Dean Patton

Bio: Dean Patton is an academic researcher from Bournemouth University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Entrepreneurship & Competitive advantage. The author has an hindex of 22, co-authored 41 publications receiving 2215 citations. Previous affiliations of Dean Patton include University of Southampton & University of Leicester.

All Credit to Men? Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Gender

Abstract: Availability of, and access to finance is a critical element to the start-up and consequent performance of any enterprise. Hence, any barriers or impediments to accessing appropriate levels or sources of funding will have an enduring and negative impact upon the performance of affected firms. Although findings have been somewhat inconsistent, there is support for the notion that women entrepreneurs entering self-employment are disadvantaged by their gender. This argument is evaluated through a theoretical analysis of gender using the example of accessing both formal and informal sources of business funding to illustrate how this concept impacts upon women in self-employment.

Managing the Employment Relationship in the Smaller Firm: Possibilities for Human Resource Management:

Abstract: Sue Marlow and Dean Patton are with Leicester Business School, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. The authors would like to thank Adam Strange of Warwick Business School for his assistance in preparation of this paper.

The relationship between training and small firm performance; research frameworks and lost quests

Abstract: DEAN PATTON IS PRINCIPAL LECTURER in corporate strategy, Sue Marlow is principal lecturer in industrial relations, and Paul Hannon is academic director at the Leicestershire Centre for Enterprise, all at de Montfort University, England. In recent years it has been acknowledged that the take-up of training and development opportunities within the United Kingdom has been generally poor and that this has had a detrimental effect upon national productivity and competitiveness (Keep and Mayhew, 1997). It is noticeable that smaller firms in particular are reluctant to engage with formal training initiatives regardless of the incentives offered (Maton, 1999; Jennings and Hawley, 1996; Stanworth and Gray, 1992). To support greater take-up of such initiatives, policymakers and academics have sought to find a relationship between training and the performance of firms. The extant literature on this subject is inconclusive and a number of criticisms have been made witlh reference to the research design and methodology employed (Westhead and Storey, 1997). This paper proposes that a more focused research design to the subject is required and puts forward a model that would address many of the concerns raised (Westhead, 1996; Westhead and Storey, 1997). It is suggested that the search for statistical significance may actually be inappropriate, given the number of variables in the relationship. The model would, however, provide a framework within which the importance and interaction of such variables can be more clearly analysed and evaluated.

经验与教育 = Experience and education

Abstract: Experience and Educationis the best concise statement on education ever published by John Dewey, the man acknowledged to be the pre-eminent educational theorist of the twentieth century. Written more than two decades after Democracy and Education(Dewey's most comprehensive statement of his position in educational philosophy), this book demonstrates how Dewey reformulated his ideas as a result of his intervening experience with the progressive schools and in the light of the criticisms his theories had received. Analysing both "traditional" and "progressive" education, Dr. Dewey here insists that neither the old nor the new education is adequate and that each is miseducative because neither of them applies the principles of a carefully developed philosophy of experience. Many pages of this volume illustrate Dr. Dewey's ideas for a philosophy of experience and its relation to education. He particularly urges that all teachers and educators looking for a new movement in education should think in terms of the deeped and larger issues of education rather than in terms of some divisive "ism" about education, even such an "ism" as "progressivism." His philosophy, here expressed in its most essential, most readable form, predicates an American educational system that respects all sources of experience, on that offers a true learning situation that is both historical and social, both orderly and dynamic.

Understanding and promoting adoption of conservation practices by rural landholders

Abstract: Research on the adoption of rural innovations is reviewed and interpreted through a cross-disciplinary lens to provide practical guidance for research, extension and policy relating to conservation practices. Adoption of innovations by landholders is presented as a dynamic learning process. Adoption depends on a range of personal, social, cultural and economic factors, as well as on characteristics of the innovation itself. Adoption occurs when the landholder perceives that the innovation in question will enhance the achievement of their personal goals. A range of goals is identifiable among landholders, including economic, social and environmental goals. Innovations are more likely to be adopted when they have a high ‘relative advantage’ (perceived superiority to the idea or practice that it supersedes), and when they are readily trialable (easy to test and learn about before adoption). Non-adoption or low adoption of a number of conservation practices is readily explicable in terms of their failure to provide a relative advantage (particularly in economic terms) or a range of difficulties that landholders may have in trialing them.

A natural resource-based view of the firm

Abstract: Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

The Role of Gender Stereotypes in Perceptions of Entrepreneurs and Intentions to Become an Entrepreneur

Abstract: In this study we examine the role of socially constructed gender stereotypes in entrepreneurship and their influence on men and women's entrepreneurial intentions. Data on characteristics of males, females, and entrepreneurs were collected from young adults in three countries. As hypothesized, entrepreneurs were perceived to have predominantly masculine characteristics. Additional results revealed that although both men and women perceive entrepreneurs to have characteristics similar to those of males (masculine gender-role stereotype), only women also perceived entrepreneurs and females as having similar characteristics (feminine gender-role stereotype). Further, though men and women did not differ in their entrepreneurial intentions, those who perceived themselves as more similar to males (high on male gender identification) had higher entrepreneurial intentions than those who saw themselves as less similar to males (low male gender identification). No such difference was found for people who saw themselves as more or less similar to females (female gender identification). The results were consistent across the three countries. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.