The missing pillar: the creativity theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship

Knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship and the prevailing theory of economic growth treat opportunities as endogenous and generally focus on opportunity recognition by entrepreneurs. New knowledge created endogenously results in knowledge spillovers enabling inventors and entrepreneurs to commercialize it. This article discusses that knowledge spillover entrepreneurship depends not only on ordinary human capital, but more importantly also on creativity embodied in creative individuals and diverse urban environments that attract creative classes. This might result in self-selection of creative individuals into entrepreneurship or enable entrepreneurs to recognize creativity and commercialize it. This creativity theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship is tested utilizing data on European cities.     

Questioning boundedly rational frameworks in practice: The case of women entrepreneurs in Kumasi,Ghana

Management research has a foundation in bounded rationality, wherein individuals seek to make the best choice to satisfy preferences within limits posed by informational incompleteness. This work addresses how the notion of rationality that models Western, male centric business concerns is not universal. Gender has been left out of the assumptions of boundedly rational models and the use of these models often advantage men at the expense of women. The work in this paper explores the absence of gender in the assumptions of bounded rationality and how this theory is applied in emerging contexts. The paper explores the structural obstacles based on bounded rationality that are imposed on women's businesses and their decision-making and how these obstacles constrain the potential of female entrepreneurs. The paper examines these issues through 220 interviews with stakeholders in the Kumasi Central Market social system in Kumasi, Ghana. The evidence shows that when considering business registration, what is most salient to entrepreneurs is the prevailing cultural expectations for men and women, despite female economic and social prowess as entrepreneurs that predated this business registration laws by centuries. This tension between expectations for female entrepreneurial competency and the simultaneous marginalization of female entrepreneurs using frameworks based on bounded rationality is explored.     

The Need for International Intellectual Entrepreneurs and How Business Schools Can Help

Abstract

The development of “international intellectual entrepreneurs” addresses a vital topic. The societal want for speedy enhancement of material living requires the increase of the number of “active” intellectual entrepreneurs. Those who produce products and services through use of the internet that drives the growth of technological knowledge. Furthermore, these persons must be capable of commercializing their skills and internationalizing their activities. A new competitive landscape is taking shape. The new information highway, the internet, is driving the technological revolution and rapid globalization. A characteristic of the revolution is the emphasis on knowledge for competitive advantage. An information and communications rich organizational environment is emerging. The widespread diffusion of technology is unstoppable. This, coupled with globalization, is producing hyper competition and a blurring of industry and product/service boundaries. In such conditions, intellectual entrepreneurship arising fromuse of the internet has much to do. Furthermore, the points made in the article apply as well to the development of “global” intellectual entrepreneurs.     

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.     

Inclusive entrepreneurship: A call for a shared theoretical conversation about unconventional entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship has the potential to be an inclusive space comprising many types of conventional as well as unconventional entrepreneurs. In this essay we will argue that when it comes to unconventional entrepreneurs—ranging from refugee entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs with a physical or cognitive disability, to elder entrepreneurs, former convict entrepreneurs, and many others—there are important questions we are not asking because we tend to look at each subgroup in isolation. Our central message is that looking for shared wisdom across various groups of unconventional entrepreneurs may facilitate a shared theoretical conversation that aids the transfer of knowledge, prevents silos and the unnecessary reinventing of the wheel, boosts the field's appeal and critical mass, and facilitates a broader exchange of ideas. To facilitate that conversation, we identify who unconventional entrepreneurs are; identify obstacles to a common theoretical conversation and how these obstacles could be overcome; outline a set of common theoretical themes that apply across various groups of unconventional entrepreneurs; and show how further theorizing unconventional entrepreneurs could challenge the community to reach beyond our existing knowledge horizons to develop pioneering entrepreneurship research.     

The entrepreneurial experience and strategic orientation of high-tech born global start-ups: An analysis of novice and habitual entrepreneurs

A new type of “born global” (BG) firm has attracted the attention of international business researchers, encouraging the development of international entrepreneurship theory as a separate field of research. This theory proposes that the development of BG start-ups depends on their entrepreneurs, such that their strategic orientation can explicate their accelerated foreign growth and performance abroad. However, empirical analyses of BG start-ups are rare, with a few studies that examine their different manifestations. This study therefore investigates the role of entrepreneurial experience in influencing the different manifestations of strategic orientation, through a comparison of eight Italian, Internet-based BG start-ups founded by either novice or habitual entrepreneurs. Following a case-based approach, the conceptual framework presents the strategic orientation of BG start-ups as a multidimensional construct, comprising learning, market, and entrepreneurial orientations. Some propositions suggest how the different levels of entrepreneurial experience among novice and habitual entrepreneurs may influence the strategic orientation of their BG start-ups and offer insights for researchers interested in strategic orientation and entrepreneurial experience.     

Knowledge and internationalization of returnee entrepreneurial firms

This study aims to answer whether and how returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience and returnee entrepreneurial firms’ international market knowledge influence these firms’ internationalization. Anchored in a framework combining an entrepreneurial and knowledge-based view, we develop a model and four hypotheses on the relations between returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience, international market knowledge, international market commitment, and level of internationalization of the returnee entrepreneurial firm. Empirical evidence of the proposed model is derived from a recent sample of Chinese returnee SMEs in knowledge-intensive and high-technology industries. The main finding is that returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience nurtures international market knowledge of returnee entrepreneurial firms, which in turn has a positive effect on these firms’ international market commitment and level of internationalization. In terms of theory, the study extends our understanding of returnee entrepreneurial firms by uncovering the role of returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience and returnee firms’ international market knowledge during their initial and early international expansion.     

The commons: A model for understanding collective action and entrepreneurship in communities

The creation of commons—resources that are shared, accessible, and collectively owned and managed by communities—is increasingly being adopted by social entrepreneurs as a way of contributing to community development and putting value into economic activities. Yet, little research is evident related to the entrepreneurial processes involved in the creation and commercialization of these shared resources. Drawing on the Institutional Analysis and Development framework developed by Ostrom (2005), I explain how commons are entrepreneurially created. Based on a comparative study of five community banks in Brazil, I derive two ideological principles of collective entrepreneurship that help sustain commercialization of commons without commodification, namely ‘self-organization’ and ‘right to access’. I elucidate how these principles are enacted across venture levels through downward and upward mechanisms of social control facilitated by entrepreneurs who enhance collective action. This article contributes to the entrepreneurship theory of commons by explaining how commons are entrepreneurially created and by adding the collective entrepreneurship principles and mechanisms that commons of different types need in order to achieve and sustain wealth-creation options without incurring the downsides of commodification.     

Working the crowd: Leveraging podcasts to enhance crowdfunding success

Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular tool for entrepreneurs to solicit public funding from individuals. As its popularity grows, entrepreneurs are seeking to learn more about crowdfunding to improve their chances of success. In this article, we explore how podcasts can offer fresh insights to crowdfunding and serve as an effective tool for entrepreneurs to improve their knowledge and the likelihood that their campaigns are funded. We discuss key insights for entrepreneurs offered by ten popular podcast episodes on crowdfunding. Each episode offers enduring lessons for entrepreneurs interested in launching a campaign and also exemplifies the value that podcasts can potentially offer entrepreneurs.     

Location choice of academic entrepreneurs: Evidence from the US biotechnology industry

Where knowledge-based firms are located is important because entrepreneurship, firm creation and innovation are typically associated with regional economic development, wealth creation and increased employment. In this paper we examine where academic entrepreneurs locate their firms. We begin by developing a theoretical model that examines the location choice of the academic entrepreneur within the standard utility maximization theory. Academic entrepreneurs are assumed to maximize their utility by allocating their efforts between academic and entrepreneurial pursuits which, in turn, determine their future streams of income and end-period wealth. Optimal allocation turns out to be a function of both personal and external factors that condition the relevant payoffs and such factors can be empirically observed. We then use several candidate explanatory variables to examine those factors that may influence the firm location choice for 187 biopharmaceutical firms started by 275 academic entrepreneurs in the US. From our empirical analysis we find that location-specific factors such as proximity to certain knowledge assets and to the funding venture capital firms, affect the firm location choice of academic entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, entrepreneur-specific characteristics, such as their age, seem to dominate the choice of firm location.     

Venture distress and problemistic search among entrepreneurs in Brazilian favelas

When do entrepreneurs in emerging markets seek out help from organizational sponsors? Problemistic search theory suggests that entrepreneurs will seek out sponsors in moments of venture distress. However, this theory was developed in the context of large organizations; it is not clear how it might apply to entrepreneurs in resource-constrained contexts. We use three inductive studies conducted in favelas in Brazil to examine when entrepreneurs seek help. Consistent with problemistic search theory, we find evidence that entrepreneurs seek out help from organizational sponsors in moments of venture distress. We also explore what types of entrepreneurs are most likely to seek help in a situation of venture distress and find that entrepreneurs who are more socially embedded and have more social obligations are more likely to take up sponsorship services, leading to important heterogeneity in our results on take-up. We find that women, more mature ventures, and middle-aged entrepreneurs are all more likely to engage in problemistic search. We contribute to a more contextualized theory of problemistic search for small entrepreneurs in emerging markets. We also provide important theoretical and practical insights about the demand-side of organizational sponsorship.     

The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship

Contemporary theories of entrepreneurship generally focus on the recognition of opportunities and the decision to exploit them. Although the entrepreneurship literature treats opportunities as exogenous, the prevailing theory of economic growth suggests they are endogenous. This paper advances the microeconomic foundations of endogenous growth theory by developing a knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship. Knowledge created endogenously results in knowledge spillovers, which allow entrepreneurs to identify and exploit opportunities.

2007 China Harbor Ten People

2007 China Harbor Ten People elected the entrepreneurs who contributed a lot to port economy and enterprises this year trough their talent management.These ten people embody their social responsibility,professional skills,creative ability,and charming personality.Bearing full confidence in China＇s port economy,the port entrepreneurs are brave enough to explore a brand new area,so as to promote harbor economic development. At the very beginning of 2008,China Shipping Website,Dalian Maritime University,and China Port and Shipping In- stitute jointly select the 2007 China Harbor Ten People,demonstrate port entrepreneurs＇ stunning minds,disclose their secrets to success,and providing abundant experiences to others in harbor development.The top ten people are various excellence during the ups and downs harbor development.     

The Impact of Human and Social Capital on Entrepreneurs’ Knowledge of Finance Alternatives

Building upon prior research that demonstrates how the limited knowledge of finance alternatives of entrepreneurs may cause suboptimal finance decisions, this paper examines how entrepreneurs’ human and social capital influence their knowledge of finance alternatives. For this purpose, we use survey data from 103 Belgian start‐ups. Results demonstrate that entrepreneurs with a business education and entrepreneurs with experience in accountancy or finance have a broader knowledge of finance alternatives. Having a strong network in the financial community is further positively associated with the knowledge of finance alternatives. However, generic human capital, including higher education, industry experience, and management experience, is almost not related with the knowledge of finance alternatives.     

基于复杂适应系统理论的学术创业者双元角色协同过程研究

个体的学者角色和创业者角色协同是成功开展学术创业的必要条件。文章将复杂适应系统的特征对应于学术创业者双元角色协同上，借助“刺激—反应”的分析框架，通过纵向案例的方式，探讨了在特殊的复杂的学术创业环境中个体通过认知与行动的交互不断解决角色冲突进而实现双元角色协同的过程。案例发现：个体在解决双元角色的时间冲突、能力冲突和文化表达冲突过程中完成了被动拼凑、核心聚焦和共生协同的演化过程，对环境的适应经历了简单适应、直接适应和复杂适应的阶段。文章提炼的微观层面双元角色协同模型有助于丰富学术创业理论，并为处于不同阶段的学术创业主体成长、调整自身状态提供启示。     

Initial internationalization of Chinese privately owned enterprises—the take‐off process

In the first quarter of 2010, China showed the highest quarterly growth (12%) of any country ever. Although privately owned enterprises (POEs) are an important factor behind this immense growth, knowledge about how they have become key exporters is scarce and largely overlooked, especially regarding how they started to go abroad. Two major take‐off processes from the domestic market to the foreign market are studied. The critical importance of the development of the local emerging market behind the possibilities of taking off is stressed, as well as how firms change between indirect and direct export modes. The research is based on an abductive case study research approach, where primary data is collected through interviews in the Yangtze River region. The case study involves six privately owned family firms run by strong and dominating entrepreneurs. Major empirical and theoretical conclusions, including nine propositions, summarize the article and indicate areas for further research. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurial identity threats to persist: The countervailing force of a relational identity with God

While an economic paradigm has been productive for entrepreneurship, religion has been proposed as an alternative rationality to advance research in our field. To extend a theological turn in entrepreneurship and identity research, our study inductively develops a conceptual model that explains how individuals navigate entrepreneurial identity threats based on the interaction between a relational identity with God (RIG) and an entrepreneurial identity to persist in entrepreneurial action. Our study suggests this can happen when entrepreneurs engage in inter-identity work mechanisms - affirming and humbling - to mitigate these identity threats. Specifically, a relational identity with God acts as a countervailing force to an entrepreneurial identity during times of identity threats to generate inter-identity meaning change, resulting in interidentity stability and entrepreneurial persistence. Through our study, we advance knowledge on the theological turn in entrepreneurship and identity by inductively developing theory on a new religious identity construct (RIG), elaborating theory of inter-identity work by shifting the focus from structural to content changes, and extending theory on entrepreneurial action, persistence, and well-being based on theological rather than economic considerations.     

When should entrepreneurs expedite or delay opportunity exploitation?

We theorize on the performance implications of the timing at which entrepreneurs stop exploring their business opportunities and start exploiting them. Using an optimal-stopping approach, we characterize the time when exploitation should begin based primarily on when an entrepreneur's ignorance has been sufficiently reduced through knowledge accumulation. This “ignorance threshold” captures a tradeoff between the time needed to increase legitimacy and the necessity to act now to minimize competition. Changes in legitimacy and competition are based on how entrepreneurs manage their knowledge (tacit versus explicit) under differing degrees of novelty for the business opportunity. These changes, in turn, impact the performance and timing of opportunity exploitation.     

The ambitious entrepreneur: High growth strategies of women-owned enterprises

During the last two decades, researchers have sought to develop categories of entrepreneurs and their businesses along a variety of dimensions to better comprehend and analyze the entrepreneurial growth process. Some of this research has focused on differences related to industrial sectors, firm size, the geographical region in which a business is located, the use of high-technology or low-technology, and the life-cycle stage of the firm (i.e., start-up vs. more mature, formalized companies). Researchers have also considered ways in which entrepreneurs can be differentiated from small business managers. One of these classifications is based on the entrepreneur's desire to grow the business rapidly. This is the focus of our study.To date, the media have paid considerable attention to rapidly growing new ventures. However, still lacking are large-scale research studies guided by theory through which we can expand our knowledge of the underlying factors supporting ambitious expansion plans. Some research has identified factors that enhance or reduce the willingness of the entrepreneur to grow the business. Factors include the strategic origin of the business (i.e., the methods and paths through which the firm was founded); previous experience of the founder/owner; and the ability of the entrepreneur to set realistic, measurable goals and to manage conflict effectively.Our study attempted to identify the strategic paths chosen by entrepreneurs and the relation of those paths to the growth orientation of the firm. The entrepreneurs sampled in this study are women entrepreneurs across a wide range of industrial sectors. Recent reviews of entrepreneurship research have suggested the need for more studies comparing high-growth firms with slower-growth firms to better delineate their differences in strategic choices and behaviors.Our study sought to answer the following questions: What characterizes a “high growth-oriented entrepreneur?” Is this distinction associated with specific strategic intentions, prior experience, equity held in previous firms, the type of company structure in place, or success factors the entrepreneur perceives are important to the business? Do “high growth” entrepreneurs show greater entrepreneurial “intensity” (i.e., commitment to the firm's success)? Are they willing to “pay the price” for their own and their firm's success? (i.e., the “opportunity costs” associated with business success and growth). Other relationships under investigation included different patterns of financing the business' start-up and early growth. Do “high-growth” entrepreneurs use unique sources of funding compared with “lower-growth” entrepreneurs?Eight hundred thirty-two entrepreneurs responded to a survey in which they were asked to describe their growth intentions along nineteen strategic dimensions, as well as respond to the foregoing questions. Some of the strategic activity measures included adding a new product or service, expanding operations, selling to a new market, and applying for a loan to expand operations. Actual growth rates based on sales revenues were calculated, and average annualized growth rates of the industrial sectors represented in the sample were obtained. This study showed that high-growth-oriented entrepreneurs were clearly different from low-growth-oriented entrepreneurs along several dimensions. The former were much more likely to select strategies for their firms that permitted greater focus on market expansion and new technologies, to exhibit greater intensity towards business ownership (“my business is the most important activity in my life”), and to be willing to incur greater opportunity costs for the success of their firms (“I would rather own my own business than earn a higher salary while employed by someone else”).The high-growth–oriented entrepreneurs tended to have a more structured approach to organizing their businesses, which suggests a more disciplined perception of managing the firm. In summary, results showed the group of high-growth–oriented entrepreneurs, labeled “ambitious,” as having the following distinctions: strategic intentions that emphasize market growth and technological change, stronger commitment to the success of the business, greater willingness to sacrifice on behalf of the business, earlier planning for the growth of the business, utilization of a team-based form of organization design, concern for reputation and quality, adequate capitalization, strong leadership, and utilization of a wider range of financing sources for the expansion of the venture. The purpose in uncovering these differences is to enable entrepreneurs and researchers to identify more clearly the attributes of rapid-growth ventures and their founders and to move closer to a field-based model of the entrepreneurial growth process which will help delineate the alternative paths to venture growth and organizational change.