Showing papers on "Entrepreneurship published in 1996"

Goverance, Ownership, and Corporate Entrepreneurship: The Moderating Impact of Industry Technological Opportunities

Abstract: Corporate entrepreneurship is important for organizational survival, profitability, growth, and renewal. Data from 127 Fortune 500 companies show that executive stock ownership and long-term institutional ownership are positively associated with such entrepreneurship. Conversely, short-term institutional ownership is negatively associated with it, as is a high ratio of outside directors on a company's board. Outside directors' stock ownership somewhat mitigates the latter negative association. Outsiders, including stock owners, might lead companies away from internal product development, the traditional route to corporate entrepreneurship. Finally, an industry's technological opportunities moderate the associations observed between corporate governance and ownership variables and corporate entrepreneurship.

The Proactive Personality Scale as a Predictor of Entrepreneurial Intentions

Abstract: In a review of trends in the entrepreneurship literature, Gartner (1990) identified eight themes characterizing the major issues of entrepreneurship. One of these themes focused on the entrepreneur as an individual, and the notion that entrepreneurship involves individuals with unique personality characteristics and abilities. Within this domain of research, five attributes have consistently been found to covary with entrepreneurship: need for achievement, locus of control, risk-taking propensity, tolerance for ambiguity, and Type-A behavior (Brockhaus 1982; Brockhaus and Horwitz 1986; Furnham 1992). Despite these findings, a number of scholars have expressed dissatisfaction with extant knowledge of the personality-entrepreneurship relationship. Chell, Haworth, and Brearley (1991) suggested that disagreement on the meaning of "entrepreneurship" has impeded research progress; moreover, these authors advocated using trait terms which describe natural categories accessible to lay persons. Gartner (1988) noted that theoretical models seeking to explain the broad phenomenon of entrepreneurship would benefit by including variables beyond traits alone. Robinson et al. (1991) argued for more dynamic models of the entrepreneurship process. Shaver and Scott (1991) identified the methodological weaknesses of much entrepreneurial trait research (including the research that generated the attributes listed above) and argued for consistency between the specificity of measures and underlying constructs. Perhaps as a result of criticisms such as these, recently little research has been published examining the relationship between personality traits and entrepreneurship. Considerable attention has been devoted to creating ambitious models of various entrepreneurial processes, such as new venture initiation (Herron and Sapienza 1992), entrepreneurial potential (Krueger and Brazeal 1994), and entrepreneurial motivation (Naffziger, Hornsby, and Kuratko 1994). These conceptual frameworks have significantly enhanced the precision of theory surrounding the entrepreneurship process. However, the death knell for the study of personality and entrepreneurship may have sounded prematurely. The proactive personality scale, a recent addition to the literature on individual differences, appears to have the potential for providing further insight into the personality trait-entrepreneurship relationship. The proactive personality scale measures a personal disposition toward proactive behavior, an idea that intuitively appears to be related to entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the extent to which having a proactive personality is associated with entrepreneurial intentions. Because a common definition of entrepreneurship is lacking, it is incumbent upon researchers to define explicitly the meaning they ascribe to the term (Gartner 1989; 1990). The central variable in this paper, entrepreneurial intentions, will be defined as one's judgements about the likelihood of owning one's own business. For the research questions in this paper, differences in specific tactics and themes of entrepreneurship (for example, creating a new venture vs. buying an existing business) will not be explored. Defining entrepreneurial intentions broadly is consistent with the objectives of this research in that it avoids delimiting subjects' expression of entrepreneurial intentions. The study of behavioral intentions has a rich history in psychology (for example, Ajzen and Fishbein 1980), and has begun to appear in both conceptual (Bird 1988; Katz and Gartner 1988; Krueger and Brazeal 1994) and empirical (Brenner, Pringle, and Greenhaus 1991; Krueger 1993a; 1993b; Scott and Twomey 1988) entrepreneurship research. Krueger (1993b) argued that entrepreneurial intentions are central to understanding the entrepreneurship process because they form the underpinnings of new organizations. Because entrepreneurship occurs over time (Gartner et al. …

Immigrant Self-Employment: The Family as Social Capital and the Value of Human Capital

Abstract: We examine how self-employment among Asian and Hispanic immigrants is affected by family composition and human capital/class resources. Because of collective interests and strong personal ties the family facilitates the pooling of labor power and financial resources. Enterprising immigrants draw on these resources when establishing and operating small businesses. Our findings also show the importance of human capital/class resources in accounting for immigrant self-employment. Although foreign-earned human capital is usually not highly valued in the host labor market immigrants successfully use this human capital to achieve business ownership. Interethnic variation in personal human capital and family composition accounts for a substantial portion of the observed interethnic variation in self-employment....The data are drawn from the 1980 five percent PUMS for greater New York City and Los Angeles.... (EXCERPT)

Advances in entrepreneurship, firm emergence and growth

Abstract: Gives an annual examination of the major research, theoretical and methodological efforts in the field of entrepreneurship and its related disciplines of small business, family business and population ecology, plus firm growth and emergence research.

A Cross-Cultural Cognitive Model of New Venture Creation:

Abstract: In examining the global landscape, it is clear that some cultures produce many more entrepreneurs than others. To explore this phenomenon, we take a cognitive perspective because it is assumed that...

Entrepreneurship and Small Firms

Abstract: The entrepreneur - concepts and evidence the small firm and the UK economy issues in business start-up sources of business finance sources of finance - case study and suggested assignments ethnic minority entrepreneurship enterprise support and government policy - a review of developments innovation and entrepreneurship innovation and the perspective of the innovative entrepreneur - a case study growth and entrepreneurial firms - a management issue research methodology and sources of information business plans - design and implementation.

Small business and job creation: Dissecting the myth and reassessing the facts

Abstract: This paper investigates how job creation and destruction behavior varies by employer size in the U.S. manufacturing sector during the period 1972 to 1988. The paper also evaluates the empirical basis for conventional claims about the job-creating prowess of small businesses. The chief findings and conclusions fall into five categories:

Gender as a determinant of small business performance: insights from a British study

Abstract: The performance of small businesses, that is the ability of small firms to contribute to job and wealth creation through business start-up, survival and growth, has been an important area of policy and academic debate in the 1980s. Surprisingly little has been written about gender and small business performance. Our literature search revealed only a small number of studies of any substance on this subject, though over forty made some mention of it, Most studies shied away from direct examination of quantitative performance measures (such as jobs created, sales turnover, annual growth), tending to concentrate on qualitative measures of success or failure. The paper examines small business performance and gender using data obtained from a survey of 600 (300 women, 300 men) Scottish and English small business ownermanagers, part of a three year study on the impact of gender on small business management. Analyses suggest that the relationship between gender and small business performance is complex, but that gender still appears to be a significant determinant even after other key factors are controlled for.

Advocacy Coalitions, Policy Entrepreneurs, and Policy Change

Abstract: The advocacy coalition framework (AC) explains policy stability The policy entrepreneurship model (PE) explains dynamic policy change. Thus, augmenting the AC with insights from the PE provides a method of explaining a common empirical phenomenon: policy stability punctuated by dynamic policy change. This analytical strategy could be used to explore stability and change in many policy arenas. Here, we use it to interpret the background lo and dynamics of recent education policy reform in Michigan.

Procedural justice in entrepreneur-investor relations

Abstract: This research used a procedural justice perspective to examine the impact of entrepreneurs' management of information flows in the form of feedback and influence on entrepreneur-investor relations....

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: Can We Afford to Neglect Them in the Twenty-first Century Business School?

Abstract: This article reviews the case for business schools becoming more seriously involved in teaching and research in the field of entrepreneurship and small business. It begins by reviewing some of the global pressures that underpin the need for management schools to devote more serious attention to these phenomena. It then argues the central case for a clear conceptual stance to be taken on the relationship between small business and entrepreneurship as a basis for core programme and pedagogical design. It finally reviews the key issues of change that will confront business schools wishing to move into this area under the three headings of: involvement with the community; teaching and research; and organization design.

Entrepreneurship education and training ‐ introducing entrepreneurship into non‐business disciplines

Abstract: Entrepreneurs or the move towards self‐employment is, and will continue to become, an increasingly important element of economic growth and development. It is now recognized that small firms in Ireland are “net creators of jobs while the large firm sector is a net shedder of jobs”. To ensure that a sustained increase in self‐employment continues, it is critical that the correct infrastructure is in place to facilitate this development. One critical aspect of this infrastructure is the creation of an enterprise culture which will encourage and entice individuals to take the risk of starting a business. Examines one of the core components of an enterprise culture, which is education, and how the various educational programmes can incorporate entrepreneurship as a subject area which will foster the interest in enterprise. Focuses on how a process model for enterprise education can be used to target various student groups in an interdisciplinary manner, and emphasizes the need to teach entrepreneurship to non‐business students, who in many instances are the originators of ideas, but unfortunately do not have the business knowledge to develop the idea further.

Capturing the Political Imagination: Think Tanks and the Policy Process

Abstract: Parliamentary Affairs- "...a sophisticated and balanced evaluation" Austrian Broadcasting Corporation- "This comprehensive study of British and American Think Tanks tells us how they work, how they"re used and hot to distinguish between them." Political Studies- " By drawing on the literature of agenda setting, knowledge communities and policy entrepreneurship Stone is able to give her study a strong conceptual framework within which to conduct her analysis...the overall impression is of a very sound and stimulating piece of work" New Times - "a wide-ranging and comprehensive analysis...an excellent book" Contemporary Review - " This is a thoughtful and well-researched study of an aspect of policy development which has not been much written up in this country...an essential book for the library of the policy student- and of the decision taker in Government" The Political Quarterly- "This book has the great merit of seeking to debunk the myth of the overmighty think tank, refusing to acccept claims of influence and success without proof" Times Literary Supplement- " As a reference work it is...invaluable

The new wave of regional innovation networks: Analysis, characteristics and strategy

Abstract: Today, the number one priority for competitive advantage is innovation. A new approach to regional business development has been pioneered in Europe and the U.S.A. This involves building a regional innovation infrastructure. Learning through “networking” has proven to be a successful approach in some of Europe's more dynamic regional economics such as Baden-Wurttemberg and Emilia-Romagna. This involves maximising the complete range of regional innovation assets. The state of Pennsylvania and other older industry centres are showing that such an approach is transferable from Europe to the U.S.A. The paper assesses knowledge-transfer at the regional level and outlines the key elements for successful regional innovation networking practices. The major finding(s) are that business networking is an effective way of increasing company turnover; that not-for-profit organizations are excellent for setting up networks because they are trusted, and that innovation networks are perhaps the most difficult, thought-requiring but important of the types of business network conceivable.

The Market Transition Debate: Toward a Synthesis?

Abstract: In his seminal 1989 article, "A Theory of Market Transition," Victor Nee offered a new theory of social inequality and applied it to the study of the problem of transition from state socialist redistributive economy to market capitalism. Nee claimed that the emergence of markets in state socialist redistributive economies had unexpected consequences. The most privileged stratum or class of state socialism, the redistributors, lost some of their privilege, while those at the bottom of the state socialist hierarchy, the "direct producers," benefited (for earlier formulations see Szelenyi and Konrad [1969], Szelenyi [1978], and Whyte [1984]). As a result, inequality, as measured by income or access to scarce goods, was reduced. Nee's theory identified the mechanisms by which markets generated equality under redistributive systems: if wages are not administratively set, but established by transactive relations, then producers are likely to have more power (market power); if markets operate, then human capital is likely to be rewarded more while political loyalty is likely to matter less (market incentive); if there are markets in a redistributive economy, then entrepreneurship becomes an alternative avenue of socioeconomic mobility (market opportunity; Nee 1989). Data collected in 1985 in rural China offered support to the theory of market transition. Between 1977 and 1985 overall income inequalities in China declined: the income gap between urban residents and farmers shrank; the income gap in the countryside between peasants and cadres also narrowed. The decline of inequality arguably was the result of deregulation of state policies in agriculture. After 1977, Chinese peasants received land, their production targets were less strictly regulated by planners, and they were allowed to bring their produce to urban markets. As

The informational basis of entrepreneurial discovery

Abstract: Scholars have identified four different roles played by entrepreneurs in the discovery of new venture opportunities What each of these roles has in common is that the discovery process consists of the acquisition of specific, risk-reducing information Uncertain returns from such investments deter some would-be entrepreneurs from making discoveries This approach suggests that the vision to make entrepreneurial discoveries depends on making cost-effective informational investments, not on special talents possessed by only a few aspirants

Teaching paradigm shifting in management education: university business schools and the entrepreneurial imagination

Abstract: This paper argues that the cultivation of the ‘entrepreneurial imagination’ is the singular most important contribution university business schools can make to the business community. Instead of the prevalent emphasis on the vocationalizing of business/management programmes in order to make them more ‘relevant’, university business schools should adopt a deliberate educational strategy that privileges the ‘weakening’ of thought processes so as to encourage and stimulate the entrepreneurial imagination. This requires a radical shift in pedagogical priorities away from teaching analytical problem-solving skills to cultivating a ‘paradigm-shifting’ mentality. This, in turn, requires that management academics themselves engage in the practice of what is termed here ‘intellectual entrepreneurship’. It is through this academic practice that management educators can become skilled in the art of crafting relationship between sets of apparently disparate ideas and of thus bringing alive the facts they are attempting to impart. Only when such facts are embellished and illuminated by a mind possessing an intimate sense for the power and beauty of ideas and the bearing of one set of ideas on another, can they become pregnant with meaning and therefore able to excite the entrepreneurial imagination. It is argued here that recourse to literature and the arts provides new avenues for exploring relational patterns and frames of understanding, as well as the micro-logics of perceptual organization, necessary for cultivating a critical sensitivity to hidden assumptions and subtle relationships in social situations which lend themselves to entrepreneurial interventions.

Research on Entrepreneurial Alertness: Sampling, Measurement, and Theoretical Issues

Abstract: Information undoubtedly plays a critical role in the development of new ventures (Hambrick and Crozier 1985; Smith et al. 1988). However, while some recent research suggests that entrepreneurs may process information differently than managers in large organizations (Manimala 1992; Busenitz and Barney 1996), a substantial amount of ambiguity exists in our understanding of how entrepreneurs search for information. In summarizing the history of economic research on entrepreneurs, Hebert and Link (1988) concluded that most neoclassical economists struggle to explain entrepreneurial thinking styles and behavior because information that leads to starting new businesses is rarely based on full and free market data. In a departure from the traditional neoclassical framework and in an important breakthrough, Kirzner (1973, 1979, 1982) developed the "entrepreneurial alertness" concept which assumes that entrepreneurship involves the discovery of opportunities and the resources to exploit them as the economy moves towards equilibrium. From this perspective, the entrepreneur is an opportunity-identifier who has the ability to spot underpriced products or factors of production in particular markets in anticipation of disequilibrium profit opportunities. Thus, Kirzner posited information and information-seeking behavior as the central tenants of entrepreneurial alertness. In what is believed to be the first empirical test of entrepreneurial alertness, Kaish and Gilad (1991) found some empirical support for this theory. Their results suggest that entrepreneurs heighten their alertness to possible business opportunities by using different types of information (information cues) to project the potential of new business opportunities. Their results further indicate that whereas entrepreneurs make a habit of scanning their environment for information that may lead to new business opportunities, managers tend to depend on more traditional economic analyses to determine the viability of a new opportunity. These findings, if true, give us a better understanding of the behavioral context out of which new ideas tend to emerge and of how entrepreneurs sometimes go about doing things differently. Given that research on entrepreneurial alertness is still in its infancy, the purpose of this study was to replicate and further develop this alertness concept. While the findings reported by Kaish and Gilad (1991) represent a potentially important breakthrough, further confirmations of their findings have yet to be reported. This is cause for concern, particularly since Kaish and Gilad noted that their results should be viewed with caution given a number of specified limitations. Aldrich (1992) specifically noted that more replication studies are necessary to substantiate initial findings, particularly in the entrepreneurship area. More specifically, this replication was deemed necessary because of sampling, measurement, and theoretical issues. First, the two samples that Kaish and Gilad chose leave several generalizability issues unanswered. Kaish and Gilad acknowledged that their sample of entrepreneurs was not strictly random, that no analysis was done with non-respondents, and that the sizes of their two samples were relatively small. Additionally, their sample of managers was drawn from only a single larger organization. These issues raise the possibility that the results reported by Kaish and Gilad are biased and need further examination. Second, reliability questions remain with some of the scales developed by Kaish and Gilad. For the scales replicated by this study, the internal reliability coefficients reported by Kaish and Gilad ranged from .57 to .74. These are very marginal since reliabilities in the .70 range have generally emerged as the standard (Nunnally 1978). Combining these low reliabilities with the small sample sizes used by Kaish and Gilad significantly reduces the statistical power of their test (Kopriva and Shaw 1991). …

Entrepreneurship Education and Training

Abstract: This title was first published in 2003. The book covers the areas of: entrepreneurship and economic development; entrepreneurship theories (traditional and alternative); entrepreneurship education and training programmes; a comparative European analysis of entrepreneurship programmes; a profile of the aspiring entrepreneur; assessing effectiveness; and a framework for the design and development of entrepreneurship training programmes. Readers should gain a significant insight into the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training programmes from both the programme providers' and participants' point of view. Key features of the book include: an up-to-date review of the literature in this field; a comparative analysis of entrepreneurship programmes with a European perspective; an in-depth treatment of the effectiveness issue both on a qualitative and quantitative basis, and a longitudinal study involving a control and comparator group. The framework proposed by the authors should be applicable on a European scale.

Qualitative research issues at the marketing/ entrepreneurship interface

Abstract: Discusses the emergence of qualitative research in the context of research at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface. Debates which qualitative methods for data collection and analysis are relevant to research in this area. In consideration of this, discusses three topical approaches to research: applying the principles of grounded theory; utilizing computer software in data analysis and theory development; and developing a “stream” of research, combining various qualitative and quantitative methods. Drawing on the logic of the “stream” of research, offers a radical approach which reflects the intuitive research process employed by entrepreneurs. Argues that this might be adopted for qualitative academic research.

The Anatomy of the Entrepreneur: Clinical Observations

Abstract: In psychoanalytic theory, studies of work behavior have been relatively scarce. Most of the existing literature concerns itself with cases of work inhibition or compulsion. Occasionally, one finds a discussion of people in the creative professions. No attention has been paid, however, to a major contributor to economic development in society, the entrepreneur. This contrasts sharply with the amount of attention given to entrepreneurs by other disciplines. The object of this study is to better understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship, and in particular the work behavior of entrepreneurs. First, there is a brief overview of the role of work in psychoanalytic theory. Then a number of factors important to entrepreneurship are reviewed from the perspective of economic, sociological, anthropological, psychological, and organizational theory. A case history is presented of one entrepreneur who chose to be treated through psychoanalysis. The intensity of this type of treatment means that continuity in observat...

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Schumpeter Revisited

Abstract: In a large part of the literature on Schumpeter one finds that attention is paid to either his early contributions, with reference to the role of the entrepreneur as the personification of innovation, or to his later contributions, stressing the role of large companies as main drivers of innovation. This paper complements some recent contributions to the assessment of the influence of Schumpeter on economics and social sciences in general. It demonstrates that a careful reading of his writings reveals that there is no simple dichotomy between the 'old' and the 'young'. Entrepreneurial activities play an active role in understanding the dynamics of innovation throughout Schumpeter's theory. Copyright 1996 by Oxford University Press.