Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

Entrepreneurs’ Inability To Address Employee Grievances In The Small Business Industry, Tedford Hope

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Grievances are common in work, indicating major impediments to employee performance. Employee grievances lower productivity, motivation, and work happiness, damaging firms. This flexible design qualitative study investigated and improved understanding of entrepreneurs' failure to resolve employee concerns in Los Angeles' small businesses, resulting in lower organizational performance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants—4 executives and 11 junior staff. A thematic analysis identified eight main themes: Small business employee grievances; reasons for grievances; consequences of grievances; resolving grievances; leaders' responsibilities in handling grievances; leaders' mindsets that hinder or improve grievance management; and how to improve leaders' mindsets. Data from this …

A Dissertation To Explore Entrepreneurial Decision-Making In High-Risk Uncertainty Using Ethical Leadership, Janice Patrick Honeycytt Hering

Dissertations

Entrepreneurs regularly face high-risk, uncertain situations. Until this study, no research had examined how entrepreneurs approach these situations. Although studies have identified the construct of courage and suggested ways for employees to take courageous action in the workplace, no study has examined how entrepreneurs approach situations perceived as high-risk and with uncertain outcomes until now. This study was based on ethical leadership, one of the major components of courage: acting for the higher good. This study conducted qualitative grounded theory research to determine what process entrepreneurs use when faced with the need for courageous actions. Participants were entrepreneurs in the …

Entrepreneurs’ Network Bricolage: Reconfiguring Social Ties For Resource Creation, Frances Y.M. Chang, Cynthia M. Webster, Muhammad Aftab Alam, Francesco Chirico

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The entrepreneurship literature demonstrates the positive impact of network bricolage on resource-seeking. We extend this work by examining why and how entrepreneurs reconfigure ties within the social architecture of their networks. Building on the network bricolage literature and an in-depth analysis of 55 dyadic relationships embedded in four networks, we provide evidence of network bricolage behavior indicating that entrepreneur bricoleurs are, in fact, resource-creators as well as resource-seekers. Our data cover a series of preliminary and in-depth interviews, member checks, site visits, direct observations, and archival sources. We find support for our theoretical arguments that more resources and re-deployment opportunities …

The Growth Of Southeast Asia’S Msmes, Shoeb Kagda

Asian Management Insights

Funding winter presents opportunities to reboot for the future.

Agents Of Change: Which One Are You?, Michelle C. Dziurgot Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

In her editorial, Michelle C. Dziurgot, DDS, explores various roles dentists play as agents of change, including catalysts for urgency, collaborators with specialists, diligent workers for accuracy, risk-taking entrepreneurs, charismatic leaders, and peacemakers who resolve conflicts within their practices.

Business And Entrepreneurship, Corazon P. Lacsamana

Open Educational Resources

A PowerPoint presentation of an introduction to business.

Digital Platforms And Entrepreneurial Support: A Field Experiment In Online Mentoring, Saurabh A. Lall, Li-Wei Chen, Dyana P. Mason

Management Faculty Publications

The benefits of entrepreneurial mentorship are well documented, but there is limited research on how entrepreneurs connect with mentors, especially in digital settings. We partnered with an online platform that connects entrepreneurs to potential mentors to conduct a field experiment in online mentoring. Drawing on literature on entrepreneurial mentorship and Social Cognitive Theory, we compared the effects of three interventions on the likelihood of reaching out and making a connection with a mentor in a digital setting. We find that showing entrepreneurs a video of a successful mentor–mentee relationship increases the chances that they will reach out to a potential …

Transitional Entrepreneurship: Unleashing Entrepreneurial Potential Across Numerous Challenging Contexts, Golshan Javadian, Anil Nair, David Ahlstrom, Kaveh Moghaddam, Li-Wei Chen, Younggeun Lee

Management Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] We are pleased to publish the special issue of the New England Journal of Entrepreneurship on transitional entrepreneurship. Transitional entrepreneurship refers to the practices of entrepreneurs from communities facing adversity who navigate substantial life transitions as they launch and manage new ventures in response to various changes and challenges in their environment. Entrepreneurship is not only a critical driver of economic growth and social development (Ahlstrom et al., 2019; McCloskey, 2010) but can also represent a life-changing transition for most, if not all, of the entrepreneurs themselves. Transitional entrepreneurship entails strategic pivots or transformations that enable entrepreneurs to …

An Exploratory Study Of Entrepreneurial Intention Among Hispanic Entrepreneurs In Toronto, Jorge Perez Moreno

Dissertations

The Problem

Entrepreneurship scholars have claimed that immigrants are more likely to become self-employed due to limited job opportunities, access to social networks, cultural background, necessity, and education and skills. However, the entrepreneurial experience of Hispanic immigrants in Toronto has yet to be examined. This quantitative study examined the attitudes, norms, and perceptions influencing entrepreneurial intention and the factors that encourage self-employment continuation among immigrants in Canada.

Method

This study used a survey questionnaire of ninety-four Hispanic entrepreneurs in Toronto to comprehend their entrepreneurial intention. It examined their proficiencies, studied their business characteristics, and predicted their behavior toward self employment …

The Entrepreneurial Scientist, Kush Agarwal

Perspectives@SMU

Kush Agarwal is a trained scientist who calls himself “an entrepreneur by DNA”. His advice to budding startup founders: Manage your expectations with VCs

To What Extent Do Start-Ups See Themselves As Strategic Actors When Approaching Communications And Financing Within Their Companies?, Shanice Swaby

Student Theses and Dissertations

This capstone study explores entrepreneurial narratives centered around the role of communication within a start-up environment and to what extent strategic communication plays a role. I am addressing the following question: To what extent do start-ups see themselves as strategic actors when approaching communications and financing within their companies? To answer this question, I conducted seven oral histories with entrepreneurs within the Public relations, online sales, and real estate fields. The start-up companies varied in the amount individuals that are currently working for them. This study builds upon previous research about start-up companies and strategic communications. Past research was more …

Sustainable Pathways For Successful Small Businesses In Chelsea, Massachusetts, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Lorna Rivera, Carolina Rojas-Pion, Daniela Bravo, Henry Chavez

Gastón Institute Publications

This report focuses on the critical role that small business owners and entrepreneurs play in the socioeconomic development of a predominantly Latino community like Chelsea, Massachusetts.

This report compiles the key findings and recommendations that resulted from conducting a qualitative study with small business owners and other individuals who play important roles in advocating for and supporting this community. Assuming an asset-based approach rather than a deficit-based one (Green & Haines, 2011), our study focuses on the skills and knowledge of small business owners and identifies a myriad of possibilities for City administrators to build upon existing practices and behaviors …

Black Women Entrepreneurs: Understanding The Challenges And Proposing Policy For Equitable Change, Nana Younge

Community Engagement Student Work

Black Women Entrepreneurs: Understanding the Challenges and Proposing Policy for Equitable Change examines the obstacles that Black women entrepreneurs face that make building successful businesses challenging. When it comes to businesses in the United States, Black women fall behind compared to their white counterparts and the impact of this transcends their communities. The most paramount consequence of the absence of successful Black women entrepreneurs is advocacy in decision making that ultimately impacts Black communities and the country at large. Black women endure systematic oppression that is directly linked to a long history of racial and gender inequality that affects their …

So, You Want To Be An Entrepreneur: Potential Factors That Lead To Founder And Startup Success, Joshua Robert Tatum

CMC Senior Theses

Throughout the last two decades, entrepreneurship and startup companies have skyrocketed. Adding significant value to the economy, entrepreneurialism has immense power to spark technological and social change in the world. Given the importance of entrepreneurialism, this paper will use a data-driven approach to discover significant factors that influence founder and startup company success. Founding startups is growing easier and becoming more prominent, yet the failure rates of these companies continue to settle around 90%, leaving many companies without the chance to reach their potential and have their full impact. Using a new dataset I have collected, I analyze company and …

Strategies Nonprofit Leaders Use To Increase Client Engagement In Entrepreneurship Programs, Juanita Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 1990, entrepreneurship has been declining in the United States, which negatively impacts the standard of living in the United States by creating fewer jobs and fewer innovations. Identifying and implementing strategies to increase client’s participation in entrepreneurship programs helps business leaders obtain additional funding sources, improve organizational performance, and obtain support from policymakers. Grounded in the human motivation theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies three senior business leaders of a nonprofit organization in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States used to increase client engagement in entrepreneurship programs. Data were collected from …

How Saudi Small Business Managers Increase Retail Electronic Commerce Sales, Ghasan Abdulaziz Almoamen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractSaudi policymakers developed short-and long-term plans supporting the electronic commerce of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to increase sales. Saudi SME managers who do not take advantage of these plans to increase sales may lose profits. Grounded in Rogers’s diffusion of innovations theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies SME business managers use to increase retail electronic commerce sales. The participants comprised 5 Saudi SME managers from 5 different local retail companies who effectively used strategies to increase retail electronic commerce sales. Data were collected through semistructured audio-visual interviews, company websites, and financial documents. …

Women Who Dared: Female Entrepreneurs Defy Odds To Start Businesses During Covid-19, Kinza Tahir

MSJ Capstone Projects

With leadership roles being increasingly won by women all over the world, society benefits in all aspects especially economically when women earn incomes. In the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, many women usually perceived as second class citizens of Pakistan have started their own ventures amidst the pandemic.

Innovation For The Engaged Librarian, Marian G. Armour-Gemmen

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

As librarians, we constantly innovate to meet the needs of our users and to utilize new technology. Discovery is an important part of this process. When we discover our patrons’ pain points, we can more easily adapt to their needs. As the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program is implemented in more and more universities, engineering and patent librarians facilitate faculty and scientists in using the Business Model Canvas. Librarians can help faculty and scientists with familiarizing themselves with library resources to fill key parts of the Canvas. Additionally, this canvas is often implemented in innovation centers across campuses, and …

Diversification And Its Implications For South Dakota Farmers’ Identity As Farmers: Wind Farm Diversification As A Case Study, Abdelrahim Abulbasher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies have been conducted in the last three decades to examine the impact of the ongoing economic changes that encourage farmers to adopt nonconventional practices (such as crop diversification, on-farm recreation, and wind farming) to diversify their income. Limited research, however, has been conducted to examine the impact of on farm diversification practices on farmers’ identity as farmers (growers of food, feed, and fiber) including their role, self-conception, and family history/legacy. Using social identity and socio-ecological systems theories, this study seeks to understand how farmers construct their identity, the symbolic meanings they attach to their daily practices, and the influence …

Developing A Commercial Product Using A Consumer Grade 3d Printer, Calvin Smith

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The development of affordable, quality, consumer grade 3D printers has allowed entrepreneurs to develop new products and start small businesses. As the print quality of consumer grade printers has improved entrepreneurs have been able to develop consumer quality products without the traditional expense of mass manufacturing. This change from mass manufacturing to small scale and custom production has allowed for the growth of small businesses. Websites such as www.etsy.com show hundreds of small businesses based on 3D printing, these businesses showcase thousands of products ranging from useful household items to cosplay. This thesis covers the process of a small business …

Full Issue: Bridging The Gap (Vol. 2, Issue 1), Marianna Richardson

Marriott Student Review

A bridge brings together two pieces, which normally would not connect. Without the connecting link, those two sections would be separate. For example, a bridge between two landmasses gives travelers access to new locations, new vistas, and possibly even new opportunities. Bridging the gap can also be perilous if the bridge is not safe and secure. The connection needs to be maintained and inspected regularly for cracks, fissures, or signs of wear that should be fixed immediately. In this issue of Marriott Student Review, the authors have explored the bridges built in business and the importance of maintaining those connections.

Embedding Ethical And Sustainable Thinking In The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Kathleen Farrell

Level 3

Ethics and sustainable thinking in entrepreneurship are complex and challenging ideas. Recent developments such as deregulation, the market economy drive for profits, lack of trust and new technology aiding and abetting this situation, are calling for the development of frameworks. There is a need to embed ethical values in society. The European Commission is opportune in putting forward ethical and sustainable thinking as an entrepreneurial competence. More research is needed into the ethical problems encountered by entrepreneurs in their organisations

Beyond The Enclave: Success Strategies Of Immigrant Entrepreneurs, José Delfín González, Douglas G. Campbell

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

In the United States, immigrant entrepreneurs start almost one third of all new businesses. However, many immigrant entrepreneurs lack the knowledge or expertise to evolve their businesses beyond the ethnic enclave where their businesses are located. This multiple case study captured the strategies used by five Latino immigrant business owners who successfully expanded their business beyond their ethnic enclave. The conceptual framework for this study was dynamic capabilities theory. Data were collected from interviews, company documents, and observations of the operation of businesses and owners. Member checking and transcript reviews were used to enhance the reliability and credibility of the …

Microfinance: Combating World Poverty One Small Business At A Time, Alison Basney

Senior Honors Theses

Poverty is a major problem that reaches millions of people around the world. Although many organizations and individuals work daily to combat this, much of the work done to reduce poverty lacks sustainability and serves only to remedy to the effects of poverty, rather than create a solution to the causes of poverty. Microfinance can be very basically defined as the provision of banking to the impoverished who would not otherwise have access to these services. This purpose of this thesis is to show that microfinance is the ideal solution to the poverty problem by using research and evidence from …

Self-Perceptions Of Black Entrepreneurship In A Black Majority Rural Context - The Mississippi Delta, Timla G Washington

Dissertations

This studyexplored questions regarding the perceived influences (agency and structural) to successful Black entrepreneurship according to Black entrepreneurs living in the counties in the Mississippi Delta where Black people are the majority of the population. The examination questioned Black entrepreneurs in 13 counties in the Mississippi Delta on the perceived impact of agency and structural factors (i.e., human capital, social capital, industry type, financial capital, intergenerational link, discrimination, state government, Black elected officials, access to resources, opportunity, location) in relation to their success. One finding was that agency factors are the leading perceived influence on the success of Black entrepreneurs …

Impact Of Leadership Styles On Entrepreneurs' Business Success, Hona Amer

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Leadership styles play an important role in entrepreneurial businesses in today’s business marketplace. The Full Range Leadership Model provides a framework for transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles, as measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), while the ENTRELEAD scale has been used to assess the entrepreneurial leadership style. A review of the literature reveals limited empirical research focused on the effect of entrepreneurial leadership as applied in the contemporary marketplace. Limited research also exists on the effectiveness of the combination of these leadership styles for entrepreneurs in order to positively affect business performance and business longevity. The problem of …

The Influence Of Perceptions On Entrepreneurial Success, Josiah P. Peterson

Selected Honors Theses

The purpose of this work is to investigate and identify the influence of perceptions on entrepreneurial success. Entrepreneurs have been identified as instrumental to the economic survival of society and have therefore become the focus of an increasingly large number of studies. This thesis will expound upon those studies by focusing on aspects of the studies that pertain to entrepreneurial perceptions and success. This work will focus on three types of perceptions and how they influence success. It will focus on the perceptions the entrepreneurs have of themselves, the perceptions they have of their environments and the perceptions others have …

Marketing Strategies Of Mobile Game Application Entrepreneurs, Talaya C. Waller, Robert J. Hockin, Gina S. Smith

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Mobile game application entrepreneurs can offer many benefits to the U.S. economy; however, 80% of the entrepreneurs in this study stated that marketing their mobile applications was a major business challenge. Based on Schumpeter’s theory of economic development and new value creation of technological innovation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies that entrepreneurs have used to market their mobile game application development businesses successfully. Twenty mobile game application entrepreneurs from northern California, who successfully sustained their businesses for 3 or more years, completed semistructured interviews. Moustakas' modified van Kaam method was used and included coding …

Doing Well And Good: An Exploration Of The Role Of Mindfulness In The Entrepreneurial Opportunity Recognition And Evaluation Process, Louise Kelly, Marina Dorian

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to integrate two previously disparate areas of research: mindfulness and the entrepreneurial process. This present study conceptualizes the impact of mindfulness on the choices entrepreneurs face. Specifically, the research theorizes the positive effects of mindfulness on the opportunity recognition process, including evaluation of entrepreneurs. Furthermore, we propose that metacognition mediates this relationship, and emotional self-regulation moderates it. This conceptual research also suggests that mindfulness is positively related to the ethical decision-making and opportunity recognition and evaluation. Finally, compassion is proposed as a factor that mediates the relationship between mindfulness and ethical choices in …

Effective Strategies Of Military Veteran Small Business Owners, John F. Groves

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses owned by military veterans represent a source of new jobs, yet more than half of these businesses fail to survive beyond 5 years. These failures could lead to efforts to identify strategies that owners can use to avoid failure. The conceptual framework applied in this case study was the triple-loop learning theory. The purposive sampling included 7 military veterans who were small business owners who had sustained their small businesses more than 5 years. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and organization documents. Yin's 5-step process for data analysis compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding resulted in 4 …