually SMEs may have little impact on the environment but their collective footprint is significant. The management style and ethical stance of the owner-manager affects business decision making and therefore has a direct impact on the environmental actions of the business. Although adoption of environmental practices to create competitive advantage has been advocated, many businesses see implementation as a cost which cannot be transferred to their customers. After a brief review of pertinent literature this paper …