Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

An Unstable Balance: Exploration, Exploitation, And Innovation Decline During Development, Craig Randall

2012

he ability to innovate is considered central to firm performance and the consensus is that firms should balance exploration and exploitation innovation to succeed. Studies using an exploration/exploitation perspective have gained increasing interest, and have generally concluded that exploration innovation rates are too low. Researchers have concentrated on the early aspects of the innovation planning process: the Search, Portfolio Selection, and Design Phase, and have also studied the benefits of pursuing a serial or parallel pursuit of exploration and exploitation. Largely missing from exploration/exploitation innovation literature, however, is the development phase—which is among the longest and resource intensive phases of …

Entrepreneurial Innovation As A Learning System, Robert M. Gemmell

Student Scholarship

We surveyed 172 technology entrepreneurs to explore links between learning style and learning flexibility and decision making behaviors hypothesized to produce entrepreneurial innovation and success. Our findings reveal a system of entrepreneurial learning and innovation with subtle and surprising interactions between learning processes and behavioral mediators.

Book Review: Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure, Aaron W. Hughey

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Becoming A Firm: An Investigation Of How One-Person Enterprises Construct The Problem Of Becoming An Employer, Ronda M. Smith Nelson

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study draws on Coase’s (1937) Theory of the Firm, that suggests a firm exists only after it has employees and Penrose’s (1959) Theory of the Growth of the Firm which suggests human resources are a critical asset to the firm as a means to better   understand the issue of job creation in the United States especially among one-person enterprises (OPEs).  From the perspective of entrepreneurial cognition, and in the context of ill-defined problems (Abelson & Levi.1985) a survey was conducted to better understand the Becoming an Employer Problem (BEP) as it is perceived by OPEs.  A measure of the …

Back To Square One: An Examination Of Social Entrepreneurship Centers And Programs, Noushi Rahman, Phd, Rebecca Tekula, Phd

Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship

Prominent social entrepreneurship (SE) centers and programs in North America, Europe, and Asia are examined in terms of their position in the institutional structure, initial and additional funding, teaching initiatives, research achievements, and outreach activities. Performance was computed using a transparent coding scheme. Low correlations with institutional endowment and SE center/program performance offer some evidence of discriminant validity of our rankings approach. Performance scores were used to rank-order SE centers and programs. Such an approach to examine SE center/program performance goes beyond the perception-based ranking instruments that popular magazines employ to evaluate subject-specific rankings. We examined data from 28 centers/programs, …

Entrepreneurial Passion: Sources And Sustenance, Melissa S. Cardon Phd, Michael Glauser

Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial passion helps coordinate cognition and behavior of entrepreneurs, providing the fire that fuels innovation, persistence, and ultimate success. But where does entrepreneurial passion come from? Using a phenomenological approach, we conduct a qualitative study of 80 entrepreneurs and analyze their oral histories to explore the sources of entrepreneurial passion, as experienced by entrepreneurs. Our discovery process in the interviews suggests six major sources of entrepreneurial passion: passion for building/developing the venture, passion for people, passion for the product or service, passion for inventing, passion for competition, and passion for a social cause.

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.

The Socio-Cognitive Dynamics Of Entrepreneurial Ideation, Robert M. Gemmell

Student Scholarship

Entrepreneurs need creative ideas to develop innovative new products. We interviewed 32 technology entrepreneurs to generate a grounded theory about how technology entrepreneurs use social behaviors, techniques and cognitive processes to attain, develop, refine, validate and filter (for usefulness) creative ideas for successful new products, processes or services. The results reveal a complex, cyclical and recursive multi-level social process with emphasis on active and social experimentation. Greatest ideational productivity occurs when strong social ties interactively solve problems in an environment of trust -- in particular, when 'Trusted Partners' exchange and refine ideas through a form of shared cognition. Findings will …

Toward An Understanding Of Entrepreneurship Environment: The Case Of Puerto Rico, Moraima De Hoyos-Ruperto

Student Scholarship

This study aims to address the unexplained stagnant entrepreneurial environment in Puerto Rico despite average or above average entrepreneurial potential, capabilities, and intentions compared to other high-income countries. Analysis of interviews with public, private and civic sector leaders and both successful and less successful entrepreneurs suggest a pervasive lack of support for entrepreneurs from formal organizations charged with entrepreneurship development and a failure of entrepreneurs themselves to develop networks to support venture startup and sustainment.

University Students' Assessment Of Entrepreneurial Environments, Byungku Lee

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Entrepreneurial intention is a primary step to create new venture in the entrepreneurial process. Environmental conditions are one of the main factors that are strengthening or weakening intention of prospective entrepreneur. Therefore, it is important to develop conducive environments for entrepreneurship to promote entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, the promoted entrepreneurial intention will raise the rate of new venture creation. This paper investigates the relationships between five key environments for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. The five entrepreneurial environments are: government policies and procedures, socioeconomic conditions, entrepreneurial and business skills, financial assistance, and non-financial assistance, respectively. Conjoint analysis was used to determine the …

Resource Accumulation Dynamics During The New Venture Formation Process, Amy Gresock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As described by the resource-based view, resource accumulation is a key concern for new ventures. Although we know that getting the right resources is a critical issue to organizations, we know far less about how fledgling firms assemble these resources over time. The purpose of this study is to examine the dynamics of resource accumulation and their effect on performance and growth during new venture formation. In particular, I examine the constructs of financial capital, human capital, and performance, and will test relationships using a sample from the Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) that provides the necessary data to test my …

Building Entrepreneurship In Subsistence Markets: Microfranchising As An Employment Incubator, Lisa Jones Christensen, Helen Parsons, Jason Fairbourne

Faculty Publications

Scholars indicate significant interest in business models that support entrepreneurial behavior in developing markets [Wankel C., editor. Alleviating Poverty through Business Strategy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2008]—particularly as they relate to job creation. This research introduces microfranchising as a business model adaptation that helps low-income individuals overcome non credit-related barriers to entry in obtaining employment. This study reveals a clear challenge for researchers—to better understand microfranchising and the extent to which the practice creates employment and enables individual business success. Largely unanswered questions concern the profiles of typical microfranchisees as well as the impacts of microfranchising on low-income individuals in …

The Creole Connection: What Happens Next?, Michael L. Thomas, Linda G. Mullen

Marketing: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this case is to demonstrate the importance of target market selection and positioning, particularly for businesses in small college towns. Additionally, other marketing and management issues are presented to stimulate understanding of the multitude of variables that impact restaurant success. This case is intended for those interested in marketing, management, entrepreneurship, hotel/restaurant management or retailing areas.

Encouraging Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Role Of University/College Environments And Experiences, Rosemary Kamau-Maina

Student Scholarship

The importance of entrepreneurship to economic development is widely debated and acknowledged. With rising unemployment and growing disenchantment with corporate employment, more policy makers and scholars are turning to entrepreneurship and self employment as a solution to youth unemployment. College experiences and learning have the potential to change attitudes, beliefs and focus not only in a student's general life outcomes but also in career orientation. Colleges therefore provide a window of opportunity for creating positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship and influencing students' entrepreneurial self efficacy making careers in entrepreneurship more feasible and desirable. The manner in which these factors inter-relate is …

Small Business Success: What Works And What Fails, Scott Decker

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Small Business Success: What You Need to Know. The owners of eight successful new businesses (successful defined as at least four years old and owner perceived) were interviewed, as well as the former owners of four unsuccessful businesses. The study showed that while planning can help your business, implementation is the fundamental component of small business success. This study was undergone to help create a link between what students learn in businesses classes, which is primary focused on working for a large company, and what people do in the entrepreneurship field.

Entrepreneurship: Venture Initiation, Management, And Development, George S. Vozikis, Timothy Mescon, Howard Feldman

KSU Press Legacy Project

Twenty years ago, Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. hired over seventy percent of college graduates. Today, Fortune 500 companies hire less than seven percent of college graduates and the entrepreneurial enterprises hire over 80 percent. More than forty percent of students start a business within one year of graduation. These businesses employ 55% of the total American work force. When we think of the entrepreneur, we often visualize the small business. While most, if not all, business ideas begin "small," a great deal of focus in placed upon entrepreneurial ideas that have grown into sizable corporations. In examining the …

Entrepreneurial Spirit In Government Managed Enterprises: Evidence From The U.S. General Aviation Airports, Vitaly S. Guzhva, Massoud Bazargan, David A. Byers

Management, Marketing and Operations - Daytona Beach

While a number of studies introduce entrepreneurship in the public sector, there is still a need for empirical research in this field. We use a survey of U.S. general aviation airport managers to investigate the benefits of entrepreneurial spirit in public sector management. The results of logistic regressions suggest that the airport managers’ beliefs in importance of self-sustainability significantly improve the likelihood of general aviation airports to be self-sustaining. On the other hand, the airport specific characteristics, such as a favorable location, county population, and others are not statistically significant in achieving self-sustainability. Our findings support the literature that argue …

Entrepreneur As Change Agent: Antecedents And Moderators Of Individual-Level Philanthropic Behavior, Joseph E. Coombs, Abbie J. Shipp, Lisa Jones Christensen

Faculty Publications

What motivates entrepreneurs’ philanthropic acts? Philanthropy has been key to American social and cultural development, and it is also a major driver, along with entrepreneurship, of the American economy. To help researchers better understand the antecedents of entrepreneurs’ philanthropic giving, we develop a theoretical model of individual-level philanthropic actions. As antecedents of philanthropic actions in our model, we include three theoretical constructs (immortality striving, legacy creation, and generativity) from the psychology and social psychology literatures. We also propose several variables that we expect to moderate these relationships including entrepreneur age, gender, religious orientation, and wealth. Lastly, we offer directions for …

Heylen Bvba (Belgium), Thomas Cooney

Case studies

As Tom Heylen reflects upon his early days in business, he often wonders how his company Heylen bvba survived. He had left university after just one year of studying biology in order to pursue a business opportunity that he believed existed in the market and that needed to be acted upon without delay. About that time, nature had become modified to such an extent (particularly in Europe) that biodiversity could only be conserved through active management and restoration of the few natural areas which remained. Such management required innovation, specialised equipment, and knowledge in order to be successful. But those …

Isolating Institution Based Personal And Contextual Determinants Of Entrepreneurial Intentions Among Kenyan College Graduates, Rosemary Kamau-Maina

Student Scholarship

Kenya has a population of approximately 34 million with those aged 35 years and below making up over 75% of the population. In 2003 and 2005, when the national unemployment stood at 40%, the youth accounted for about 78% and 67% of the national unemployment in the two years respectively. This encompasses all youth including recent college and university graduates. Taking into account that these numbers include recent university and college graduates, the resulting waste of resources is enormous. It therefore makes economic sense to have more youth engage in entrepreneurship to combat unemployment and stem the resource waste. For …

Guardian Angel (Ireland), Thomas Cooney

Case studies

It was the summer of 2006 and three friends of many years had come up with a business idea that they believed could be a money-spinner for all of them. Maria Harrison, Krystle Malone and Marie Lyons had all been students at the Technological University Dublin and had recently completed their degree in Marketing. As part of their programme, they had taken a course on Entrepreneurship by way of interest rather than any deep-rooted desire to start their own business. But now, they are about to meet a venture capital company to ask for €300,000 to get the business started. …

Digicel Foundation (Haiti), Thomas Cooney

Case studies

It was a beautiful day on March 5th 2007 and the official launch of the Digicel Foundation Haiti was drawing to a close. The Foundation had been inaugurated at a special ceremony to mark the completion of the Foundation's first project, the rebuilding in record time of the Ecole Mixte Lageho (a primary school in the hurricane ravaged Pont Janvier rural community of Thomazeau), thanks primarily to the combined efforts of Digicel staff and local community members. Denis O'Brien (Digicel Group Founder / Chairman and Patron of the Digicel Foundation) was joined at the ceremony by the Prime Minister of …

Factors That Facilitate Intention To Venture Creation Among Nascent Entrepreneurs - Kenyan Case, Daniel Musungu Oruoch

Student Scholarship

This study was conceived after the realization that there was inadequate literature linking intention to venture creation and psychosocial factors in Kenya. The critical question of the study was; how do psychosocial factors impact on an individual's intention to venture creation? The data was sourced from college students and nascent entrepreneurs in Nairobi. This paper explores the relationship between perceived desirability and feasibility, and intention to venture creation. Further, the paper seeks to establish the relationship between perceived social norms, social support network and entrepreneurial experience on perceived feasibility and desirability. It also seeks to establish the relationship between these …

Dynamic Entrepreneurial Networks: An Investigation Of Entrepreneurs, New Ventures And Their Networks, Diane Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Entrepreneurs need resources to organize new venture offerings into marketplace-acceptable forms. Entrepreneurs use others' assistance via networks to obtain these resources. Research indicates that firms face resource dependencies, that likely change over time, where they must respond to those controlling resources. Although some work has investigated implications of new ventures' networks at one time period, little work has investigated the dynamic nature and associated outcomes of networks as they change due to different resource requirements as the venture develops. This research examines the dynamic nature of networks, due different resource requirements over time, and how these changes impact entrepreneurial outcomes …

Social Entrepreneurship: Pattern-Changing Entrepreneurs And The Scaling Of Social Impact, David A. Sherman

Student Scholarship

This paper presents findings from an investigation of pattern-changing social entrepreneurs. We examined the efforts of fifteen entrepreneurs and sought to understand the factors that enable successful ones to scale their social impact. All the entrepreneurs were operating in capital constrained environments and scaling required overcoming funding constraints. The findings indicate that pattern-changing social entrepreneurs are more concerned with scaling their impact than with growing their enterprises. Hence, many were pursuing both direct scaling where they grew their own enterprises and indirect scaling where they pursued impact through influencing other organizations. Social entrepreneurship is not a linear process; rather it …

Intrapreneurship In Nonprofit Organizations: Examining The Factors That Facilitate Entrepreneurial Behavior Among Employees, Michael G. Stull

Student Scholarship

Multi-source data from 18 organizations was utilized to examine intrapreneurship in the nonprofit sector. Specifically, individual level and firm level variables were introduced concurrently to explore competing and complementary mechanisms in an effort to provide a better understanding of intrapreneurial orientations and behaviors. Employing structural equation modeling on the multi-source cross sectional survey data, results suggest that employee entrepreneurial orientation is greater when (a) high managerial trust is perceived by an employee, and (b) and the employee feels a strong fit between his/her own personal values and those held by the organization. In turn, this individual entrepreneurial orientation has significant …

Acquiring An Existing Business, Teodocio Ramirez

Theses Digitization Project

The goal of this project is to review the literature on how to buy an existing business and to synthesize the material into a written instructional manual that a regular individual or aspiring entrepreneur can use in understanding the process necessary to buy an existing small business.

Exploring The Factors That Promote Risk Taking, Innovativeness, And Proactiveness Among Managers And Employees: The Influence Of Trust, Motivational, And Enabling Mechanisms, Michael G. Stull

Student Scholarship

With the current competitive challenges facing for-profit and nonprofits organizations, observers have advocated the implementation of internal entrepreneurial actions as a response. Internal entrepreneurship--defined as risk taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness actions--are examined to determine what mechanisms are at work in promoting these actions among both managers and employees in organizations. Four organizations--two from each sector--were studied using a grounded theory approach, with semi-structured qualitative interviews performed with 15 managers and employees. Data analysis and coding resulted in a conceptual model that provides a parsimonious explanation of the mechanisms that promote entrepreneurial actions in organizations. Three key mechanisms that stem from …

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 …

The Role Of Academic/Industry Partnerships In The Development Of Supply Chain Managers, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

The need for improvement in the logistics and supply chain management capability of companies in Ireland is becoming increasingly recognised. One of the main bottlenecks currently is the shortage of supply chain management professionals. Education and training has a fundamental role to play if the supply of suitably qualified human resource is to be addressed in a meaningful way. Recent research indicates that demand for people with the right knowledge and skills greatly exceed supply. There are numerous techniques and technologies which can facilitate improvement in a company’s supply chain capability. However, experience has shown that these tools alone can …