Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

Developing And Validating A Construct Of Entrepreneurial Intensity, Jianwen Liao, Patrick J. Murphy, Harold P. Welsch

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

In this article we define, validate, and propose a construct of entrepreneurial intensity, or the degree of entrepreneurship in firms. First, in defining the construct, we explore theoretical differences between entrepreneurial intensity and orientation in order to distinguish it. Second, we empirically validate a measure of entrepreneurial intensity using data based on a sample of 563 entrepreneurs. Third, we propose avenues for research on how entrepreneurial intensity distinguishes entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial action. Finally, we detail theoretical implications of using entrepreneurial intensity as an antecedent and outcome.

Improving The Efficiency Of The Angel Finance Market: A Proposal To Expand The Intermediary Role Of Finders In The Private Capital Raising Setting, John L. Orcutt

Law Faculty Scholarship

The angel finance market is of critical importance to the financing and creation of rapid-growth start-ups, whose continuous creation plays a substantial role in the success of the U.S. economy. Unfortunately, the angel finance market suffers from systematic problems, including information and agency problems and high transaction costs, that limit its ability to adequately finance these rapid-growth start-ups. One reason for the angel market's inefficiency is the lack of meaningful financial intermediaries that operate in the market. One logical group that could serve a meaningful intermediary role in the angel market is finders. The current regulatory treatment of finders, however, …

Creating A New Program In Entrepreneurship Education: A Case Study In Colombia, Kirk C. Heriot, Noel D. Campbell

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has been widely recognized as having greatly influenced the United States. Its influence has especially been documented over the past 20 years. Paralleling our societal interest in entrepreneurship has been increasing interest in entrepreneurship education. While our interest in entrepreneurship education has grown considerably over the past two decades, this field of study continues to have critics both within and outside of schools and colleges of business (Kuratko 2004). In spite of these criticisms, some researchers suggest that the United States is still far ahead of other regions of the world in terms of entrepreneurial education (Solomon et al. …

Preparing Your Business For Valuation, Margaret D. Nowicki, Eric E. Lewis, Jeffrey W. Lippitt

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

There is a tremendous need for the valuation of small businesses. Oftentimes, small businessowners do not have the wherewithal to gather the data and keep it up to date for use in situations that require valuation. Formal valuations are necessary because they provide objective evidence of value, in contrast to value set by markets on which public companies are traded. This article focuses on some factors that impact the valuation of the business and will help small businessowners feel more comfortable talking with financial professionals about how the business might be valued.

Entrepreneurship Research Through Databases: Measurement And Design Issues, Karl Wennberg

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

This article provides an account of how databases can be effectively used in entrepreneurship research. Improved quality and access to large secondary databases offer paths to answer questions of great theoretical value. I present an overview of theoretical, methodological, and practical difficulties in working with database data, together with advice on how such difficulties can be overcome. Conclusions are given, together with suggestions of areas where databases might provide real and important contributions to entrepreneurship research.

Entrepreneurship As Expectations Management, Steven E. Phelan

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial profits flow from differences in expectations between buyers and sellers regarding the future value of resources. This article investigates whether differences in expectations can be influenced by an entrepreneur to produce greater profits. It is argued that there are several points in the entrepreneurial process where such interventions can occur and that the use of these techniques should be associated with superior wealth creation. The article also explores the ethical implications of influencing stakeholders in this way.

Does My Business Need A Human Resources Function? A Decision-Making Model For Small And Medium-Sized Firms, Golbou Ghassemieh, Elizabeth "Liz" Thach, Armand Gilinsky Jr.

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The questions of when and what types of human resource (HR) support are needed tend to be unanswerable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This article addresses this gap in the strategic HR literature. Hiring, training, employee retention/satisfaction, wages and benefits programs, and worker’s compensation insurance are important to SMEs seeking to build strong capabilities and resources and to increase their competitive advantage. This article presents an analysis of the existing HR literature for SMEs. It introduces a decision model to help SMEs choose a cost-effective HR strategy, listing a range of options from hiring the HR function to electronic …

From The Editors, Laurence Weinstein, Joshua Shuart, Christopher Sheehan, Joseph E. Levangie

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

New England Journal Of Entrepreneurship, Spring 2005

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

Goatboy Soaps: From Itch To Concept To Execution, Laurence Weinstein, Lisa Agee, Rick Agee

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Lisa and Rick Agee of New Milford, Connecticut, are in their second full year of trying to turn their lifelong dream of being financially independent from corporate life into a reality.They are placing their bets on their product line of goat’s milk based soap products (www.Goatboy.us). Goat’s milk is said to have important skin benefits for the user over commercially made bar soap products such as Dove, Ivory, Dial, Olay, Zest and Irish Spring.

A System Dynamics Approach To Assessing Public Policy Impact On The Sustainable Growth Rate Of New Ventures, Jeff W. Trailer, Kuau Garsson

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The growth of firms is fundamentally based on self-reinforcing feedback loops, one of the most important of which involves cash flow. When profit margin is positive, sales generate cash, which may then be reinvested to finance the operating cash cycle. We analyze simulations of a sustainable growth model of a generic new venture to assess the importance of taxes, and regulatory costs in determining growth. The results suggest that new ventures are particularly vulnerable to public policy effects, since their working capital resource levels are minimal, and they have few options to raise external funds necessary to fuel their initial …

Collecting Oral Histories For Entrepreneurship Research, Brian Mckenzie

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Oral history collections can offer a wealth of detailed information for entrepreneurship researchers. The stories that entrepreneurs tell provide researchers with insight into both perspective and into substantive issues of entrepreneurial behavior.

The life stories of entrepreneurs offer students of entrepreneurship insight into both the explicit and the tacit knowledge of working entrepreneurs.

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Ipos* But Were Afraid To Ask, Joseph E. Levangie

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Many entrepreneurs want to reach high to the heavens to achieve unlimited success. These hardworking, often underappreciated, venturers often crave fame and fortune as they strive to create their personal business legacy. One strategic path many have wandered down is that of the Initial Public Offering (IPO), whereby shares of the company are sold to the public. The IPO has many strong attractions. Large amounts of capital can be brought into the company.The company’s stock can be used as currency to acquire other companies. Early investors realize a good ROI. Employees can perceive real value in their stock options. Customers, …

Developing A Framework Of Training For The Older Small Business Owner : Final Report, Beth Walker, Beverley Webster, Julia Turner

Research outputs pre 2011

This study was conducted as a result of the critical issue of the ageing population and the implications this will have on the workforce. An employment option for older workers is to become self-employed and to start their own small businesses, rather than to continue working in mainstream employment, which becomes increasing difficult as employees age. The option of self-employment may be a viable option for older people as uncertainty of employment tenure in mainstream employment continues to increases over time and is a way to utilise work skills and competencies that have been acquired over years of work experience. …

Towards A Best Practice Framework : The Case Of Institutes Of Technology Campus Incubators, Mary Fenton

Theses

Campus incubators catalyse campus enterprise development by encouraging Third Level “spin offs”, commercialisation of research and facilitating “spin-in” enterprises. They provide academic staff, graduates and “spin-in” entrepreneurs with a range of support services including space, advice, training, mentoring and networking opportunities. The real value of a campus incubator location for clients is their association with a reputable Third level Institute and access to the Institute’s resources namely academic staff, embedded knowledge, manager’s expertise and enterprise netvyorks. The researcher explored literature on campus and business incubators and identified a lacuna of research on campus incubation, particularly within Irish Higher Education Institutes. …

On-Line Training For Smes: Final Report, Beth Walker, Beverley Webster, Sue Stoney

Research outputs pre 2011

This research aimed to explore the appropriateness of on-line training delivery methods for small business owner/managers.

It is widely recognised that training and education are effective ways to reduce small business failure. In Australia, small business accounts for 96 percent of Australian private sector, non-agricultural businesses and they employ 47 percent of the private sector, non-agricultural workforce. Not surprisingly then, encouraging the development of the skills of the workforce has emerged as a major priority for government policy. However, what is also recognised is that many small business owner/managers (SBOs) have limited e-competencies.

Results of this research confirmed this and …

Politico-Economic Factors Associated With Interest In Starting A Business: A Multi-Country Study, Thomas Begley, Wee Liang Tan, Herbert Schoch

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Public health is a legal term of art referring specifically to delineated powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities. An emerging human rights conception of public health justifies government intervention. Intervention involves public officials taking appropriate measures including environmental regulations pursuant to specific legal authority, after balancing private rights and public interests, to protect the health of the public. This article is a critical analysis of the performance of the actors in maintaining environmental standards in India. Part II is a discussion on the source of environmental law in India. Part III discusses the performance of the legislature. Part IV evaluates the …

What Is An Entrepreneurial Team?, Thomas Cooney

Articles

It is arguable that despite the romantic notion of the entrepreneur as a lone hero, the reality is that successful entrepreneurs either built teams about them or were part of a team throughout. For example, when one considers the success of Apple Computers, the name of Steven Jobs immediately springs to mind.

An Exploration Of The Internationalisation Process Of Irish Indigenous Software Smes, Kathy Keeney

Masters

From meagre beginnings in the 1970s, the Irish software industry has emerged as one of the most interesting, exciting and successful Irish internationally traded service industries. Some thirty years later, the industry is still characterised by high levels of international trade activity, through niche market orientation and innovative and flexible management. Through an exploration of the internationalisation process in the context of Irish indigenous software firms, this thesis seeks to understand how this process of international expansion occurs, the barriers encountered throughout the process, future challenges for the industry and the use of strategic partnership activities as a facilitator in …

Sustained Growth In Nebraska, Saeed Ahmad, John Austin, Tom Doering, Ernie Goss, Bruce Johnson, Mike Lundeen, Donis Petersan, Franz Schwarz, Eric Thompson, Keith Turner

Business in Nebraska

National Macroeconomic conditions are favorable for future expansion of income, employment, and revenue in Nebraska. In particular, the U.S. economy is now in the heart of an expansion expected to persist over the three year forecast period. The principal engine of growth will be a sustained expansion in private sector investment and consumption demand.

However, the rate of growth in the national economy likely will be moderate rather than rapid. At least three factors will act to moderate growth. The first is higher energy prices. Rapid growth in global demand is expected to keep prices for oil and natural gas …

The Relationship Between Governance Structure And Risk Management Approaches In Japanese Venture Capital Firms, Toru Yoshikawa, Phillip H. Phan, Jonathan Linton

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper attempts to understand what drives Japanese venture capital (JVC) fund managers to select either active managerial monitoring or portfolio diversification to manage their firms' investment risks [J. Bus. Venturing 4 (1989) 231]. Unlike U.S. venture capitalists that use active managerial monitoring to gain private information in order to maximize returns [J. Finance 50 (1995) 301], JVCs have traditionally used portfolio diversification to attenuate investment risks [Hamada, Y., 2001. Nihon no Bencha Kyapitaru no Genkyo (Current State of Japanese Venture Capital), Nihon Bencha Gakkai VC Seminar, May 7]. We found that performance pay is positively related to active monitoring …

Watching The Shop From The Front Seat: Determinants Of Venture Capitalists' Representation On The Board, Reddi Kotha, Eli Talmor

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Oversight and involvement are essential for a venture capital firm to influence the destiny of the portfolio company. This paper focuses primarily on the venture capital firm’s decision to take a formal responsibility through joining the board. Our study uses a large sample of private British companies that received institutional investment between 1999 and 2002. We examine the determinants of board composition and board size. Contrary to common belief, only 30 % of the companies have any institutional investor (a “VC”) on board. The decision to take a formal board seat is based on the ability to make a contribution: …

University Library Partnerships: Promoting Economic Development, J. Cory Tucker

Library Faculty Research

The article discusses an innovative partnership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The collaborative project involves the UNLV Libraries and the Nevada Small Business Development Center, which is affiliated with the College of Business. The partnership was created to assist the University's goal of promoting economic development in the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada region.

Exploitation, Exploration, And Firm Performance: The Case Of Small Manufacturing Firms In Japan, Takehiko Isobe, Shige Makino, David B. Montgomery

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between technological capabilities and firm performance. We divide technological capabilities into two types – exploitation, which refers to refinement, production and execution, and exploration, which refers to searching, flexibility, and innovation. Based on a sample of 302 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms in Japan, our analysis reveals that exploitation relates more positively to operational efficiency than exploration, and conversely, exploration relates more positively to strategic performance, such as technological innovation and new product development, than exploitation. Moreover, firms with superior exploitation capabilities tend to possess superior exploration skills. Our findings …

Employment Creation And Opportunities In The Manufacturing Sub-Sector: The Case For Neem Tree In Nigeria., Okonkwo E. M

Bullion

Neem, (Azadirachta indica A Juss) commonly called "Dogonyaro" in Nigeria, belongs to the Mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the most versatile and ecofriendly trees and is widely distributed in South Asia and parts of Africa including Nigeria. This paper examines opportunities in the manufacture of Neem based products, investment profile of neem based pesticide commercial plant, products, organic fertilizer production and neem enterprise development in Nigeria. The study conclude that the reality of the benefits of Neem has been brought to the knowledge of Nigerians by no other than the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of …

Employment Creation And Opportunities In The Manufacturing Sub-Sector. The Case For Neem Tree In Nigeria., Abdullahi Abubakar

Bullion

This paper is focused on neem oil production for both local and export markets. It examines Neem, (Azadirachta indica A Juss), an evergreen tree that belongs to the family, Meliaceae and is known by the botanical name Azadirachta indica A Juss. lt is a fast growing tree, well adapted to semi-arid conditions and grows well on poor shallow stony or sandy soils where agricultural crops give low yields despite the application of fertilisers. The paper examines the origin of the neem tree, composition, uses, products, investment potentials and financial analysis on profile for neem seeds processing. The study conclude that …

Employment Generation And Opportunities In The Manufacturing Sub-Sector. The Case For The Manufacturing Of Farm Implements., Ihinodu I. I

Bullion

The modernization of agriculture has the potential to achieve the various objectives of creating employment, increasing productivity and output in both the sector and the entire economy, thus contributing to the food security goal of the government. This paper aims primarily at examining the prospects as well as the processes of manufacturing agricultural implements with a view to encouraging small/medium entrepreneurs to engage in the ventures. It examines the manufacturing activities of farm implements. It analyses the role which governments should play as well as highlighting the potential benefits of the enterprises. The paper conclude that given the stage of …

Employment Creation And Opportunities In The Manufacturing Sub-Sector. The Case For The Production Of Corn Flakes., Abdullahi Abubakar

Bullion

Cornflakes production is a promising viable business considering the increasing rate of urbanizing and our penchant for fast foods. Moreover, the demands of children for breakfast cereals especially in preparation for school and even in leisure times made the cornflakes business a promising and worthwhile venture for consideration by any aspiring entrepreneur. This paper examines cornflakes production, machinery and equipment, production process, market potentials, production capacity, financing cornflakes production and necessary approvals. The study concludes that The value added in a gross output of about sixty small textile mills with a gross output of N1.014 Trillion is N0.670 Trillion. This …

Employment Creation And Opportunities In The Manufacturing Sub-Sector. The Millinery Industry In Nigeria., Mark Chito Mrs.

Bullion

This paper examines the establishment of millinery factory in Nigeria, the capital outlay, equipment, landscape, sources of materials, profitability and target market. The paper contends that anybody can learn hat making skills and procedure but sustainability in the millinery industry is a function of creativity, foresight and artistic venturesome-ness. The study argues that the foreign market for Nigerian hats may well exceed that of the local in leaps and bounds. Nigeria appears to have a traditional attitude of disdain against their own locally produced materials even when such is internationally recognised and accepted.

Employment Creation And Opportunities In The Manufacturing Sub-Sector: The Case For The Manufacturing Of Cotton, Textile In Nigeria., Onuoha G. Nkem

Bullion

Nigeria is the third largest producer of cotton in Africa after Egypt and Sudan. Cotton growing zones are mainly in the Northern parts of the country, though the planting of cotton started in Western Nigeria. This paper focusses on the manufacture of cotton, textile in Nigeria, sources of material available, the equipment required, manpower, the land space required, the capital outlay and Profitability of the business. The paper concludes that from the financial result of the above analysis, the project is economically viable and technically feasible. Neem Seeds as Raw Materials is in abundance and can be sourced at lower …