Theory building in the entrepreneurship paradigm

Ever since Newton's Principia set mathematical models at the pinnacle of a scientific paradigm, scientists in all disciplines—not just the physical sciences—have striven to express their theories mathematically. In the social sciences, mathematical models are more often than not a little more than a Laplacian fantasy. Nevertheless, mathematics is being used more and more extensively by social scientists—none more so than economists and business researchers. This paper focuses on one area of social science, entrepreneurship, and examines the difficulties of trying to use mathematics to model entrepreneurship processes.The entrepreneurial process is a dynamic, discontinuous change of state. It involves numerous antecedent variables. It is extremely sensitive to initial conditions. To build an algorithm for a physical system with those characteristics would be daunting to the most gifted applied mathematician. But when you add the requirement that the entrepreneurial process is initiated by the volition of a unique human being, mathematical modeling may be impossible, because there is “an essential non-algorithmic aspect to conscious human action.” This article argues that today's most prominent mathematical representation of entrepreneurship, population ecology, falls far short of Penrose's specification for a “useful theory.”Some observers believe that the answer to entrepreneurship theory may be found in the chaos theory—a relatively new science that was popularized by Gleick in his book Chaos: Making a New Science. This article explores the chaotic zones of several algorithms that provide alluringly simple representations for the entrepreneurial process. One of them is the fundamental equation for population ecology theory. It shows how under some conditions that equation exhibits some wild, chaotic behavior that gives an observer the feel of entrepreneurship. But it is no more than a mathematical metaphor because the accuracy of the measurements that are needed to observe true scientific chaos in the entrepreneurial process are unattainable in practice.     

Why are Firms Hierarchical?

Firms are hierarchical because hierarchy facilitates both monitoring and control. Monitoring is readily explained in terms of agency costs, but control is not. Control relations between superiors and subordinates emerge naturally only when the superior has decisive information and the subordinate does not. When decisiveness does not naturally occur, it may nevertheless be imposed in order to reduce communication costs. The degree of decisiveness reflects the pattern of volatility in the firm's environment. The theory connects the volatility of the environment to the degree of hierarchy in the organisation. Recent changes in volatility can be used to explain contemporary demands for flatter organizational structures.     

A MARSHALLIAN PERSPECTIVE OF KEYNES' GENERAL THEORY*

This article originates from a perceived contradiction between modern interpretations of Keynes' General Theory and the origin of his theory. There can be no doubt that the discussion of the microeconomic foundations of Keynes' theory is dominated by neo-Walrasian approaches, while, in the perspective of the history of economic analysis, Keynes' theoretical origin was Marshallian, rather than Walrasian. Recent contributions on the microfoundations of Keynes' aggregate supply and demand analysis stress the Marshallian prospect by tracing out how Keynes' analytical apparatus can be reconstructed on the basis of Marshall's theory of the competitive firm (cf. C. Casarosa [1981], S. Parrinello [1983], A. Asimakopulos [1984]). This article will support the Marshallian perspective from a macroeconomic point of view. Instead of a reconstruction, a «backtracking device» will be pursued: How would Marshall have formulated a macroeconomic model which might have been Keynes' referential framework from which he moved away when he realized the restrictions and defects of this model? This backtracking device seems to be suitable because Marshall's writings offer a good deal of theoretical elements which can be used in connection with a general equilibrium perspective, although Marshall himself « (.) never felt the need to model the workings of the economic system as a whole» (R. Clower [1975], p. 4). The first part of the article explores Marshall's writings in order to furnish the modelling of the macroeconomic perspective with a conceptual framework. The second part studies the working of the macroeconomic model and in the last part it will be argued that the consumption function, taken by itself, was not an entirely new idea. In addition, it will be substantiated that the consumption function gained conceptual significance in connection with Keynes' changing the theory of profit determination.     

Commitment and Trust in Cross-National Channel Relationships

Abstract

Cross-national channel relationships are becoming increasingly important, so it is time for research in the channels literature to continue beyond a focus of channel relationships within a single country or channel design for market entry. The author presents a model of commitment in cross-national manufacturer-distributor relationshipsthat extends the commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing by incorporating four constructs conceptualized to represent the influence of a firm's current and prospective partners on the focal relationship: resource transferability-to partner; resource transferabil-ity-from partner; resource particularity-adaptation and resource particularity-consumption. Data collected from 143 U.S. manufacturers, 106 Mexican manufacturers, and 97 Mexican distributors show that the model generalizes across this national boundary. In particular, a similar influence of mutuality on trust and trust on commitment was observed for both manufacturers and distributors. The influence of resource transferability, particularity on the relationship, was also observed. The findings provide strong support for extending the commitment-trust theory to aid the study and management of cross-national channel relationships.     

When are acquired technological capabilities complements rather than substitutes? A study on value creation.

The acquisition of small technology firms has become a means to overcome the time-compression diseconomies and uncertainties of internal innovation. Prior research has found conflicting results on whether the target's technological capabilities complement or substitute the acquirer's technological capabilities. I submit that either can occur depending on the acquisition rationale; evidence suggests that the acquisition rationale determines how the acquirer redeploys, reorganizes, and divests the assets of the target. Building on the current resource deepening and resource extension rationales, I integrate a resource-based view of innovation with resource dependence theory to hypothesize when the target's capabilities complement rather than substitute the acquirer's capabilities. Supporting the hypotheses, the results suggest that the target's capabilities complement the acquirer's capabilities in resource deepening acquisitions and substitute the acquirer's capabilities in resource extension acquisitions. Additionally, the results suggest that technological laggard acquirers significantly destroy shareholder value while technological leader acquirers do not.     

THE COMPLEX DYNAMICS OF THE SIMPLE RICARDIAN SYSTEM: A NOTE

In a recent note, Bhaduri and Harris (1987) showed that a discrete-time dynamic version of the ‘simple’Ricardian system (i.e. Blaug's (1978) popular version of Kaldor's (1955-6) representation of Ricardian distribution theory, which includes linear agricultural productivity) can be endowed with an unstable stationary state, and that the system can also exhibit “chaotic” orbits (cfr. Collet and Eckmann, 1980), even if these phenomena cannot appear when the adjustment process is continuous. This stationary state does not necessarily have to be unstable. A slightly generalized version of the ‘simple’Ricardian system (we dispense with the linearity assumption) is used in this paper to analyse a number of meaningful special cases in which the stationary state is stable.     

An internalization theory perspective on the global and regional strategies of multinational enterprises

Many multinational enterprises (MNEs) claim to be pursuing a ‘global strategy’, but the majority of MNEs is not global, in the sense that these firms cannot emulate their domestic success outside of their home region. This inability is largely caused by compounded distance among regions and can be mitigated in part, by infusing a regional component into the MNE's international strategy. In this paper, we explore whether internalization theory can address the global versus regional strategy phenomenon. Specifically, we investigate whether internalization theory can predict under which circumstances MNEs will be able to pursue successfully a global strategy, and whether the theory can explain firm-level variations in utilizing regional components in international strategic governance. We argue that internalization theory can help regionalization scholars unbundle regional strategy by matching resource bundling needs with various firm-level resource recombination practices. We identify four distinct resource recombination processes with increasing complexity: fast bundling, principles-driven bundling, adaptive bundling and entrepreneurial resource orchestration, and argue that adopting the best-matched resource recombination practices will advance the MNE's success outside of its home region.     

Pioneering Asian Franchise Brands: Pho24 in Vietnam

Pho24 is Vietnam's largest and most rapidly growing franchise system. In this research, a case study approach is used to study the franchising strategy employed by the organization to achieve rapid growth in Vietnam and internationally. Key people in the organization were interviewed, including the founder/franchiser, franchisees, and company employees. Data were collected over a 12-month period from the organization's operations in three countries: Vietnam, Australia, and Singapore. The findings indicate that cultural and legal contexts heavily influence the franchiser's philosophy. Traditional explanations of franchising, such as resource constraints theory and agency theory, only partially explain the motivations for franchising. An alternative hybrid model of franchising—an Asian partnership model of franchise brand management—is adopted to improve control and collaboration between the franchiser and franchisees.     

EVIDENCE THEORY: A MATHEMATICAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNPREDICTABLE HYPOTHESES

Shafer's evidence theory is a branch of the mathematics of uncertain reasoning that allows for novel possibilities to be conceived by a decision‐maker. Many of its findings exhibit striking similarities with an alternative decision theory put forward by Shackle in the 1950s, before expected utility maximization monopolized the scene. Evidence theory does not attempt to formalize the emergence of novelties, but it is a suitable framework for reconstructing the formation of beliefs when novelties appear. An application to decision‐making in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries illustrates the potentialities of evidence theory, as well as its shortcomings.     

Argentina's Currency Board Collapse: Weak Policy or Bad Luck?

Two basic views can be discerned in post‐mortems of Argentina's currency board: (1) that weak fiscal policy was fundamentally to blame, and (2) that the peso had become too severely overvalued for the peg to survive. This paper evaluates the evidence for these rival interpretations. The real effective exchange rate index did not indicate massive overvaluation, but this index does not capture the effects on the equilibrium rate of the ‘sudden stop’ in capital flows to emerging markets after 1998. It also understates the amount of adjustment required for Argentina to reach the equilibrium rate, because neighbour countries’ dollar exchange rates were held up by Argentina's overvaluation, as is indicated by their depreciation in 2002. Argentina was particularly vulnerable to the sudden stop because of the extreme volatility of its portfolio inflows. Fiscal policy simulations suggest that, even with a substantially improved primary balance from 1994 onwards, loss of investor confidence would still have triggered unsustainable debt dynamics once the recession began to bite after 1998. The stagnation of output and prices in Argentina created a yawning gap between the interest rate on debt and the rate of growth of nominal GDP. Had the currency been floated in, say, 1995, the real devaluation of the peso would still have pushed up the debt/GDP ratio, but higher output would have left greater scope for addressing this by running a sizeable primary surplus. Moreover, the more gradual depreciation under floating might have allowed the economy to adjust to higher debt service payments without resort to default. The IMF has criticised itself for not pressing for tighter fiscal policy in the 1990s. A more fundamental criticism would be that it was seduced by the bipolar model into complacency about adjustment to real shocks and forgetting the teachings of optimum currency area theory.     

古典经济学与新古典经济学经济增长理论的比较分析

经济增长理论一直都是经济学家们不断努力研究和探索的领域,而真正能够把自己的主张理论化、体系化的,就要从亚当.斯密的《国富论》算起。从亚当.斯密开创的古典经济学派所提出的经济增长理论到当今盛行的内生增长模型以及制度经济增长模型,经济增长理论经历了不同阶段的发展。与古典经济学派的经济增长理论相比较,马歇尔的经济增长理论最明显的区别之处就是在考虑市场的时候,加入了需求方面的思考,并且在方法论中主要利用了主观主义以及边际分析方法和数学的方法,使人们注意到,生产并不是一切,只有供求平衡才能把具有稀缺性的资源分配到最适宜的地方,做到资源的有效配置。     

Directed Technical Change and Capital Deepening: A Reconsideration of Kaldor's Technical Progress Function

This note proposes a growth model that is derived from the standard Solow growth model by replacing the neoclassical production function with Kaldor's technical progress function while maintaining a marginalist theory of factor prices in the spirit suggested by von Weizsäcker. The hybrid model so obtained explains balanced growth in a way that appears less arbitrary than possible explanations in the Solow model, especially because it directly accounts for Harrod neutral technical change, without any need for further assumptions. It complements the current neoclassical and AK models by offering a further perspective for interpreting economic growth.     

Creating Shared Vision in the Marketing Channel Network

The marketing channel information network-composed of actors within the channel, activity links, and resource ties-is proposed to be a key element in creating an efficient marketing channel working environment. The shared vision for such channel networks is created by activity links between the actors, the learning mood of the channel, and by the channel's cultural foundation. Contingency-based intrachannel constraints are suggested to moderate the relationships between the channel's organizational arrangement and shared vision within the channel, and between shared vision and channel performance. To enhance theory and practice, this paper integrates the previous constructs into a marketing channel information network model and presents practical and actionable propositions.     

The impact of firmspecific capabilities on the amount of capital raised in an initial public offering: Evidence from the biotechnology industry

Going “public” has a magical sound to most entrepreneurial managers. By going public the firm increases its legitimacy in the business community, improves access to debt financing, and creates a means of exit for major shareholders. However, by far the most important reason for going public is to infuse a significant amount of investment capital into the firm. It is well documented that small businesses frequently fail because of insufficient funding and heavy debt loads. Issuing an initial public offering (IPO) allows entrepreneurial firms to overcome these pitfalls. Clearly, if access to capital is the major goal of going public, then the success of an offering is measured by the amount of capital raised by the firm. This study presents a model of the total amount of capital raised by a firm through an IPO. The explanatory variables include several indicators of the scientific capabilities of the firm including the location of the firm, the quality of the research staff, the number of products under development, the number of patents held by the firm, and the firm's prior spending on research and development (R&D). The model is empirically tested on a sample of 92 biotechnology IPOs. The results provide strong support for the hypothesized positive relationship between the total amount of capital raised by a firm's IPO and the scientific capabilities of the firm.Our results have important implications for entrepreneurs. First, an entrepreneur needs to develop and send credible signals indicating the value of the firm's intangible assets to the market. Second, the market values as deep a product pipeline as possible given a firm's resource constraints. Third, choice of location is a key strategic decision that should not be overlooked. Fourth, the market values firm-specific capabilities and will increase the capital it is willing to invest in a firm accordingly. Finally, the amount of capital a firm raises in its IPO can be influenced by entrepreneurial managers' strategic decisions.     

Context-Sensitive Access Control Model for Government Services

During the past two decades, e-government information systems have become less paper-based and more computer-based. Those information systems usually take the form of workflow systems. Due to the large social impact of e-government systems, computer security plays a pivotal role in ensuring its efficiency and effectiveness. Access control is one of the key aspects of computer security. Current access control models do not take into account the context of the system and its environment. In this article, we argue that a formal context-sensitive access control model can improve the development of e-government workflow systems and present a particular context-sensitive access control model. The subject of the article is a specification of the context-sensitive access control model for business processes (COBAC). By using a context-sensitive access control, it is possible to define more sophisticated access control policies that cannot be implemented by existing access control models. The COBAC's context is modeled using Web Ontology Language (OWL) in order to provide formal representation of context, rich representation of diverse contextual information, semantic interoperability between various context-aware systems, and a high degree of inference making. The presented model is applicable in different e-government systems, and supports the definition of access control policies for both simple and complex business processes. The model's prototype is verified by a case study on a real e-government business process—the national petty offense trial proceedings.     

The economics of the super‐multiplier: A comprehensive treatment with labor markets

This paper links the super‐multiplier to Keynesian macroeconomics, showing it to be the most Keynesian of growth perspectives. Next, the paper shows that the super‐multiplier is a micro‐economically coherent theory of investment and capital accumulation. Firms’ decisions regarding capital accumulation coordinate demand and supply growth in goods markets. The paper then explores the implications of incorporating the super‐multiplier in the neo‐Kaleckian and Cambridge growth models. Lastly, it shows how labor markets and unemployment can be added into super‐multiplier models to provide a comprehensive growth model that addresses Solow's (1956, Journal of Economics, 70, 65–94) labor market knife‐edge problem. Incorporating labor markets does not change the fundamental super‐multiplier result that growth is determined by the growth of autonomous demand.     

基于透视的视频增强法

描述了一种新的基于射影空间的视频增强方法,通过图像间对极几何约束以及基础矩阵关系,实现三维图形对象和视频叠加。该方法采用了Pinhole像机模型和射影几何约束条件方便地实现虚拟物体的重投影,而且不需要像机的标定参数和环境对象的3D位置,克服了仿射空间近似所带来的视觉误差和使用限制。     

基于MATLAB的VLF/LF通信系统仿真

由于大气无线电噪声所涉及的现象非常复杂，观测结果又具有局限性，所以它对VLF／LF(甚低频／低频)通信系统性能影响的理论分析比较困难。本文运用MATLAB提供的Simulink动态仿真平台对大气噪声环境下的VLF／LF通信系统误码性能进行了仿真研究，并结合实例给出了系统的仿真结果，验证了该仿真系统的可行性。