Entrepreneurship in the public sector: a framework of analysis in European local governments

In this paper we explore the potential role of entrepreneurship in public sector organizations. At first, we present a review of the entrepreneurship theme in the political science and public management research streams, comparing these ideas with the mainstream business literature on entrepreneurship. Thereafter, we illustrate empirically how Stevenson's classical framework of entrepreneurship can be applied in a European local government context to explain the recent initiatives to compete for and utilize European Union structural funds. The empirical basis of the study is comprised of ten in-depth case studies of local government organizations, five in the UK and five in Italy. Finally, we propose five distinct types of entrepreneurial agents in the public sector: professional politician; spin-off creator; business entrepreneur in politics; career-driven public officer; and politically ambitious public officer.     

Spatial provision of local public goods with spillover effects

Most of the works dealing with local public goods are aspatial in their treatment since they consider only the case of a pure local public good; such works do not address the problem of where the good is to be supplied. In this paper, an initial attempt to treat the distribution of an impure local public good as a choice function is made within the framework of optimum urban land use. The distance-decay nature of spillover effects inherent in an impure local public good is explicitly considered by adopting a negative exponential function. To highlight the spatial aspect of an impure local public good, a two-supply-site problem with a log-linear utility function is formulated to determine the optimal supply sites. It is shown that if the weight of the utility function on the public service is greater than or equal to that on land, then the local public good is exclusively supplied at the center. Otherwise, separate supply sites can be optimal.     

Entrepreneurship research in service industries: a literature classification and trend analysis

In this paper, the influence of entrepreneurship on service management research is examined. Entrepreneurship research occupies a central place in organizational theory and strategic thinking, but its theories and models have little influence on business management. Entrepreneurship research can have a better integration with other areas of management, but there is still certain isolation. This article reviews the emerging areas in entrepreneurship research that provides complementary theoretical framework to service business models. In order to determine the areas in service management research in which entrepreneurship theories can be useful, a classification of the papers published in the last 2 years in the JCR service management journals is carried out. The study concludes that innovation is the most outstanding priority in service management research that can be enriched by entrepreneurial theories. The entrepreneurial approach to networks and institutional environment are the theoretical frameworks that better suit to introduce entrepreneurship variables as antecedents in business innovation models.     

A political ideology lens on social entrepreneurship motivations

ABSTRACT

The traditional literature regarding social entrepreneurship does not question the political dimension. On the contrary, it tends to de-politicize societal issues. A growing number of researchers underline how this perspective cannot address the complexity and the dialogical nature of social entrepreneurship. However, while there may be a case for incorporating a political perspective, there is currently no conceptual framework to systematically inform an empirical exploration of the role played by the political vision of entrepreneurs. In this paper, we use the concept of political ideology to offer a solid framework to show how politics can shape social entrepreneurs’ motivations. More precisely we identify three political profiles – anti-statist, reformist and neoliberal – which shape the motives to engage in social entrepreneurship. We take an embedded case study approach of 17 social entrepreneurs involved in a social innovation boot camp and reveal the existence of both, left and right-wing approaches in social entrepreneurship.     

When an initiative promises more than it delivers: a multi-actor perspective of rural entrepreneurship difficulties and failure in Thailand

National governments invest in initiatives aimed at encouraging rural entrepreneurship on the assumption that it contributes to competitiveness and employment. Empirical findings about one such initiative in Thailand reveal the nature of entrepreneurship difficulties and the diverse expressions of entrepreneurship failure, not only in the sense of termination of activities and exit but also entrepreneurs’ inability to meet the objectives and aims of the initiative. Significant attitudinal inadequacies such as risk aversion, passivity and over-reliance on the public sector complement entrepreneurship resource weaknesses in explaining rural entrepreneurship difficulties and failure. Findings demonstrate inadequacies of one-size-fits-all policies seeking to encourage rural entrepreneurship by failing to address the needs and capabilities of the involved entrepreneurs. The discussion also extends current research, first, by studying rural entrepreneurship within an institutional framework in an emerging market context; second, by conceptualizing rural entrepreneurship failure and attitudinal drivers of such failure; third, by documenting and analysing the nature, sources and consequences of the distinct constructs of ‘rural entrepreneurship difficulties’ and ‘rural entrepreneurship failure’; and finally, by presenting a revised theorization of ‘failure’ in entrepreneurship research which recognizes the diverse forms that failure may assume.     

Work,employment and engagement conditions in a female‐dominated public service occupation after restructuring/outsourcing

Most research on the phenomenon of public service restructuring/outsourcing focuses on lower skilled work in peripheral activities and typically provides an overview of effects on work, employment and employment relations. Through an in‐depth case study of probation, the intention of this article is to explore professional worker experiences of the restructuring/outsourcing of a core public service activity where the workforce is female dominated. The article highlights three dimensions of job quality that all suffered deterioration—work, employment and engagement. The case of probation adds to evidence demonstrating that employees experience adverse effects even though transfer regulations and union agreements supposedly protect workers. Probation also stands as an exemplar of impoverishment processes in a female‐dominated occupation which reinforces the view that public services can no longer be relied upon to provide high‐quality jobs for highly qualified women.     

Pursuing sustainable development through green entrepreneurship: An institutional perspective

Pursuing sustainable development through green entrepreneurship has been advocated, conceptualized, and empirically examined in the recent environmental management and entrepreneurship literature. However, green entrepreneurs are embedded in institutional environments that may discourage them from embracing sustainable development because of the “paradox of embedded agency.” How can a firm overcome the liability of such an agency issue and escape what has become known as a “green prison”? This study proposes that, because international venturing exposes firms to foreign institutions, it provides them with opportunities for institutional learning. Thus, we examine how international venturing influences green entrepreneurship which, in turn, impacts firm performance. Specifically, based on institutional theory, this study develops a firm-level green entrepreneurship framework with three dimensions: green initiatives (a firm's active adoption of green practices), received government green support (benefits that a firm gains from the government by adapting to governmental incentives, programs, and policies related to green practices), and green political influence (a firm's attempts to influence legislation that enacts laws, rules, and regulations related to green practices). The results obtained by analyzing 152 firms that engage in international venturing activities and 151 firms that do not show that international venturing is positively associated with green initiatives and government green support while these two factors further directly enhance firm performance and mediate the effects of international venturing on performance.     

市场机制下孵化器创新创业服务体系研究

为进一步助推“双创”升级,创孵机构一直不断地探索着新的商业模式、探索优质资源,进一步改善运作效率。在目前的市场经济环境中,要实现创新创业服务资源的最优配置,就需要结合市场机制研究孵化器的服务模式。文章分析了市场机制下孵化器创新创业服务的定价模型,根据该模型得到孵化器市场化运作效率的影响因素。基于该定价模型进行实证研究,可以分析得到孵化器在实际市场运行过程中存在的问题,并以创业黑马为例进行了创新创业服务运营的实例分析。根据该定价模型与实证分析结果,提出了从服务内容优化、服务效率优化、孵化器品牌战略、入孵筛选机制优化等方面优化孵化器运营模式,探寻适合孵化器长期可持续发展的创新创业服务体系,从而进一步助推创新创业。     

基于信息技术应用的公共服务流程优化概念与框架

流程优化问题是影响公共服务部门绩效的重要因素，流程优化也由此成为公共服务部门以及理论界越来越关心的课题。本文试图从厘清公共服务流程优化的概念入手，在拓展商业领域流程优化的阶段-任务模型的基础上，提出公共服务流程的优化框架。     

Demonstrating the instrumentality of motivation oriented approaches for the explanation of academic spin-off formation—an application based on the Chinese case

Much of the current empirical literature on academic spin-off formation focuses either on relevant framework conditions or on the potential academic entrepreneurs’ opportunity-seeking process. The interdependency of these two important factors, in contrast, remains understudied, even though it is theoretically well established in general entrepreneurship literature. Against this background this article makes the case for an integrated consideration of motivation and framework conditions. It demonstrates how this approach can convincingly explain changes in prevalent modes of spin-off creation in developing and transforming economies. To do so, data from 68 academic spin-off enterprises from China are investigated.     

On the contribution of public procurement to entrepreneurship and small business policy

Public procurement in industrialized nations accounts for a significant share of gross domestic product; hence it is imperative for local, regional and national economic development to utilize this potential. However, previous discussions of entrepreneurship and small business policy have by and large marginalized public sector procurement. As a contribution to giving greater salience to the linkages between regional development, entrepreneurship and public procurement, this paper presents empirical results of a qualitative study into local government authorities in the United Kingdom. In particular, it draws out a range of enablers and barriers for sourcing from small- and medium-sized enterprises that were perceived by procurement managers. The focus on public sector procurement furthermore leads to a more systematic theoretical elaboration of entrepreneurship policy as being based on legal authority or the market or network effects from geographic proximity.     

Exploring the determinants of digital entrepreneurship using fuzzy cognitive maps

In an increasingly digital world, almost anything can now be done through a computer or smartphone. Digital entrepreneurship is capitalizing on this trend, which brings numerous advantages to firms and society at large. However, the determinants of digital entrepreneurship’s success are still unclear, as well as how they relate to each other. This study sought to develop a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) to identify and analyze the determinants of digital entrepreneurship. Two group sessions were held with a panel of decision makers who deal with the digital entrepreneurship phenomenon every day. Based on their shared experience and knowledge, an FCM was developed and validated for this research context. Static and dynamic analyses facilitated a deeper understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships between the determinants of digital entrepreneurship, resulting in a well-informed framework that was validated by the panel members. This methodological procedure enabled an objective analysis of the dynamics behind digital entrepreneurship. The advantages and limitations of our constructivist framework are also discussed.

     

A framework for service enterprise workflow simulation with multi-agents cooperation

Process dynamic modelling for service business is the key technique for Service-Oriented information systems and service business management, and the workflow model of business processes is the core part of service systems. Service business workflow simulation is the prevalent approach to be used for analysis of service business process dynamically. Generic method for service business workflow simulation is based on the discrete event queuing theory, which is lack of flexibility and scalability. In this paper, we propose a service workflow-oriented framework for the process simulation of service businesses using multi-agent cooperation to address the above issues. Social rationality of agent is introduced into the proposed framework. Adopting rationality as one social factor for decision-making strategies, a flexible scheduling for activity instances has been implemented. A system prototype has been developed to validate the proposed simulation framework through a business case study.     

Conceptualizing social entrepreneurship in the context of emerging economies: an integrative review of past research from BRIICS

Social entrepreneurship is well practiced and talked about in emerging economies. However, till date, no dedicated review and conceptual framework exists, synthesizing and integrating past social entrepreneurship research in the fast growing emerging economies, commonly known as BRIICS (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa). The purpose of this article is to bridge that gap by conducting an integrative review of 123 most relevant peer-reviewed scholarly articles, filtered out of 1779 search results in six different research databases. Country-specific conceptual perspectives have been extracted and integrated to formulate a novel social entrepreneurship framework that is inclusive of five key social entrepreneurship dimensions emerging from these economies: (a) Social Welfare, (b) Social Capital, (c) Social Entrepreneur, (d) Economic Value Creation, and (e) Collective Endurance. This exercise was an initiative to facilitate the global community of social entrepreneurship researchers and practitioners in understanding the diversity, meaning, and evolution of the social entrepreneurship phenomenon in the context of emerging economies. They can advance research in this domain with the aid of the proposed framework and the research questions proposed for future research.     

Opportunity identification for sustainable entrepreneurship: Exploring the interplay of individual and context level factors in India

Sustainable entrepreneurship is becoming an increasingly established topic within the entrepreneurship literature. The phenomenon of businesses incorporating social and environmental agendas within their core activities has gathered an increasing academic interest. However, few empirical studies have explored the stage of opportunity identification in the sustainable entrepreneurship process in a more systematic manner, even more so in non-Western contexts such as India. We structure our analysis using a framework situated in the conventional entrepreneurship literature and the literature on National Business Systems (NBS). We conduct a qualitative study to explore the motivations of Indian sustainable entrepreneurs in two sectors: sustainable energy and ethical clothing. While we find that the conventional entrepreneurship based framework provides crucial insights to understand opportunity identification within sustainable entrepreneurship, we also observe a number of features unique to sustainable entrepreneurship in the Indian context—including the personal backgrounds of the participants as well as prioritization of motivational factors. Importantly, we find notable within-country variation in the contextual factors that appear to shape motivational dynamics. In the words of one participant, “there are many Indias” rather than one monolithic approach to sustainable entrepreneurship in India.     

当前创业带动就业面临的问题及其对策

促进以创业带动就业,通过创业增加更多的就业岗位,是我国当前和今后就业工作的主旋律,但目前仍面临着人们创业意识不强、创业资金缺乏、创业人才缺乏、创业成本偏高、创业扶持政策体系和公共创业服务体系不健全、创业发展环境不够宽松等问题。因此,必须进一步强化各级政府促进创业工作的职责,加大政策扶持力度,优化创业环境,激励广大劳动者的创业激情,充分调动人们创业的积极性和主动性。     

Entrepreneurship and the systemic consequences of epidemics: A literature review and emerging model

The Covid-19 epidemic is a global challenge requiring adequate public and private responses to overcome the emergency, shape new development trajectories, and prepare for future outbreaks. As socioeconomic turning points, epidemics imply an entrepreneurial response in which not only managers and entrepreneurs, but also policymakers, health professionals, and civil society as a whole are active participants. Using the PRISMA methodology, we provide a comprehensive review of the complex interactions between entrepreneurship and epidemics over time. Applying a combined Kirznerian-Schumpeterian theoretical framework, we find that, in the short term, epidemics trigger a wave of Kirznerian entrepreneurship aimed at reducing the uncertainty generated directly and indirectly by the medical emergency. In the long term, as medical uncertainty abates, Schumpeterian entrepreneurship can contribute to transforming the post-crisis environment, either supporting or undermining the public reaction to the crisis and determining the path of institutionalization, in the process of defining a new normal. Thus, epidemics could lead to unpredictable socioeconomic and technological improvements, but also to highly undesirable outcomes. The construction of a satisfactory new normal requires the integration of entrepreneurial capabilities within the public sector and an explicit policy of cooperation with the private sector. Therefore, as the short-term phase of the Covid-19 pandemic draws to a close, policymakers must shift their focus away from restrictions and obligations towards a collaborative framework supportive of private entrepreneurial efforts.

     

Improving customer experience in tourism: A framework for stakeholder collaboration

Tourism represents a service industry replete with unique complexities since a tourist's overall experience is modulated by multiple stakeholders, e.g., immigration officials at airports, policy makers responsible for investment in transportation infrastructure and managers at various tourist attractions. Effective management of customer satisfaction in this service sector entails cross-functional collaboration and a transparent measurement scheme that clearly delineates the impact of each stakeholder's actions on overall customer experience. In this paper, we propose a simple conceptual framework for stakeholder collaboration in tourism. A four-phase customer experience measurement process is developed to prioritize resource allocation and to increase tourists' advocacy levels for a destination. The proposed measurement framework has wide applicability and can also be exercised in the context of other public sector services, e.g., mass transit systems. We illustrate the process using an empirical case study at Chennai, a tourist destination in India and provide a number of substantive insights that are valid for this destination.     

Telling their own stories: Māori entrepreneurship in the mainstream screen industry

We examined how factors from Indigenous entrepreneurship research (social capital, cultural capital, self-efficacy) help explain the high level of Māori entrepreneurial performance in the mainstream screen industry. Results, based on ten case studies and a one-year series of structured interviews, extend prior research by showing that these Indigenous entrepreneurs benefit jointly from two forms of capital: cultural and social. We found high levels of both forms to increase the desire for emancipation of cultural and community identity – not just individual identity – through entrepreneurship. Self-efficacy and storytelling helped ameliorate discontinuities across Indigenous and mainstream contexts. Our research sheds new light on how Indigenous ventures can pursue mainstream entrepreneurship while maintaining cultural identity. It also makes several distinct contributions to the Indigenous entrepreneurship literature. First, it provides an integrative theoretic review. Second, it illustrates a culturally appropriate methodology for researching Māori entrepreneurs with implications for other Indigenous communities. Third, it proposes cultural capital and social capital as a two-part framework for explaining Indigenous entrepreneurial action. Fourth, it shows how entrepreneurship can be empowering for Indigenous communities. Finally, our paper demonstrates that entrepreneurship is a promising mechanism for preserving and promoting the cultures of Māori and other Indigenous peoples.