Business Commons^™

Sustainability Impact Assessment Of New Ventures: An Emerging Field Of Research, Klaus Fichter, Florian Ludeke-Freund, Stefan Schaltegger, Simon J.D. Schillebeeckx

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Entrepreneurs and start-ups are key actors in implementing environmental innovation and accelerating sustainability transitions. Thus, analyzing as well as predicting the impact of entrepreneurial ventures is central to management and entrepreneurship research. The sustainability performance, value and impact of incumbent firms and their products and services has been a key topic in business-related sustainability research for many years. However, assessing the sustainability effects of new ventures such as start-ups is a neglected area in the research literature. This article therefore provides an overview, including key definitions, a new conceptual framework, and notions that can help guide and inspire a future …

Competitive Sustainability: The Intersection Of Sustainability And Business Success, Clyde Eiríkur Hull

Articles

Sustainability that beats the competition is different from sustainability that does not. Some who care very much about sustainability may not care at all about business success. However, they should. If businesses were to see that competitive sustainability leads to financial success, they would take it up and abandon nonsustainable practices

A Foot In The Door: Field-Experiments On Entrepreneurs’ Network Activation Strategies For Investor Referrals, Jared Nai, Yimin Lin, Reddi Kotha, Vissa Balagopal

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We investigate entrepreneurial network activation—the processes by which entrepreneurs select specific contacts from their existing personal network and persuade the selected contacts to provide referrals to access targeted early-stage investors (venture capitalists or angel-investors). We differentiate between selection of entrepreneur-centric contacts versus investor-centric contacts. We also distinguish between persuasion tactics that induce contacts' cooperation through promises of reciprocity versus offers of monetary incentives. We conducted two field-experiments in India and one in Singapore. Our primary field-experiment involved 42 Singapore-based entrepreneurs seeking referrals from 684 network contacts to reach a panel of four investors. Our evidence suggests that selecting investor-centric contacts …

Qalo: When Is It Time To Exit?, Jeff Cohu

Faculty Publications

The case follows the origin story of the startup company QALO from its inception and launch through the first few years of scaling up the business to a potential exit decision by a co-founder. The case is intended to be used in undergraduate entrepreneurship or sales and marketing courses at the junior and senior level. The case is designed to illustrate the challenges of scaling a fast-growing startup and to evaluate the options of a founder's exit strategy. The case is useful to demonstrate concepts such as lean startup methodology, sales channel selection, startup business model development, and exit strategy …

The Impact Of Digitalization On International Expansion: A Study On Market Entry Strategy Based On The Integration-Responsiveness Framework, Thian Kiang Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Digitalization has accelerated the growth and creation of new business models. There are more unicorn companies (a non-public company valued at more than US$1B) in the last 10 years than the decades before it. The use of digital technologies presents new opportunities for digitally active firms to capture growth in a new market. This paper studies how digitalization influences the internationalization process of the firm and its mode of entry into a foreign market. Drawing on existing literature on digitalization, this paper creates a novel approach to study the effect of digitalization by classifying firms based on their market business …

Brave New World - Innovation 2.0 And Public Private Partnerhips (P3s), Rhonda S. Binda

Open Educational Resources

The trifecta of globalization, urbanization and digitization have created new opportunities and challenges across our nation, cities, boroughs and urban centers. Cities are in a unique position at the center of commerce and technology becoming hubs for innovation and practical application of emerging technology. In this rapidly changing 24/7 digitized world, city governments worldwide are leveraging innovation and technology to become more effective, efficient, transparent and to be able to better plan for and anticipate the needs of its citizens, businesses and community organizations. This class will provide the framework for how cities and communities can become smarter and more …

Uber, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Bryant Holden, Kelli Mckenna, Scott Mcquiddy, Alex Wiles

Robins Case Network

Uber focuses primarily on the ride-hailing industry, which puts the company in direct competition with regular taxis. The company is like a lot of tech-driven, fast growing entrepreneurial firms in that it still struggles for profitability. Also, the popularity of this new form of transportation has put the company and its close competitors, such as Lyft, in the spotlight of government lawmakers and regulators. If they classify Uber drivers as employees rather than independent contractors, it could dramatically alter the Uber business model. This case is written in the aftermath of the ouster of one of the company’s co-founders as …

Research On Extreme Poverty Governance Based On Social Network Analysis, Wenyong Lei

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In this dissertation, the author goes inside some of China's most remote and poorest villages and tries to reveal the determinants, correlates and strategies to address the gap of existing poverty governance system and the complexity and diversity of poor population. He offers in-depth insights into what the poor people think about poverty with two major indicators, identifies evidence on the feasibility of duel-network embedding strategy to reduce poverty, and explains how diverse groups hit by extreme poverty could develop entrepreneurship relationship with diversified market and available social economic resources. Drawing on examples that take place in Xide County, a …

Reward-Based Crowdfunding Success: Decomposition Of The Project, Product Category, Entrepreneur, And Location Effects, C. S. Richard Chan, Haemin Dennis Park, Pamkaj Patel, David Gomulya

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We assess the relative importance of project, product category, entrepreneur, and location effects on reward-based crowdfunding success. Applying variance decomposition analysis to a sample of 98,336 crowdfunding projects launched between May 2009 and May 2014 on the Kickstarter platform, we find that agency factors, specifically the project and entrepreneur effects, explain the highest relative variance (over 80% of total variance) across three crowdfunding success outcomes – pledge amount, number of backers, and funding success. Structural factors, specifically product category and location effects, have lower but still significant effects. Our study extends prior variance decomposition studies in strategy and entrepreneurship research …

International New Ventures: Revisiting The Influences Behind The ‘Born-Global’ Firm, Terence P. C. Fan, Phillip Phan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

There is a small but theoretically important literature on 'born-globals' or international new venture firms that positions itself in contrast to the more established sequential international entry literature. In this paper we examine the pattern of entry into international markets for a set of international new ventures and show that they need not be a distinct breed of firms, as previous research has portrayed. Absent a specific technological advantage, the decision for a new venture to internationalize at inception is influenced by the size of its home market and by its production capacity, as well as by cultural and economic …

Factors Driving Financial Inclusion And Financial Performance In Fintech New Ventures: An Empirical Study, Miguel Angel Soriano

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Financial inclusion, or providing access to and active use of affordable financial products to the 2 billion unbanked adults globally, can facilitate individual prosperity, reduce poverty and increase economic development. Digital technologies such as mobile phones, cloud computing, data analytics and blockchain are one of the biggest enablers of financial inclusion by making it economically possible to serve these individuals. This dissertation examined the role of digital technologies in financial inclusion from the perspective of new financial technology (Fintech) ventures serving the unbanked and underbanked. Supported by strategy management theories, I identified key factors that impact the success of these …

Assessment Of Minimum Viable Product Techniques: A Literature Review, Mohammadsaleh Saadatmand

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Although the minimum viable product (MVP) concept provides a means to test ideas and hypothesis at early stages, it does not indicate that it is easy to build. MVP tests whether your idea solves a real problem that customers are willing to pay for. In order to reach the stage of building a product that people want to use and pay for, we need to make sure product passes certain tests. In turn, MVP techniques/methods are designed not only to test technical questions about the product, but also to assess the viability of business model hypothesis. Once the hypothesis that …

7 Tips To Grow Your Rural Business With Purpose And Meaning, Connie I. Reimers-Hild, Alyssa Dye

Community Vitality Initiative Collections

No one can predict the future; however, rural entrepreneurs and business owners can use a future-focused leadership approach, which includes examining megatrends, to shape the future of their businesses. Megatrends are global shifts that influence society, the economy and the environment. The purpose of this article is to help rural entrepreneurs discover ways to grow their businesses with Living with Purpose and Meaning Megatrend.

Become A Future-Focused Leader: Use Three Megatrends To Grow Your Rural Business, Connie Reimers-Hild, Alyssa Dye

Community Vitality Initiative Collections

No one can predict the future; however, rural entrepreneurs and business owners can use a future-focused leadership approach, which includes examining megatrends, to shape the future of their businesses. Megatrends are global shifts that influence society, the economy and the environment. This article discusses three megatrends shaping the future of rural businesses:

1) The Rise of the #GigEconomy

2) Living with Purpose and Meaning

3) The Decentralized Marketplace

The article also provides coaching tips for rural entrepreneurs on how to use megatrends to grow their businesses.

While many companies are struggling to keep up with the rapid rate of change, …

Booties, Bounties, Business Models: A Map To The Next Red Oceans, Steffen Roth Dr.

Dr. Steffen Roth

This quest is for pirate maps to blue oceans. The key problem involved is that blue oceans turn red whenever these maps make their way from pirates to mainstream entrepreneurs. Pirates therefore have an essential need for maps to the next blue oceans. In drawing on form theory, this article develops a map sheet, on which it appears that, throughout history, pirates navigated social borders. An analysis of the gaps in past and present maps of social differentiation then allows for the discovery of a largely uncharted quadrant of the blue ocean for entrepreneurship and entrepreneuring.

Entrepreneurship Education In The Research-Intensive Entrepreneurial University, Edward Feser

Edward J Feser

Knowledge commercialisation and commodification are important components of universities’ “Third Mission” to contribute to the development of their home regions by strengthening their engagement with the public, private, and third sectors. Entrepreneurship education programmes have tended to develop in parallel to such “entrepreneurial university” initiatives, rather than in intentional alignment with them. This is reflected in the research literature as well, where the analysis of the “entrepreneurial university” and studies of entrepreneurship education have little overlap. This paper examines the evolution of the entrepreneurship education initiative of a single research-intensive institution—the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom—and the ways …

Adroll: A Case Study Of Entrepreneurial Growth, Todd A. Finkle

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This case study examines the background, start up, and growth of one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States, AdRoll. It explores the various strategic factors related to the growth of AdRoll and how these issues must be addressed in order to maintain its level of growth.This case study is especially interesting not only because it focuses on one of the fastest-growing firms in the country, but also because it addresses on an understudied topic within the field of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial growth.

An Examination Of The Financial Challenges Of Entrepreneurship Centers Throughout The World, Todd A. Finkle, Teresa Menzies, Donald F. Kuratko, Michael G. Goldsby

Todd A Finkle

Entrepreneurship, Professionalism, Leadership: A Framework And Measure For Understanding Boundaryless Careers, Kim-Yin Chan, Moon-Ho R. Ho, Oleksandr S. Chernyshenko, Olwen Bedford, Marilyn A. Uy, David M. Gomulya, Y. L. Sam, Wei Ming J. Phan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We propose a person-centered framework for conceptualizing subjective careers in an increasingly boundaryless work context. Specifically, we argue that entrepreneurship, professionalism, and leadership (EPL) can serve as three key dimensions of subjective career space. We relate this framework to earlier macro-level national and organizational career models proposed by Kanter (1989) and Schein (1978). Our empirical study involving 10,326 Singaporean university students demonstrated that entrepreneurial, professional, and leadership career aspirations (including motivations, efficacies, and intentions) can be measured independently, that these career dimensions are independent of vocational interests, and that they are to some degree viewed as competing career alternatives. We …

Entrepreneurial Human Resource Strategy, Christopher J. Collins, Matthew Allen, Scott Snell

Christopher J Collins

[Excerpt] Entrepreneurship is the process by which "opportunities to create future goods and services are discovered, evaluated, and exploited" (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000: 218). In other words, it is the process by which organizations and individuals convert new knowledge into new opportunities in the form of new products and services. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has been defined as the system of organizational practices and policies used to manage employees in a manner that leads to higher organizational performance (Wright and McMahan, 1992). Further, one perspective suggests that sets of HR practices do not themselves create competitive advantage; instead, they …

Trends In The Market For Entrepreneurship Faculty From 1989 To 2010, Todd A. Finkle

Todd A Finkle

Financing Activities Of Entrepreneurship Centers In The United States, Todd A. Finkle, Teresa Menzies, Donald F. Kuratko, Michael G. Goldsby

Todd A Finkle

Prior Knowledge And New Product And Service Introductions By Entrepreneurial Firms: The Mediating Role Of Technological Innovation., Patrick Murphy, Jintong Tang

Patrick J. Murphy

Most research on new product and service development by entrepreneurial firms takes an individual-level, pre-launch perspective or firm-level post-launch perspective. Our study examines two components of the new product and service introduction process: how entrepreneurs’ prior knowledge underpins (1) firm technological innovation prior to the introduction of new products and services (pre-launch) and (2) post-launch viability of those new products and services. Our findings, based on a series of analyses of data from 158 entrepreneurial firms, show that formal technological innovation fully mediates the relation between prior knowledge and the introduction of viable new products and services.

Richard Branson And Virgin, Inc., Todd A. Finkle

Todd A Finkle

Entrepreneurship Education Trends, Todd A. Finkle

Todd A Finkle

Constructing An Innovative Model Of Entrepreneurship Education Through Regional Collaboration, Todd A. Finkle, Jack Soper, Dan Fox, Jack Reece, Julie Messing

Todd A Finkle

Attacking The Roots: Shiraishi Garments Company And An Evolving Thicket Of Business Ethics In China., Bin Jiang, Patrick J. Murphy

Patrick J. Murphy

This case examines management underpinnings of conducting socially purposeful business in contexts where the labor conditions and ethics are questionable. Shiraishi Garments Company was a Japanese entrepreneurial venture in the clothing industry that evolved into a highly successful multinational company. After its supply chain had extended into China, some ethical labor issues emerged. The decision point is focused squarely on the company’s CEO, who must deal with conflicting forces stemming from his personal values and professional responsibilities. In exploring the issues, the case illustrates business risks of superficial standards auditing of international operations. The case also describes how multinational firms …

International New Ventures: Revisiting The Influences Behind The 'Born-Global' Firm, Terence P. C. Fan, Phillip Phan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

There is a small but theoretically important literature on 'born-globals' or international new venture firms that positions itself in contrast to the more established sequential international entry literature. In this paper we examine the pattern of entry into international markets for a set of international new ventures and show that they need not be a distinct breed of firms, as previous research has portrayed. Absent a specific technological advantage, the decision for a new venture to internationalize at inception is influenced by the size of its home market and by its production capacity, as well as by cultural and economic …

Southeast Asian Culture, Human Development, And Business, Patrick Murphy, H. Lavan

Patrick J. Murphy

Competition and entrepreneurship are driving forces in the development of economic systems. They create jobs, new opportunities to generate value, and lead to the fulfillment of personal career and life goals. As such, it is important to understand the basic economic and cultural factors that influence these activities in developing economies. We undertook a series of analyses in an examination of a heterogeneous sample of economic zones in Southeast Asia. Results illustrate relations between national culture, human development, and business and growth competitiveness. Implications hold that human development and power distance are enablers of entrepreneurial activities in these cultural and …

Perceptions Of Tenure Requirements & Research Records Of Entrepreneurship Faculty Earning Tenure: 1964-2002, Todd A. Finkle, Phil E. Stetz, Michael Mallin

Todd A Finkle