Business Commons^™

Rationales For Collaboration; Implications For The Irish Road Freight Industry, Eoin Plant, Jim Mcgovern

Conference Papers

The European Union has made a commitment to promoting sustainable mobility through advanced transport logistics. One of the principal areas yet to be addressed is that of the potential barriers to advanced transport logistics and the attitudes of industry to this advancement. This paper addresses some of these concerns and argues that competition for high-value contracts can be very tough, especially where the contracts are from large organisations that often prefer to develop a relationship with only one transport service provider. The paper attempts to put the research into a theoretical framework of Resource-Advantage Theory. Empirical evidence is presented from …

Going Organic In Singapore: Kemena Enterprise Ltd And The Uob-Smu Entrepreneurship Alliance, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

According to British business research company Organic Monitor, the market across Asia for organic food is set to hit US$1 billion this year. Singapore, too, has been swept up in this organic wave. Last year, the country’s share of the Asian organic food market reached US$40 million. Kemena, a two-year-old company which supplies a range of health products in Singapore, has become the first to introduce organic infant formula into the Singapore market. The company was recently involved with the United Overseas Bank (UOB)-SMU Entrepreneurship Alliance which provides funding for small and medium-sized enterprises to hire student consultants. Knowledge@SMU interviewed …

Learning How To Innovate: Standard Chartered Bank's Ilab@Smu Challenges Students To Bridge Technology And Business, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

"The future of banking is in Asia and the key driver is innovation," according to a statement from Standard Chartered Bank and the Singapore Management University, which together established an innovation centre -- the Standard Chartered iLab@SMU -- in early 2006. Students can work with iLab on projects where they are exposed to a corporate environment and issues relating to managing intellectual property. As an example, several students were recently given the challenge of investigating the viability of voice biometrics authentication technology at the bank. Knowledge@SMU interviewed both the students and bank executives for their views on how the process …

Ua62/3 May Newsletter, Wku Small Business Development Center

University Organizations

Newsletter created by the WKU Small Business Development Center.

Employing Social Capital By Small & Medium Enterprises To Bear Fruit From Wireless Communications, Abdelnasser Abdelaal, Mehruz Kamal, Peter Wolcott

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Wireless and mobile communications can save Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) significant time, money, and effort due to the mobility, flexibility, and ease of use mobile devices provide. SMEs that use such innovations can improve productivity, decrease costs, and enhance the quality of the business process. Lacking technical skills and financial resources, SMEs need special support from local communities and governments in order to survive the severe competition of big chain stores. This paper proposes a model for SMEs to adopt new innovations—those of wireless communications—by employing social capital. We have used a case study approach to show that social …

Incorporating Learning Through Doing In Entrepreneurship Education: The Case Of An University Industry Alliance In Asia, Wee Liang Tan, David B. Montgomery

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

With the developments in Asia, there is little doubt that entrepreneurship education would make it way across from the West to Asia. However, the form and manner it takes may differ because of the context and the definition of entrepreneurship adopted. With the differences in Asia and development of entrepreneurship policies adopted by the Asian policymakers, entrepreneurship education has variations across Asia. This paper outlines one such development in a new university in Singapore, involving the university with an industry alliance.

The Growth Dividend: How Has It Been Allocated?, Eric Thompson

Bureau of Business Research Publications

A growing economy and population in Lincoln, Nebraska have generated an expanding tax base for the city. Growth has been especially rapid in the property tax base. As noted in a recent report by the UNL Bureau of Business Research (2005), the average new housing unit generates annual property taxes for the City of Lincoln substantially greater than does the average existing housing unit. This additional property value is referred to as the “growth dividend” in the Bureau of Business Research report. This growth dividend is available for a variety of uses, including capital outlays on infrastructure, tax relief, or …

Ua62/3 April Newsletter, Wku Small Business Development Center

University Organizations

Newsletter created by the WKU Small Business Development Center.

Nebraska’S Micropolitan Statistical Areas: A Growing Piece Of A Shrinking Pie, Randolph Cantrell

Business in Nebraska

They have been called “urban islands in a shortgrass sea” (Popper and Popper, 1986) and “middle places” (Swanson, 2007). They are the small urban centers that dot the Great Plains and are home to an important share of the region’s non-metropolitan population and economic activity. Compared to the much larger metropolitan centers such as Omaha and Lincoln, they may appear to be minor players in the state’s social and economic landscape—but that would underestimate their role. Individually they anchor the regional “pillars of growth” identified by Thompson (Thompson et al., 2007), and collectively they play a determining role in the …

We've Got The Power: Rise Of Women Entrepreneurs, Phyllis Swersky, Aileen Gorman, Jessica Reardon

New England Journal of Public Policy

The authors address women’s recent entrepreneurial successes in local, national, and international settings, offering, as a case study, one nonprofit organization whose mission is to support women entrepreneurs and help them grow: The Commonwealth Institute. In examining The Commonwealth Institute, the authors provide insight into the challenges facing some of the women entrepreneurs they work with in Massachusetts. They also offer some strategies to make sure women continue to make a significant contribution to New England’s economy.

Ua62/3 March Newsletter, Wku Small Business Development Center

University Organizations

Newsletter created by the WKU Small Business Development Center.

The Entrepreneurial Process: An Assessment Of A Real Life Case Study And A Theoretical Model, Kevin Neary

Masters

The purpose of this work is to record and document the development cycle of an entrepreneur focusing specifically on the point of start up of the entrepreneurs business through to a key juncture when the entrepreneur sells a portion of his business. The work then examines the Klofsten Business Platform Model, a model that might be described as a self diagnostic tool for new start up ventures by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur then analyses his business development in light of Klofstens’ Model and comments on how he feels his real life experience fits into the proposed model. After a period of …

Mike Mccue's Vision For The Convergence Of The Phone And The Web, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

When Mike McCue founded Tellme in 1999, its initial product was a voice-driven information service, what might be termed a "voice portal." Today, the company's voice-recognition systems power directory assistance services from AT&T, Verizon and Cingular along with automated 800-number customer help lines at companies like Merrill Lynch and Federal Express. But McCue still harbors dreams of a broader voice-driven web, one which will provide consumers with new ways of using the phone to interact with the universe of information. He discussed this vision, and others, during a recent interview with Knowledge@Wharton in Tellme's Mountain View, Calif., offices.

Ua62/3 February Newsletter, Wku Small Business Development Center

University Organizations

Newsletter created by the WKU Small Business Development Center.

Economic Impact Analysis: The Potential Impact Of An Nhra Drag Racing Facility In Lancaster County, Eric Thompson, Seth Freudenburg, Travis Heller

Bureau of Business Research Publications

Entertainment venues are an important component to the quality of life in cities and states. Venues provide local residents with an opportunity to attend events that interest them without requiring them to travel to another city. This saves local residents money and allows residents to attend more events. Both factors increase the quality of life for local citizens, in much the same way that having more local shopping options raises the quality of life.

Lincoln’s need for new entertainment venues to improve the quality of life and to retain or attract younger residents has been a recent topic of discussion …

The Black Box: Unraveling Family Business Succession, Noel D. Campbell, Kirk C. Heriot, Dianne H. Welsh

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Using the family business succession, resource-based view of firms, familiness, and organizational clan literatures, this article develops a model based on the ability of the family business to use familiness, a specific bundle of attributes deriving from a family’s culture, as a competitive advantage for the family firm. In particular, this resource-based framework of family business shows how familiness can distinguish between family firms that succeed beyond the second generation and those that do not. Implications for future research are discussed.

Toward A Typology Of New Venture Creators: Similarities And Contrasts Between Business And Social Entrepreneurs, Gina Vega, Roland E. Kidwell

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This article advances a conceptual typology delineating the differences and similarities between business- and social-sector new venture creators. Our classification scheme differentiates business and social entrepreneurs, considering characteristics of social entrepreneurs in a larger entrepreneurial context. Within a conceptual 2x2 typology based on two dimensions: drive (passion vs. business) and desired return (financial ROI vs. social ROI), we identify and classify 80 examples of new venture creators into one of the quadrants of an enterprise model of entrepreneurs. Preliminary results reveal similarities between social and traditional entrepreneurs and differentiate social entrepreneurs in terms of traits, goals, tendencies, and motivational sources.

Does Understanding National Business Cultures Help Build Regional Development?, Amanda Ratcliffe, Thomas Cooney Dr.

Conference proceedings

An EFER report in 1995 observed that little of the growth ofEurope’s top 500 companies came from existing products in existing markets, but almost two-thirds of the growth came from entering new markets. A large majority of Europe’s 500 are active in export markets, with exports accounting for 40% of their turnover as opposed to the 10% export share for SMEs overall. One of the critical reasons for the poor performance of SMEs within the international arena is their ignorance of local business cultures. Yet for a country – or a specific region – to achieve strong economic growth, it …

Webs Of Power: Multiple Ownership In Tourism Destinations, Ziene Mottiar, Hazel Tucker

Articles

It has been widely noted in the tourism small business literature that collaboration between groups of businesses operating within clusters contributes both to business development and the success of destinations and regions. This paper aims to contribute to the research on tourism destination networks by focusing on multiple ownership, or portfolio entrepreneurship, when more than one small or micro business within a specific destination are owned by the same entrepreneur. Courtown, in Ireland and Göreme in Turkey are presented as two case studies in which the existence of multiple owners was identified. The implications of multiple ownership on tourism operation …

Broadening The Entrepreneurial Perspective, Ziene Mottiar, Sarah Ingle

Articles

In this paper entrepreneurial literature is combined with industrial district literature to try and explain regional success in an Irish industrial sector. A new approach called interpreneurship is introduced as an explanatory concept for regional success in an Irish case study. A number of conclusions are drawn regarding the extent to which the interpreneurship approach is valid and the authors recommend that this is an important concept for further research.

Lifestyle Entrepreneurs And Spheres Of Inter-Firm Relations: The Case Of Westport Co. Mayo, Ireland, Ziene Mottiar

Articles

A relatively small body of literature in tourism which concentrates on the issues of small firms and entrepreneurs and ‘this area of inquiry is vastly under-researched’ (Thomas, 2004, p.1). A key piece of research (Rimmington et al, 1999) classifies entrepreneurs in the tourism sector and one category which has received research attention has been that of lifestyle entrepreneurs. This article outlines the literature on lifestyle entrepreneurs and concludes that much of the focus to date has been on the individual entrepreneur. This current paper investigates how lifestyle entrepreneurs interact with other entrepreneurs in the destination in which they operate, and …

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

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

Fostering Entrepreneurship: Developing A Risk-Taking Culture In Singapore, Balbir B. Bhasin

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

About 10 years ago the Singapore Government realized that entrepreneurial spirit was lacking in its general population. These conclusions were confirmed by an empirical survey, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), an annual assessment of the national level of entrepreneurial activity. The paternalistic and authoritative approach of the government contributed to the general population’s averseness to participating in risk-oriented ventures.

Removing impediments to entrepreneurship is a key challenge for the government and the business sector if the island republic is to maintain its national competitiveness. This article explores the various initiatives taken by the government to stimulate risk-taking and attempts to …

The Tale Of Iranian Entrepreneurs In The United States, Keramat Poorsoltan

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

In practice and in theory, as the findings of this research reveal, the Iranian business community is a new and different, nonconforming immigrant group in the United States. This study explores certain aspects of the Iranian business community in light of a survey done by the author.The article compares and contrasts findings of the survey with those of existing literature that has been written about the business communities of various ethnic groups. The results of this study disagree with the literature in most areas. One difference is that the Iranian business community in the United States does not fit into …

New England Journal Of Entrepreneurship, Fall 2007

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

The Entrepreneurial Director, Bruce Sherony

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The argument that the board of directors can be a helpful tool for entrepreneurships and small businesses derives from the rationale for using boards from both a macro and a micro perspective. Society depends on boards to provide overall checks and balances in the running of businesses. This could not be more evident from the role of the board in Enron’s collapse (U.S. Senate 2002). The board’s value to the entrepreneur is found in the application of the micro perspective. Two sets of recommendations are developed to formulate an improved model of directorship actions and behaviors. First, duties and responsibilities …

Entrepreneurial Selection And Use Of Legal Counsel, Stephen J. Schanz

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs starting new ventures will encounter a host of legal issues requiring consultation with an attorney on an episodic or ongoing basis. It is critical that careful attention be given to the attorney selection process to properly match the needs of the company with the credentials of the attorney. Additionally, options should be explored regarding the billing and payment methodologies the attorney is willing to entertain. The financial resources and cash flow of young companies will likely have a direct impact on the financial agreements entered into with legal counsel. Further, companies desirous of offering the attorney a stake in …

What's In A Name? For Apple, A Focus On The Digital Living Room, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Apple's name change from Apple Computer to Apple on January 9 highlights the company's new reality: CEO Steve Jobs' strategy today revolves around converged consumer devices much more than around personal computers. How successful will this new strategy be in the face of competition from Microsoft, Sony, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia and others who are looking to dominate the digital convergence domain?

Opportunity Missed: A Brief Look At Entrepreneurship In The U.S. And China, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

The promise or threat of China’s economy has fired the American imagination ever since the first Yankee clipper ship captains voyaged there in the 1780s. Whether perceived as a limitless market for American goods or as an intimidating rival, China is indeed a force to be reckoned with. At first glance, Reed Hundt’s In China’s Shadow is another in a recent spate of books probing the nature of China’s startling rise over the last 30 years. Yet Hundt, former chairman of the FCC during the presidency of Bill Clinton, has written a book whose subtitle is more indicative of his …

Keystones Of Entrepreneurship Knowledge, James Bronson

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Book review by James W. Bronson.

Rob van der Horst, Sandra King-Kauanui, and Susan Duffy, ed., Keystones of Entrepreneurship Knowledge, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. ISBN 9781405139212