Business Commons^™

New England Journal Of Entrepreneurship, Spring 2016

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

Does Management’S Attention To Different Facets Of Entrepreneurial Orientation Create Value For The Firm? A Longitudinal Study Of Large Retailers, Alka Gupta, Xiujian Chen, Vishal K. Gupta

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Studies of entrepreneurial orientation tend to merge its three components—proactiveness, risk-taking, and innovativeness—into a monolithic construct and analyze its relationship with firm outcomes at one point in time. This has resulted in knowledge voids related to the relative importance of the different components, their specific effect on value created by the firm, and their evolution over time. The present study links each component of entrepreneurial orientation to economic value creation using a longitudinal dataset. Results provide support for hypothesized relationships. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Construction Of Entrepreneurial Orientation: Dispute, Demand, And Dare, Vishal K. Gupta

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Invited editorial by Vishal K. Gupta, discussing the concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Stated succinctly, entrepreneurial orientation (EO) refers to specific aspects of an organization-wide proclivity toward new endeavors. After about four decades of research on this topic, EO has emerged as a predominant construct of interest in strategic management. Over the years, a large—and growing—body of research has accumulated about EO, but questions do persist about the way(s) in which the various facets of EO are linked to each other. This essay distinguishes between three ways in which the various entrepreneurial elements can be combined to form the overall …

Abandoning Ship At Scandia, Inc.: Parts B And C, Herbert Sherman, Barry Armandi, Adva Dinur

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Scandia, Inc., is a commercial vessel management company located in the New York Metropolitan area and is part of a family of firms including Scandia Technical; International Tankers, Ltd.; Global Tankers, Ltd.; Sun Maritime S.A.;Adger Tankers AS; Leeward Tankers, Inc.; Manhattan Tankers, Ltd.; and Liu’s Tankers, S.A. The company’s current market niche is the commercial management of chemical tankers serving the transatlantic market with a focus on the east and gulf coast of the United States and Northern Europe. This three-part case describes the commercial shipping industry as well as several mishaps that the company and its President, Chris Haas, …

Corporate Parents, Initial Legitimacy, And Resource Acquisition In Small And Medium Firms: An Empirical Examination, Gregory Murphy, Neil M. Tocher

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) commonly struggle to acquire needed financial, human, and technological resources. The above being stated, recent scholarly research argues that SMEs that are able to successfully navigate the legitimacy threshold are better able to gather the resources they need to survive and grow. This article provides an empirical test of that claim by examining whether the presence of a corporate parent positively influences SME resource acquisition. Results of the study show that SMEs with corporate parents, when compared to like-sized independent SMEs, have higher credit scores, have more complete management teams, use more computers, and are …

Kabloom!: Revolution In The Flower Industry, Gina Vega, Collette Dumas, Beverly Kahn, Jafar Mana

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

David Hartstein started KaBloom in 1998 with the goal of creating “the Starbucks of Flowers.” He successfully built brand recognition for the gardenlike shops, but problems plagued the young organization. Nearly three years and one recession later, KaBloom failed to live up to Hartstein’s forecast of exponential growth. This case has been designed for a graduate-level course in entrepreneurship/innovation. Students can compare franchising with other business models, examine the impact of organizational structure and leadership styles on business effectiveness, relate issues of supply chain management and logistics to environmental changes, and recognize the impact of innovation on business sustainability.

Abandoning Ship At Scandia, Inc.: Part A, Barry Armandi, Adva Dinur, Herbert Sherman

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Scandia, Inc., is a commercial vessel management company located in the New York Metropolitan area and is part of a family of firms including Scandia Technical; International Tankers, Ltd.; Global Tankers, Ltd.; Sun Maritime S.A.;Adger Tankers AS; Leeward Tankers, Inc.; Manhattan Tankers, Ltd.; and Liu’s Tankers, S.A. The company’s current market niche is the commercial management of chemical tankers serving the transatlantic market with a focus on the east and gulf coast of the United States and Northern Europe. This three-part case describes the commercial shipping industry as well as several mishaps that the company and its President, Chris Haas, …

Mason Biodiesel: A Family’S New Venture In A New Industry, Matthew Eriksen, George H. Tompson

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This case describes a real family that has been running a labor-intensive business since 1992. The father, Phil Mason, runs the business with the help of his wife and two of his sons in southwestern Rhode Island. The business is a franchisee of ServiceMaster Clean. In 2006, the franchise employed 20 full-time employees and was the 50th largest ServiceMaster Clean franchise among the approximately 1,200 franchises located in the United States. Annual revenue is approximately $2.5 million. In late 2005, one of Phil’s sons began researching the biodiesel industry. As he was growing weary of the labor-intensive nature of his …

The Influence Of Family Business Size On Management Activities, Styles And Characteristics, Matthew C. Sonfield, Robert N. Lussier

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This is an empirical study of family firm size, as measured by the number of employees, and the relationship of a firm’s size to a variety of management activities, styles, and characteristics. A statistical analysis of data drawn from 159 American family businesses indicates significant differences by size with regard to the number of nonfamily members in top management, use of outside advisors, time spent engaged in strategic management, use of sophisticated methods of financial management, proportion of women family members involved in firm management, and level of conflict between family members. Implications are offered for family firm owner-managers, for …

No Mulligans: When Good Entrepreneurs Make Bad Decisions, Joseph E. Levangie

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Some of the best entrepreneurs fail early and often. Less talented or less committed entrepreneurs do not even get a second chance. Failure and setbacks, however, can be instructive. What lessons can be learned from these experiences? How can the entrepreneur (and investors) navigate around the potholes on the New Venture Highway? Read on.

Seeking God (In The Details), Joseph E. Levangie

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs tend to be self-styled “idea” people. They often believe they have the next “Big Concept”—one which could change the world, reaffirm their self-worth, and, of course, make them and their venture team a fortune. In contrast, as they build a company to implement their business dream, entrepreneurs also tend to eschew or trivialize administrative details. Why should they waste their creative juices on minutia? As a result of this insensitivity to detail, these captains of capitalism often trip in their entrepreneurial journey. For example, they might:

• Forget to remit payroll taxes on schedule.

• Fail to document the …

Someone Old Or Someone New? The Effects Of Ceo Change On Corporate Entrepreneurship, J. L. "Bert" Morrow Jr.

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Boards of directors often attempt to foster corporate entrepreneurship by replacing a firm’s chief executive officer (CEO). Compelling theoretical arguments and anecdotal evidence suggest that when firm performance has suffered, a new CEO is best suited to lead the firm’s creative endeavors. On the other hand, among firms that retain their existing CEO after a decline in performance, manipulating the CEO’s compensation package is a common governance practice used by boards to encourage innovation. In these cases, some have argued that increasing the CEO’s pay will encourage corporate entrepreneurship, because the CEO has been compensated for assuming additional risk. Counter …

Redefining Loyalty: Motivational Strategies And Employee Loyalty In An Era Of Downsizing, Sandra Obilade

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Retaining employee loyalty after restructuring is a problem for all types of businesses. The major issue concerns how management and employees can establish a new, mutually acceptable "psychological contract" which ensures employee loyalty but not lifelong employment. Eighteen small businesses in Fairfield County, Connecticut were surveyed to investigate loyalty and motivation after downsizing. A significant correlation was found between loyalty and motivation. Furthermore, several motivational techniques employed were inconsistent with employee needs. Suggestions are offered on how to retain employee loyalty.

The Entrepreneur, Stanley I. Mason Jr.

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Stanley I. Mason, Jr. has had an incredible impact on our lives. This feature article describes his journey to becoming an inventor and entrepreneur.

Customer Service And Satisfaction: Competitive Advantage And Beyond, Stanley Bazan

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This article examines how excellence in customer service and satisfaction can be a major source of competitive advantage and profits for small businesses. The costs and causes of poor service and satisfaction are discussed and special emphasis is given to the value of the lifelong customer. Methods to pursue the goal of completely satisfying customers 100 percent of the time are examined. Leadership, aggressive problem solving, problem-solving teams, and assessment of customer service are among the topics reviewed.

Paint-Your-Own Pottery Case Study, Lisa Morin

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

There are currently more than seventy paint-your-own pottery shops in the United States. Although the concept of such studios is fairly new in New England, they have been in existence on the West Coast for years.

Franchising And Entrepreneurship: High Reward Or High Risk?, Gad J. Selig

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

According to the Department of Commerce, start-up, small, and family businesses are among the fastest growing areas of employment. Even under the best economic environment, starting a business is risky. To reduce the risks and to establish their own businesses, an increasing number of entrepreneurs and corporate converts are buying franchises.

Franchising has enjoyed a major increase in popularity during the early 1990s, fueled largely by the growing pool of available candidates made possible by significant corporate and government downsizing. According to the Department of Commerce, franchising accounts for nearly one-third of all U.S. retail sales and employs over 7 …