Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Operations and Supply Chain Management

2011

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

Lean Manufacturing Initiatives, Anthony J. Jackson Prof Sep 2011

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.

Go to article

Milestone Payments Or Royalties? Contract Design For R&D Licensing, Pascale Crama, Bert De Reyck, Zeger Degraeve Aug 2011

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 …

Go to article

Strategic Relationships In A Small Business Context: The Impact Of Information Quality And Continuous Quality Improvement, Michael L. Harris, William C. Mcdowell, Shanan G. Gibson Jan 2011

Strategic Relationships In A Small Business Context: The Impact Of Information Quality And Continuous Quality Improvement, Michael L. Harris, William C. Mcdowell, Shanan G. Gibson

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This study examines the performance between operational variables for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) within the context of interorganizational relationships. Specifically, it investigates the role of information quality and continuous quality improvement and the varying importance that SMEs place on each of these constructs. The sample consists of 134 vendors of a large university in the southwestern region of the United States.The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between information quality and continuous quality improvement with performance in SMEs. Implications for both research and practice, as well as ideas for future research, are discussed.

Go to article

Understanding Sme Intention To Use The Internet For Managing Supplier Information, Kevin Celuch, Anna Walz, Carl Saxby, Craig Ehlen Jan 2011

Understanding Sme Intention To Use The Internet For Managing Supplier Information, Kevin Celuch, Anna Walz, Carl Saxby, Craig Ehlen

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

There is strong consensus that the Internet has the potential to positively impact firms, and SMEs in particular; however, not all firms have realized benefits from adoption. The present study extends research in the area by addressing the need to examine the “chain” of variables explaining Internet adoption. We do this by exploring SME owner/manager Internet-related usefulness and ease-of-use cognitions and intention to use the Internet for supplier information management. We also explore the influence of behavioral norms and two broader strategic perspectives, market and learning orientation, on the Internet-related cognitions. Findings have implications for researchers and practitioners by identifying …

Go to article