Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

The New Exit In Venture Capital, Darian M. Ibrahim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Alternative Models Of Funding Higher Education: Past And Present Trends, Gus Gregorutti

Faculty Publications

The present study is built around the following general research question: why is Adventist higher education in a tight budget? This is approached using a comparative time frame analysis of past and present needs and characteristics affecting funding tertiary education. The main idea throughout this paper is that the different funding systems are setting up models of Adventist higher education that aren’t always the best fit for the institutional ideology and organization. Possible alternatives to shift into a more suitable funding system are provided and discusses as well. 

Small-Scale Aid Donors, Agribusiness, And The Zambian Export Sector, John R. Ledgerwood, Stephen N. Morgan

Publications

Production of high value agriculture and natural products has become a key instrument in economic development programs to accomplish the dual objectives of raising rural incomes and conserving valuable environmental resources. Rapid growth in global demand for organic and natural products has provided a strong economic incentive for small scale aid agencies to expand into this niche market. Through this analysis we investigate the economic impact that aid funded agricultural production has had on rural residents of Zambia and how this development strategy allows small scale aid donors to capitalize on the business and export opportunities in the Central African …

Growth Of Women-Owned Businesses: The Effects Of Intangible Resources And Social Competence, Crystal X. Jiang, Monica A. Zimmerman, Chun (Grace) Guo

WCBT Faculty Publications

Previous research suggests that women entrepreneurs face many challenges in starting and growing a business. In this study, we examine the relationship of intangible resources and the growth of women-owned businesses. We focus on four intangible resources: social-, human-, and reputational capital, as well as social competence. Using case studies of women entrepreneurs, we found that a woman entrepreneur’s social-, human-, and reputational capital are related to the growth of her business. We alsofound that social competence moderates the social-, human-, and reputational capital – growth relationship in women entrepreneurs.

Through The Eyes Of The Family: A Collective Case Study Of Family Business Consulting, Cynthia L. Waisner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Interest in family businesses has increased over the last 50 years. Little empirical research, however, has been devoted specifically to the study of family business consulting. Various practitioners have offered their insights regarding approaches and tools, and a few empirical studies have offered the practitioners’ viewpoints regarding the practice area. The purpose of this study was to add to this small body of research by providing a view of family business consulting through the lens of the family business member. The chosen method of inquiry was collective case study, to allow for both contextual understanding and cross-case comparison. A total …

Factors Affecting The Governance Of Innovation Commercialization: A Theoretical Model, Datta Avimanyu, Richard Reed, Len Jessup

Business Faculty Publications

The ability to commercialize innovations is central to firm survival and success and despite research on parts of the process, there is no overarching framework. Successful commercialization can include retaining ownership of the innovation and bringing it to market, sharing it by licensing or developing it with partners, or by selling it. A firm-level model is constructed that goes from innovation sourcing, through assessment of viability, to selection of the optimum form of governance. External networks and absorptive capacity at the meso level, plus micro- and macro-level factors, as moderators affecting the strength of the relationship between viability and governance …

Strategic Discourse Across Organizational Meetings:Towards A Systems Perspective., Brendan K. O'Rourke, Martin Duffy

Conference Papers

Strategic Discourse across Organizational meetings: Towards a Systems Perspective Abstract This paper presents a tentative theoretical conception of how organizational meetings may be viewed as a system rather than as individual events. Perspectives from process metaphysics(Langley and Tsoukas, 2010), meso-discourse analysis (Alvesson and Karreman, 2000, 2011) and systems thinking (von Bertalanffy, 1969) are adopted, to explore and expand the theoretical resources available to conceptualise a ‘system of meetings’. The primary data draws from 130+ hours of recorded meeting proceedings, spanning 58 meeting events, from multiple sub-groups within a medium sized company.

An Exploratory Investigation Into Knowledge Management In Western Australian Knowledge-Intensive Small Businesses, Shukrullah Fassehi

Theses : Honours

From a knowledge management (KM) perspective, organisational effectiveness depends on the organisation’s capacity to effectively perform a range of processes that include identifying, acquiring, sharing, and storing valuable knowledge. The literature suggests that the growth of interest in the field of KM is largely centred on large organisations. Small businesses have not received much attention in the literature. This is surprising, given that small businesses (however defined) represent the majority of businesses in most countries and, as is the case in Australia, make a major contribution towards business activity, economic development and employment generation.

This study employed a qualitative exploratory …

A Latency Effect For Mobile Phone Investments By Micro-Entrepreneurs, Han Ei Chew, Vigneswara P. Ilavarasan, Mark Levy

Research Collection Office of Impact

As the fastest diffusing ICT in history, the mobile has attracted substantial scholarly interest. However, the historic penetration rate of the mobile phone in the developing world seems discordant with the paucity of evidence linking mobiles to productivity gains in micro-enterprises. In this study, we address the dilemma. We are seeing mobile phones everywhere but in the productivity statistics. We believe that there is a disconnect between mobile phone penetration rates and productivity statistics because businesses take time to learn how to exploit the technology for productivity gains. Findings from our study indicate there is latency between the time of …

Manager Learning In The Micro Business Context : The Role Of External Business Advice, Training Providers And Close Others, Jennifer Devine

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Small business has often been referred to as the “engine driving the economy”. This description highlights the significance of small business to the economy of most countries. But what about the smallest of these organisations; those businesses with fewer than five employees? These businesses, termed micro businesses, form a large part of our economy and are sometimes the starting point for larger business and sometimes provide a long term, alternate business structure. This type of business has special needs and characteristics and is often neglected in the management literature. The nature and diversity of these businesses prompted an interest in …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Small Business Owner-Managers' Participation And Learning In An Online Discussion Forum : Not Quite Paradise Found, Tara Laureen Smith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Small business owner-managers (SBOMs) are a difficult group to engage in formal face-to-face training and learning activities. Research to encourage SBOMs' participation has focused on two main themes: first, trying to ascertain why they do not attend training and, second, determining their learning preferences. They are reluctant to attend formal training because they prioritise business operations (no time to attend training), perceive training as a poor return on investment, have negative perceptions of training and education, and believe the training provision often does not meet their needs. In terms of their learning preferences, it is clear that SBOMs prefer informal, …

The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status And Emotional Gratification For Consumers Who Purchase Overtly Branded (Overtly Designer) Goods, Sarah Siracusa

Fordham Business Student Research Journal

When examining the reasoning behind a consumer’s choice of luxury purchase, we rely largely on consumer psychology. One important psychological factor is the concept of needs. Consumers of different socioeconomic backgrounds have different needs, thus influencing what they choose to purchase. While past research has focused on intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations, and the relationship between aspiration and luxury brand preference in predicting luxury consumption, there has not yet been a study conducted focusing on the relationship between socioeconomic status and emotional gratification of purchasing overtly branded (overtly designer) goods in America. After surveying participants in three socioeconomic income groups, it …

Countering Counterfeits: An Investigation Of Message-Frame And Message-Focus Effects On Persuasion, Caroline Dahlgren

Fordham Business Student Research Journal

The prevalence of counterfeit products throughout the world has greatly increased over the course of the past two decades. These goods span a wide array of industries and vary greatly in quality, aesthetics, and price. There have been reports of counterfeits in nearly every sector of the economy; counterfeit goods include airline parts, dry wall, handbags, pharmaceuticals, and baby food (International Chamber of Commerce, 2008). Each industry engages in its own battle with these products and counterfeiters, in hopes of protecting its intellectual property, consumers, and its bottom line. The roots of the counterfeiting industry are deeply intertwined with various …

Three Essays On The Influence Of Formal Institutions On Entrepreneurship., Michael David Crum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three essays in which I examine the influence of formal institutions on entrepreneurs and new firms. In the first essay, "The Influence of Institutions on the Likelihood of Self-Employment: A Multilevel Analysis," I examine how institutions at the country-level are related to the likelihood that individuals in those country are self-employed. Country-level measures of formal institutions are paired with individual-level data on self-employment from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Reynolds et al., 2005). Using the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World index and the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom separately as measures of institutions, …

No Fear: Leadership, "Digital Cowboys" And The "Playstation Generation", Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Finnish entrepreneur Pekka Viljakainen would be considered as successful by most measures. At only 38 years of age, he has managed a staff of 8,000 across 20 countries from Munich. His information technology (IT) consultancy, Oy Visual Systems, had merged with Tieto, another European IT firm, and Viljakainen was made executive vice-president.

Cloud Computing: Low Cost High-Rise Living For Small And Medium Businesses, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The trajectory of Information Technology’s (IT) growth and its impact has been explosive. Its continual evolution has created new paradigms in the way businesses are conducted, and how people interact with one another. One might even say that IT has trumped television to become the most important household entertainment medium.

Returning To Ulysses: The Need For Ireland's Higher Education Institutions To Re-Imagine The Provision Of Entrepreneurship Education, Thomas Cooney, Kathleen Farrell, Paul Hannon

Conference papers

This paper is a detailed analysis of entrepreneurship education in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on the island of Ireland based on a survey of all twenty-six institutions. The paper examines the number and types of courses and activities currently being offered to students and concludes that the vast majority of the existing provision is quite traditional in its approach. It is further argued that entrepreneurship education needs to be re-imagined if it is to meet the needs of Ireland’s current economic and social challenges, and that educators should seek inspiration from some of the island’s most creative artists from its …

Adult Children Of Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Memories And Influences, Nga-Wing Anjela Wong, Paul Watanabe, Michael Liu

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Probing the changing makeup of American college campuses, Adult Children of Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Memories and Influences offers unparalleled insight into the journeys of today’s graduate students born to immigrant entrepreneur parents.

Through interviews with 40 graduate students attending Massachusetts colleges from across the country, Adult Children of Immigrant Entrepreneurs unearths the unique challenges, skills and propensities engendered by growing up in a household where at least one parent ran a business. It also reveals that the students feel a deep-seated desire to give back to the immigrant communities into which they were born and which helped to mold their identities.

Famous Chefs And Fabulous Recipes: Lessons Learned At One Of The Oldest Cooking Schools In America, Lisa Abraham, Catherine St. John

University of Akron Press Publications

Hudson, Ohio, has all the charm of a Connecticut watercolor. A quaint clock tower stands on the village green. A little further up the road, the chiseled buildings of Western Reserve Academy, founded in 1826, dot the landscape. Red-bricked shops make downtown window shopping a weekend event. If Jimmy Stewart showed up as George Bailey, residents wouldn’t bat an eyelash. Tucked into this historic enclave is one of the oldest cooking schools in America, the Western Reserve School of Cooking.

Originally founded by Zona Spray, and now run by Catherine St. John, the intimate institution has been a destination for …

Growing In Asia: P&G Turns To Market Research, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

“Create excitement in the market with new products; entice the competitors to play, and together, we can grow the market,” said Medhee Jarumaneeroj, the 'influencer marketing & external relations leader' for Procter & Gamble (P&G) Asia's male grooming outfit. Speaking at the Marketing Excellence Speaker Series, a monthly talk organised by SMU's Centre of Marketing Excellence, Jarumaneeroj expressed excitement about Asia as a huge growth market for the American multinational.