Business Commons^™

Immigrant-Owned Small Businesses’ Participation In Diaspora Philanthropy: A Case Study During The Covid-19 Outbreak, Ximeng Chen

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Purpose – The concept of diaspora philanthropy contains the following two components: diasporas, who are individuals who live outside of their homelands but maintain a sense of identity with their home countries, and charitable giving provided by these diasporas to causes related to their hometowns. Often diaspora philanthropy happens through intermediary organizations such as hometown associations, internet-based philanthropic platforms and faith-based groups. Little research explores immigrant-owned small businesses as intermediary organizations for diaspora philanthropy. In the literature of social entrepreneurship, the theory of opportunity recognition provides insights on how do businesses identify opportunities for fulfilling social missions. However, it is …

Small Business Owner Satisfaction With Financial Performance: A Longitudinal Study, Shanan G. Gibson, William C. Mcdowell, Michael L. Harris

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This exploratory study examines the financial performance satisfaction of small business owners at two time periods: (1) nearing the end of the Great Recession and (2) three years into economic recovery. In addition to considering small business owners in general, special attention has been paid to women and minority owners. Using independent samples t-tests, results indicate that business owners are more satisfied with their financial performance in 2012 than they were in 2009. However, results were not consistent for all subgroups of the population; differences exist between men and women owners and between Caucasian and minority owners. Whereas men mirrored …

The Effects Of Entrepreneurial Orientation And Commitment To Objectives On Performance, Mark Simon, Chanel Stachel, Jeffrey G. Covin

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance is often moderated by different factors. Specifically, scholars have called for research examining whether commitment to long-term objectives improves EO’s effectiveness, believing that commitment may help firms overcome obstacles associated with EO. In response, we collected survey data from executives in 126 small, high-technology firms, and found that EO and commitment to objectives enhanced sales growth. In addition, the study determined that commitment to objectives was associated with greater increased sales growth of companies high in EO, as compared to those low in EO.

Raising Venture Capital For The Serious Entrepreneur, Michele K. Masterfano

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Berkery, Dermot. Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. ISBN 9780071496025

Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur is a fascinating journey through the world of venture finance. It provides an interesting, even absorbing view into the arcane world of how venture capitalists determine what companies they will finance, how they decide on the level of investment,and what they expect in return. It further provides important tips for entrepreneurs as they begin their planning for equity financing and the negotiations with VCs for that financing.

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.

Some Entrepreneurship Pitfalls, Philip Wolitzer

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

All of us have at some point thought how great it would be to be the boss of our own destiny and build a new business. For some it’s a dream that won’t stop until we try. In the old days, all it would have taken was two months’ rent after we built our leasehold improvements. Oh, how times have changed.

The Entrepreneurial Director, Bruce Sherony

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The argument that the board of directors can be a helpful tool for entrepreneurships and small businesses derives from the rationale for using boards from both a macro and a micro perspective. Society depends on boards to provide overall checks and balances in the running of businesses. This could not be more evident from the role of the board in Enron’s collapse (U.S. Senate 2002). The board’s value to the entrepreneur is found in the application of the micro perspective. Two sets of recommendations are developed to formulate an improved model of directorship actions and behaviors. First, duties and responsibilities …

The Often-Neglected Term In The Entrepreneurial Equation—The Purchase Order, Deaver Brown, Joseph E. Levangie

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Many entrepreneurs are enthralled with their company’s technologies, products and potential markets. Invariably these emerging ventures present bedazzling business plans with industry-wise vernacular, detailed market research, and sophisticated financial spreadsheets. They often flaunt their “optimized business models.” Investors, however, typically want to know when and how the sales will start meeting the Plan. “Where’s the purchase order?” is the refrain. In this article, our “Practitioner’s Corner” associate editor Joe Levangie collaborates with a long-time colleague, Deaver Brown, to address how businesses should “make sales happen.” Levangie warns that Brown’s elitist education (Choate, Harvard College, Harvard Business School) should not be …

A Cross-Country Assessment Of Government Intervention And Entrepreneurial Activity, Maria Minniti

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Recent studies have shown that the contribution of small firms to employment and GDP is increasing. A large amount of work has also established the significance of social and economic variables for entrepreneurial decisions. Very little is known, however, about how government policies and programs influence entrepreneurial activity, and whether these effects are consistent across countries. Using original data from a representative sample of 10,000 individuals and from more than 300 open-ended interviews in 10 countries, this article provides some suggestive evidence that government intervention aimed at enhancing the underlying environment of entrepreneurial decisions may be more effective than intervention …

The Embedded Entrepreneur: Recognizing The Strength Of Ethnic Social Ties, Ed Chung, Kim Whalen

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This article is premised on the idea that social networks represent an important, but often overlooked, unit of analysis in management and entrepreneurship studies. The concept of embeddedness, emphasizing the significance of social relationships, is of particular relevance as more and more frequently minorities and immigrants engage in small businessownership. This article borrows from the ethnicity and social network traditions, and offers that an analysis of the ethnic homogeneity of an entrepreneur’s strong and weak social ties would be fruitful in gauging entrepreneurial success.

Growth Intentions Of Owner-Managers Of Young Microfirms, Rolland Lebrasseur, Huguette Blanco, John L. Dodge

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

A survey of young microfirms was conducted to investigate their growth intentions. The findings confirm the distinct profiles of four types of firms categorized on the basis of current and future employment: Lifestyler, Entrepreneur, Manager, and Mover. They differ in terms of the owner’s perceptions of the desirability and practicality of growing their firm, and with respect to the moderating variables of industry affiliation, business location, and investment level. Research issues and service implications for business support agencies are identified.

Preparing Your Business For Valuation, Margaret D. Nowicki, Eric E. Lewis, Jeffrey W. Lippitt

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

There is a tremendous need for the valuation of small businesses. Oftentimes, small businessowners do not have the wherewithal to gather the data and keep it up to date for use in situations that require valuation. Formal valuations are necessary because they provide objective evidence of value, in contrast to value set by markets on which public companies are traded. This article focuses on some factors that impact the valuation of the business and will help small businessowners feel more comfortable talking with financial professionals about how the business might be valued.

Does My Business Need A Human Resources Function? A Decision-Making Model For Small And Medium-Sized Firms, Golbou Ghassemieh, Elizabeth "Liz" Thach, Armand Gilinsky Jr.

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The questions of when and what types of human resource (HR) support are needed tend to be unanswerable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This article addresses this gap in the strategic HR literature. Hiring, training, employee retention/satisfaction, wages and benefits programs, and worker’s compensation insurance are important to SMEs seeking to build strong capabilities and resources and to increase their competitive advantage. This article presents an analysis of the existing HR literature for SMEs. It introduces a decision model to help SMEs choose a cost-effective HR strategy, listing a range of options from hiring the HR function to electronic …

No Mulligans: When Good Entrepreneurs Make Bad Decisions, Joseph E. Levangie

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Some of the best entrepreneurs fail early and often. Less talented or less committed entrepreneurs do not even get a second chance. Failure and setbacks, however, can be instructive. What lessons can be learned from these experiences? How can the entrepreneur (and investors) navigate around the potholes on the New Venture Highway? Read on.

The Values Of Being Small And Nimble, Joshua Shuart, Peter Christian ("Chris") Murphy

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Peter Christian (Chris) Murphy had worked his way up the “food chain” at AT&T for 19 years, culminating in his position as Sales Center Vice President for South Florida. When he and a coworker realized there was an opportunity in the marketplace for a small, nimble company to take advantage of emerging communications technology that a stodgy, lumbering corporation would have trouble integrating into its service package, Chris decided to jump into an entrepreneurial opportunity.

Getting Things Done: The Art Of Stress-Free Productivity, Shawn Blau

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Shawn Blau reviews David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.

Redefining Loyalty: Motivational Strategies And Employee Loyalty In An Era Of Downsizing, Sandra Obilade

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Retaining employee loyalty after restructuring is a problem for all types of businesses. The major issue concerns how management and employees can establish a new, mutually acceptable "psychological contract" which ensures employee loyalty but not lifelong employment. Eighteen small businesses in Fairfield County, Connecticut were surveyed to investigate loyalty and motivation after downsizing. A significant correlation was found between loyalty and motivation. Furthermore, several motivational techniques employed were inconsistent with employee needs. Suggestions are offered on how to retain employee loyalty.

Customer Service And Satisfaction: Competitive Advantage And Beyond, Stanley Bazan

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This article examines how excellence in customer service and satisfaction can be a major source of competitive advantage and profits for small businesses. The costs and causes of poor service and satisfaction are discussed and special emphasis is given to the value of the lifelong customer. Methods to pursue the goal of completely satisfying customers 100 percent of the time are examined. Leadership, aggressive problem solving, problem-solving teams, and assessment of customer service are among the topics reviewed.