Business Commons^™

Managing Social Business Hybrids In Global Contexts: The Case Of Impact Sourcing Service Providers, Chacko George Kannothra

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three related essays that seek to understand the core contingencies and strategies of managing social-business hybrids (SBHs) in global contexts. SBHs are also known as hybrid organizations that run commercial operations with the goal of addressing a social (or environmental) problem. I focus on the empirical case of Impact Sourcing Service Providers (ISSPs) which are SBHs that operate in the global business services industry. These organizations hire and train staff from disadvantaged communities to provide services to regional and international business clients. The first essay contributes to the growing interest in how hybrid organizations manage paradoxical …

Marketing In Portland's Small Publishing Industry: Case Studies In The Biographical Approach, Kate Jay

University Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to understand the influence of a publisher’s individual experience and background on the marketing functions of a small publishing press. In order to complete this task, the biographical approach was used. This approach requires interviews of small business owners in order to gain an understanding of their motivation, history, and background. Three Portland publishers of similar size but varying genre focuses were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed and treated as individual case studies. The results of the interviews and analysis was an understanding that the impact on a press from the owners’ knowledge, personalities, and backgrounds change …

Understanding Antecedents To Long-Term Sustainability For Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Phenomenological Study Of Entrepreneurs, Randall Trent Stevenson

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the antecedents to long-term sustainability of entrepreneurial ventures through successful entrepreneurs’ perspectives of the roles and importance of entrepreneurial skills, knowledge, abilities, and attitudes, as well as external factors. This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological approach. The participants were comprised of entrepreneurs from the north and northeast regions of Texas who have launched and managed businesses that have continued operations for 10 years or more.

Examining The Effect Of Cultural Intelligence On The Internationalization Of Swiss Small And Medium Enterprises, Hadia Fakhreldin

Business Administration

The study examines the relationship between cultural intelligence (CI) and the internationalization of Swiss Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It also evaluates the role of internationalization motivators within that relationship. A self-administered survey was sent (by email) to the managers of 640 Swiss SMEs, identified from the Swiss SME database (Switzerland Global Enterprises-ge.com). The data analysis confirms that the internationalization process and the intention to internationalize depend to a large extent on the cultural intelligence of these managers. The analysis also identified access to information on foreign markets as the main motivator that affects this relationship. The study proposes solutions …

The Impact Of Governance Mechanism On Performance And Survival Of Entrepreneurial Firms, Noura S. Metawa

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation consists of two essays.

The first essay studies governance structures and their effectiveness for start-up companies and their survival. We utilize data from the Kauffman Survey, which tracks a sample of firms from their inceptions through their first eight years of existence. We hypothesize and find evidence that a startup's governance system affects its survivability as well as its performance. We show that controlling for the firm size and the industry, cross-sectional variations in the performance of the start-up firms can be explained by governance variables; the presence of one or more independent board member on the board, …

2018 Q2 Private Capital Access Index Report, Craig R. Everett

Pepperdine Private Capital Access Report

The Pepperdine Private Capital Access Index (PCA) is a quarterly indicator produced by the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, in partnership with Dun & Bradstreet. The index is designed to measure the demand for, activity, and health of the private capital markets. The purpose of the PCA Index is to gauge the demand of small and medium sized businesses for financing needs, the level of accessibility of private capital, and the transparency and efficiency of private financing markets.

Immigrant Entrepreneurship: An Account Of The Korean Experience, Wallace T.F Taylor

Engaged Management ReView

This research account reports conclusions from a small group of interviews done with Korean-American entrepreneurs located in three ethnic enclaves near Atlanta, GA. The purpose of this research is to further knowledge in immigrant entrepreneurship. Methodology comprised seven one-hour interviews conducted with first generation business owners (one male and six female) in three enclaves in Atlanta. The research used qualitative design and focused on answering three important questions: How do Korean entrepreneurs discover and exploit opportunities to develop business, how does this sample describe their experiences in the studied enclaves, and how might espoused cultural traits and business skills affect …

Building A Bridge Between Philanthropy And Profit: The History, Economics, And Politics Of Environmental Impact In A Commerce Society, Yekaterina Goncharova

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper examines our consumerist society through past and present data, business practice, supply chain, economics, and its impact on human and environmental well-being. Upon examination, the thesis aims to suggest change through social indicators and policy. It answers numerous questions surrounding both the problems and solutions associated with environmental policy. These include: the question as to what exactly is social and environmental impact investing? What are current changes impacting humanity’s ecological footprint? Why does society need to make changes? Most importantly, it assesses how we can change? Chapter 1 explores the past and what led to an increase of …

The Leadership Role Of Management Accountants As It Contributes To Innovation And Entrepreneurship In Start-Up Businesses In Southern California, Paula Edwards

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand and describe the leadership role of managerial accountants as it contributes to innovation in start-up businesses in Southern California.

Methodology: The methodology used to understand and describe the leadership role of managerial accountants as it contributes to the innovation and entrepreneurship in start-up businesses in Southern California was a qualitative study. The study participants included 12 entrepreneurs who had started a business in the last five years, had utilized a management accountant on a part-time, full-time or consultant basis and are located in the San Diego, Orange, or Los …

A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Effect Of Employer Support On Employee Productivity, Shawn Tuman, Haley Lipton

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this creative, collaborative, capstone project is to conduct a cross-cultural examination of the effect of employer support on employee productivity by compiling, examining, and synthesizing conclusions from existing research. In a world of growing globalization and technological innovation, the speed of productivity is often the cornerstone that differentiates successful businesses from unsuccessful businesses, providing a competitive advantage to the quick while the others fall behind. Often this increased level of efficiency comes at a cost beyond the price of the product and the salary of employees, a deeper, psychological cost. By reviewing research focused in the United …

Raising The Bar

Business Exchange

Alumnus Jared Smith's startup, RXBAR, is the fastest-growing nutrition bar brand in the United States. Its recent acquisition by Kellogg Co. provided the business with the resources to break into new food categories and access Kellog's R&D resources. The article discusses Smith's entrepreneurship and business philosophy, as well as the education he received.

Firm Structure And Environment As Contingencies To The Corporate Venture Capital–Parent Firm Value Relationship, Varkey K. Titus Jr., Brian Anderson

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Corporate venture capital (CVC) is a valuable strategic tool associated with numerous innovative outcomes. However, less is known about whether CVC investing creates value for the investing (or parent) firm. Drawing from the attention-based view and contingency theory, we suggest that an increase in firm value from CVC investing is contingent on attentional mechanisms that discipline the selection of new investment opportunities. We posit that increases in firm value associated with CVC investing accrues to firms adopting specific operational structures and operating in particular environmental contexts. We find support for our research model in a sample of 95 companies between …

Uri Theatre Presents: Rob Neill And The Neo-Futurists, Caitlyn Sloan

Senior Honors Projects

The University of Rhode Island has given me the opportunity to explore and recognize many different interests that I never knew I previously had. While at the university I discovered my love for Theatre and the talent I have as a manager, as well as a love for event planning through my employment with University Events. These passions drove my desire to create an Honors Project that would help me learn more about management and planning on a scale that could have a large impact. When the theatre department won the Distinguished Visiting Artist Grant for 2017, I seized the …

Surprisingly Open Or Openly Surprised? That Is The Question; Using Surprise Experiences To Increase Openness To Experience And Tolerance Of Ambiguity, Anneke Veenendaal-De Kort

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Using Surprise Experiences to Increase Openness to Experience and Tolerance of Ambiguity

In the fast-changing world in which we are currently living, we constantly come across situations and problems that we have not encountered before. An open mind and the ability to tolerate ambiguity are important skills in uncertain times. People who embrace the unpredictable can develop their resilience and flexibility. Surprisologists Luna and Renninger (2015) have discovered that a great way of dipping into unpredictability is through surprise. For my Master’s Project, I designed experiences that transform people’s openness and tolerance for ambiguity through surprise. This paper begins with …

Strategic Analysis Of Lifeloop, Llc: Current Positioning And Recommendations For Future Growth, Erin Dabbs

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

LifeLoop is a senior living software company that has the potential to gain market share in a new and growing industry. By making changes to current processes, business level strategy, and corporate level strategy, the company can grow organically, faster. LifeLoop must make these strategic changes to areas of marketing and sales processes now as the industry is changing life cycle stages; the company’s movement in this window of opportunity is critical to their future success. These findings outline where LifeLoop is currently positioned and the first steps needed to grow and develop into a reputation of excellence that will …

New Dentist News (May 2018), Ada Committee On The New Dentist

New Dentist News

New Dentist News offers timely information on scientific, social, educational, political and economic developments affecting new dentists. This collection is historical and items may not reflect current standards. For up-to-date information contact the ADA. The New Dentist News was alternately titled ADA Lifeline, 1997-June 2001.

Oral History Conversation With Mark Berger, Jack Turner

Philosophy 332: Business Ethics

No abstract provided.

创新的历史 (The History Of Innovation): An Analysis Of The Transformation Of China’S Entrepreneurial Orientation, Ilona Toth

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

As entrepreneurship continues to play an increasingly significant role in the growth and success of businesses, nations, and the global economy, it is of the utmost importance to understand the factors that support or hinder entrepreneurial activity. China’s historically tumultuous past provides an ideal platform on which entrepreneurship can be examined over a period of time and through a multitude of analytical lenses. With the establishment of a clear definition of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and its application to China’s past and present, it becomes clear that it is a combination of formal and informal institutions, as well as a multiplicity …

An Analysis Of Prosocial Behavior In Customers, Erik Swanson

Honors Theses

Despite all that is known about the good entrepreneurship can do for communities, there is still a gap in the research on how entrepreneurship can directly better communities and the people that live in them through passing on prosocial benefits. This paper proposes “prosocial entrepreneurship” as a means to address this gap. It will address the gap through examining how prosocial entrepreneurship builds communities to pass on a positive impact on these communities. Businesses have both encouraged prosocial behaviors in employees and promoted cooperation and community building for some time. Research was also completed on prosocial behaviors to build a …

Understanding The Role Of Social Capital On Performance In Family Firms., Mahshid Jessri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One important form of social capital is family social capital, which is mainly the relationship among family members in family business. In this dissertation, we utilize two perspectives of innovativeness and network mobilization to study the relationship between family social capital and firm performance. In the first study, we examine family social capital as a multidimensional construct, and study the relationship between the three aspects of structural, cognitive, and relational family social capital. The relationship between relational social capital and performance is studied through the lens of network mobilization, and the model investigates how family firm identity alters this relationship, …

A Socioemotional Wealth Perspective On Innovativeness And Performance Of Family Businesses., Vasiliki Kosmidou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a theoretical and empirical examination of the relationships among socioemotional wealth, innovativeness, and performance in family firms. Building on the Behavioral Agency Theory’s predictions that socioemotional wealth of family firms may affect their strategic decision making both positively and negatively, this study theoretically develops and tests a research model that aims at understanding the nuanced influences of different socioemotional wealth dimensions on firm innovativeness and performance. Specifically, the study hypothesizes that a family’s socioemotional wealth affects the firm’s innovativeness and performance both negatively, in the case of internal socioemotional wealth and positively, in the case of external …

Identifying Critical Risk Factors In The Decision-Making Process Of Angel Investors And Venture Capitalists: A Delphi Research Study, Shawn A. Carson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Entrepreneurs perceive and manage risk differently than investors (Palich & Bagby, 1995). As a result, entrepreneurs may underestimate the extent to which their ventures are perceived to be risky by a potential investor. Consequently, the entrepreneur is left with making assumptions that could be detrimental in obtaining the necessary capital to launch and grow the business. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a common set of perceived critical risk factors among a group of experienced investors that would cause them to reject a deal out of hand.

The research methodology chosen for this study was …

Ethereum And The Sec: Why Most Distributed Autonomous Organizations Are Subject To The Registration Requirements Of The Securities Act Of 1933 And A Proposal For New Regulation, Tiffany L. Minks

Texas A&M Law Review

In a world full of new technology, the risk of fraud is constantly increasing. In the securities industry, this risk existed long before the use of technology. Congress enacted the Securities Act of 1933 to combat the risk of fraud and misrepresentation in the sale of securities. By requiring full disclosure, investors have the opportunity to make informed decisions prior to investing. However, Distributed Autonomous Organizations (“DAOs”), through the use of blockchains and smart-contracts, engage in the sale of securities without fully disclosing the risks or complying with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. Compliance with the …

By The Numbers: Depaul Builds Entrepreneur Success

Business Exchange

Statistics regarding the college's successes in teaching entrepreneurship, the success rate of alumni companies, mentorships and other relevant metrics.

Innovators For Good

Business Exchange

DePaul's Coleman Entrepreneurship Center and Driehaus College of Business helps business students turn their ideas into businesses. The article profiles four enterprises that are driven by innovating for good, from reducing invasive species to helping people on the autism spectrum with adaptive materials for educational purposes.

Minority Entrepreneurship: How Access To Capital And Strategic Decisions Affect Success, Thea Winston

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many researchers have discovered that entrepreneurship is a source of financial freedom that if done successfully will ensure wealth for generations. With that idea in mind, minorities have seized that opportunity in record numbers with hopes that they will become prosperous. However, in addition to the increased success rate of minority-owned businesses, there is a rise in the failure rate of minority-owned businesses specifically in the African-American community. In this thesis, we will conduct a case study of three entrepreneurs at different stages that supports the theory that access to capital and strategic decisions affect the success of minority entrepreneurs. …

Business Plan: The Coffee Project, Lauren Porter

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Executive Summary

The Coffee Project will be a specialty coffee shop in downtown Bartlesville, OK offering direct-trade coffee, tea, simple meals, and TCP merchandise. The shop will offer the standard specialty coffee drinks like cappuccinos, lattes, macchiatos and cortados, as well as shots of flavors and a selection of milk alternatives. In achieving its mission to provide great specialty coffee with a cause to Bartlesville, a portion of the profits from every food or drink purchase at The Coffee Project will be donated to local and regional charity organizations of the customers’ choosing. All net profits from TCP merchandise will …

Good Taste: Expanding Profits And Geographic Horizons Through Social Responsibility, Carly Cassidy

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ilusión+, otherwise known as Ilusión Más, is a socially-responsible wine enterprise founded by Pau and Gina Torres, a couple from Tarragona, Spain. In 2013, Pau was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a motor neuron disease which causes muscles to weaken over time and eventually atrophy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). In Spanish, Ilusión signifies hope and wishful thinking, serving as an optimistic name which embodies the resilient attitude of its owners (Word Reference). Ilusión+ selects wine from Spanish vineyards and distributes them in restaurants throughout the country under their brand and story. The company donates a portion …

The Impact Of Goal Settings And Groups To Support Small Businesses: Experimental Evidence Using Female Entrepreneurs In Abuja Nigeria., Nneoma Nwobilor, Imuetinyan Aiguwurhuo

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

"About 57% of women in Nigeria from age 15-64 are involved in some form of employment (World Bank, 2016). Most of these women are involved in informal entrepreneurship due to lack of education. These women who have no access to schooling are forced to find informal work to provide for themselves and their families (World Bank, 2016). This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of goal settings and support groups on small businesses among female small-scale business owners in Abuja Nigeria. The experimental research conducted used the experimental design created by the Family Independence Initiative of Oakland to explore ways …

Reward-Based Crowdfunding Technological Projects Determinants Of Success: A Quantitative Study, Khalid Mahmoud Fadlelmula Elkhidir

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

Crowdfunding success in terms of the achievement of target capital in reward-based crowdfunding projects is impacted by many factors (e.g., past created projects, campaign duration, pledged capital). This paper studies the determinants of success rate (pledged capital/target capital) or (P/T) in successful technological crowdfunding projects. The quantitative study started by data collection of 328 successful Kickstarter technological crowdfunding campaigns which are later decreased to 289 due to model censorship. Tobit model was adopted as the censored linear regression model to determine the existence of relationships between the dependent variable (P/T) and the independent variables. Results suggest that success rate is …