Business Commons^™

Management And Market Reactions To Litigation: Do Shareholders Win When The Company Loses?, Terence Lau

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

This research brief summarizes a study on how markets react to settlements and judgments. Prior research suggests that when companies refuse to settle and instead take on litigation, they are rewarded by markets even when they lose the case. Why this occurs has tremendously important significance for senior management.

Distinguishing Fiction From Reality: The Asean Free Trade Area And Implications For The Global Auto Industry, Terence Lau

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

This Article explores the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement ("AFTA") and its implications for the regional and global auto industry. Section I of this article provides a brief history of ASEAN and its attempts to integrate regionally. It outlines the reasons for regional economic integration, and traces the current literature in this area. Section II provides an overview of the current auto industry in each of the major auto-producing countries in ASEAN: Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It will also explain Malaysia's protected auto industry and Malaysia's attempts to delay implementation of AFTA, and its neighboring countries' reactions. Section III …

Observations On The Folly Of Using Student Evaluations Of College Teaching For Faculty Evaluation, Pay, And Retention Decisions And Its Implications For Academic Freedom, Terence Lau, William Wines

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

Research on student teaching evaluations is vast. An examination of this research demonstrates wide disagreements but also substantial consensus of authority for the proposition that student evaluations should be used only with extreme care, if at all, in making personnel decisions. A number of reasons cause administrators to use teaching evaluations for personnel decisions. The literature, however, is virtually unanimous in its condemnation of norming student evaluations in order to rank classroom performances. Current cases on academic freedom indicate some retrenchment by the Circuits from broader pronouncements in earlier Supreme Court cases. This paper concludes that the use of non-validated …

Giving It Away : Free Technology Transfer To The Irish Sme Sector, Peter Kavanagh, Andy Maguire, James J. Casey

Articles

One of Europe’s major weaknesses lies in its inferiority in terms of transforming the results of technological research and skills into innovations and competitive advantages. (European Commission, 1995, p. 8.)

Technology transfer is a key aspect of economic development and research administration. These concerns are shared equally between academia and industry on both sides of the Atlantic. As technology is developed at a greater rate, concerns about the technology transfer will heighten. This article focuses on technology transfer in Ireland, particularly in the SME (Small and Medium size Enterprises, under 250 employees) sector. As the main Lisbon Objective has not …

Female Entrepreneurship: An Analysis Of Factors Encouraging And Discouraging Female Entrepreneurship In The United States, Katie Patterson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Importance Of Icons For Corporate Identity For Start-Up Companies, Jillian K. Dunn

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The objective of this research project is to look at the importance of icons, more specifically logos, for corporate identity in start-up companies, and why these logos are such a significant factor in the marketing of a company to its consumers. A logo's main purpose is to "project the company's intended image" (First Town Company Unlimited, 2000, p.1) and if properly completed then the logo becomes a significant part of the consumer/producer relationship. "The corporate identity dates back to Ancient Greece" and "hundreds of years later, it [ still] remains the vital aspect of any organization's identity; Logos offer a …

Entrepreneurs Test The Market: Got (Goat’S) Milk Soap?, Laurence Weinstein, Kelli Bodrato

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Sitting around the kitchen table one late-winter morning, Lisa and Rick Agee were discussing which direction to take their small, home-based business located in rural New Milford, Connecticut, over the next three to five years. The couple was making and selling “Goatboy” brand bathroom soap using goat’s milk as the key ingredient, and they were now trying to reconcile very different points of view on how to grow the business in early March 2006.

The Systematic Nature Of Serendipity In Opportunity Discovery: Implications For The Theory Of Entrepreneurship, Reddi Kotha, Dimo Dimov, Gerard George

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper endeavors to disentangle search from serendipity in discoveries of new opportunities. Whereas economic models focus on active search and the tradeoff between its costs and benefits, the Austrian economic tradition posits that individuals do not search for opportunities; it is their alertness that helps them to profit from arbitrage opportunities from the imperfect decisions of others. Further, their alertness reflects their unique prior experience. Yet, despite the intuitive soundness of these ideas, some recent experimental empirical work to test them has highlighted the need for stronger theoretical precision. Are serendipitous solutions better than active search solutions? Can serendipitous …

An Exploratory Study Of Executive Hubris And Its Effect On How Chief Executive Officers In Small To Medium Enterprises Make Strategic Management Decisions, A. S. Parker

Theses : Honours

This exploratory study examined the nature of the recently conceptualised notion of executive hubris; and in particular the effect it may have on how chief executive officers in small to medium sized enterprises make their strategic management decisions. It was designed to explore executive hubris and strategic decision making in a limited sample of executives. On this basis the results are limited to this study and are not generalisable. A core aim of the study however; was to test qualitatively and quantitatively in a fundamental, exploratory way; Hambrick and Hiller's (2005) propositions that executive hubris has an effect on how …

Where Should The Action Be - Inside The Classroom Or Outside The Classroom? A Comparison Of The Action-Learning Outcomes In Singapore, China, Korea, New Zealand And Australia, Jens Mueller, Wee Liang Tan, Hanjun Hu, John Thornton

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Change Leadership In Small Enterprises: Evidence From Singapore, Thomas Menkhoff, Yue Wah Chay

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Leading change processes in an enterprise is a challenge for many entrepreneurs. Numerous elements influence the outcomes of such transformation processes, including the adopted change leadership style, the implementation skills of the entrepreneur, the particular scenario of change in terms of urgency of change and resistance, the scale of change as well as macro variables. This article sheds light on the change leadership approaches of small Chinese entrepreneurs in Singapore. It aims at examining widespread common-sense assumptions that æAsianÆ small entrepreneurs adopt mostly directive-coercive (autocratic) change leadership approaches. We argue that there is indeed a great diversity and heterogeneity amongst …

Social In Social Entrepreneurship: Altruism And Entrepreneurship, Partners In Social Entrepreneurship, Wee Liang Tan, John Joseph Williams, Teck Meng Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Business Adaptation Strategies Used By Small And Medium Retailers In An Increasingly Competitve Environment: A Study Of Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, Kittima Cheungsuvadee

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis presents a study of business adaptation strategies employed by small and medium retailers in order to be sustainable in a climate of rapid and significant environmental change in regional Thailand. The study was carried out in Ubon Ratchathani, a large regional city in North Eastern Thailand which shares many of the difficulties encountered by regional businesses in regional Thailand. Changes over the last ten years have been considered in this work and recent strategies adopted by the small and medium retailers have been investigated. Using extensive input from a study group which represented approximately 10% of all small …

Assessing The Success And Evaluating The Benefits Of Government-Sponsored Regional Internet-Trading Platforms For Small And Medium Enterprises: A Western Australian Perspective, Denise E. Gengatharen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Internet has been viewed as an opportunity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to efficiently compete in the global arena with their larger counterparts by overcoming distance and size. However, research has shown that actual uptake of Internet e-commerce by SMEs has been lagging behind that of larger companies. Fearing a growing digital divide between large companies and SMEs, some governments have taken specific measures to encourage SME participation in ecommerce. One of the more direct government initiatives to hasten the progression of SMEs on the e-commerce adoption curve is the creation, sponsorship and management of regional Internet trading …

Estimating Demand For Business Recycling Services In Two Nebraska Cities, Eric Thompson, Mingming Pan, Cory Buland

Bureau of Business Research Publications

Creating opportunities for business recycling is an important priority for the State of Nebraska and communities throughout the state. In particular, there is a need to expand opportunities in smaller communities that do not always have the infrastructure or markets for recycling found in the state’s largest cities such as Omaha and Lincoln. With this in mind, the following report, sponsored by WasteCap Nebraska and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, uses a survey of businesses to evaluate business attitudes toward recycling, current recycling efforts, and the level of need and interest for recycling training and services in two mid-size …

Leadership Styles Of Entrepreneurs In Small Land Surveying Businesses., Jerry Wayne Nave

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to analyze the leadership styles of owners of small land surveying businesses in the states of Tennessee and Virginia to determine what leadership style was currently being employed by the majority of those owners. The participants in this study were chosen from members of the Virginia Association of Surveyors and the Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors. The respondents to the questionnaire were licensed land surveyors who owned small firms of fewer than 101 employees. In addition, a corollary purpose was to flesh out the skeletal literature available on small business leadership styles and …

The Recovery Is Sustained: The Nebraska Business Forecast Council, Randy Cantrell

Business in Nebraska

In September and October of this year, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita combined with an already-stretched world oil market to generate a spike in energy prices throughout the United States. The price spike naturally generated concern for the economy. Most recent recessions in the U.S. economy have been preceded by peaks in oil prices. Did the energy price spikes following Katrina and Rita derail the quickly-growing U.S. economy? The early evidence, and the economic outlook, suggest that the answer is no.

Despite the hurricanes, third quarter GDP growth continued to be very strong, exceeding 4%. Further, strong job growth returned to …

Immigrant Entrepreneurs And Neighborhood Revitalization: Studies Of The Allston Village, East Boston And Fields Corner Neighborhoods In Boston, Ramon Borges-Mendez, Michael Liu, Paul Watanabe

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Although somewhat later than other major urban areas, Boston has been experiencing fundamental demographic changes. The 2000 Census reported that for the first time non-Hispanic whites constitute a minority of the city’s population. Subsequent Census estimates confirm an even stronger trend toward a rapidly diversifying population.

Immigration has been a major factor in this growth and diversification. A recent report shows that over the last 15 years more than 22,000 new immigrants have annually settled in Massachusetts. The foreign-born as a percentage of the population has grown from 9.4 percent in 1980 to 14.3 percent in 2004.

Massachusetts Marine Trades Workforce Assessment 2005, Dan Hellin

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

In 2005, a partnership between the South Coastal Workforce Investment Board, the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association, Massasoit Community College and the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) of the University of Massachusetts Boston, developed and distributed a survey focused on the status, needs and future challenges faced by marine businesses in the South Coastal region of Massachusetts. The Urban Harbors Institute analyzed the responses and prepared this report to present the results.

The overall aims of the 2005 Marine Trades Workforce Assessment Survey were: to determine the extent of the marine industry’s labor needs in the South Coastal region of Massachusetts; to …

Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught In An Action-Learning Format? We Compare Entrepreneurship Action Learning Outcomes For Undergraduate Students In Germany, Singapore, China, Korea, New Zealand, United States And Australia, Jens Mueller, Robert Wyatt, Heinz Klandt, Wee Liang Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Created' Enclaves For Enterprise: An Empirical Study Of Singapore's Industrial Parks In Indonesia, Vietnam And China, Caroline Yeoh, Siang Yeung Wong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The dynamics of globalization have prompted governments to re-examine accustomed policies, and search for alternative strategies, in order to re-position their economies for the future. This paper explores the spatial context of state involvement in the new economics of competition, with the focus on Singapore's much publicized, and controversial, orchestration of its state enterprise network to encapsulate economic space for Singapore-based firms to expand into the Asian region. This strategic initiative is promulgated on the exportability of Singapore's æstate credibilityÆ, systemic and operational efficiencies, and technological competencies, to locations where these attributes are less certain. A logit model is applied …

El Impacto De Micro-Crédito En Superar La Pobreza, Magda Tsaneva

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The present study is a microeconomic investigation, based on personal interviews with different microentrepreneurs and functionaries of credit institutions. It evaluates the impact of micro-credit, investigates the challenges the micro-credit programs have to confront, and suggests some potential improvements. In a qualitative analysis the following conclusions have been reached: the micro-credit is very limited in scope, it is not focused on really poor people, and neither has it been effective in helping the beneficiaries it has had to grow. Thus, while micro-credit has had many positive effects and has been useful to maintain and develop the microenterprise sector, it has …

Microcredit In The Rural Areas Of Northwest Yunnan Province, China: Investigating The Operation Of, Results Of, And Obstacles To Microfinancial Institutions, Evan Hofmockel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The UN declared 2005 the Silver Year of International Microfinance, due to the successes of microcredit programs in underdeveloped countries around the world since the phenomenon first started appearing in the eighties and nineties. Although programs succeed, it is not without great effort, extended time periods, and competent administration. Previous research of microfinance in Yunnan Province, China has indicated that some of the greatest barriers to success in the programs are their administrative costs and instability, information inequity, and borrowers’ misunderstanding of policies or refusal to adhere to those policies. The purpose of this paper will be to investigate in …

To Pete Or Not To Pete: Review Of The Practical Entrepreneurship Teaching Engagement (Pete) Model To Produce Practically Relevant Entrepreneurial Learning: A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Action-Learning In Entrepreneurship In Singapore, China, Korea, New Zealand And Australia, Jens Mueller, John Thornton, Joe Dewberry, Wee Liang Tan, Hanjun Hu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose: To discuss the effectiveness of a sustainable entrepreneurship training program in several countries in Asia, used by global firms to identify junior management talent, by applying the PETE model of creating an engaging action-learning program. Design/Methodology/Approach: Current literature is reviewed to make a case for the applicability of action-learning based entrepreneurship training. The results of interviews with more than 20 senior level managers of multi-national corporations in 5 Asian countries are compared to self-evaluations of more than 300 student participants and more than 30 faculty evaluations of the program. We use the Practical Entrepreneurship Teaching Engagement (PETE) model to …

Crafting A Co-Operative: Lessons On Women’S Education, Artisans’ Livelihoods, And Rural Development In Morocco, Jenifer Humphrey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project started out as part of a larger plan; the plan was for three students to do the background research necessary to start a women’s weaving co-operative in the rural village of Loutichina, located northeast of the city of Boujad in Morocco. The initial goal of my portion of the research was to understand the mobilization process that takes place when a co-operative is created; ethical considerations included understanding whether or not a co-operative is an organization that the community in Loutichina truly desires and ensuring that we did not create false hopes that a co-operative would form and …

Business Priorities For Reducing The Cost Of Doing Business In Nebraska: Recent Results And Industry Differences, Eric Thompson, Cory Buland

Business in Nebraska

The cost of doing business in Nebraska influences many Nebraska proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations operating throughout the economy. Four times a year, the Bureau of Business Research surveys Nebraska businesses about factors that influence the cost of doing business in the state. This report presents the results of a survey sent to 500 Nebraska businesses during July and August of 2005.

The survey presents businesses with a list of 19 cost factors ranging from market-driven matters (such as the cost of supplies and raw materials, labor costs, or utility costs) to factors more directly tied to federal, state, and local …

Slickcraft: The Quality Name In Boating, Geoffrey D. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

SlickCraft:  The Quality Name in Boating is an article concerning the history of the Slick Craft Boat Company (1954-1969) of Holland, Michigan, its acquisition in 1969 by AMF Corporation (American Manufacturing and Foundry) and subsequent founding of S2 Yachts, Inc. by its founder, Leon Slikkers in 1974.

Summary -- Reducing Market And Appropriation Uncertainty: The Twin Organizational Tasks Of Entrepreneurship, Douglas A. Bosse, Sharon A. Alvarez

Management Faculty Publications

One of the reasons entrepreneurs are motivated to action is their assessment of the potential profit associated with a particular opportunity to recombine resources from the factor market into a product (or service) that will be demanded in the product market. Entrepreneurial firm survival often depends on the creation and appropriation of this profit. However, this profit is uncertain ex ante as it depends on the ex post difference between the costs that must be paid for the factors of production and the prices that will be realized for the finished product. This paper explores the relationship between uncertainty and …

Defining The 'Social' In 'Social Entrepreneurship': Altruism And Entrepreneurship, Wee Liang Tan, John N. Williams, Teck Meng Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

What is social entrepreneurship? In, particular, what’s so social about it? Understanding what social entrepreneurship is enables researchers to study the phenomenon and policy-makers to design measures to encourage it. However, such an understanding is lacking partly because there is no universally accepted definition of entrepreneurship as yet. In this paper, we suggest a definition of social entrepreneurship that intuitively accords with what is generally accepted as entrepreneurship and that captures the way in which entrepreneurship may be altruistic. Based on this we provide a taxonomy of social entrepreneurship and identify a number of real cases from Asia illustrating the …

The Economic Impact Of The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Department, Eric Thompson

Bureau of Business Research Publications

When the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium is filled for Cornhusker home games (as it has been for an NCAA-record 268 consecutive times since 1962), millions of dollars of economic activity are generated through ticket sales, broadcast rights, and concession sales. This spending and attendance indicate that Cornhusker football provides a popular, high-quality product that creates a high level of consumer demand. Cornhusker football also creates a large ripple effect in the economies of Lincoln, Omaha, and elsewhere in the state of Nebraska as fans attending Husker games spend at restaurants, hotels, retail stores, gasoline service stations, and other businesses …