Collaborative Learning Instrument in Teaching Entrepreneurship Issues

Abstract

Due to the shortcomings associated with the largely passive learning experience currently experienced by students at the University level in Central and Eastern Europe, active learning approaches have been promoted by educationalists as a more effective method for teaching business and entrepreneurship. This paper contributes to this literature by outlining a collaborative learning instrument involving active learning that can be used to teach entrepreneurship at university level in Central and Eastern Europe. This instrument illustrates the role of entrepreneurship and proprietorship in both a well-established market economy and in the post-communist economies of Central and Eastern Europe. Students outcomes should include the following: firstly, the recognition that the emerging small business sectors of the post-communist economies have much potential as a vehicle for economic growth and for developing capitalist forms of economic production; secondly, an understanding that entrepreneurial behavior is an essential element in the development of the small business sector; thirdly, an ability to identify traits common to successful entrepreneurs; and fourthly, they will develop and practice a variety of entrepreneurial skills themselves that may make them aware of their potential as entrepreneurs.     

Multinational enterprise strategy,foreign direct investment and economic development: the case of the Hungarian banking industry

This paper examines foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Hungarian economy in the period of post-Communist transition since 1989. Hungary took a quite aggressive approach in welcoming foreign investment during this period and as a result had the highest per capita FDI in the region as of 2001. We discuss the impact of FDI in terms of strategic intent, i.e., market serving and resource seeking FDI. The effect of these two kinds of FDI is contrasted by examining the impact of resource seeking FDI in manufacturing sectors and market serving FDI in service industries. In the case of transition economies, we argue that due to the strategic intent, resource seeking FDI can imply a short-term impact on economic development whereas market serving FDI strategically implies a long-term presence with increased benefits for the economic development of a transition economy. Our focus is that of market serving FDI in the Hungarian banking sector, which has brought improved service and products to multinational and Hungarian firms. This has been accompanied by the introduction of innovative financial products to the Hungarian consumer, in particular consumer credit including mortgage financing. However, the latter remains an underserved segment with much growth potential. For public policy in Hungary and other transition economies, we conclude that policymakers should consider the strategic intent of FDI in order to maximize its benefits in their economies.     

Entrepreneurship and small business: The Hungarian trajectory

In Hungary the superiority and the rationality of the centrally planned system had already been questioned in the mid-1950s and in lower or louder voice ever since. After the suppressed revolution and initiated systemic changes of 1956, the comprehensive economic reform of 1968 was an attempt to combine plan and market keeping basic characteristics of the system as dominance of state ownership, high centralization, the power of the single party, etc. Despite several new initiatives, this experiment failed.From these initiatives, four will be dealt with: the birth and flourishing of the second economy, the rise and fall of the intrapreneurial groups, the turn from toleration to promotion of private small business, and the start of the divestiture privatization. The four junctions of the special Hungarian “reform trajectory” nolens-volens prepared the fundamental systemic changes: the transition to a proper market economy—partly by introducing basic constitutents of the new system, and partly by contributing to the erosion and disintegration of the former system.The analysis of these historical lessons helps to understand the present situation of the Eastern European economies and in particular of Hungary. It facilitates the identification of the major tasks to stop stagnation and decline, to start revitalization of these economies, and instead of the use of routine International Monetary Fund and World Bank schemes, to elaborate adequate forms and methods of aid.In the European market economies, the share of small business in employment (measured by firms up to 100 employees) might be around 50%, in Hungary, about 20%, in Poland about 15%, and less in the other Eastern European countries. The development of entrepreneurship and small business is one of the major prerequisites of the transformation of these economies. The knowledge, however, about the actual situation, the conditions needed to increase the number of start ups, the rate of survival, and the growth potential of small and medium-sized enterprises is rather scarce.From the findings of the questionnaire survey, the following conclusions can be derived:1. The increase of the share of the SMEs should be based on their better competitiveness in domestic and export markets; this is overshadowed now by the quantitative ambitions.2. SMEs have advantages vis-à-vis the large enterprises as well as disadvantages. To counterbalance them, an accelerated development of the infrastructure for banking, training, consultancy, and information; preferential treatment (credits, taxation) in some cases, networking, and more services of the trade associations are needed.3. In a declining, depressed economy, one cannot expect the renaissance of entrepreneurship and small business. Fighting high inflation, loosening restrictions, and a better management of the country's debt service should create a healthier economic environment—for small, medium, and larger enterprises equally.     

Typology of diaspora entrepreneurship: Case studies in Uzbekistan

The characteristics and importance of transnational diasporans as entrepreneurs for the economy and international business of emerging countries have remained underexplored. This paper addresses types of diaspora entrepreneurship (DE) theoretically and empirically in the context of Uzbekistan. Diaspora entrepreneurship is often seen as necessity-driven and less opportunity-driven. So far, emerging Central-Asian countries are considered countries of origin (COOs) of diasporans, but not yet as countries wherein diasporans want to invest and work, that is, countries of residence (CORs). Uzbekistan is also a post-Soviet economy with limited tradition on private entrepreneurship. Thus, the paper asks what makes people become entrepreneurs in emerging countries such as Uzbekistan when they have alternative opportunities in developed countries. It explores key drivers and socio-cultural reasons for the entry and establishment decision and introduces a typology of DE. This multiple case study presents implications and findings on culturally different entrepreneurs who have decided to enter Uzbek business elucidating their motivations and role in transition economies.     

Internationalization strategies of emerging market banks: Challenges and opportunities

The greatly improved economic fundamentals of the major emerging economies over the last decade have propelled several emerging banks into the ranks of the world’s largest. Despite their importance in the global economy, the internationalization of emerging market banks remains an understudied phenomenon. This article examines factors that may influence the internationalization strategies of emerging market banks in the private banking sector, both when going abroad (take-off) and upon arrival in a host country (landing). The private banking sector is of significant interest given its importance in many leading financial centers around the world while undergoing major transformation due to the worldwide financial crisis, several recent scandals, and a fast-changing regulatory environment. We highlight the internationalization strategies of two banks from emerging countries, China and Brazil, and their experience in Switzerland’s traditional private banking sector. These two cases highlight factors that may influence successful internationalization such as prior industry experience, existing client base, entry strategy, ownership type, and the liability of foreignness. Our findings offer valuable implications for managers from other emerging economies by providing a better understanding of how emerging market banks expand internationally.     

Teaching Business Strategy for an Emerging Economy

Abstract

An Internet-based simulation about a business in an emerging economy is presented and described as a crucial ingredient for a business strategy course dealing with emerging economies. The development of the course took place in three separate classes where experiments were conducted regarding the key ingredients necessary for a course designed to teach Business Strategies for an Emerging Economy. The simulation, when coupled with today's dominant strategy paradigm, the Resource Based View, appears to yield a course design that attracts students while emphasizing the actual substance which is crucial in such a course.     

我国专业化创业服务体系的研究与思考

创新驱动正成为我国经济高质量发展的关键，创业服务平台作为我国中小微企业创新创业的重要载体，服务模式和服务质量对助力创新经济具有重要意义。通过梳理国内众创空间、大学科技园、科技企业孵化器等多层面的创业服务平台运营现状，分析创业服务体系对科技创新和产业发展的显著作用，提出专业化服务能力建设对于推动战略性新兴产业的快速发展，支撑我国产业创新发展和“双创”升级具有重要价值并提出相应的推进策略。     

Marketing strategies of ethnic minority businesses in the UK

This paper seeks to evaluate the influence of the entrepreneurs' educational backgrounds, the firm's target market, and the sector of operations on the marketing practices of Turkish ethnic minority businesses. The paper reports and analyses the findings of 227 face-to-face structured interviews with Turkish small business owners. The findings of the study indicate that Turkish ethnic minority businesses operating in different sectors use both transactional and relational approaches to marketing. Their choices of pursuing different marketing strategies are influenced by the entrepreneurs' educational backgrounds, the firm's target market, and the sector of operations.     

How Institutions Influence SME Innovation and Networking Practices: The Case of Vietnamese Agribusiness

This paper addresses impacts of the institutional framework on small and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) innovation and networking practices. Through an explorative study of a domestic SME‐dominated sector in Vietnam, we find that the institutional framework limits incentives for long‐term investments, resulting in exploitative cost‐control strategies rather than product‐oriented innovation. Due to dominating social norms, SMEs form trust‐based friendship networks, potentially limiting knowledge acquisition and weakening business rationality. Institutional pressures reinforce negative influences on SMEs' incentives to develop innovation ambidexterity. The findings suggest that new institutional economic sociology provides a promising foundation for understanding how institutional frameworks influence SMEs' innovation practices in emerging economies.     

From grassroots to international markets: A qualitative study of marginalized entrepreneurs in India

Much of the growing literature on international entrepreneurship focuses on how positive circumstances, such as having prior international experience, business networks, or formal institutions lead to international entrepreneurial action and overlooks the role more challenging circumstances might play. In this study, we extend and refine challenge-based entrepreneurship theory to explore what influences international entrepreneurial action undertaken by marginalized entrepreneurs in an emerging economy. Despite widening economic and social disparities in emerging economies, little is known about entrepreneurs who have traditionally been “left behind.” Our findings suggest that these marginalized entrepreneurs have not only a set of liabilities but also advantages, including creative problem solving and perseverance, as well as local knowledge and networks. To spur the first-person international opportunity belief associated with international entrepreneurial action, an intermediary with resources and networks is needed to offset the liabilities. These intermediaries act as gatekeepers, helping some marginalized entrepreneurs but holding back others.     

Youth entrepreneurship in emerging economies: can family support help navigate institutional voids?

Abstract

Institutional voids plague entrepreneurship in emerging economies. In this paper, we investigate how the social structure of the family can enable young entrepreneurs to navigate the institutional voids and progress through the venturing process. Findings suggest that both institutional voids and family support have a significant effect on startup activities, and that family financial support helps absorb the negative influence of capital market voids. Our study begins to explain the relationship between institutional voids and family support, thereby contributing to the ongoing development of institutional theory in an emerging economy context and to the literature on family influences on entrepreneurship.     

Big business in the Russian empire: A European perspective

This paper presents an inventory of the largest private companies in the Russian Empire in 1914, and their comparison to the largest contemporary British, German, and French companies identified by Youssef Cassis as ‘big business’. It focusses on three questions. First, how big was big business in Russia from a European perspective? Second, how did the structure of big business in Russia compare to that of other large European economies? And finally, how did foreign entrepreneurship appear in Russian big business? Drawing on new empirical evidence, it contributes to the discussion on the ‘backward’ and ‘peripheral’ character of the Russian economy before the First World War.     

Tradition Versus Change: Evaluating the Currency of Some Traditional Chinese Values in Today's Business Environment

Abstract

In the last decade, the discussion about how marketing is changing has focused largely on practices in more affluent industrialized economies. Far less attention has been given to understanding the marketing strategies and practices of firms in emerging and transition economies. In this paper, we compare marketing of multinational firms versus local firms in Argentina. We identify the environmental characteristics of Argentina's emerging economy and, using survey data of 96 firms, we group firms into five clusters. We refer to two clusters as “traditional/local” as they use very basic marketing methods, with one serving business markets and the other consumer markets. The other three clusters we refer to as “progressive” as they represent state-of-the-art practices. The first two of these are foreign-owned and serve consumer and business markets, the third represents locally-owned service firms. The managerial implications are examined.     

Transforming Business Models in Fast-Emerging Markets–Lessons from India

There is a need for understanding the entrepreneurship and business models in the emerging economies, especially the fast-expanding ones, from a different perspective as compared to the developed economies. The consistent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, significant socioeconomic potential, untapped needs of the population, and economic growth potential in the fast-expanding emerging economies like the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) have changed the paradigm for investment, thereby creating a new economic development reality and focus for the global companies. However, achieving success in these emerging markets has its own unique mix of challenges. This requires a transformative and innovative mind-set toward conceptualization of a working business model that can fit into the reality of the socioeconomic and cultural challenges of these emerging markets. Further, the business model changes and alignment in these emerging markets require closer analysis and understanding of the global trends as well as ability to leverage the emerging technologies and linkages. The objective of this article is to explore the magnitude of opportunities and emerging business models transforming the socioeconomic landscape in fast-expanding emerging markets. In doing so, the article attempts to provide an overview of the emerging business model typologies and patterns that will enable the global companies to make better-informed decisions and build their presence in the fast-expanding emerging markets. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Can prosocial motivation harm entrepreneurs' subjective well-being?

Entrepreneurship research on prosocial motivation has outlined its positive impact on well-being, but still little is known about its power, which may have deleterious personal consequences under certain conditions. In this study, we ask whether prosocial motivation can harm entrepreneurs' subjective well-being when they run a commercial venture. Embedded within a contingency perspective informed by self-determination theory, we build on longitudinal survey data to explain the effect of prosocial motivation on entrepreneurs' overall life satisfaction. Our analysis demonstrates that prosocial motivation has a negative effect on entrepreneurs' life satisfaction due to increased levels of stress. However, our findings show that the negative effect of prosocial motivation dissipates when perceived autonomy at work is high compared to when it is low. Overall, our research raises questions on the role of prosocial motivation for entrepreneurs' subjective well-being and, in particular, discusses its potential “dark side” in the context of commercial entrepreneurship.Executive summaryCan there be a “dark side” in helping others? If so, how can we better understand under what conditions it emerges? Entrepreneurship research conventionally presents prosocial motivation as a positive driver for social venture creation and entrepreneurs' well-being. However, we have little knowledge about the consequences of prosocial motivation when we move outside the social entrepreneurship context. When prosocially motivated entrepreneurs lead a commercial venture, they face the difficult task of balancing the desire to help others with the financial requirements of the business. The challenge of simultaneously accomplishing commercial and prosocial goals can result in a stressful experience that is detrimental to the entrepreneur's well-being. In this study, we ask whether and under what circumstances prosocial motivation can harm entrepreneurs' well-being.Embedded in a contingency perspective informed by self-determination theory, this article expands our knowledge on the effects of prosocial motivation in the context of commercial entrepreneurship. We draw from original longitudinal survey data on 186 entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom to demonstrate that prosocial motivation causes entrepreneurs stress and through that stress has a negative effect on their life satisfaction. We also show that the negative effect of prosocial motivation diminishes when the degree of autonomy entrepreneurs perceive in the pursuit of daily work tasks is high. To explore the uniqueness of the entrepreneurial context, we run a comparative analysis with a sample of 544 employees. This analysis confirms that stress fully mediates the negative relationship between prosocial motivation and subjective well-being, but for employees, this negative effect disappears when their level of intrinsic motivation—the desire to expend effort based on enjoyment of the work itself—is high.Building on our findings, we generate several important contributions. First, we help develop an understanding of the “dark side” of prosocial motivation by demonstrating that under certain circumstances, the desire to help others can be detrimental to entrepreneurs' subjective well-being. Second, we expand knowledge about the link between prosocial motivation and well-being by considering the boundary conditions (perceived autonomy and intrinsic motivation) that influence the dynamics of their relationship. Third, we set the stage for further investigations that aim to clarify the relationship between motivation and perceived autonomy and its effect on personal outcomes across different work domains.The key insight of the study is that prosocial motivation creates a dilemma for entrepreneurs when operating a commercial business such that the desire to help others outside the context of immediate work tasks can harm their personal well-being. We also find that the perception of autonomy is key for commercial entrepreneurs to be able to realize their prosocial motivation without creating stressful situations. Extending our understanding of the conditions that shape the relationship between prosocial motivation and well-being among entrepreneurs would help in developing a more holistic notion of prosocial business venturing, one that includes the role of both commercial and social enterprising activities in contributing to personal and societal well-being.     

The Pace and Stability of Small Enterprise Innovation in Highly Dynamic Economies: A China‐Based Template*

In this paper, we analyze the dynamics of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship in the Chinese “transitional” context, as a template for the evaluation of the pace and stability of small business innovation institutionalization in many transition economies, and we also provide theory and evidence to further develop knowledge spillover entrepreneurship theory. Based on the first available cross‐sectional data set (2005 for 2004) covering 158 manufacturing sectors over the five Chinese provinces representing one‐third of China's industrial output, the empirical analysis provides evidence that local competition/specialization affect the pace/stability of innovation institutionalization in small enterprises and large‐medium enterprises differentially, suggesting new insights for research and policy in the transition‐economy/small business management context.     

Resource curse impacts on the co-evolution of emerging economy institutions and firm internationalization

We investigate natural resource “curse” impacts on co-evolutionary relationships between emerging economy institutions and firm internationalization. We discuss how these relationships challenge and extend IB institutional research using three predominant resource curse characteristics (boom and bust cycles with related public discourse and “Dutch Disease” with associated manufacturing sector investment crowd-out). These characteristics alter regulative, normative and cognitive institutional impacts on state- and privately-owned firm internationalization during an emerging economy’s resource curse. We develop propositions describing these processes using oil and gas, manufacturing and service sector examples in several emerging economies. We discuss our theoretical contributions to the resource curse and international business literatures and outline future research directions.     

A personal adversity model of justifying the costs of entrepreneurial action: The case of oil thieves in the Niger DELTA

While entrepreneurship can generate economic and social benefits, it can also be a source of negative outcomes. We need to gain a deeper understanding of how individual entrepreneurs interpret their context and engage in entrepreneurial action that can generate substantial negative outcomes. In this paper we shed light on the entrepreneurial process at the micro-level by exploring how bunkerers—oil thieves—engage in, justify, and persist with entrepreneurial action that, while generating some benefits for the entrepreneurs and the local community, causes substantial destruction to the local environment, community, and the entrepreneurs' health. By inductively generating a personal adversity model of justifying entrepreneurial action that generates substantial negative outcomes (for the local community and environment), we provide new insights into (1) the link between aspects of entrepreneurship under adversity and substantial costs (and some benefits) experienced by local communities already facing adverse conditions, (2) how entrepreneurs' claim varying levels of agency in the same justification of the same action and its negative consequences, and (3) how entrepreneurs entangle the self and others to justify their actions and its costs.     

The size of the small-firm sector in Hungary

Centrally planned economies usually prefer larger plants and firms to smaller ones. After the twin oil shocks of 1973 and 1980 it is widely recognized that strengthening the small-firm sector is a prerequisite to revitalize the Hungarian economy. One of the striking conclusions of this paper is that the small-business sector in the Hungarian economy is smaller than that of any other industrialized country.     

Job Creation Process in a Transition Economy

In many European countries, SME policy is close to being a synonym for job creation. Most empirical research on the job-generation potential of small firms over the last decade has been done in the stable and favorable economic conditions of market economies. The paper investigates the role of small firms in more difficult circumstances. On an empirical data set for Slovenia, the paper tries to show that small firms have been the most important employer during the transition period, a finding that very likely can be extrapolated for other European transition economies. Over the last decade Slovenia has transformed from a labor-managed economic system to a market-oriented economy. If we compare the firm-size structure in a socialist-like economy to the firm-size structure in a mature market economy close to equilibrium, we notice a typical absence of small- and medium-sized firms, with the exception of craft shops. That was how Slovenia appeared in the early nineties. Charac-terized by the removal of administrative barriers, transition encouraged a spontaneous entrepreneurial wave through an expanding small business sector. The ensuing changes in employment distribution changed the firm-size structure.