Showing papers by "Danny Miller published in 1983"

The Correlates of Entrepreneurship in Three Types of Firms

Abstract: The objective of the research was to discover the chief determinants of entrepreneurship, the process by which organizations renew themselves and their markets by pioneering, innovation, and risk taking. Some authors have argued that personality factors of the leader are what determine entrepreneurship, others have highlighted the role played by the structure of the organization, while a final group have pointed to the importance of strategy making. We believed that the manner and extent to which entrepreneurship would be influenced by all of these factors would in large measure depend upon the nature of the organization. Based upon the work of a number of authors we derived a crude typology of firms: Simple firms are small and their power is centralized at the top. Planning firms are bigger, their goal being smooth and efficient operation through the use of formal controls and plans. Organic firms strive to be adaptive to their environments, emphasizing expertise-based power and open communications. The predictiveness of the typology was established upon a sample of 52 firms using hypothesis-testing and analysis of variance techniques. We conjectured that in Simple firms entrepreneurship would be determined by the characteristics of the leader; in Planning firms it would be facilitated by explicit and well integrated product-market strategies, and in Organic firms it would be a function of environment and structure. These hypotheses were largely borne out by correlational and multiple regression analyses. Any programs which aim to stimulate entrepreneurship would benefit greatly from tailoring recommendations to the nature of the target firms.

Strategy-making and environment: The third link

Abstract: Whereas much is known about the relationships between strategy and structure, and between environment and structure, too little is known about a third link—the relationship between strategy-making and environment. An empirical study was conducted upon two distinct samples of firms. We hypothesized that increases in environmental dynamism, hostility and heterogeneity should be related to specific changes in the amount of analysis and innovation which characterizes strategy-making activity. Most of these relationships tended to be much stronger in successful than in unsuccessful samples of firms.

Successful and Unsuccessful Phases of the Corporate Life Cycle

Abstract: An empirical study of successful and unsuccessful phases of the life cycle revealed two very significant differences. First, successive successful phases showed gradual and continual increases in the sophistication of their information processing and decision making methods. Unsuccessful phases showed no such continuous development. Second, successful phases revealed few differences in innovation-related variables, while unsuccessful phases demonstrated more significant differences, alternating between greater extremes of innovation and stagnation.

The Correlates of Entrepreneurship in Three Types of Firms

Abstract: Various factors have been identified as determinants of entrepreneurial behavior in firms, including leader personality, organizational structure, and strategy-making. The author argues that the manner and extent that entrepreneurship is influenced by these factors depends on the nature of the organization. Incorporating the type of firm in analysis may help to explain contradictory findings among prior studies. A tripartite typology of the firm is proposed. (1) Simple firms are small, and their power is centralized at the top. (2) Planning firms are bigger; their goal is smooth and efficient operation through formal controls and plans. (3) Organic firms seek to be adaptive to their environments and emphasize expertise-based power and open communication. It is hypothesized that in Simple firms, characteristics of the leader determine entrepreneurship; in Planning firms, explicit and well-integrated product-market strategies determine entrepreneurial activities; and in Organic firms, environment and structure determine whether entrepreneurial behavior is undertaken. The predictiveness of the typology was validated by data from interviews with 52 firms in Montreal, Canada, representing a range of industries and firm sizes. Analysis also largely supported the hypotheses concerning firm behavior. Concludes that any program to stimulate entrepreneurship must take into account the type of firm targeted. (TNM)

Annual Inequality and Lifetime Inequality

Abstract: An estimator of inequality in lifetime incomes is derived. It can be computed for a population from the distribution of incomes in one year. As a result, the estimates are as easily calculated as measurements of annual inequality, but can be used as measurements of lifetime inequality. Estimates from this measure and two others have been computed for selected years since 1947. The results are compared by their implications for the level and trend of inequality in the United States.