Israel M. Kirzner: An Outstanding Austrian Contributor to the Economics of Entrepreneurship

Israel M. Kirzner is the 2006 winner of The International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research. In this essay, we present and evaluate his main contributions to the economics of entrepreneurship. The focus is on how Kirzner defines the entrepreneurial function. In order to better understand his theory, we posit Kirzner’s notion of an entrepreneur in the Austrian tradition. In so doing we emphasize that this concept opens up different perspectives as compared to the neoclassical theoretical framework. The three areas of economic policy, justice and freedom, and economic growth are discussed. We also show why the Kirznerian entrepreneur makes these issues relevant. Perhaps most importantly, Kirzner has made the Austrian School intelligible for non-Austrians. By bridging the chasm between Austrian and mainstream thinking, the crucial role of entrepreneurship and the individual entrepreneur has become visible to a much broader audience.     

How Internet technologies impact information flows in R&D: reconsidering the technological gatekeeper

Previous studies have firmly established the technological gatekeeper to be a key node in the innovation process – acquiring, translating, and disseminating external information throughout the R&D unit. However, the gatekeeper concept has received modest attention in recent times. We argue that the concept needs to be re‐examined in light of the recent advances in Internet technologies that have dramatically altered how knowledge workers source and share their information. Drawing on social network analysis and interview evidence from a medical devices R&D group, we find that the gatekeeper role is still vital, but no longer needs to be performed by a single individual. Instead, the modern R&D group can keep abreast of the latest technological advances through a combination of Internet‐enabled internal and external communication specialists. This study makes a number of important contributions. The gatekeeper theory is extended through the development of an updated conceptual framework. We also discuss the practical implications of our findings and advise R&D managers on how to organise resources to maximise optimal information flows.     

Residents’ support for tourism: An Identity Perspective

Studies on residents’ support for tourism have primarily been conducted in the developed world. This study analyzes community support in the island economy of Mauritius by testing a model based on the social exchange theory and the identity theory. The model proposes that the resource-based occupational identity, environmental identity, and gender identity of the residents influence attitudes to tourism impacts and support (behavior). Results indicate that one’s identity has a direct bearing on support, but may not always influence attitudes. Findings confirm the relevance of the social exchange theory and the identity theory in explaining community support for tourism in island economies. The study’s practical implications and limitations are discussed.     

On market mavens and consumer self‐confidence: A cross‐cultural study

Market mavens are attentive to media and important diffusers of marketplace information. This study examines the relationships between cultural individualism, general and consumer self‐confidence, and market mavenism in the context of two distinct cultural systems, the United States and South Korea. The examination of cross‐cultural equivalence of the constructs under study provides evidence for both configural and full or partial metric invariance. The results indicate that cultural individualism is positively related to general self‐confidence, general self‐confidence is positively related to consumer selfconfidence, and consumer self‐confidence is positively related to market mavenism. Additionally, this research shows that these relationships hold in both the U.S. and South Korean samples. The results of this study indicate that market mavenism, and thus levels of confidence about marketplace knowledge and speed of diffusion of such information may be more prevalent among the more individualistic than collectivistic consumers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The landlocked island: Information access and communications policy in Nepal

This paper examines information access in Nepal, its current limitations, and opportunities for expansion, particularly in rural areas. It argues that government policies and the regulatory environment have failed to create the competition necessary for rapid expansion of information access through information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly in rural areas. Furthermore, restrictive approaches to licensing and exorbitant fees have hindered the ability of civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to provide information access at the local level. This has resulted in very limited access to information outside a few urban centers and created some of the world's highest access costs in one of its poorest countries. To successfully address this situation, the newly installed republican government will need to create an environment that promotes competition in less lucrative rural markets while negotiating the demands of existing license holders.