Entrepreneurial intentions in the context of a collectivist economy: a comparison between Cuba and Spain

Entrepreneurship research has matured and now spans multiple entrepreneurial contexts, including developing countries, emerging and transitional economies. However, collectivist economies have largely been ignored, partly due to difficulties in conducting research and partly due to the widespread assumption that they remain on the outskirts of entrepreneurial activity. In this paper, from the entrepreneurial event model perspective, we analyse entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents in Cuba, probably the best example of a collectivist economy that exists nowadays. Cuba is compared to Spain, a country that shares historical and cultural features but one which has a developed market economy. Findings indicate that desirability and feasibility constitute the main antecedents of entrepreneurial intention in Cuba, as other studies in market economy countries reflect. However, the influence of desirability on entrepreneurial intention is lower in Cuba compared to Spain, where the values of desirability and feasibility are significantly greater. These results seem to indicate that due to Cuba’s level of development, political regime and collectivist culture, entrepreneurship arises mainly out of necessity and the emergence of a strong entrepreneurial culture is stifled. This reflects a similar situation to the result obtained in previous studies in developing countries.

     

Favorable strategies for the success of entry into new technological areas: an entrepreneurial perspective

This study considers the act of entering into new technological domains for R&D purposes as one of the most intense entrepreneurial activities within large established firms, referring to it as R&D entrepreneurship. Attempting to detect factors that could strengthen (or weaken) the impact of R&D entrepreneurship on innovation performance, I examine the moderating role of three important R&D strategies, namely the knowledge plurality, internal focus, and R&D collaboration. I empirically test the hypotheses developed in this study on secondary, longitudinal economic and patent data from a sample of 139 firms from the industries of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and chemicals for a 7-year period, using fixed-effects negative binomial regression models. Findings support that the relationship between R&D entrepreneurship and innovation performance is positively moderated by knowledge plurality but negatively by internal focus and R&D collaboration.

     

Keys to success in investment rounds by immigrant entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley

This study presents an updated diagnosis of the SV ecosystem itself and offers an insight into the entrepreneurial mobility trends prospects and expectations of the growing number of start-ups launched by immigrant entrepreneurs arriving in SV. The purpose is to determine and rank the attributes most valued by investors when assessing projects and start-ups founded by immigrant entrepreneurs. The model of analysis composed by three hypotheses leads to a series of findings about the profile and expectations of the immigrant entrepreneurs, and reveals remarkable hints and key targets to be met by immigrant entrepreneurs in SV in order to successfully close investment rounds in a hypercompetitive environment. The study discloses the low impact of the founder’s profile as a driver of external investment. A key conclusion states that Venture Capitalists and Business Angels in the top-ranked entrepreneurial ecosystem are primarily led by factors linked to the competitive environment and the product development process, along with the traditional performance indicators: revenue and profitability.

     

Does entrepreneurial activity matter for economic growth in developing countries? The role of the institutional environment

The discussion on which institutions determine entrepreneurial activity – and the role of institutions in the aggregated output for developing countries – is as yet unresolved. The extant literature about entrepreneurship recognizes new ventures as potential mechanisms for long-term development. Yet, there is a consensus on the lack of evidence, particularly for these countries. Drawing on institutional economics, this article explores the interrelationships among institutional environment, entrepreneurial activity, and economic growth. To this end, we use simultaneous-equation panel data models for a sample of 14 developing countries (78 observations) over the period of 2004–2012. The main findings suggest a causal chain running from institutions to opportunity entrepreneurship, which is linked to the economic growth of emerging economies. In particular, we find that institutional factors – such as the number of procedures to start a new business, private credit coverage ,, and access to communication– influence entrepreneurial activity driven by opportunity. Policy implications for developing countries could be derived in order to enhance their economic performance through entrepreneurial activity.

     

Entrepreneurship through Bricolage: a study of displaced entrepreneurs at times of war and conflict

ABSTRACT

War and conflict brings about adverse changes for those who are displaced. How do entrepreneurial individuals respond to such adversity to either set-up, or continue with their existing entrepreneurial endeavours that would improve their own livelihood or that of others who have been affected? Whilst previous studies have found local knowledge, networks and resources to be crucial in the development of ventures in the war and conflict context, alienation from mainstream society within the host location often means that to succeed, those who are displaced require alternative strategies and approaches. Through examining the entrepreneurial ventures of six internally displaced entrepreneurs in Pakistan, our study identifies that entrepreneurial individuals find different ways to adapt to the new order, with both internal and external bricolage becoming the key strategies deployed to either re-establish their previous businesses or to develop new endeavours in the host location. To compensate for lack of local knowledge, networks and resources, we found that entrepreneurs followed closely their previous paths in their bricolage attempts, relying on reconfigurations of their pre-existing competencies, as well as utilizing pre-established and clandestine networks.     

The rise of the entrepreneurial economy and the future of dynamic capitalism

A major shift in the organization of developed economies has been taking place: away from what has been characterized as the managed economy towards the entrepreneurial economy, or what Kirchhoff (1994) has called dynamic capitalism. However, the factors underlying this observed shift have not been identified in a systematic manner. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the main factors leading to this shift and implications for public policy. In particular, we find that technological change is a fundamental catalyst underlying the shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy. However, it was not just technological change but rather involved a multitude of factors, ranging from the demise of the communist system, increased globalization, corporate reorganization, increased knowledge production and higher levels of prosperity. Recognition of the causes of the shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy implies a shift in public policy directions. Rather than to focus directly and exclusively on promoting new firms and small firms, it may be that the current approach to entrepreneurship policy is misguided. The priority should not be on entrepreneurship policy but rather a more pervasive and encompassing approach, policy consistent with an entrepreneurial economy, in order to foster dynamic capitalism.     

Industrial structure distortion and urban ecological efficiency from the perspective of green entrepreneurial ecosystems

Improving the entrepreneurial ecosystem plays an important role in the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and achieving the coordinated development of economy and environment among cities is important for improving the quality and efficiency of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Using the panel data of 286 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2016, this study adopts the global reference super efficiency slack-based measure model considering undesirable output to measure China's urban ecological efficiency. In addition, the spatial lag model is used to investigate the impacts of industrial structure advancement and rationalization on ecological efficiency, and the impacts of the heterogeneity of industrial structure and economic development under the distortion of resource dependence on ecological efficiency. The results show that: every one-unit increase in the advancement of industrial structure will lead to a 0.0741 unit increase in ecological efficiency, but the high dependence on natural resources will inhibit the promoting effect of industrial structure advancement on ecological efficiency, and such an inhibiting effect will weaken with the improvement of economic development level; moreover, the influence coefficient of industrial structure rationalization on ecological efficiency is not significant, nor is it affected by the natural resource dependence and the level of economic development. This paper hereby proposes that in the process of promoting green entrepreneurial activity at present, the Chinese government should give full play to the role of industrial structure advancement on improving ecological efficiency, actively break through the constraints restricting the impact of industrial structure rationalization, reduce excessive dependence on resource industries, improve the level of regional economic development, and strive to transform resource-intensive industries to technology-intensive industries to support the sustainable development of a green entrepreneurship ecosystem.     

乡村振兴视域下的互联网金融对新农人创业绩效的影响——基于安徽省调研数据的分析

以安徽省7个地级市256份调查问卷为样本，考察互联网金融、创业学习、融资成本对新农人创业绩效的影响。结果表明：互联网金融、创业学习对新农人创业绩效具有积极的正向影响，创业学习在两者之间起到调节作用，但探索式学习对互联网金融与农民工返乡创业型新农人创业绩效之间关系的调节作用不显著，利用式学习对互联网金融与跨界创业型新农人创业绩效之间关系的调节作用不显著；融资成本在互联网金融与新农人创业绩效之间存在部分中介效应，但这一效应在互联网金融与跨界创业型新农人创业绩效之间不显著。     

Towards an open innovation ecosystem in the cultural industry: The bright side of trust and the dark side of measurement

The concept of open innovation ecosystems is receiving increasing attention in academic literature, but its application to the cultural industries and, more specifically, to philanthropically-funded cultural initiatives, remains a largely unexplored domain. This study, leveraging on in-depth interviews with stakeholders, observation and immersion in the field, employs primary qualitative data from a philanthropically-funded cultural initiative and applies the ecosystem-as-structure conceptual framework to study the factors that have enabled a nascent open innovation ecosystem in the cultural industries to emerge. Findings point to a number of essential components and characteristics of the emergent ecosystem that are crucial elements of success in the view of key stakeholders. The findings consequently shed light on the managerial practices and strategy that facilitate the success of a philanthropically-funded artistic initiative which fosters the creation of a new open innovation arts ecosystem.     

When does inward technology licensing facilitate firms' NPD performance? A contingency perspective

Many firms find inward technology licensing (ITL), as a means to access external technological knowledge, an effective and relatively inexpensive way for new product development (NPD). However, although the literature has suggested some advantages and disadvantages of ITL with respect to NPD, the relationship between ITL and licensee firms' subsequent NPD performance has not yet been found convincingly evident. Sharing with many other likeminded scholars and practitioners, we believe that the dynamics between external knowledge, internal capability, external environment, and firm performance should be investigated through a contingency perspective. Thus, this study posits that a firm's propensity to develop new products through ITL is contingent upon two categories of contingency factors that are internal and external to firms. Using a dataset containing information about Chinese firms' licensing activities, we find support for our hypotheses: the positive relationship between ITL and NPD performance of a licensee firm is moderated by firms' absolute and relative absorptive capacity and the knowledge endowment in the region where the licensee firm operates.     

Learning and relationship orientation: an empirical examination in European museums

• The purpose of this paper is to assess the interrelations between learning orientation, innovation strategy, relationship orientation and economic and social performance in the management of cultural organizations such as museums. We first provide a review of the literature addressing the main constructs involved in the research: learning orientation, innovation, relationship orientation and performance, and we detail the model's hypotheses reflecting the interrelations amongst the proposed variables. Building on extensive literature, a model is developed and empirically tested using survey data collected from 491 European museums in Spain, France, Italy and the UK. Data are analysed through structural equation modelling. In the present study, evidence is found to support the positive and significant link between learning orientation and internal (organizational innovation) as well as external (relationship orientation) changes in museums. Further, we find that organizational innovation and relationship orientation aid the introduction of greater technological developments in these organizations. We also find evidence to support the idea that learning orientation, innovation strategy and relationship orientation impact the economic and social performance of museums. Findings clearly show that achieving organizational objectives through learning processes necessarily entails the introduction of internal changes—innovation—and external relationships—relationship orientation.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国地方政府绩效管理的行政生态学分析

我国地方政府开展的政府绩效管理实践存在着理论范式的形式完美主义、评估体系的"官本主义"、实践过程的简单主义的问题。运用行政生态学理论来分析,可以发现我国政府绩效管理处于独特的内外生态系统中,只有深入认识和揭示内外生态系统内涵及其关系,才能有效推动地方政府绩效管理改革。     

The impact of a STEM-based entrepreneurship program on the entrepreneurial intention of secondary school female students

Despite dedicated effort and research in the last two decades, the entrepreneurship field is still limited by little evidence-based knowledge of the impacts of entrepreneurship programs on the entrepreneurial intention of students in pre-university levels of study. Further, gender equity continues to be an issue in the entrepreneurial sector, particularly in STEM-focused entrepreneurship. In this context, this study was designed to explore the effects of a one-day female-focused STEM-based entrepreneurship program (for brevity, we call it the OzGirlsEntrepreneurship program) on the entrepreneurial intention of secondary school female students. The study collected data from two surveys completed by 193 secondary school female students, aged 14–16 years, who participated in the OzGirlsEntrepreneurship program. This program encouraged girls to develop and implement creative computational solutions to socially relevant problems, with an Internet of Things (IoT) component using the micro:bit device. The findings reveal that a key factor in the development of entrepreneurial attitudes in young female students is associated with soft-skills development, particularly in the areas of creative thinking, risk-taking, problem-solving, and leadership development. The importance of meaningful human connections, including positive role modelling and peer to peer learning were also important factors in fostering entrepreneurial intent. With these factors in mind, our findings highlight that the OzGirlsEntrepreneurship program substantially increased the entrepreneurial intention of secondary school female students. In addition, this study offers actionable implications and recommendations to develop and deliver entrepreneurship education programs for secondary school level students.

     

Sustainable development in small and medium enterprises: The role of entrepreneurial orientation in supply chain management

Organizations are under increased pressure to improve their sustainable performance through the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have lagged behind larger corporations due to a number of factors. Chief among these factors is the lack of resources and capabilities. In this study, we investigate whether entrepreneurial orientation as a distinctive firm-level resource contributes to the successful implementation of GSCM practices within SMEs. We use primary data obtained from 316 manufacturing SMEs and analyze the data by using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Our findings show four equifinal configurations of GSCM practices and the components of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) that lead to high environmental performance. Two practices, “eco-design” and “internal environmental management”, are present in all configurations, with the latter being the single core condition. The components of EO are present in all the configurations. Three distinct configurations lead to the simultaneous achievement of high environmental performance and high economic performance. Some noticeable differences appear in these configurations: “internal environmental management” is no longer a core condition, instead external practices (“green purchasing,” “cooperation with customers including environmental requirements,” and “investment recovery”) and “risk-taking” become core conditions. We exptrapolate our findings into a set of propositions that expand theory on the link between entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable performance. Our study provides insights for managers who seek to infuse entrepreneurial thoughts and actions into their green supply chain initiatives.     

内部控制信息强制性披露研究——来自沪深两市特殊行业和垄断行业的经验证据

消费的外部负效应性和收入差距持续扩大问题,显然是影响社会和谐的重要变数。如何解决特殊行业和垄断行业的巨大外部负效应性和收入差距持续扩大问题?2006年我国出台的对上市公司的内部控制指引和对中央企业全面风险管理指引都仅仅对极少数行业的内部控制信息披露给出了相关规定,中国证监会对内部控制信息强制性披露的有关规定也仅仅局限于银行、保险及证券等特殊行业和再融资的少数上市公司。为此,文章以房地产业、医药行业以及垄断行业的内部控制信息强制性披露为对象,重点研究企业产品成本和外部负效应的信息治理机理及披露问题,以此实现对特殊行业和垄断行业的巨大外部负效应性问题和收入差距持续扩大问题的治理。     

Leveraging entrepreneurial ecosystems as human resource systems: A theory of meta-organizational human resource management

Entrepreneurs require human resources to establish and scale their ventures; however, constraints often prevent entrepreneurs from investing in formal human resource systems. How entrepreneurs overcome human resource challenges by leveraging their entrepreneurial ecosystems as informal inter-organizational talent management systems has been overlooked by scholars. We propose a model of entrepreneurial ecosystem human resource management, theorizing that ecosystem participants collectively perform the human resource management function for entrepreneurship communities. Drawing from economic rents theory, we explain how entrepreneurial ecosystems encourage a form of meta-organizational human resource management that allows ecosystem participants to coordinate talent acquisition, learning and development, performance management and rewards, and retention. Coordinated entrepreneurial ecosystems improve entrepreneurial performance by sourcing talent, onboarding selected members, enculturating ecosystem values, developing entrepreneurial skills, and retaining human resources, which in turn generates rents. We discuss how our theory catalyzes research at the HR and entrepreneurial ecosystems interface and reveals insights for practitioners.     

The construction of opportunity entrepreneurship function

This paper interprets opportunity entrepreneurship, within the framework of Solow—Romer model and the characteristics of society’s entrepreneurship capital, as it is expressed by cultural background, transaction characteristics and economic institutions, using the principal components and regression analysis. It extends the concepts of growth theory to the entrepreneurial determination framework, based on the assumption that growth is generated by entrepreneurship. Τhe paper accomplishes to organize an integrated model of the actual opportunity entrepreneurship determination where the cultural variables play a predominant role. From the variables used to express entrepreneurial economy and its effects on the levels of opportunity entrepreneurship, only the variables expressing cultural background seem to have an effect, and more specifically a promoting one. It is established that for the configuration of opportunity entrepreneurship, the effect of cultural background is more serious than that of the Solow-Romer factors. Furthermore, the institutions and the transactions characteristics are purely endogenous formations.     

The interplay of corporate entrepreneurship,environmental orientation,and performance in clean‐tech firms—A double‐edged sword

Clean‐tech innovations are an important driver in solving global issues such as climate change and for the sustainable development of economies around the world. Whereas a large part of the literature focuses on clean‐tech ventures, less is known on corporate entrepreneurship, that is, entrepreneurial behavior in established firms and its relation to sustainability. This paper extends the sustainable entrepreneurship debate to corporate entrepreneurship, which represents a fruitful avenue to further developing clean technologies. We focus particularly on clean‐tech firms' organizational preparedness for corporate entrepreneurship (OPCE), that is, how well a firm's structures and processes are set for entrepreneurial activities. On the basis of contingency theory, this study investigates how the level of OPCE influences the environmental and financial performance of clean‐tech firms and whether their environmental orientation affects these relationships. Building on data from 103 firms, we find support for a positive effect of OPCE on both environmental and financial performance. Both effects are stronger the higher the external environmental orientation. In contrast, the leverage of internal environmental orientation is not equally positive. Our study reveals that the effect of OPCE on financial performance diminishes for firms that are more strongly driven by an internal than an external environmental orientation.     

Internal Knowledge Development and External Knowledge Access in Venture Capital Investment Performance

abstract    We examine the performance effects of two knowledge-driven strategies – internal knowledge development and external knowledge access through inter-firm relationships – in the context of venture capital investing. Using longitudinal data on the investments, syndication, and performance of 200 US-based venture capital firms, we find that investing in industries in which a firm has more knowledge and investing with more or familiar external partners enhances investment performance. In addition, we reveal important interactions between the two strategies, such that access to external knowledge is particularly beneficial when the investment exposes gaps in the firm's own expertise. Thus, access to external knowledge is more effective when an incongruity exists between what the firm knows and what it intends to do. We discuss the study's implications for organizational knowledge and learning, strategic alliance, and venture capital literature.     

External cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation in industrial clusters

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between external cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). This relationship is explored in cluster environment, wherein entrepreneurial organizations compete and cooperate simultaneously to pursue opportunities. The following hypothesis is tested: External cooperation is positively correlated with entrepreneurial orientation. The hypothesis is tested with a correlation analysis on a sample of 77 small-sized enterprises operating in the Malopolska region in Poland, wherein several clusters are active. Additionally, the regression analysis is conducted to examine the associations between inter-organizational cooperation and EO dimensions. The findings confirm that external cooperation is positively correlated with EO. This observation is confronted with a pro-competitive approach that is a constitutional element of the entrepreneurship concept. Moreover, the findings show that the correlation between external cooperation and a firm’s performance is stronger than between some other EO dimensions and performance. Additionally, the findings show the important role of relationships between organizations and their clients. In the paper, several remarks for development of the theory are discussed, including the need for incorporating inter-organizational cooperation into a set of entrepreneurial traits and reflecting it in entrepreneurial orientation scales. The findings confirm the importance of that direction of theory development that focuses on inter-organizational collaboration in the context of entrepreneurship.