Business Commons^™

Maine’S Connected Food System: On The Web And Online, Barbara Ives, Sam Merrill

Maine Policy Review

The authors of this case study discuss how modern communications via the internet are expanding opportunities in Maine’s food system, ranging from consumers’ buying clubs to food resource maps to “Maine Ag Trader,” a website that enables producers and consumers to connect and find what they need.

Local And Regional Food Systems: A Usda Priority, Virginia Manuel

Maine Policy Review

Virginia Manuel gives examples of innovative Maine food production, distribution and processing projects and businesses and the ways USDA rural development is financing them.

The Next Catalyst For Change: How Corporate Shared Value Is Reshaping Capitalism, Emily Davenport

CMC Senior Theses

Both corporations and their global conglomerates are looking into the face of an evolving idea of capitalism. As businesses become more intertwined with society, this special relationship is becoming increasingly deterministic of the condition of the world. This paper explores the possibility that if businesses integrate shared value -- a way to combine economic and social value -- into their long-term business plans, that not only will society be better off, but the businesses themselves may be able to explore previously unrecognized potential for profits.

Angel Financing: Matching Start-Up Firms With Angel Investors, Emily M. Rodriguez

CMC Senior Theses

The hardest time to receive financing for a venture is at its earliest stage. These ventures are among the riskiest investments for an investor, which creates a gap in financing that is often bridged through a source of funding called Angel Financing. Angel investors are one of the best providers of early stage funding. This thesis will explain what angel investing is, how they work, and what angels look for. This information will help entrepreneurs be better equipped to find an angel investor for their venture.

The Business Model In Practice And Its Implications For Entrepreneurship Research, Gerard George, Adam J. Bock

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

While the term 'business model' has gained widespread use in the practice community, the academic literature on this topic is fragmented and confounded by inconsistent definitions and construct boundaries. In this study, we review prior research and reframe the business model with an entrepreneurial lens. We report on a discourse analysis of 151 surveys of practicing managers to better understand their conceptualization of a business model. We find that the underlying dimensions of the business model are resource structure, transactive structure, and value structure, and discuss the nature and implications of dimensional dominance for firm characteristics and behavior. These findings …

The Meaning Making That Leads To Social Entrepreneurial Action, Kathleen Roberts

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation is an exploratory study of the meaning making that leads to social entrepreneurial action; specifically, action that has either moved beyond the local or at the local level has impacted several different systems. Recent leadership research suggests that to meet today's complex challenges and create sustainable change, leadership must possess bigger minds, meaning advanced and mature ways of understanding the world (Cook-Greuter, 1999; Torbert, 1999). By challenging and changing established equilibriums with new structures, new systems, and new relationships, social entrepreneurs reflect a capacity to understand the world in complex ways. Through the lens of constructive-developmental theory (Kegan, …

International Entrepreneurship And Capability Development: Qualitative Evidence And Future Research Directions, Erkko Autio, Gerard George, Oliver Alexy

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this article, we explore how new capabilities emerge and solidify in new ventures that are faced with fundamental uncertainty from their environment. To do so, we draw from the organizational and entrepreneurial literature on cognition and capabilities. Using initial qualitative evidence from a multi-firm study in the context of new venture internationalization, we develop a cognition-based model of capability emergence in new ventures. Our findings extend the capability development and learning implications of internationalization to the fundamental character of organizing processes in start-ups. Moreover, we derive avenues for future entrepreneurship research on the origins and evolution of capabilities in …

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 …

Depaul University Library Resources

Dr. Harold Welsch

No abstract provided.

Prior Knowledge And New Product And Service Introductions By Entrepreneurial Firms: The Mediating Role Of Technological Innovation., Patrick Murphy, Jintong Tang

Patrick J. Murphy

Most research on new product and service development by entrepreneurial firms takes an individual-level, pre-launch perspective or firm-level post-launch perspective. Our study examines two components of the new product and service introduction process: how entrepreneurs’ prior knowledge underpins (1) firm technological innovation prior to the introduction of new products and services (pre-launch) and (2) post-launch viability of those new products and services. Our findings, based on a series of analyses of data from 158 entrepreneurial firms, show that formal technological innovation fully mediates the relation between prior knowledge and the introduction of viable new products and services.

The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Start Ups

Dr. Harold Welsch

No abstract provided.

Recommended Readings For Entrepreneurs

Dr. Harold Welsch

No abstract provided.

Depaul University Entrepreneurship Program

Dr. Harold Welsch

No abstract provided.

Outline Of A Comprehensive Business Plan

Dr. Harold Welsch

No abstract provided.

Falling Short: Has The Sec’S Quest To Control Market Manipulation And Abusive Short-Selling Come To An End Or Has It Really Just Begun?, Richard Ramirez

Richard E. Ramirez, J.D. | CFCS

No abstract provided.

White College Students' Explanations Of White (And Black) Athletic Performance: A Qualitative Investigation Of White College Students, Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

No abstract provided.

A Conceptual Model Of Academic Success For Student-Athletes, Keith Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

Concern over the academic talent development of Division I student–athletes has led to increased research to explain variations in their academic performance. Although a substantial amount of attention has been given to the relationship between student–athletes and their levels of academic success, there remain critical theoretical and analytical gaps. The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual model to understand and explain the cumulative processes and characteristics—as a whole and in stages—that influence academic success for Division I student–athletes. Research on student–athletes and academic success is reviewed and synthesized to provide a rationale for the basic elements of …

Business Start Up Guide

Dr. Harold Welsch

No abstract provided.

A 2x2 Conceptual Foundation For Entrepreneurial Discovery Theory., Patrick J. Murphy

Patrick J. Murphy

Theories about entrepreneurial discovery are important to entrepreneurship. However, the dominant conceptual foundation underlying such theories hinders their development. It assumes that opportunities form based on either deliberate search or serendipitous discovery. I examine this unidimensional logic and identify a gap in its informative content. Then, I reframe it into orthogonal dimensions. The multidimensional model describes the same cases as the unidimensional model but also describes what the unidimensional model cannot, including cases that are high or low on both dimensions. This extension yields a 2x2 conceptual foundation for entrepreneurial discovery theory that promotes the development and coordination of distinct …

Operations Strategy Formulation: Shifting From Grasberg Open-Pit Surface Mining To Underground Mining, Togar M. Simatupang Tms

Togar M Simatupang TMS

PT Freeport Indonesia has decided to alter its mining operations from open-pit mining to underground mining in Grasberg. A change of mining area focus directly affects its related departments, and even need new operations strategy to address the transition. Considering its long-term run of mining operations, its strategic issues are assessed by using Slack and Lewis operations strategy model, and decisions are made through the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) tool. Previously, the assessment of company’s current business and corporate strategy was conducted by applying SWOT analysis and complemented with the Strategic Factors Analysis Summary (SFAS) as the point-of-reference of …

Emerson College Csr Course - Spring 2011 Guest Speakers, Art Stewart

Art Stewart

No abstract provided.

Ethical Considerations Of Sales Channel Selection In The Field Of Entrepreneurship, Todd A. Finkle, Michael Mallin

Todd A Finkle

"Corporate And Social Responsibility: The Changing Context For Marketing Communications Practice", Art Stewart

Art Stewart

Apple Inc.: Product Portfolio Analysis, Michael Mallin, Todd A. Finkle

Todd A Finkle

Richard Branson And Virgin, Inc., Todd A. Finkle

Todd A Finkle

Beyond Competing Theories Of The Hidden Economy, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate critically the validity of rival theorisations of the hidden economy that variously read this sphere as a leftover from a previous era, a by-product of a new emergent form of capitalism, a complement to formal employment or an alternative to the formal economy. Until now, the common tendency among economic theorists has been to either universally privilege one theorisation over others, or to represent each theory as valid in different places. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate their validity to the city of Moscow, a survey is reported involving 313 face-to-face interviews with inhabitants conducted …

Evaluating The Nature Of The Relationship Between Informal Entrepreneurship And The Formal Economy In Rural Communities, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This paper evaluates critically the different theorizations of the nature of the relationship between informal entrepreneurship and the formal economy, which variously depict informal entrepreneurship as a leftover from a previous era, a survival practice for those excluded from the formal economy, and a complement or an alternative to participation in the formal economy. Reporting evidence from 350 face-to-face interviews in English rural communities, no single theorization is found to be universally applicable. Instead, all are shown to be valid in relation to different forms of informal entrepreneurship, and only by combining them is it feasible to achieve a finer-grained, …

The Illusion Of Capitalism In Contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study Of The Gambia, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate critically the meta-narrative that there is no alternative to capitalism. Building upon an emerging body of post-structuralist thought that has begun deconstructing this discourse in relation to western economies and post-Soviet societies, this paper further extends this critique to Sub-Saharan Africa by investigating the degree to which people in the Gambia rely on the capitalist market economy for their livelihood. Reporting the results of 80 household face-to-face interviews (involving over 500 people), the finding is that only a small minority of households in contemporary Gambian society rely on the formal market economy alone …

Rethinking The Nature Of Community Economies: Some Lessons From Post-Soviet Ukraine, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This paper contributes to a small but growing body of thought that has questioned the hegemony of capitalism by revealing the persistence of multifarious economic practices in everyday community economies. To further advance this school of thought, first, a conceptual framework is developed to map the diverse economic practices used by communities and second, this is applied through a survey of 600 households in Ukraine. The outcome is to reveal that just as multifarious economic practices prevailed under state socialism, the same applies in societies in transition to capitalism, suggesting that there are alternative futures for community economies beyond market …

Women Entrepreneurs In The Indian Informal Sector, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Purpose – Studies on women entrepreneurs either view women through a structuralist lens, as marginalised populations engaged in low-quality work, or through a neo-liberal lens, as engaged in relatively higher quality endeavour more as a rational choice. The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically these explanations in relation to women entrepreneurs in the informal sector in India. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate the contrasting explanations of structuralist and new liberal approaches, questionnaire surveys were conducted in two phases, namely 2007 and 2010, over a period of several months. The sample design was stratified random and the sample was taken …