Business Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Impact Of Small Business On The Environment, Janice Redmond, Elizabeth Walker, Calvin Wang, Mike Simpson, Craig Parker

Janice Redmond Dr

Small businesses are' estimated to contribute a significant proportion of global pollution, yet there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. The main aim of this research was to conduct an exploratory analysis of small business's environmental impact in terms of waste, water and energy.

Gender Differences In Small Business Strategic Planning: Do Women Plan More Than Men?, Elizabeth Walker, Calvin Wang, Janice Redmond

Janice Redmond Dr

As the world of work changes and uncertainty continues in regard to employment conditions, more women are motivated to start their own businesses. However, many women-owned businesses are very small and appear to have limited growth capacity. There are few business role models for women in corporate Australia. So how do women break in? The evidence suggests that not only do many women have the capacity to grow their businesses, they also have the desire. Given the positive relationship between strategic planning and business success, this paper considers whether women are more likely than men to strategically plan their business …

Who Gets The Nod? Gender Issues In Successor Selection, Calvin Wang, Rowena Barrett, Elizabeth Walker, Janice Redmond

Janice Redmond Dr

This research explores the issue of gender dynamics in successor selection and specifically we seek to better understand gender biases in business succession. Traditionally daughters have been discriminated against in successor selection but with female business ownership in OECD countries projected to rise to 50%, it is important to understand the attitudes of founders towards female successors. Effective succession ensures business viability and underpins the continued economic contribution of small businesses and family businesses.

Corporate America's Search For The "Right" Direction: Outlook And Opportunities For Family Firms, A. Adams, Sheb True, Robert Winsor

Robert D. Winsor

The recent accounting scandals and corporate misdeeds of several high-profile Fortune 500 companies have left the investing public reeling. This paper highlights the attributes and characteristics of family firms that confer operational and financial performance advantages on them vis-à-vis nonfamily, or publicly controlled, firms. As a result, family firms have a unique opportunity to model the way regarding corporate reform.

Bound By Laws, Or By Values? A Multi-Level And Cross-National Approach To Understanding The Protection Of Minority Owners In Family Firms, Charles Stevens, Roland Kidwell, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

How do firm-level attributes and country-level institutions affect cross-national and firm-level differences in how minority owner rights in family firms are protected?

We consider differences in family dynamics, stewardship-oriented organizational culture, and countries’ legal and cultural dimensions to develop theory predicting differences in minority owner protection in family firms. We advance propositions and a model delineating the role of these key firm-level and country-level constructs.

We contribute to the literature in three ways: 1) We illustrate the importance of family dynamics for predicting the likelihood of a stewardship-oriented culture to emerge in a family firm; 2) Our multi-level and cross-national …

Entrepreneurial Motivation, Scott Shane, Edwin Locke, Christopher Collins

Christopher J Collins

Recent research on entrepreneurship has focused largely on macro-level environmental forces. Although researchers adopting this focus have rightly criticized much of the existing empirical research on the role of human motivation in entrepreneurship, we believe that the development of entrepreneurship theory requires consideration of the motivations of people making entrepreneurial decisions. To provide a road map for researchers interested in this area, we discuss the major motivations that prior researchers have suggested should influence the entrepreneurial process, as well as suggest some motivations that are less commonly studied in this area. In addition to outlining the major reasons for exploring …

Jayaashree Industries: Revolutionising Sanitary Pad Use In India, Arcot Desai Narasimhalu, Christopher Dula

Arcot Desai NARASIMHALU

Arunachalam Muruganantham is a social entrepreneur dedicated to solving India’s menstrual health problems. He developed an unprecedented product as a solution: a low-cost, locally produced sanitary pad. In a paragon effort of frugal innovation, he reverse-engineered the industrial processes used to make sanitary-pads. The result was a small-scale, low-cost machine that could manufacture quality pads sold at a retail price 20% lower than the cheapest mass-produced brands. However, no one bought his pads until his wife began to sell them. After which, the two were unable to keep up with demand. This triggered his realization concerning the importance of including …

The Consumer Experience Of Holidays Booked Via Daily Deal Promotions: An Online Content Analysis Of Traveller Reviews, Carmen Cox

Carmen Cox

While Daily Deal accommodation promotions through sites such as LivingSocial, Groupon, Scoopon, Ouffer and Cudo have become increasingly popular amongst industry operators and travellers alike, there is limited research about the extent to which they satisfy the end-users expectations. Consumers‟ self-reported evaluations of accommodation promotions sold through Daily Deal sites are analysed in this paper based on a content analysis of more than 500 online reviews submitted to TripAdvisor® by travellers who had purchased a ‘daily deal voucher’ to be used across a variety of Australian properties. The results find that while the majority of reviewers rated their stay experience …

What's Your Pitch? The Power Of Wow! (Worksheet For The Webinar On January 18, 2011), Connie Reimers-Hild

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

Elevator pitches are created to sell your idea, business, product or service in 30 seconds or less (the time it takes to go from the first floor to the top of the building in an elevator). A great pitch has the power to help anyone...from a University employee to a new entrepreneur to a team working in a high-growth firm.

It’s important to develop and practice an effective pitch, complete with an awesome "Wow Factor," so you are ready to use it under fire (pretend you just stepped onto an elevator with Warren Buffett or Bill Gates)!

This interactive webinar …

Six Questions For Entrepreneurial Leadership And Innovation In Distance Education, Connie Reimers-Hild, James King

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

Institutions offering distance education courses and programs may benefit by encouraging administrators, faculty, staff and students to be more entrepreneurial. Organizational cultures designed to support this type of environment are characterized by entrepreneurial leadership, innovation and change. This article provides information on how distance education institutions can incorporate entrepreneurial leadership and innovation into their organizations. Six questions for administrators of distance education to consider are presented in an effort to provoke discussion and thought on the importance of incorporating entrepreneurial leadership and innovation throughout distance education organizations.

What's Your Pitch?, Connie Reimers-Hild

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

We all need to have our "pitch" ready! This PowerPoint, when used with the corresponding worksheet of the same title (What's Your Pitch), walks people through the process of creating an Elevator Pitch or Quick Pitch for their idea, business or organization. In the global economy, it is important for all of us to be able to clearly communicate what we do so we can sell ourselves and help others understand the purpose of what we are working to accomplish. A great pitch has the power to help anyone...from a University employee to a new entrepreneur to a team working …

Leadership And Innovation Program, Connie Reimers-Hild

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

No abstract provided.

Circos: Tapping Into Social Media (A), Kevin W. Sproule, C. Jason Woodard

C. Jason Woodard

Social media was a topic that had entered into the daily vocabulary of teenagers and business executives alike. With this surge in popularity and influence worldwide the open question was what this new way of interacting would mean for businesses and whether or not social media could really be a driver of company profitability or just a nice way to share photos with friends? Circos, a Singapore-based company, developed a business that it hoped would help to answer those questions. By using a proprietary sentiment analysis tool, Circos had mined the vast world of online reviews available on various social …

Circos: Tapping Into Social Media (B), Kevin W. Sproule, C. Jason Woodard

C. Jason Woodard

After a successful presentation in the (A) case, Frederic Langlois, Circos.com general manager in Singapore, headed back to the company headquarters. He brought back not only the possibility of a new client, but also a specific request. The Raffles Hotel had asked him to provide new functionality beyond the existing social media analytics dashboard Circos had become known for. The Raffles Hotel manager had asked, “It would be great to have a simple and meaningful analysis of what people are saying about our property online. What would be really great, though, would be to know who is saying what. I …

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

John M. Breen

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 …

A First Course In Entrepreneurship Fundamentals, Part I, Alex Stewart

Alex Stewart

This two-part article offers ideas for teaching students who are interested in entrepreneurship but unprepared for the widely-taught business plan course. Their lack of preparation is due less to a lack of business knowledge than it is to an awareness of their life and career needs and of the realities of entrepreneurial careers. Course content ideas are presented to help these students develop competencies in four areas: self-understanding, knowledge of entrepreneurial careers, a realistic sense of what ventures would work for them, and business-relevant creativity.

A First Course In Entrepreneurship Fundamentals, Part Ii, Alex Stewart

Alex Stewart

No abstract provided.

Andrew Blitman: The Voice Of Our Jewish Generation?, Simi Lichtman

Andrew Blitman

No abstract provided.

Embedded Librarianship And Virtual Environments In Entrepreneurship Information Literacy A Case Study, Kelly Evans, Hal Kirkwood

Hal P Kirkwood Jr

No abstract provided.

Accession Tournaments: The Application Of A Game Theory Derivative To The Multi-Dimensional Family Business Accession Process (Interactive Paper), Justin Craig, Clay Dibrell

Justin B. Craig

We argue that the recent governance and professionalization focus in family business research conversations, while helpful in understanding succession, and family businesses in general, needs to be complemented with a theoretical discussion of the multi-dimensional accession process. We contend that this process is multi-dimensional as, unlike in a corporate setting where the incumbent is succeeded by a suitable successor, multi-generational family businesses are more complex and there is potentially a plethora of positions of influence for which actors can compete. We use tournament theory to propose how family actors will act in accession tournaments and propose that the absence of …

Overcoming The Liability Of Theoretical Newness: The Case For Stewardship Theory (Summary), Justin Craig, Clay Dibrell, Donald Neubaum

Justin B. Craig

To overcome stewardship theory’s liability of newness, we introduce a validated and reliable measure for stewardship. Using Dubin’s features of a theoretical model to position stewardship theory, we endeavour to take a structured approach in the Kuhn-characterised normal science stage of entrepreneurship. There is a danger that stewardship theory currently bears many of the hallmarks of a summative unit (in Dubin’s terms), where a summative unit is one that can be referred to as a global unit that stands for an entire complex phenomenon; conveys a great deal of meaning but is always diffuse; draws together a number of different …

Quantifying “Gut Feeling” In The Opportunity Recognition Process, Justin Craig, Noel Lindsay

Justin B. Craig

This research used a questionnaire and psychophysiological responses to an investment opportunity proposal to provide insights into the opportunity recognition process. A group of 262 entrepreneurs and financiers responded to the main questionnaire study and six respondents (with an additional three respondents in a control group) were involved in the psychophysiological response pilot study. Based on previous research, it was proposed that opportunity recognition could be divided into two phases. The results provide tentative support for the notion that there are similarities between experienced entrepreneurs and financiers in terms of the first phase of the opportunity recognition process.

Depaul Net Impact

Dr. Harold Welsch

DePaul Net Impact is a graduate level chapter of the global Net Impact organization. There are approximately 275 total Net Impact chapters globally. That number includes chapters at the Graduate, Undergraduate, and Professional levels.

Entrepreneurs Networking

Dr. Harold Welsch

No abstract provided.

Commuter Advertising Sets The "Pace" With Audio Sponsorships

Dr. Harold Welsch

Russ enrolled at DePaul for its entrepreneurship program, wanting to bring his business idea to reality: a company that delivers audio advertising in mass transit vehicles as a means to address agency budget woes and create a new advertising channel for local companies. He subsequently wrote the business plan for Commuter Advertising in his first entrepreneurship course, received extensive coaching and consulting from the Coleman Center, and won the 2008 Launch DePaul competition. After leaving his full-time job to launch his company, Russ has raised over $600,000 in angel capital (two investors were contacts made through DePaul), entered into exclusive …