Business Commons^™

El Paso Economic Development System Review & Recommendations, Edward Feser

Edward J Feser

This report, commissioned by the City of El Paso, recommends that El Paso city government undertake a substantial reform of its economic development effort and that public and private sector stakeholders in the broader El Paso region mobilize to create an organizational vehicle for the kind of public‐private collaboration that is driving innovative economic development in many other major city‐regions in the United States. The analysis also calls for a stronger integration of physical, land use, and economic development planning activities in the city and region, consistent with a trend in international best practice in local and regional economic development.

Embedded Librarianship And Virtual Environments In Entrepreneurship Information Literacy A Case Study, Kelly Evans, Hal Kirkwood

Kelly Evans

No abstract provided.

Embedded Librarianship And Virtual Environments In Entrepreneurship Information Literacy A Case Study, Kelly Evans, Hal Kirkwood

Hal P Kirkwood Jr

No abstract provided.

Collaboration Tools For Education - "Learn And Teach Online”, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

No abstract provided.

Lean Manufacturing Initiatives, Anthony J. Jackson Prof

Anthony J Jackson Prof

The purpose of this research study is to analyze the factors that prevent small and medium size enterprises from implementing lean manufacturing processes and show, that by not implementing lean they are missing out on savings, efficient workforce, and new markets in the globalization arena. Globalization offers opportunities that have not been realized by SME’s yet still pose challenges and barriers that can be overcome by adoption and implementation of lean manufacturing.

Legitimizing The Natural Environment In Smes: A Strategic Issue Interpretation Perspective (Summary), Clay Dibrell, Justin Craig

Justin B. Craig

How do businesses legitimize their natural environmental strategic initiatives? In this research, we are concerned with how managerial interpretations of natural environmental issues predict natural environmental strategic action related to firm innovativeness in SMEs. Results from this study will provide managers with a greater understanding of the benefits from a natural environmental initiative. The research questions that are addressed include: (1) Does the legitimization of the natural environment in an SME positively affect firm innovativeness? (2) What benefits are associated with socially embedding natural environmental policies? and (3) How do the strategic issue and social embeddedness theories predict how a …

Accession Tournaments: The Application Of A Game Theory Derivative To The Multi-Dimensional Family Business Accession Process (Interactive Paper), Justin Craig, Clay Dibrell

Justin B. Craig

We argue that the recent governance and professionalization focus in family business research conversations, while helpful in understanding succession, and family businesses in general, needs to be complemented with a theoretical discussion of the multi-dimensional accession process. We contend that this process is multi-dimensional as, unlike in a corporate setting where the incumbent is succeeded by a suitable successor, multi-generational family businesses are more complex and there is potentially a plethora of positions of influence for which actors can compete. We use tournament theory to propose how family actors will act in accession tournaments and propose that the absence of …

Overcoming The Liability Of Theoretical Newness: The Case For Stewardship Theory (Summary), Justin Craig, Clay Dibrell, Donald Neubaum

Justin B. Craig

To overcome stewardship theory’s liability of newness, we introduce a validated and reliable measure for stewardship. Using Dubin’s features of a theoretical model to position stewardship theory, we endeavour to take a structured approach in the Kuhn-characterised normal science stage of entrepreneurship. There is a danger that stewardship theory currently bears many of the hallmarks of a summative unit (in Dubin’s terms), where a summative unit is one that can be referred to as a global unit that stands for an entire complex phenomenon; conveys a great deal of meaning but is always diffuse; draws together a number of different …

Desk Rejection: How To Avoid Being Hit By A Returning Boomerang, Justin B. Craig

Justin B. Craig

Manuscripts are desk rejected when they do not fit the mission of the journal or are too underdeveloped to benefit from the review process. In such cases, two members of the editorial team go through the manuscript and provide a developmental letter to author or authors to advance the article further. This helps free up the time of editors and reviewers to concentrate on the most promising manuscripts.

Leaders Of Today Are Challenged By Generation X Workforce Retention, Joyce K. Kutin

Joyce K Kutin RN, MSN, MOL

Many organizations today are comprised of a culturally diverse workforce. In addition to organizational diversity related to gender, ethnicity, race, or religious beliefs, there are also four different generations working side by side. Today’s workforce includes the Silent Generation, the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. The Silent Generation is known for their lifestyle approach of consistency, uniformity, conformity, law and order, hard work and playing by the rules. Baby Boomers were the first generation to grow up with television; they were the first to have broad access to news, issues, advertising, and a variety of programming. Generation X …

Milestone Payments Or Royalties? Contract Design For R&D Licensing, Pascale Crama, Bert De Reyck, Zeger Degraeve

Zeger Degraeve

We study how innovators can optimally design licensing contracts when there is incomplete information on the licensee's valuation of the innovation, and limited control over the licensee's development efforts. A licensing contract typically contains an up-front payment, milestone payments at successful completion of a project phase, and royalties on sales. We use principal-agent models to formulate the licensor's contracting problem, and we find that under adverse selection, the optimal contract structure changes with the licensee's valuation of the innovation. As the licensee's valuation increases, the licensor's optimal level of involvement in the development-directly or through royalties-should decrease. Only a risk-averse …

Canadian Trusts, Tiffany C. Walsh

Tiffany Walsh J.D., B.Comm.

No abstract provided.

Cnsx Vs. Tsx-V, Tiffany C. Walsh

Tiffany Walsh J.D., B.Comm.

The Toronto Stock Exchange Venture (TSX-V) and the Canadian National Stock Exchange (CNSX) are both public capital markets that cater to small cap companies that wish to expand their equity financing opportunities. There are many listing requirements to be complied with and several advantages/disadvantages for each market that are analyzed below.

Managing Communication In New Product Development Process: Virtual R&D Teams And Information Technology, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Literature proves the importance of the role of information technology in increasing the effectiveness of virtual R&D teams’ communication for new product development. However, the factors that make information technology construct in a virtual R&D team are still ambiguous. Managers of virtual R&D teams for new product development do not know “which type of technology should be used”. To address the gap and answer the question, the paper presents a set of factors that make a construct that contribute to effective communication strategy for virtual R&D teams. The proposed construct has been modified based on the findings of a field …

The Impact Of Interorganizational Imitation On New Venture International Entry And Performance, Stephanie A. Fernhaber, Dan Li

Stephanie A. Fernhaber

We examine the impact of interorganizational imitation on new venture international entry and subsequent performance. Using a sample of 150 U.S.-based publicly held new ventures, we find that new venture international entry is in part an imitative response to the internationalization of other firms in the venture's home country industry and/or subsets of firms with certain traits or outcomes. We also find that interorganizational imitation moderates the relationship between new venture international entry and profitability, but not the relationship between new venture international entry and sales growth. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on new venture internationalization.

Exploring The Role Of Industry Structure In New Venture Internationalization, Stephanie A. Fernhaber, Patricia P. Mcdougall, Benjamin M. Oviart

Stephanie A. Fernhaber

While we have gained considerable knowledge since the late 1980s regarding the phenomena of international new ventures, less is known about the influence of industry structure on these ventures. In the present paper, we draw on literature from industrial economics, international business and entrepreneurship to identify industry structure variables that fit within the theoretical framework of international new ventures. We then offer propositions as to how the identified industry structure variables individually and jointly influence the likelihood of new venture internationalization.

Venture Capitalists As Catalysts To New Venture Internationalization: The Impact Of Their Knowledge And Reputation Resources, Stephanie A. Fernhaber, Patricia P. Mcdougall-Covin

Stephanie A. Fernhaber

Venture Capitalists (VC) play an important role in influencing the strategic direction of the firms in which they invest. The findings of this study reveal that VCs can serve as a catalyst to new venture internationalization through the provision of knowledge and reputation resources. Furthermore, the international knowledge of a VC is more positively related to new venture internationalization when the VC is also reputable.

बाधकृत मैदानी आद्र क्षेत्रो में मातस्यकी प्रबंधन (Fisheries Management In Floodplain Wetlands), Ganesh Chandra

Ganesh Chandra

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of Virtual R&D Teams In Smes: Experiences Of Malaysian Smes, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Enabling Building Efficiency: The New York City Urban Technology Innovation Center, Timothy P. Cross Ph.D

Timothy P Cross

No abstract provided.

Risky Business? Entrepreneurship In The New Independent-Power Sector, Wesley D. Sine, Heather A. Haveman, Pamela S. Tolbert

Pamela S Tolbert

Building on sociological research on institutions and organizations and psychological research on risk and decision making, we propose that the development of institutions that reduce the risks of entering new sectors has a stronger effect on the founding rates of firms using novel technologies than on firms using established technologies. In an analysis of the independent-power sector of the electricity industry from 1980 to 1992, we found that the development of regulative and cognitive institutions legitimated the entire sector and provided incentives for all sector entrants; thus, foundings of all kinds of firms multiplied rapidly but had a stronger impact …

Auburn University Team Takes Third Place In 2011 Launchpad Competition

Paul Swamidass

"Launchpad helps motivate the Thomas Walter Center to prepare a sound business plan for a promising Auburn University engineering invention each year," said Swamidass. "The screening provided by the Launchpad judges and publicity offered by the competition increases the chances that a strong Auburn invention will get to market for the benefit of the economy and the public. We expect IPC Foam to attract a CEO and private capital to establish a local startup to successfully commercialize this technology."

Incorporating The Family Dynamic Into The Entrepreneurship Process, Justin Craig, Noel Lindsay

Justin B. Craig

This research furthers our understanding of the interaction between the fields of entrepreneurship and family business. It presents a framework that introduces the family dynamic to Timmons’ driving forces model of entrepreneurship. The framework highlights the influence of the family in the entrepreneurship process and the importance of the fit among the three driving forces and the family. It highlights the importance of, and the pivotal roles played by, outside boards of directors when entrepreneurial activities are undertaken by family businesses. Using extracts from interviews with family and non-family executives and board members, the research employs a single case study …

Being The Boss And Working For A Boss: Upsides And Downsides, Justin Craig, Michael Schaper, Clay Dibrell

Justin B. Craig

Comparatively, very little of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) data set has been used to analyse the activities of Australian small business owner-operators, even though there are currently some 1.8 million small firms in existence. Using multiple waves of the HILDA survey, in this paper we investigate two important research questions related to life in a small business in Australia. Question one seeks to uncover differences between small business respondents and employees of private sector firms, by examining issues related to (i) life satisfaction, (ii) job satisfaction, (iii) individual priorities, (iv) perceived prosperity, (v) risk preferences, and (vi) …

Overcoming Liability Of Newness Through Legitimacy: A Stakeholder Salience Perspective, Clay Dibrell, Aaron Johnson, Ken Moores, Justin Craig

Justin B. Craig

Findings are presented on how start-up ventures in search of legitimacy are affected by internal and external stakeholders. Additionally, the salience that start-up entrepreneurs place on external and internal stakeholders in pre- and post-start-up legitimacy attainment is studied. Institutional theory, resource-based view of the firm, and stakeholder salience theory inform our discussion. using case and survey research methods nine start-up and three established Australian wineries from eight different regions are studied. Data collection consisted of: (1) semi-structure interviews with owner(s); (2) field research notes; and (3) a validation questionnaire. The findings suggest that start-ups, in this instance wineries, are able …

How To Increase H-Index#11;, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Publishing a high quality paper in scientific journals is a halfway of receiving citation in the future. The rest of the way is advertising and disseminating the publications by using the proper “Research Tools”. Familiarity with the tools allows the researcher to increase his/her#11; h-index in the short time. H-index shows the academicians influences in the specified field of research. Therefore, a person with higher level of h-index has more high quality publications with high amount of citations. This presentation, covers the following topics: Why publish and increase h-index?, Definition of h-index and g-index, Importance of h-index, How to use …

Quantifying “Gut Feeling” In The Opportunity Recognition Process, Justin Craig, Noel Lindsay

Justin B. Craig

This research used a questionnaire and psychophysiological responses to an investment opportunity proposal to provide insights into the opportunity recognition process. A group of 262 entrepreneurs and financiers responded to the main questionnaire study and six respondents (with an additional three respondents in a control group) were involved in the psychophysiological response pilot study. Based on previous research, it was proposed that opportunity recognition could be divided into two phases. The results provide tentative support for the notion that there are similarities between experienced entrepreneurs and financiers in terms of the first phase of the opportunity recognition process.

A 10-Year Longitudinal Investigation Of Strategy, Systems, And Environment On Innovation In Family Firms, Justin Craig, Ken Moores

Justin B. Craig

This article studies innovation in family firms, filling in some gaps in existent literature. The research addresses the idea of shifting leadership, different mechanisms of facilitating communication, and the importance to the firm of technical progress, linking each to innovation. Shifting leadership is addressed through the longitudinal design. Communication mechanisms are monitored through two constructs: scope of information and timeliness of information. Technical progress is included in an environmental uncertainty factor technoeconomic uncertainty. The findings suggest that linkages between established family firms and innovation may be substantially stronger than currently assumed by many.

Toward A Better Understanding Of Family Enterprising, Morris Mervyn, Justin Craig

Justin B. Craig

By integrating stewardship theory and entrepreneurial orientation perspectives we contribute to the understanding of the concept of family enterprising. Using excerpts from a single case study we provide insight into how a third generation Australian family has evolved and transformed by embracing the notion of family enterprising, which, we suggest, places them in a strong position for sustainability across generations.

Balanced Scorecards To Drive The Strategic Planning Of Family Firms, Justin Craig, Ken Moores

Justin B. Craig

The focus of this research is the measurement and management tool known as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and how it can be applied in the family business context. In this article we add familiness to the four BSC perspectives (financial, innovation and learning, customer, internal process) and illustrate how this can assist business development, management, and succession planning in family-owned businesses. We use an action research project to highlight how family businesses can professionalize their management by the adoption of a BSC strategy map that includes a family business focus and links the core essence of the family business with …