Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

An Examination Of Small Businesses' Propensity To Adopt Cloud-Computing Innovation, Steven E. Powelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem researched was small business leaders' early and limited adoption of cloud computing. Business leaders that do not use cloud computing may forfeit the benefits of its lower capital costs and ubiquitous accessibility. Anchored in a diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey study was to examine if there is a relationship between small business leaders' view of cloud-computing attributes of compatibility, complexity, observability, relative advantage, results demonstrable, trialability, and voluntariness and intent to use cloud computing. The central research question involved understanding the extent to which each cloud-computing attribute relate to small business leaders' …

Global Challenges For Smes In Sri Lanka And Pakistan In Comparative Perspectives, S.W.S.B. Dasanayaka

Business Review

The Small and Medium Scale Enterprises/Industries (SMEs) function as a lifeline in informal sectors of Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to their immense contribution in areas such as employment generation, exports, equitable income distribution, social stability, efficient domestic resources usage and regional development. However, a large number of SMEs in both countries are struggling to survive in today's global competitive market. Their sustainable growth is threatened by the impact and challenges of rapid globalization. Absence of any networking and cooperation among the SMEs and lack of linkages with large scale industries have aggravated these problems. In spite of the various …

The Accelerator, Volume 5 Issue 9, Winter 2011, Christa Santos

The Accelerator

No abstract provided.

Tropical Salvage: From Recession To Expansion, Scott Marshall, Lisa Peifer, Erin Ferrigno

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Tim O’Brien, founder of Tropical Salvage, was preparing for another warehouse clearance sale of his unique, handcrafted hardwood furniture. It had been an enormously challenging year and it was important to reduce inventory before the next container arrived from Indonesia. The market for fine furniture had begun to decline steadily in early 2008 following the stock market crash of the prior September. The company survived a difficult period, but not without suffering a decline in sales. O’Brien had spent ten years building a sustainable business model based on environmental stewardship, worker empowerment and unique, high quality product. As the economy …

From The Editors, Herbert Sherman, Joshua Shuart, Laurence Weinstein

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

New England Journal Of Entrepreneurship, Spring 2011

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

Understanding Sme Intention To Use The Internet For Managing Supplier Information, Kevin Celuch, Anna Walz, Carl Saxby, Craig Ehlen

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

There is strong consensus that the Internet has the potential to positively impact firms, and SMEs in particular; however, not all firms have realized benefits from adoption. The present study extends research in the area by addressing the need to examine the “chain” of variables explaining Internet adoption. We do this by exploring SME owner/manager Internet-related usefulness and ease-of-use cognitions and intention to use the Internet for supplier information management. We also explore the influence of behavioral norms and two broader strategic perspectives, market and learning orientation, on the Internet-related cognitions. Findings have implications for researchers and practitioners by identifying …

Bootstrapping Techniques And New Venture Emergence, John T. Perry, Gaylen N. Chandler, Xin Yao, James Wolff

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Among nascent entrepreneurial ventures, are some types of bootstrapping techniques more successful than others? We compare externally oriented and internally oriented techniques with respect to the likelihood of becoming an operational venture; and we compare cash-increasing and cost-decreasing techniques with respect to becoming operational. Using data from the first Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, we find evidence suggesting that when bootstrapping a new venture, the percentage of cash-increasing and cost-decreasing externally oriented bootstrapping techniques that a venture’s owners use are positive predictors of subsequent positive cash flow (one and two years later). But, internally oriented techniques are not related to …

Getting To Green: Niche-Driven Or Government-Led Entrepreneurship And Sustainability In The Wine Industry, Lauretta Frederking

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Through the framework of Michael Porter’s five forces, this article compares sustainability in the Oregon and British Columbia wine industries. After describing the contrasting characteristics of the green niche model and the government-led model of environmental change, the article analyzes the emerging challenges for each type of change.The distinct sources for profitability and future innovation suggests diversity within the sustainability movement and two very different processes of translating environmental values into entrepreneurial practice.

Abandoning Ship At Scandia, Inc.: Parts B And C, Herbert Sherman, Barry Armandi, Adva Dinur

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Scandia, Inc., is a commercial vessel management company located in the New York Metropolitan area and is part of a family of firms including Scandia Technical; International Tankers, Ltd.; Global Tankers, Ltd.; Sun Maritime S.A.;Adger Tankers AS; Leeward Tankers, Inc.; Manhattan Tankers, Ltd.; and Liu’s Tankers, S.A. The company’s current market niche is the commercial management of chemical tankers serving the transatlantic market with a focus on the east and gulf coast of the United States and Northern Europe. This three-part case describes the commercial shipping industry as well as several mishaps that the company and its President, Chris Haas, …

No Exit? Trying To Salvage D&H Management Llc: Parts A And B, Herbert Sherman, Adva Dinur, Daniel James Rowley

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

In this two-part case, Richard Davis and Stephen Hodgetts, co-owners of D&H Management LLC, are trying to come to terms with changes in the real estate market—changes that have made their rental homes worth less than their mortgages and at best yielding at most a break-even cash flow. In Part A Davis and Hodgetts are weighing the following options: (1) sell all of the properties, assume a loss (walk away with nothing), and avoid the negative cash flow; (2) walk away from all of the properties, assume a loss (walk away with nothing), and avoid the negative cash flow; (3) …

Varieties Of Bricolage And The Process Of Entrepreneurship, Jeff Vanevenhoven, Doan Winkel, Debra Malewicki, William L. Dougan, James Bronson

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

We offer a theoretical account of how two types of bricolage influence the entrepreneurial process. The first type involves social relationships or physical or functional assets, and thus pertains to an entrepreneur’s external resources used in the instantiation of operations of a new venture. The second type pertains to an entrepreneur’s internal resources—experiences, credentials, knowledge, and certifications—which the entrepreneur appropriates, assembles, modifies and deploys in the presentation of a narrative about the entrepreneurial process. We argue that both types of bricolage are essential to the success of a venturing attempt.

Engines Of Innovation: The Entrepreneurial University In The Twenty-First Century, Joseph R. Bell

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Thorp, Holden and Buck Goldstein. Engines of Innovation: The Entrepreneurial University in the Twenty-First Century. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.

Engines of Innovation: The Entrepreneurial University in the Twenty-First Century is an exploration into the design of a collaborative academic institution where silos of discipline-specific competency and tradition disappear and innovation reigns supreme.

From The Editors, Herbert Sherman, Joshua Shuart, Laurence Weinstein

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

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.

Effects Of Participation In Paid Membership Organizations On Entrepreneurial Success, Michele K. Masterfano

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Research into entrepreneurial networking activities has ignored an aspect that is important to the entrepreneurs—does it make sense to pay dues to an organization that promises networking opportunities to help build their business? This study looked at that aspect of networking by comparing revenue growth rates and average number of employees between those businesses whose owners belong to paid membership organizations and those who do not. No differences were found between the two groups of entrepreneurial firms. While there are still benefits to joining these organizations, entrepreneurs should not expect to grow their business because of membership.

Executive Noncompetes: Keeping Talent In House Or At Bay?, Terence Lau

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of Implementing An Erp System In A Small And Medium Enterprise – A Teaching Case Of Erp Project Management, Hongjiang Xu, Patrick J. Rondeau, Sakthi Mahenthiran

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementation projects are notoriously risky. While large-scale ERP cases continue to be developed, relatively few new ERP cases have been published that further ERP implementation education in small to medium size firms. This case details the implementation of a new ERP system in a medium sized manufacturing firm. As students explore the case, they will be required to address the many ERP-related project management, procurement, human resource, and management involvement issues raised by it. This case highlights the ERP implementation problems experienced by case company in one of their two divisions. The firm is considering …

David Lysaght (Ireland), Thomas M. Cooney

Case Study

No abstract provided.

Again A Cottage Industry, Ivan Gaetz

Collaborative Librarianship

No abstract provided.