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Full-Text Articles in Business

Partnering With Corporate Entrepreneurs On An Experiential Design Thinking Project, Ben Eng, Ralph E. Mckinney, Isabelle Rogner Jun 2019

Partnering With Corporate Entrepreneurs On An Experiential Design Thinking Project, Ben Eng, Ralph E. Mckinney, Isabelle Rogner

Entrepreneurship Faculty Research

This article offers faculty an innovative teaching approach for an experiential class project centered around design thinking. The basic processes of the project are detailed using a running example where the entrepreneurship instructor partners with corporate entrepreneurs from a leading financial technology firm to develop, teach, and team with student groups to design think solutions for three of the community’s greatest challenges: substance abuse, youth education, and technology. Learning objectives are identified and measures of the program’s effectiveness at achieving the learning objectives are collected, assessed, and reported. Analysis of the data suggests the program is effective at enhancing student …


Accelerators: Their Fit In The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem And Their Cohort Selection Challenges, Shu Yang May 2019

Accelerators: Their Fit In The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem And Their Cohort Selection Challenges, Shu Yang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The entrepreneurial financing landscape has drastically evolved over the past two decades with many of the new entrants (e.g., crowdfunders, accelerators, incubators, etc) rapidly rising to prominence (Block et al., 2016). Evolving from the incubator model, startup accelerators have similarly gained traction over the past decade (Pauwels, Clarysse, Wright, & Van Hove, 2016). While the number of published articles focusing on accelerators has been growing, extant research has yet to clearly delineate the accelerator phenomena conceptually and more importantly, empirically examine its selection mechanism. This dissertation addresses this gap and is composed of two parts. In the first part, I …


Traits And Trends Of Social Entrepreneurship/ Innovation Leaders, Heet Ghodasara, Juanie Walker Mar 2019

Traits And Trends Of Social Entrepreneurship/ Innovation Leaders, Heet Ghodasara, Juanie Walker

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The purpose of this study was to examine qualifications, characteristics, successes and motivations among leading social entrepreneurs in not-for-profit or for-profit organizations. Based on an interview guide developed by Dr. Juanie Walker and Heet Ghodasara, Ghodasara conducted interviews with 20 leaders of social entrepreneurship/innovation strategically located in Washington, D.C. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts revealed traits of successful organizations and individuals supported by provocative quotes. Themes of successful organizations include system disruptions, mutual investment, broad network and founder obsolescence. Individual themes include traits such as self efficacy, humility, grit and perseverance as well as imperatives to Get Dirty but Clean …


Social Entrepreneurship And The Direct Selling Channel: A Case Study On Trades Of Hope, Christine Mollenkopf-Pigsley Mar 2019

Social Entrepreneurship And The Direct Selling Channel: A Case Study On Trades Of Hope, Christine Mollenkopf-Pigsley

Applied Organizational Studies Publications

Two homeschooled Florida teenagers meet in a homeschool group arranged by their moms, start community college at 14 years of age and discover a shared passion for social entrepreneurship. The result of that passion was the global jewelry and accessories start-up called Trades of Hope, founded in 2010. The company utilizes the direct selling distribution channel to create a supply chain of fair trade artisans in developing countries and a U.S. salesforce of more than 7,000 compassionate entrepreneurs who build businesses of their own. This case reveals the journey from passion to profit is not unique from other successful entrepreneurs …


Social Entrepreneurship: Exploring The Bricolage Model In Nigeria, Michael Ogunleye Jan 2019

Social Entrepreneurship: Exploring The Bricolage Model In Nigeria, Michael Ogunleye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nigerian entrepreneurs face government barriers and lack the skills and awareness needed for successfully creating and scaling public value in resource-constrained environments. The concept of bricolage, which involves doing business by making do with resources at hand, has been addressed in the literature, but not as it occurs among Nigerian entrepreneurs. This study was conducted with the aim of narrowing this gap in knowledge by exploring how Nigerian entrepreneurs have successfully carried out their businesses. The research question addressed how Nigerian entrepreneurs overcame critical situations to successfully address the challenges of scaling and creating public value, and whether the theory …