Business Commons^™

Alert During What? Beyond The "Big O" To A Culturally-Cognizant, Process View Of Entrepreneurial Alertness, Robert J. Pidduck, Daniel R. Clark

Management Faculty Publications

Entrepreneurial alertness is a psychological aptitude generally associated with aspects of nascent venturing, centered on individuals' environmental observations, the association of resources, and idea evaluation. A decade following the Tang et al. (2012) consensus construct and scale, critiques remain questioning its utility and unique value to the major conversations in entrepreneurship. Proponents put great emphasis on entrepreneurial alertness's proven association with opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial actions. Yet, critics suggest it might be an unnecessary step offering little more than a positive association with opportunity recognition in a highly generalized and static way. The purpose of this paper is to address …

Social Movements And Institutional Entrepreneurship As Facilitators Of Technology Transition: The Case Of Free/Open-Source Software, Sanjay Jain, Habib A. Islam, Martin C. Goossen, Anil Nair

Management Faculty Publications

We integrate insights from the literature on social movements and institutional entrepreneurship into the strategic niche management (SNM) and multilevel perspective (MLP) frameworks to understand the emergence of Linux, a free/open-source operating system, in a regime dominated by proprietary operating systems such as Unix and Windows NT. Employing a “microhistories” methodology, we document how actors in the free/open-source movement took steps that enabled an alternate technological niche to form, gain momentum and eventually infiltrate the extant regime. Our account delineates the key role that actors play in shaping the identity of a niche, amplifying its presence, and finally mainstreaming it. …

Digital Platforms And Entrepreneurial Support: A Field Experiment In Online Mentoring, Saurabh A. Lall, Li-Wei Chen, Dyana P. Mason

Management Faculty Publications

The benefits of entrepreneurial mentorship are well documented, but there is limited research on how entrepreneurs connect with mentors, especially in digital settings. We partnered with an online platform that connects entrepreneurs to potential mentors to conduct a field experiment in online mentoring. Drawing on literature on entrepreneurial mentorship and Social Cognitive Theory, we compared the effects of three interventions on the likelihood of reaching out and making a connection with a mentor in a digital setting. We find that showing entrepreneurs a video of a successful mentor–mentee relationship increases the chances that they will reach out to a potential …

Transitional Entrepreneurship: Unleashing Entrepreneurial Potential Across Numerous Challenging Contexts, Golshan Javadian, Anil Nair, David Ahlstrom, Kaveh Moghaddam, Li-Wei Chen, Younggeun Lee

Management Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] We are pleased to publish the special issue of the New England Journal of Entrepreneurship on transitional entrepreneurship. Transitional entrepreneurship refers to the practices of entrepreneurs from communities facing adversity who navigate substantial life transitions as they launch and manage new ventures in response to various changes and challenges in their environment. Entrepreneurship is not only a critical driver of economic growth and social development (Ahlstrom et al., 2019; McCloskey, 2010) but can also represent a life-changing transition for most, if not all, of the entrepreneurs themselves. Transitional entrepreneurship entails strategic pivots or transformations that enable entrepreneurs to …

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 …

The Role Of Response Efficacy And Risk Aversion In Promoting Compliance During Crisis, Veronica L. Thomas, Hooman Mirahmad, Grace Kemper

Marketing Faculty Publications

This research examines consumers' compliance with behaviors that focus on preventing the spread of COVID‐19. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory and research on efficacy, we find that, during a pandemic, consumers who have higher perceptions of response efficacy are less likely to engage in risky consumption behaviors (Study 1) and more likely to engage in protective consumption behaviors (Study 2). This effect is moderated by risk aversion, such that as risk aversion increases, COVID‐compliant behaviors increase even when consumers do not believe in their ability to effectuate change. Further, the relationship between response efficacy and COVID‐compliant behaviors is mediated by …

Psychological Resilience Of Entrepreneurs: A Review And Agenda For Future Research, Robert J. Pidduck

Management Faculty Publications

Given that entrepreneurs face substantial adversity in initiating and developing new ventures, a burgeoning stream of research has sought to understand the concept of entrepreneurs’ psychological resilience. To structure and synthesize what we know about entrepreneurs’ psychological resilience, we systematically review the empirical literature to provide insights on how it has been conceptualized and operationalized, along with its key antecedents and outcomes. Based on our review, we advance a promising agenda for future research, grounded in connecting the psychological resilience of entrepreneurs to other research areas connected to the new venture development process. Overall, we point to the urgent need …

Introduction To Game Design, Development, And Criticism (Game 201t), Kevin Moberly, Richard E. Ferdig (Ed.), Emily Baumgartner (Ed.), Enrico Gandolfi (Ed.)

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Nature Of Non-Profit Incubators With Other Sector Incubators In The Founding Of Social Change Organisations By Social Entrepreneurs, Jesus N. Valero, Marina Saitgalina, Rachel A. Black

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Incubators have been studied extensively in the private sector, such as those that engage in technological innovation or growing small businesses. The scholarship has not sufficiently explored the efforts of incubators in the nonprofit sector that help create programs supporting, mentoring, and cultivating social entrepreneurs. There are numerous documented cases of nonprofit organizations establishing initiatives that help motivated entrepreneurs achieve social change; but research is lagging in developing a systematic understanding of these effort’s impact, and the factors associated with the success of nonprofit initiatives that support social entrepreneurs. This paper seeks to understand the nature of nonprofit organizations that …

Digging Into Selection Criteria For Accelerator Acceptance: What Kind Of Owners Are More Attractive?, Veronika Ermilina, Matthew Farrell, Fatemeh Askarzadeh

Management Faculty Publications

Drawing on signaling theory, we aid in the identification of the rarely acknowledged impact of business owner’s features on acceptance to accelerator programs. Using a multi-national sample of 10,298 observations for startups in 166 countries over 2016-2018, we show that accelerators do not evaluate applicants uniformly. We find that entrepreneurs from developing countries are less likely to be accepted by accelerators than entrepreneurs from developed economies. Counterintuitively, we also find an advantage for female entrepreneurs in accelerator acceptance. Further, our results suggest a positive impact of education. Accelerators are a growing provider of entrepreneurial resources and a main driver of …

Are Entrepreneurial Capabilities And Prior Knowledge The Silver Bullet For The Generation Of New Digital Venture Ideas In A Digital Context?, Meifang Yao, Dan Ye, Gao Yang, Hui Shi, Xianrong Zheng

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Digital technology has had an important impact on entrepreneurship. It has changed the uncertain nature of the process of new venture idea generation, and it has also brought unprecedented opportunities for the generation of new digital venture ideas. In order to explore how startups can deal with major challenges brought by digital technology and create new digital venture ideas, this paper focuses on micro level entrepreneurial actions and constructs a theoretical model of the relationship among networking capabilities, IT capabilities, prior knowledge, and new digital venture ideas. Furthermore, through the hierarchical linear regression analysis of 278 sample data, the paper …

Takin' Care Of Small Business: The Rise Of Stakeholder Influence, William P. Jimenez, Xiaohong (Violet) Xu, Emily D. Campion, Andrew A. Bennett

Management Faculty Publications

In this Exchange, we consider three crucial boundary conditions that Barnett, Henriques, and Husted (2020) overlooked in their model of diminished stakeholder influence. Although we agree that social media platforms have weakened stakeholder influence in certain conditions, such is not the case for all firms, all stakeholders, or all situations. Drawing from socio-cognitive and self-determination theories, we contend that (a) independent, owner-managed small firms present a context wherein information overload is rendered less of an issue because the information about the firm is more salient to locals; (b) stakeholders can be motivated to influence firms via social media platforms, which …

Knowledge Development Approaches And Breakthrough Innovations In Technology-Based New Firms, Dzidziso Samuel Kamuriwo, Charles Baden-Fuller, Jing Zhang

Management Faculty Publications

Compared to large established firms, technology-based new firms (TBNF) seem well placed to produce breakthrough innovations although questions remain as to their adeptness at subsequent exploitation. Building on the innovation and strategy literatures, the study identifies two different knowledge-development approaches or modes (business models) in TBNFs—internal versus external—and examines their relation to breakthrough innovation and subsequent progression of the product to market. The internal mode assembles knowledge inside the firm to generate its innovations, whereas the external mode relies heavily on alliances to develop and assemble knowledge among firms embedded in a creative network. The study uses a unique panel …

Gender Differences In The Use Of Assistance Programs, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in factors influencing use of entrepreneurial assistance programs by male and female entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach – Data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics I are used to determine drivers of assistance program use by men and women using logistic regression. These drivers include size and composition of the start-up team and personal network, experiences of the entrepreneur, team and network; support provided by the team and network, and other factors. Findings – In total, 31 percent of female entrepreneurs and 24 percent of male entrepreneurs in the sample used entrepreneurial assistance …