Showing papers in "International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research in 2014"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the insights of founding entrepreneurs to understand what they consider as indicators for achieving entrepreneurial success, using this information, the construct entrepreneurial success was conceptualized and a scale developed for use in subsequent testable models.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the insights of founding entrepreneurs to understand what they consider as indicators for achieving entrepreneurial success. Using this information, the construct entrepreneurial success was conceptualized and a scale developed for use in subsequent testable models. Design/methodology/approach – Through qualitative research, the concept of entrepreneurial success was explored with ten founding entrepreneurs. Themes emerged from this enquiry process which informed the development of nine indicators. The indicators were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in a subsequent study, comprising 213 founding entrepreneurs. The result is an early attempt to produce a measurement scale for entrepreneurial success, as perceived by the entrepreneur. Findings – Entrepreneurs perceive entrepreneurial success as the presence of both personal and macro level variables. This research supports theorizing that suggests entrepreneurial success is a multi...
122 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the dynamics of multiple identities of women entrepreneurs and analyze how WE do identity work in relation to specific identity regulations in the particular French cultural context. But they focus on the personal and social aspects of WE.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims at exploring the dynamics of multiple identities of women entrepreneurs (WE). The paper analyse how WE do identity work in relation to specific identity regulations in the particular French cultural context. The objective is to understand how the entrepreneurial identity process of women is built through both confrontation and synergy with other social identities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for a qualitative and abductive methodological design. In total, 41 French WE from diverse business activities were interviewed. The empirical material was subject to thematic analysis. Findings – The findings reveal the ability of these WE to deal with numerous and various identities. Their daily strategies to accommodate different roles depict how their entrepreneurial activity is intertwined with their personal and social life. The paper are far away from the picture of a monolithic entrepreneur without social dimensions. Given that, the findings broaden the too simplisti...
119 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the relationship between corruption and productive entrepreneurship and whether it depends on countries specific characteristics in particular, and propose worldwide empirical evidence that countries with high levels of corruption usually face low levels of productive entrepreneurship.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the relationship between corruption and productive entrepreneurship in general and whether it depends on countries’ specific characteristics in particular. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used a unique data set of entrepreneurial activity within 176 countries, collected from the professional networking site LinkedIn. The authors used OLS regression to estimate the level of entrepreneurship. The main independent variable was the CPI score (Transparency International). In addition, two sub-samples were used, 70 less-developed countries and 34 OECD countries, and numerous control variables. Findings – The paper makes three important contributions to the field. First, it proposes worldwide empirical evidence that countries with high levels of corruption usually face low levels of productive entrepreneurship. Second, the paper suggests that the negative effect is much more significant in developed countries than in developing countries. Third, the pa...
88 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors use the attribute "critical" as a sensitizing concept to emphasize entrepreneurship's role in overcoming extant relations of exploitation, domination and oppression, and explore different interpretations of emancipation and discuss these from a critical understanding of entrepreneurship.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the attribute “critical” as a sensitizing concept to emphasize entrepreneurship's role in overcoming extant relations of exploitation, domination and oppression. It builds on the premise that entrepreneurship not only brings about new firms, products and services but also new openings for more liberating forms of individual and collective existence. Design/methodology/approach – Honing in on Calas et al.'s (2009) seminal piece on critical entrepreneurship studies, and building on Laclau's (1996) conceptualization of emancipation as intimately related to oppression, the paper explores different interpretations of emancipation and discuss these from a critical understanding of entrepreneurship. The paper then employs these interpretations to introduce and “classify” the five articles in this special issue. Findings – The editorial charts four interpretations of emancipation along two axes (utopian-dystopian and heterotopian-paratopian), and relates these to vari...
86 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, failure as an integral part of the entrepreneurial process has recently become a hot topic and the purpose of this paper is to review this debate as expressed both in research on entrepreneur...
Abstract: Purpose– Failure as an integral part of the entrepreneurial process has recently become a hot topic. The purpose of this paper is to review this debate as expressed both in research on entrepreneur ...
79 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined whether men and women starting a business use the informal economy and do so to test the viability of their venture and found that just over one in six small businesses started by men and one in 14 started by women (one in eight overall).
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether men and women starting a business use the informal economy and do so to test the viability of their venture. Design/methodology/approach – To do this, the results of a survey of 595 small business owners in the UK conducted in August 2012 are reported. Findings – Of the 22 per cent of men and 13 per cent of women small business owners reporting that they traded informally when starting their business, 66 per cent of the men and 53 per cent of the women assert that a main reason was to test the viability of their business. Hence, just over one in six small businesses started by men and one in 14 started by women (one in eight overall) traded in the informal economy when starting-up in order to test the viability of the business. Research limitations/implications – A more extensive survey of a wider range of countries is required to further evaluate the tentative findings of this single country small-scale survey. Practical implications – If tax admi...
72 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a novel conception of embodied entrepreneurial identity, which draws principally on the embodiment literature, Archer's identity framework and Goffman's ideas on the presentation of self, impression management and stigma.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel conception of embodied entrepreneurial identity. Prior studies conceptualise identity primarily in terms of narrative or discourse. Critiquing the limited focus on linguistic practices, the authors build on the literature by highlighting the role of the non-linguistic. The implications for researching one particular group – entrepreneurs with impairments – are considered. Design/methodology/approach – Entrepreneurial identity is conceptualised as a unique constellation of concerns emergent from the embodied practices of agents committed to new venture creation and management. This new conception draws principally on the embodiment literature, Archer's identity framework and Goffman's ideas on the presentation of self, impression management and stigma. Findings – The entrepreneurial identity literature is underpinned by a number of problematic assumptions that limit understanding of the meaning, formation and influence of identity on action. The bod...
57 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore how SMEs in peripheral areas, i.e. challenging regions, seek to implement innovation from a path perspective by examining the contributions from antecedent and mediator variables or constructs, including knowledge-based factors identified in the literature, using a cross-sectional survey of SMEs at firm level.
Abstract: Purpose – Innovation efforts of small- or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in peripheral regions are limited both by innate resource limitations and by location factors such as excessive distance from key markets and higher cost bases for new technology. However, the emergence of the knowledge economy may enable leveraging of knowledge to address such innate limitations. The aim of this study is to twofold. First, the study explores how SMEs in peripheral areas, i.e. challenging regions, seek to implement innovation from a path perspective by examining the contributions from antecedent and mediator variables or constructs, including knowledge-based factors identified in the literature, using a cross-sectional survey of SMEs at firm level. Second, to further examine how these path model constructs and relationships contribute in a causal manner to innovation implementation at an activity level of analysis based on knowledge-based view and dynamic capability theory, using a case study analysis. Design/method...
57 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied the role of a positive relational bond between the incubator manager and client entrepreneurs in the formation of a business incubator and found that it is triggered in a sophisticated normative environment under the prevalence of ground rules, subtle rules, and subtle rules.
Abstract: Purpose – Following recommendations by scholars for further research on the business incubation process, the purpose of this paper is to build new theory on incubation using the social mechanisms approach – a well-developed body of theory on social processes. Design/methodology/approach – A critical review of dominant theoretical approaches in the area highlighted that researchers in the past have not studied incubation as a social “process.” In order to study a social process such as incubation, a case is made for the value of social mechanisms theory. In order to study incubation as a social mechanism, an inductive-qualitative research design based on ethnography was used. Data were collected over six months each at two Dublin-Ireland-based business incubators. Findings – Results highlight the significant role of a positive relational bond between the incubator manager and client entrepreneurs. Incubation is triggered in a sophisticated normative environment under the prevalence of ground rules, subtle ...
54 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a brief review of the Schumpeterian and Kirznerian views on entrepreneurship and measure the two views within the economic and institutional contexts of emerging economies.
Abstract: Purpose – After presenting a brief review of the Schumpeterian and Kirznerian views on entrepreneurship, the purpose of this paper is aims to measure the two views within the economic and institutional contexts of emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach – Configurations of innovative entrepreneurship, opportunity entrepreneurship and contextual variables were assessed using cluster analysis on 16 emerging countries. Findings – Four profiles were found: innovative entrepreneurship of the Schumpeter Mark I type, innovative entrepreneurship of the Schumpeter Mark II type, opportunity entrepreneurship of the Kirznerian form and a fourth cluster described as a potentially emerging Schumpeter Mark II profile. The economic and governance indicators were favorable in the two innovative entrepreneurship clusters, whereas the contextual indicators of innovation were particularly favorable in the Schumpeter Mark II group. Research limitations/implications – The study demonstrated the importance of aligning t...
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the emergence of new technology based firms (NTBF) by focusing on the role of nascent entrepreneurs' social skills in the meeting the changes of entrepreneurial perseverance.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to advance ongoing research in entrepreneurial perseverance. While the concept of perseverance is not new, few researchers paid attention to behavioural persistence in the entrepreneurial context. The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of new technology based firms (NTBF) by focusing on the role of nascent entrepreneurs’ social skills in the meeting the changes of entrepreneurial perseverance. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the authors study the start-up phase of entrepreneurial process. The authors opted for a longitudinal case study approach in order to enhance the knowledge on entrepreneurs’ social skills and perseverance. For triangulation purpose the data were gathered using four different information sources. The use of Nvivo8 as the data analysis tool helped to impose a discipline and structure which facilitated the extraction of core insights. Findings – This paper contributes to the understanding of the entrepreneurial perseverance in the con...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate drivers of learning orientation in 253 Australian fast-growth small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) through an examination of the interrelationships between transformational leadership (TL), human resource (HR) practices, and organizational climate.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate drivers of learning orientation (LO) in 253 Australian fast-growth small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) through an examination of the interrelationships between transformational leadership (TL), human resource (HR) practices, and organizational climate. Design/methodology/approach – CEOs/managers of fast growth SMEs completed either an online or mailout survey. Statistical analyses involved tests for confounding and mediational effects, the use of exploratory factor analytic techniques and structural equation modelling. Findings – Findings reveal that TL is a significant antecedent of supportive and open organizational climates, and reward and job-related HR practices. Job-related HR practices and organizational climate fully mediate relationships between TL and LO. However, providing monetary incentives linked to performance does not motivate staff to learn. Instead, leaders need to act as role models, stimulate employees intellectually, provide a road ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors combine the two perspectives in describing and modeling high growth, and find that entrepreneurial growth is a process that needs external relationships in order to flourish over time, and that only the process of collaboration, a core competence of entrepreneurial firms, reduces information asymmetries and agency problems, thus turning the corresponding interorganizational relationships into formidable feeders of firm growth.
Abstract: – Business research and entrepreneurship literature typically examines external resources as input or output of entrepreneurial (or high) growth. The purpose of this paper is to combine these two perspectives in describing and modeling high growth. , – The study tests the hypotheses on a sample of medium-sized, established manufacturing firms using structural equation modeling. , – Results provide original contributions to the business research on firm growth and entrepreneurship. They are consistent with studies advocating the importance of adopting a process perspective when studying business growth to probe the causal mechanisms behind growth. , – Being quantitative, this study does not address the dynamic interdependencies between proprietary and hybrid growth. However, the literature on entrepreneurship would benefit from qualitative studies that explore how successful and sustainable growth processes combine the two modes of growth. , – Findings partially discard the input and output approach in favor of a vision of entrepreneurial growth as a process that unfolds over time with the development of external relationships. Only the process of collaboration, a core competence of entrepreneurial firms, reduces information asymmetries and agency problems, thus turning the corresponding inter-organizational relationships into formidable feeders of firm growth. Entrepreneurial growth is in fact a process that needs external relationships in order to flourish over time.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship between individualism/collectivism and individuals' potential to become an entrepreneur, and tested the hypothesis that the concepts of individualism and collectivism are not necessarily polar ends of the same continuum.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between individualism/collectivism (as personal traits) and individuals’ potential to become an entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on a sample of 503 students enrolled in business courses at a university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It focusses on the concept of Entrepreneurial Potential (EP) as a measure of “desirability and inclination” to start a business. The paper tests the hypothesis that the concepts of individualism and collectivism are not necessarily polar ends of the same continuum and examine their impacts on EP, controlling for age and gender as main demographic characteristics. Four main hypotheses are explored. Findings – Statistical analysis confirms the two main hypotheses. They reveal that: first, concomitant with the dominant collectivist values at national level, potential future entrepreneurs evolving in the Middle East/Gulf region endorse personal traits of a predominantly collectivist ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a combination of ethnographic and auto-ethnographic fieldwork at high-technology conferences in Silicon Valley by focussing on talk and text as relevant for understanding entrepreneuring was conducted.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine identity formation and networking practices relevant for high-technology entrepreneuring or the enactment of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley by Turkish business people. Design/methodology/approach – Guided by postcolonial feminist frameworks, the author conducted a combination of ethnographic and auto-ethnographic fieldwork at high-technology conferences in Silicon Valley by focussing on talk and text as relevant for understanding entrepreneuring. Through a reflexive stance, the author analyzed observations, conversations, and experiences inclusive of her own positionality during the research process as they related to entrepreneurial identity formation and networking. Findings – During business networking conferences taking place among Turkish business people in Silicon Valley, women and older males became marginalized through the emergence of a hegemonic masculinity associated with young Turkish male entrepreneurs. In addition, local context impacted ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated student motivation for undertaking an entrepreneurship education program and their ultimate employment aspirations through a novel data mining technique, which considered what relationship certain motivation characteristics have to students' aspirations, specifically in terms of their intention to be self-employed or employed.
Abstract: Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate student motivation for undertaking an entrepreneurship education programme and their ultimate employment aspirations through a novel data mining technique. The study considered what relationship certain motivation characteristics have to students’ aspirations, specifically in terms of their intention to be self-employed or employed.
Design/methodology/approach
– The study examined enrolment data of 720 students on an entrepreneurial education programme, with work statuses of full-time, part-time or unemployed and have known aspirations to either employment or self-employment. The Classification and Ranking Belief Simplex (CaRBS) technique is employed in the classification analyses undertaken, which offers an uncertain reasoning based visual approach to the exposition of findings.
Findings
– The classification findings demonstrate the level of contribution of the different motivations to the discernment of students with self-employed and employed aspirations. The most contributing aspirations were Start-Up, Interests and Qualifications. For these aspirations, further understanding is provided with respect to gender and student age (in terms of the association with aspirations towards self-employed or employed). For example, with respect to Start-Up, the older the unemployed student, the increasing association with employment rather than self-employment career aspirations.
Research limitations/implications
– The study identifies candidate motivation and the demographic profile for student's undertaking an entrepreneurial education programme. Knowing applicant aspirations should inform course design, pedagogy and its inherent flexibility and recognise the specific needs of certain student groups.
Originality/value
– The study contributes to the literature examining motivations for undertaking entrepreneurship education and categorising motivating factors. These findings will be of value to both education providers and researchers.
TL;DR: The authors examined the use of income generation projects as a pedagogic method to assess students' learning about social enterprises and found that students developed an understanding concerning social enterprises' diverse stakeholder environment, market needs, social enterprises’ ideological foundations, resource mobilisation processes and performance measurement.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of income generation projects as a pedagogic method to assess students’ learning about social enterprises. The authors are interested in how and why this innovative approach might improve students’ understanding of the different aspects and attributes of social entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – The study used thematic analysis of qualitative data comprising the reflective logs of 87 students on an undergraduate entrepreneurship module in a university business programme. The major attributes of social entrepreneurship were identified from a review of literature, and the paper uses the logs to judge whether students had learnt about these attributes. Findings – The results show that students developed an understanding concerning social enterprises’ diverse stakeholder environment, market needs, social enterprises’ ideological foundations, resource mobilisation processes and performance measurement – both social and financial. In additio...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of two Chinese high-tech private enterprises operating in the healthcare industry in Beijing, following a two-stage sampling process: informal, purposive sampling; and formal, theoretical sampling.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the conceptualisation of entrepreneurial preparedness (EP), and study how EP occurs in new venture creation and management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper primarily draws evidence from an exploratory case study of two Chinese high-tech private enterprises operating in the healthcare industry in Beijing, following a two-stage sampling process: informal, purposive sampling; and formal, theoretical sampling. Qualitative data collected from multiple semi-structured interviews within each firm were analysed using a thematic analytical framework. Findings – The paper advances the conceptualisation of EP as a cumulative, social and purposeful learning process. Accordingly, the paper highlights the roles of experiential learning, social learning and entrepreneurial goals (both performance and learning goals) as mechanisms that enable EP in entrepreneurial management. Research limitations/implications – The findings reveal idiosyncrasies of EP in a particu...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored mixed situations in which a firm's management is shared between a woman and a man and found that such situations are interesting in that: first, they make it possible to problematize the economic rhetoric which promulgates entrepreneurship as an individual and isolated, activity; second, the simultaneous presence of men and women allows observation of whether and how gender stereotypes and practices are at work in the process of positioning Him and Her.
Abstract: Purpose – Among the various “critical” voices which have contributed to problematizing the discourse on entrepreneurship, that of gender studies is indubitably one of the most significant and fruitful. Applying a gender perspective to the study of entrepreneurship has led to the uncovering of the (male) gender assumptions embodied in the dictates of entrepreneurship and to distinguish between study of women entrepreneurs and study of the relationship between gender and entrepreneurship. One aspect little explored within this diversified array of studies concerns “mixed” situations in which a firm's management is shared between a woman and a man. Such situations are interesting in that: first, they make it possible to problematize the economic rhetoric which promulgates entrepreneurship as an individual and isolated, activity; second, the simultaneous presence of a man and a woman allows observation of whether and how gender stereotypes and practices are at work in the process of positioning Him and Her wi...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the cognitive and motivational consequences of a business failure and their relation with subsequent start up success, and derive a hypothesis about the relation between causal thinking and subsequent business success.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the cognitive and motivational consequences of a business failure, and their relation with subsequent start up success. The paper hypothesizes that if previous business failure was attributed to an internal and stable cause, subsequent business would be less successful compared to where an entrepreneur attributed business failure to an internal and unstable cause. Design/methodology/approach – The authors reviewed the literature on attribution theory in an achievement context and derived a hypothesis about the relation between causal thinking and subsequent business success. A survey amongst entrepreneurs in Uganda was carried out to yield insights on how attributions to past performance influence subsequent business performance. Findings – Entrepreneurs who attributed previous business failure to an internal, stable cause were found to be less successful in subsequent business start up. When repeat entrepreneurs attribute previous shut down to a lack of ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed contemporary entrepreneurial configurations of small firms and related them to performance, using cluster analysis and ANOVA for a sample of 320 small New Zealand firms and found that young corporates outperform their counterparts in dynamic environments in how they use formal structures, and their high EO and generative strategy-making.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop contemporary entrepreneurial configurations of small firms and relates them to performance. Adding a process dimension, the authors extend the more commonly used resource and growth taxonomies in this field of research. Design/methodology/approach – A review of current literature on small firm configurations is followed by a discussion of its dimensions, namely, context (external and internal environment), content (entrepreneurial orientation (EO)) and process (strategy making). These are related to perceived performance, using cluster analysis and ANOVA for a sample of 320 small New Zealand firms. Findings – The results isolate young corporates, young simple and mature consolidator clusters. Young corporates outperform their counterparts in dynamic environments in how they use formal structures, and their high EO and generative strategy-making (GSM). Research limitations/implications – This study uses self-reporting measures and a cross-sectional design. ...
TL;DR: The role of assumptions in the field of entrepreneurship research and how such assumptions may contribute to the formation of a more distinctive, legitimate, and rapidly advancing field of research is discussed in this paper.
Abstract: Purpose – Entrepreneurship researchers have recently engaged in discussions on the boundaries and legitimacy of the field of entrepreneurship research but have overlooked the significance and implications of core assumptions. The purpose of this paper is to invite a more focussed discussion on the role of assumptions in the field of entrepreneurship research and how such assumptions may contribute to the formation of a more distinctive, legitimate, and rapidly advancing field of research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws upon the neurophilosophy literature to delineate one possible set of core assumptions about the individual and her engagement with the environment, which the paper suggests could serve as a starting point for continued and more explicit discussions about the nature and role of assumptions than existed in the past. Findings – Implications for theory development, knowledge accumulation, and the distinctiveness of the field of entrepreneurship research are discussed. Originality...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore and compare causal recipes for high performance among young Indian and UK firms in high-tech industries, and find that in all five configurations identified in UK context, firms adopt high external integration and employ inorganic development strategies, exhibit high internal integration, or do not operate in a highly competitive industry.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare causal recipes for high performance among young Indian and UK firms in high-tech industries. Design/methodology/approach – The traditional configuration approach suggests using the leadership, strategy, structure, and environment domains to identify configurations. In response to calls to improve causal linkages, and drawing on work on start-ups’ configurations, entrepreneurial orientation is used with these four domains to identify configurations. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is used to analyze data collected via questionnaires from 70 Indian and 21 UK young firms. Findings – In all five configurations identified in UK context, firms adopt high external integration, and employ inorganic development strategies, exhibit high internal integration, or do not operate in a highly competitive industry. These firms carve out niches, enjoy strong linkages with supply chain partners, and have strong enough reputations that their environmen...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed data from 193 face-to-face interviews with the founder/owner/managing director of small social economy enterprises in Andalucia, Spain.
Abstract: Purpose – Several studies have investigated the factors affecting innovation in medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at different levels. However, research into the characteristics of the entrepreneur (individual level) in social economy enterprises (SEE), and the relationship to innovation is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to build upon previous innovation literature to analyse SEE innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach – This paper empirically analyses data from 193 face-to-face interviews with the founder/owner/managing director of small (zero to nine employees) SEE in Andalucia, Spain. A semi-structured questionnaire was produced using the literature review. To ensure the reliability of the data collection and the consistency of the results, several researchers reviewed the codification and analysis of the answers. Quantitative analyses were performed on the data, including descriptive statistical analysis and multivariate analysis (factorial for innovativeness construct validation, multiple reg...
TL;DR: This paper explored the question on how faculty members who were founders or co-founders of a business learned "to work in entrepreneurial ways" (Rae and Carswell, 2000, p. 220).
Abstract: Purpose – While interest in and demand for entrepreneurial universities has gained prominence in recent years (e.g. Clark, 1998; Etzkowitz, 2008; Thorp and Goldstein, 2010), there is minimal research on the learning experiences and career-making events that transform traditional faculty members into faculty entrepreneurs who are able to successfully apply their research knowledge toward endeavors that intersect with the private market. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to understand, from the perspective of faculty entrepreneurs, the lived learning experiences that contributed to their development from traditional faculty member to faculty entrepreneur. Specifically, this study explored the question on how faculty members who were founders or co-founders of a business learned “to work in entrepreneurial ways” (Rae and Carswell, 2000, p. 220). In general, individuals who are interested in pursuing a career as a professor are not generally socialized during graduate school to engage in technology tr...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate commitment escalation tendencies and magnitude in groups of entrepreneurship-minded decision makers using a software-based management simulation to expose 447 graduate business students in the USA and India to research stimuli under conditions that resemble important aspects of entrepreneurs' business environment.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate commitment escalation tendencies and magnitude in groups of entrepreneurship-minded decision makers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a software-based management simulation to expose 447 graduate business students in the USA and India to research stimuli under conditions that resemble important aspects of entrepreneurs’ business environment, such as a focus on overall firm performance. Unlike most previous escalation research that studied individuals, the primary unit of analysis is a three-person group. Findings – The paper demonstrates a positive relationship between the groups’ entrepreneurial intentions and escalation magnitude. The paper also finds a direct relationship between sunk costs and subsequent investment amounts, suggesting an additional route through which sunk costs may impact escalation behavior – anchoring and insufficient adjustment. Practical implications – The authors hope that the findings will stimulate further resea...
TL;DR: This paper found that insolvency practitioners do not have a fixed narrative schema to narrate their professional identities, as they struggle to reconcile their professional acts with their personal ambitions, pointing to a disconnection between the political rhetoric on risk taking and the acts perpetrated on entrepreneurs who fail, a central tension in the discourse on entrepreneurship policy.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the other end of entrepreneurship – the disassembling of enterprises by insolvency professionals. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on empirical material from major insolvency practitioners (IPs) in Ireland; the paper identifies three different narrative positions – “clinical market operators”, “blame the entrepreneurs” and “professional detachment/disidentification” – that these specialists employed to story their working experiences. Findings – The paper suggests that IPs do not have a fixed narrative schema to narrate their professional identities, as they struggle to reconcile their professional acts with their personal ambitions. These findings point to a disconnection between the political rhetoric on risk taking and the acts perpetrated on entrepreneurs who fail, a central tension in the discourse on entrepreneurship policy. Research limitations/implications – The paper adds to the current debate on business failure, an area that is typically u...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey of the first twenty-five years of the cognitive science of religion and its contributions to the field of creativity and entrepreneurship, concluding that the linkage is both statistically and practically significant.
Abstract: Multiple scholars and practitioners provide models and theories to understand the inter-organizational relationships between businesses and higher education. This work illuminates the complexities, expectations and long-term impact of such relationships. How can parents, educators, business leaders and policy makers nurture creativity, prepare for inventiveness and stimulate innovation? One compelling answer, this book argues, lies in fostering the invention of imaginary worlds, a.k.a. worldplay. First emerging in middle childhood, this complex form of make-believe draws lifelong energy from the fruitful combustions of play, imagination and creativity. Unfortunately, trends in modern life conspire to break down the synergies of creative play with imaginary worlds. Unstructured playtime in childhood has all but disappeared. Invent-it-yourself make-believe places have all but succumbed in adolescence to ready-made computer games. Adults are discouraged from playing as a waste of time with no relevance to the workplace. Narrow notions of creativity exile the fictive imagination to fantasy arts. And yet, as Michele Root-Bernstein demonstrates by means of historical inquiry, quantitative study and contemporary interview, spontaneous worldplay in childhood develops creative potential, and strategic worldplay in adulthood inspires innovations in the sciences and social sciences as well as the arts and literature. Inventing imaginary worlds develops the skills society needs for inventing the future. For more on Inventing Imaginary Worlds, check out: www.inventingimaginaryworlds.com This bestselling text brings a fresh and unique approach to managing organizational change, taking the view that change, creativity and innovation are interconnected. It offers a strong theoretical understanding of change, creativity and innovation along with practical guidance and ideas for organizational change and development. The fourth edition comes with: lots of brand-new case studies and examples from around the world extra content on innovation and technology extended discussion and an additional chapter on the people aspects of change that includes culture, sensemaking and temporality Written in an engaging and accessible style, this books is essential for those studying organizational change management or creativity and innovation. With contributions from founders of the field, including Justin Barrett, E. Thomas Lawson, Robert N. McCauley, Paschal Boyer, Armin Geertz and Harvey Whitehouse, as well as from younger scholars from successive stages in the field's development, this is an important survey of the first twenty-five years of the cognitive science of religion. Each chapter provides the author's views on the contributions the cognitive science of religion has made to the academic study of religion, as well as any shortcomings in the field and challenges for the future. Religion Explained? The Cognitive Science of Religion after Twenty-five Years calls attention to the field whilst providing an accessible and diverse survey of approaches from key voices, as well as offering suggestions for further research within the field. This book is essential reading for anyone in religious studies, anthropology, and the scientific study of religion. Entrepreneurship and Innovation are the key drivers for generating wealth from knowledge. The readings of this book will indisputably enrich the knowledge on phase of Creative and Innovative Entrepreneurship in India. The essential problem in entrepreneurship is improving the performance of entrepreneurs. The most important theories will be the ones that most enable us to predict and then ultimately influence entrepreneurial performance. This book develops a new and more accurate theory of entrepreneurial performance based in entrepreneurial creativity. The field of entrepreneurship has a long tradition of expecting entrepreneurial performance to be influenced by creativity, tracing back even before the pioneering work of Joseph Schumpeter (1883 to 1950), who defined entrepreneurship as creativedestruction—creating the new by supplanting or destroying the old. Subsequently, psychologist Robert Sternberg defined creativity as broadly encompassing creative aspects of personality, motivation, intellect, thinking style and relevant knowledge. Using Sternberg’s definition of creativity, the authors reviewed the evidence directly linking entrepreneurial creativity and entrepreneurial performance, concluding that the linkage is both statistically and practically significant. In order to scientifically tie entrepreneurship to creativity the book pursues a number of major objectives: In parts one and two, the authors remind us of our scientific challenge in the light of the depressing levels of performance typically to be found in the real world of entrepreneurship and explores the limitations of the dominant paradigms driving research in the field of entrepreneurship today. In part three, they bring together existing evidence to demonstrate the predictive and explanatory powers of creativity in relation to entrepreneurship. In part four, they further explore correlations between creativity and entrepreneurial performance at the individual and macro or society, levels. In summary, the book offers a bold predictive theory linking entrepreneurial creativity to entrepreneurial performance, however neither as boldly as a definitional linkage nor as timidly as one in a hundred or so factors potentially explaining entrepreneurial performance. This result is a general scientific theory that offers a serious challenge to entrepreneurial scholars who are pursuing other means for understanding the causality of entrepreneurial performance. Entrepreneurship is the result of various contextual factors in the community, which are shaped by social challenges and business needs. Recent research efforts have focused on the dynamics of communities and how they facilitate entrepreneurship among a diverse group of people and organizations. This book highlights research on the importance of communities and their role in providing an entrepreneurial ecosystem that promotes innovation and business activities. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, it explores what it takes to create an entrepreneurial community that fosters creativity. Sharing valuable insights, it will enhance readers’ understanding of how entrepreneurship is formed by and exists in communities. Collectively, the authors present an informative overview of some of the best European research in entrepreneurship that