Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

Applications Of Lean In Construction: Benefits From Using The Last Planner System, Mohsin Shareef Al Taie

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Question: What are the benefits of using the Last Planner System in commercial construction projects in areas with high disruption, e.g. the Civil War in Iraq from 2005-2017. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the benefits of using the Last Planner System with respect to the key project metrics of cost, safety, quality, and time performance in projects operating in highly disruptive environments. Very few qualitative studies have been done on the Last Planner System in commercial construction and none specifically studying work in areas of high disruption. Research Method: The study utilizes qualitative methodology with a …

Competitive Sustainability: The Intersection Of Sustainability And Business Success, Clyde Eiríkur Hull

Articles

Sustainability that beats the competition is different from sustainability that does not. Some who care very much about sustainability may not care at all about business success. However, they should. If businesses were to see that competitive sustainability leads to financial success, they would take it up and abandon nonsustainable practices

The Paradox Of Plenty: Why Guyana’S Local Content Law Needs A Reality Check, Vivian M. Williams

Publications and Research

The effectiveness of coercive local content requirements to the development of resource rich developing countries is an area attracting increasing global attention. Local content requirements are especially popular in the extractive sector though empirical studies show that they do not fulfill their intended purpose. Now recognized as the world's fastest growing economy after becoming an oil producing country, Guyana has passed a local content law. The real concern is not merely whether local content requirements fail to fulfill their objectives but whether they create market distortions that lead to the resource curse. This issue was addressed by Baruch's Adjunct Assistant …

Overcoming The Challenge Of Exploration: How Decompartmentalization Of Internal Communication Enhances The Effect Of Exploration On Employee Inventive Performance, Lin Jiang, Brent B. Clark, Daniel B. Turban

Marketing & Entrepreneurship Faculty Publications

Drawing upon the notion of boundaryless organizations and upon the information processing perspective of organizational design, we investigate the decompartmentalization of internal communication as a unique organizational context that moderates the relationship between R&D employees’ exploration behaviors and their individual inventive performance. We test our hypotheses using a novel combination of survey and archival data. We find that R&D employees who explore more generate inventions that are more valuable only when in workplaces characterized by high communication decompartmentalization. Such workplaces have more frequent communication between R&D and other units, more employee mobility via cross-unit project rotations, or greater managerial support …

Launching An Online Boutique And Analyzing Digital Marketing Strategies Used, Kayla Weyers

Honors Theses

Digital marketing is becoming more relevant and widely used in the marketing industry. In order to use the marketing skills that I have learned through my marketing major in a real-world scenario, I launched an online women’s clothing store called Ash + Grae. This paper examines the start-up process and legal obstacles of opening a small business. It also analyzes the different marketing techniques by comparing digital marketing strategies such as social media, influencer, email, and SEO marketing.

Importance Of Good Communications For Generational Ag Business Transfers, Allan Vyhnalek

Cornhusker Economics

Adapted from Right Risk, volume 10, Issue 10, October 2022.

Effective communication within a farm or ranch family, especially when multiple generations are operating and managing the business, is the underpinning of all other decisions made in a family business. It is critical that farm and ranch families identify areas of contention and develop communication skills that will allow them to negotiate satisfying outcomes. This may involve basic skills training, including communication, problem solving, and decision making.

The Leadership Role In Strategy, Wilfredo Moran

Publications and Research

This paper offers the crucial role that leaders play in the strategy of an organization. The paper will discuss how to develop a strategic vision and a mission statement that tells the direction the company is taking and why. In addition, the paper will show how to set goals and objectives, craft strategies, evaluate the strategy, and how to evaluate performance. This paper will show that the role of leadership is the most important factor in crafting a winning strategy for the organization.

Guest Editorial: The Early Adolescence Of Entrepreneurship Research, Jeff Muldoon, Raj V. Mahto, Eric W. Liguori

Rohrer College of Business Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

What Makes A Great Strategy? Gea Farm Technologies Road To Smart Farming, Jan-Philipp BüChler Prof. Dr.

Case Studies

GEA Farm Technologies is a mid-sized world market leader of mechanical equipment and service solutions for milk production and livestock farming. Senior management of the hidden champion gets approval for an accelerated acquisition strategy to boost growth and innovate the business model vis-á-vis strong competitors in order to lead and develop the market. However, the existing strategic management of internal technology development would be altered and a significant part of management attention would be shifted towards M&A as well as post-merger integration efforts. The case study invites students to explore the benefits and limits of this business model innovation and …

Instigating Change And Managing Growth: Keogh’S Progression From Local Family Business To International Player, Donal O Brien Dr

Case Studies

This case is about the progression of a family business from small local holding to a diversified local and international player. The Keoghs family farm has been in existence for over 200 years in the same location just north of Dublin City, Ireland. Huge changes in the market and consumers behaviour have forced the family into major changes to reinvent the business. The case focuses on the drivers of these decisions and the process management had to go through to implement change.

Keeping It Agile: The Internationalisation Decision For The Agile Executive, Siobhan O Regan, Roger Sherlock

Case Studies

This case focuses on The Agile Executive, a company looking for new market opportunities to expand their business in several possible European markets.

This case is also an exercise case for students to practice their knowledge from the perspective of strategic management, branding, marketing & sales, conducting market research and the development of feasible marketing entry strategies, all based on clear use of robust criteria, aligning with the core competences, resources and capabilities of the organisation.

This case can be divided into sub-cases that could focus on answering the questions of how to enter or expand in a target European …

The Burren Smokehouse, Aileen Kennedy Dr, Tara Rooney Dr

Case Studies

The Burren Smokehouse is one of Ireland’s best known artisan producers of organic Smoked Salmon, Mackerel, Trout and Gauda Cheese using 100% Irish quality raw materials for its products. This case explores the role of the Brand and brand experiences in the artisan food market. The role of place in the brand story and values is central to The Burren Smokehouse and the expansion of the operation to include a visitor centre has ensured that these values are embedded.

The case explores the role of visitor experiences and asks the student to Identify and discuss the strategic and tactical business …

Entering The Next Level Of Value Generation: Servitization And Digitization For Industry 4.0 By Ifm Electronic, Robert Ciszewski, Jan-Philipp Büchler Prof Dr

Case Studies

Ifm electronic is a mid-sized wold market leader in sensor electronics for industry and automotive applications. The hidden champion shows an impressive growth trajectory in the last 20 years from around 200 mio. € to 1 bn. € in 2019. In this case study, the ambitious leaders of this company start to elaborate the strategy for achieving the next billion. Students are required to identify the drivers of growth in the past decades and evaluate the steadiness of this recipe for success in the context of major shifts and technological advances in key customer industries such as industry 4.0 and …

New Market Entrance Projects For A Small Company: Responding Sustainable Development Guidelines, Ruta Ciutiene, Evelina Meiliene

Case Studies

JSC “Žemaičiių virvės” is small company operating in Lithuania. The company has developed its activity in cord and rope production. To guarantee high quality production and to satisfy growing customer needs and requirements, the company pays considerable attention to new technologies. The company’s products are sold in the country’s supermarkets and supplied to foreign markets. An in-depth interview with the company's manager was conducted to identify the problems that JSC “Žemaičių virvės” faces. Projects drive change in organizations and open up growth opportunities. Therefore, students are introduced to core concepts such as projects, role of the projects aiming the development …

New Cooperative Approaches: Successes And Opportunities, Charlotte Narjes

Cornhusker Economics

The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International states that there are 40,000 co-ops in the United States that range in size. Examples of cooperatives include the local Ace Hardware (purchasing cooperative) to Land O' Lakes. Cooperative businesses operate across virtually all industries, or sectors. The most common cooperative in Nebraska is the agricultural cooperative. According to the Nebraska Cooperative Council ag facts, in June 2020 there were 401 cooperatives located across the state providing jobs and services in many rural communities. In addition, there are over 64,400 farmers and ranchers that are voting members of Nebraska cooperatives with many members …

Don't Let The Past Sink Your Future, Timothy L. Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

Decision scientists have many algorithms for making decisions. These algorithms can be qualitative and subjective, such as following a 7-step process, to highly quantitative procedures like minimax regret, or linear programming. These techniques are very different from each other, but in one way they are very similar; they never, ever suggest the manager become emotional and use past decisions to guide the future.

Past decisions and events should guide decision-making. They help managers assign probabilities as well assessing performance. Viewing these events and situations as permanent paths is where sunk costs become problematic.

Includes discussions of four scenarios.

Personality, Entrepreneurship Education And Entrepreneurial Intention Among Ghanaian Students, Victor Fannam Nunfam, Akanganngang J. Asitik, Ebenezer Afrifa-Yamoah

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The connection between personality traits, entrepreneurship curriculum and entrepreneurial intention has received inadequate research consideration among students in Africa to inform policies and curriculum development. An explanatory cross-sectional survey of 324 Ghanaian university students was assessed in a path analysis to model entrepreneurial intention as a function of personality characteristics, mediated by entrepreneurship curriculum and moderated by teaching methods, while controlling for age, gender and program of study. There were direct significant effects of entrepreneurial attitude, need for achievement and locus of control on entrepreneurial intention. The conditional effect of teaching method on entrepreneurial attitude was also significant. We found …

Role Of Personality Traits For Entrepreneurial Intentions Of Young Entrepreneurs: A Case Study Of Higher Education Institution, Yuanyuan Cao, Muhammad Mujtaba Asad, Lu Wang, Aisha Naz Ansari, Norah Almusharraf

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Pakistan being a young country is struggling to provide employment opportunities. However, entrepreneurship is a perceived strategy for reducing unemployment. The trend of entrepreneurship is also emerging among university students. Thus, the ratio of entrepreneurial intention and start-ups is also increasing among university students and graduates. Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of personality traits in the entrepreneurial intentions of young entrepreneurs. Considering this, qualitative methodology was employed with the case study as the research design. A single case of a university with three different departments was taken. In total, n = 9 entrepreneurs were purposely selected from …

A Survey Of Retail Trade Patterns In South Dakota: 2012-2021, Rand E. Wergin

Faculty Publications

This paper provides an analysis of retail sales and retail trade in the state of South Dakota for the years 2012 to 2021. This analysis will provide valuable information to community leaders in the cities and towns of South Dakota. Along with measures such as unemployment and inflation, Retail Pull (RP) provides a measure of community’s economic health. For example, retail is often the largest employer in a city, particularly the smaller communities of South Dakota, and a robust retail sector provides a tax base to support community services. Thus, the economic health of the community depends on the viability …

The Dynamics Of Entrepreneurial Networking Logics: Evidence From United Kingdom High-Tech Start-Ups, Joanne Jin Zhang, Charles Baden-Fuller, Jing Zhang

Management Faculty Publications

Purpose – This study aims to explore how entrepreneurial firms’ networking logics may change under different types of perceived uncertainty. The arrival of new knowledge from the entrepreneurial firm’s network may alter the perceived technology and market uncertainty that in turn determines how the firm adopts or combines the two opposing logics of causation and effectuation. Focusing on the roles of external advisors recruited by the firms, the study probes the details of the cyclical process and the mechanism through which networking logics are altered.

Design/methodology/approach – In this study the authors conducted a 3-year longitudinal multiple case study of …

Perceptions Of The Economy And Employment In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2022 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy L. Meyer, Steven A. Schulz, Amanda Tupper

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans believe most of the listed economic items will become worse or much worse over the next 12 months when asked in May and June. Almost nine in ten think the following will become worse: inflation, gasoline or diesel fuel prices, grocery prices, and interest rates. In fact, at least four in ten rural Nebraskans believe the following items will become much worse in the next 12 months: gasoline or diesel fuel prices, inflation, grocery prices, and healthcare costs. The two items that had less than one-half believing they would become worse or much worse during the next …

Encouraging Social Entrepreneurship, Kanyaporn Skutalakul

Asian Management Insights

It’s about taking the first steps.

Sustainability And Connection To Place: Land Stewardship Through Local Icelandic Women-Run Businesses, Hazel Deharpporte

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Iceland is one of the leading countries in gender equality, but women are still underrepresented in the field of entrepreneurship. Women have unique approaches to land stewardship, and there is evidence that they are more likely than men to act sustainably. The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between sustainability and connection to place in women-run, local businesses. I interviewed six women who run a wide range of businesses in the towns of Ísafjörður and Djúpivogur. From these interviews, I found that while the women did not necessarily think that running a business was more difficult as …

“Hadithi Ya Matunda”: The Informal Fruit Economy On Unguja Island: A Study Of The Livelihoods Of Smallholder Producers, Intermediaries, And Sellers, Daisy Kettle

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is the story of fruit on Unguja Island. It illuminates the livelihoods of farmers, intermediaries, and sellers and each of their roles in the island’s fruit commodity chain. Linkages between these actors are known to play increasingly important roles in agricultural economies across the world due to their ability to create “multiplier effects” through networks of non-farm income opportunities (Wineman, 2020). Through interviews with 19 Zanzibaris who work in this trade network, I learned about the intricacies of these networks. My data revealed that the fruit flow chain on Unguja creates a network of extensive backward and forward economic …

Acquiring An Entrepreneurial Mindset, Maw Der Foo

Asian Management Insights

Key ingredients to facilitate the acquisition.

The Influence Of A Company's Inherent Values On Its Sustainability: Case Study Of Portuguese Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Charlie Lynch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

SMEs are a significant portion of global corporations and, while individually might not compare to larger corporations in total emissions, holistically have significant impact. Therefore, understanding how a company's inherent values influence its ability to be sustainable is necessary to help inform the field. Thus, the project was focused on the influence of social, environmental, and economic values on the sustainability of a company. The study compared founder and company profiles generated from an interview with the founder and triangulated through secondary sources. The study found that the inherent values of Veganism, Ethical Drive, and Ecological Consciousness influenced mainly the …

Decentralizing Corporate Governance? A Praxeological Inquiry, Scott L. Mitchell, Mark D. Packard, Brent B. Clark

Marketing & Entrepreneurship Faculty Publications

The theory and practice of corporate governance has been in something of an arms race with corporate malefactors—as corporate governance mechanisms have incrementally advance, so too have the strategies of malefactors who skirt those governance practices to engage in costly misconduct. Modern centralized governance approaches appear inapt to filling the gaps caused by agency and knowledge problems. Here, we start afresh using the atypical ‘praxeological’ method to reconstruct governance theory anew from basic foundations. The resultant theory is distinctive from prevailing corporate governance theorizing in several key ways. One of the more important conclusions from our reconstructed theory is that …

Entrepreneurship, Ouafaa Hmaddi

Open Educational Resources

Syllabus for ECO 41250 Entrepreneurship

Setting The Stage For The Next Farm Bill Debate, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

The 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire in September 2023. New farm bill legislation will be needed by then if authority is to be extended for a wide range of programs from farm support to conservation, nutrition assistance, credit, trade promotion, rural development, research and education, and more.

The agricultural committees in Congress have already held initial hearings and many agricultural and other interest groups have noted their policy priorities. However, formal debate on a new farm bill is not expected to begin in earnest until early 2023 when a new session of Congress convenes.

While the formal debate …

Making Sustainability A Core Competency: Consumer Response To Sustainable Innovative Products, Clyde Eiríkur Hull, Jennifer D. Russell, Monika Kukar-Kinney

Articles

Research suggests that sustainability may not be sufficient to yield a competitive advantage. Building on the resource-based view, this research evaluates three questions: (1) Can using sustainability as a differentiator lead to consumers choosing sustainable products? (2) Does product sustainability appeal more to environmentally concerned consumers? (3) Does product sustainability appeal more when paired with innovation? To test the hypotheses, an online survey of 344 US respondents was conducted. Consumers were given a hypothetical budget for an office chair and asked to choose between two products at a time. Hypotheses were tested with frequency and Chisquare tests and logistic regression. …