The Yin and Yang of entrepreneurship: Gender differences in the importance of communal and agentic characteristics for entrepreneurs' subjective well-being and performance

This research examines gender differences in the relationships of entrepreneurs' agentic and communal personality characteristics with measures of subjective well-being and new venture performance. Results from a stratified national (USA) random sample of founding CEOs (N = 303) demonstrate the advantages of an agentic characteristic (creativity) for women and a communal characteristic (teamwork) for men, with regard to the respective abilities of such persons to achieve high levels of subjective well-being and new venture performance. These relative advantages for women and men were mediated by perceptions of person-work fit.     

Tacit meaning in disguise: Hidden metaphors in new product development and market making

This article explores the role of metaphor in product development processes and market making. Based on a sociocognitive perspective of innovation dynamics and required learning by market actors, the potential of metaphors for mental model development during new product development (NPD) processes is investigated. Three roles for metaphors as cognitive focusing devices for the co-evolution of producers' and consumers' mental models are inferred: mental model communication, mental model matching, and mental model creation. These roles are illustrated by examples that reinforce the need for creativity in applying metaphors as cognitive focusing devices in NPD and market making.     

Increasing quantity without compromising quality: How managerial framing affects intrapreneurship

Individual-level opportunity recognition processes are vital to corporate entrepreneurship. However, little is known regarding how managerial communication impacts the effectiveness of idea suggestion systems in stimulating individuals' participation in intrapreneurial ideation. Integrating self-determination theory, creativity, and framing research, we theorize how different ways of inviting employees to submit proposals (opt-out/opt-in registration; provision of examples) affect the number and quality of submitted ideas. Our multi-method study (field experiment, vignette experiment, interviews) shows that (i) opt-out increases employee participation without reducing idea quality and (ii) the provision of examples enhances the usefulness of ideas but decreases novelty and the number of submissions.     

Socio-cognitive traits and entrepreneurship: The moderating role of economic institutions

We examine how country-level institutional context moderates the relationship between three socio-cognitive traits—entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness to new business opportunities, and fear of failure—and opportunity entrepreneurship. To do this, we blend social cognitive theory (SCT) with institutional theory to develop a multi-level model of entrepreneurial entry. We merge data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) surveys and the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) index for 45 countries from 2002 to 2012. Our results, which are based on a multi-level fixed-effects model, suggest that entrepreneurs' self-efficacy and alertness to new opportunities promote opportunity entrepreneurship while fear of failure discourages it. However, the strength of these relationships depends on the institutional context, with entrepreneurial self-efficacy and alertness substantially more likely to lead to new opportunity-driven ventures in countries with higher levels of economic freedom. These results provide suggestive evidence that economic freedom not only channels individual effort to productive entrepreneurial activities, but also affects the extent to which individuals' socio-cognitive resources are likely to mobilized and lead to high-growth entrepreneurship.     

Navigating liminality in new venture internationalization

Prior research describes international expansion as a series of discrete steps and notes that taking them threatens new ventures' survival, especially due to unexpected setbacks. Seen through the lens of social science, the source of such threat becomes clearer. In this paper, we argue that internationalization in new ventures involves what social anthropologists call a liminal transition – a betwixt-and-between period lying between the intent to internationalize and the realization of a stable internationalized state. The ambiguous and transitory nature of this liminal transition has the potential to increase the odds of overreach (e.g. a high-cost market entry without sufficient resources). Avoiding the negative influence of liminality – and instead harnessing its positive effect – relies on three sources of support that we refer to as opportunity scaffolding: self-reflective learning, peer learning and consultative learning. We argue that entrepreneurs with personality profiles high in levels of core self-evaluation (CSE) are more likely to utilize the scaffolding like that available in business incubators effectively. This leads to the development of a more reflective mindset, making capability learning more likely, preventing decisions that lead to overreach and reducing the threat to INV survival. However we also strike a note of caution in that at excessive (hyper) levels of CSE, the internationalizing new venture could become the victim of hubris. Emboldened with unrealistically high self-confidence, hubristic entrepreneurs are more likely to rebuff use of scaffolding, leading to a more reactive mindset, increasing the probability of liminal overreach and threatening INV survival.

Entrepreneurs' perceived exit performance: Conceptualization and scale development

Recently, research on entrepreneurs who exit their firms has intensified. Scholars agree that the outcome of such entrepreneurial exits needs to be assessed based on the individual entrepreneur's perception and on multiple dimensions. Yet, to date we lack theory and measures that capture this outcome, which we define as entrepreneurs' perceived exit performance (PEP). This study introduces a theoretical framework for the PEP construct and develops a scale to measure it along four dimensions: personal financial benefits, personal reputation, employee benefits, and firm mission persistence. We discuss the wide applicability of the scale and a variety of research opportunities.     

Idea generation leveraged from value co-creation process enhances new service development performance

This study examines the relationship between value co-creation process, idea generation and new service development performance from the perspective of telecommunication companies. Two dimensions of idea generation tested in this framework are internal and external idea generation, and the probable relationship between these two dimensions is further investigated. The data were collected from 78 marketing managers and were statistically analyzed. The findings show that value co-creation crucially influences both external idea generation and internal idea generation, however, the new service development performance can be enhanced through internal idea generation. Nonetheless, the results show that the external idea generation is vital to influence internal idea generation. This study extends theoretical understanding of how to leverage the value co-creation process for idea generation happenings, while the practical contribution of the research is to realize that new service development performance demands internal idea generation, which is supported with external resources of idea generation.     

Creativity in marketing management—a unified approach

This paper sets out to identify how marketing management can provide the lead in adopting a more creative approach to innovation at the idea generation stage.

Both the proactive and reactive approaches to innovation strategy are discussed in the context of change factors and the sourcing of new ideas for innovation. Four loci of idea initiation are identified, which appear to vary in importance according to industry sector.

Although evidence is presented to suggest that heuristic techniques are being used increasingly to enhance creativity, their use is limited both by the perception of their function and the strategic mode adopted by the organisation. The concept of the marketing‐centred creative circle is introduced to counter these limiting factors. It is argued that the creative circle offers a bridging function in the generation of new ideas for innovation and in extending the existing stock. As well as performing this function, a more creative and entrepreneurial atmosphere will emerge as lateral relationships develop. With the development of successive marketing‐centred creative circles within the organisation, a unified approach to creative innovation will evolve as the traditional proactive and reactive strategies merge.     

How foreign knowledge spillovers by returnee managers occur at domestic firms: An institutional theory perspective

Instead of treating the spillover process as a black box, this paper conducts a qualitative study of foreign knowledge spillovers by returnee managers at Chinese firms. Unlike mainstream spillover studies which adopt economics approaches, this paper uses an institutional theory perspective and regards returnee managers as boundary spanners. Results show that returnee managers' boundary-spanning activities in the form of social interaction, including building relationships with colleagues and transforming their identities from outsiders to insiders, help gain legitimacy for their new roles. Their boundary-spanning activities in the form of grafting foreign knowledge, including understanding existing knowledge resources, introducing foreign knowledge to colleagues, and integrating foreign knowledge with domestic firms, help gain legitimacy for foreign knowledge. Foreign knowledge' contributions in new product development at product, process, and cultural perspective levels reinforce its institutionalization at domestic firms. Absorptive barriers include domestic firms' administrative heritage and returnee managers' arduous relationship with others.     

Narcissistic rhetoric and crowdfunding performance: A social role theory perspective

Drawing from clinical and organizational narcissism research, we develop a novel measure of narcissistic rhetoric, investigating its prevalence in a sample of 1863 crowdfunding campaigns. An experiment using 1800 observations further validates our measure and confirms our hypothesized inverted-U relationship between narcissistic rhetoric and crowdfunding performance. Leveraging social role theory, we explore sex, sexual orientation, and race as potential moderators of this relationship. Moderation tests reveal LGBTQ entrepreneurs generally yield greater performance when using narcissistic rhetoric than heterosexuals while racial minorities underperform Caucasians using narcissistic rhetoric. Our findings suggest successful crowdfunding campaigns must balance narcissistic rhetoric with entrepreneurs' perceived social roles.     

Passion for entrepreneurship or passion for the product? A conjoint analysis of angel and VC decision-making

Passion is important to venture investors, but what specifically do they want entrepreneurs to be passionate about? This study theorizes that angel investors and venture capitalists consider both entrepreneurs' passion for activities related to the product or service the venture provides (i.e., product passion) and passion for founding and developing new ventures (i.e., entrepreneurial passion). We demonstrate that both types of passion become more appealing when the investor perceives that the entrepreneur is highly open and receptive to feedback, suggesting that openness to feedback mitigates potential concerns associated with passion in its extremes. We further find that venture investors differ in their consideration of passion; angel investors and venture capitalists with more investing experience place greater emphasis on the combination of product passion and openness to feedback, whereas those with more entrepreneurial experience emphasize the combination of entrepreneurial passion and openness to feedback.     

Creativity in the opportunity identification process and the moderating effect of diversity of information

We employ two study designs for a more detailed examination of creativity in the opportunity identification process. We employ a correlational field study to test the hypothesis that divergent thinking affects venture growth through business idea generation. We use an experimental design to test the hypothesis that diversity of information moderates the effect of divergent thinking on business idea generation. Analyses based on 98 business owners across both study designs supported our hypotheses. Combining the findings from both designs points to boundary conditions of theories suggesting constraining information; this may weaken the indirect effect of divergent thinking on venture growth.     

The opportunity not taken: The occupational identity of entrepreneurs in contexts of poverty

Innovative entrepreneurship is an essential but often missing outcome of poverty alleviation efforts. This qualitative study set in rural Ghana explores the occupational identity of entrepreneurs, the institutions that shape it in isolated “island networks”, and how it influences entrepreneurs' practices and decisions. We find that the institutional forces of “collectivism” and “fatalism” feature prominently. Being an entrepreneur in such settings means being a mentor, market link, and community safety net, and the types of opportunities entrepreneurs pursue are largely seen as pre-destined and inherited rather than individually chosen. As a result, the pursuit of innovative opportunities may be significantly limited.     

Tax exemption as a marketing tool: The Irish Republic and profits derived from artistic creativity

The Republic Of Ireland (Eire), though a relatively new nation, having been chartered in 1923, reflects a culture more than twenty-five centuries old. This Irish culture has been the source of much uniquely creative fine art, writing, drama, and philosophy. Creativity as a vocation and source of work-product seems endemic to the Irish mentality. As a result, the Irish look upon creativity differently than do most cultures. They have created a tax exemption for many of the financial rewards reaped by creators of “art” in any of the forms mentioned above and some new forms as well. This paper examines the marketplace effects of the Irish exemption from taxation of personal income derived from artistic creativity.     

Creativity in buyer–seller relationships: The role of governance

This research proposes a framework for relating governance mechanisms (power, contracts, and trust) to the generation of creative approaches to business activities in buyer–seller relationships. The framework is tested with a survey of 262 purchasing agents. The results indicate that trust and contract affect the three facilitators of inter-organizational creativity: (1) knowledge-sharing routines (resources), (2) learning orientation (motivation), and (3) managerial support and open-mindedness (managerial practices). Also, the effects of trust and contract on the creativity in buyer–seller relationships are fully mediated by the above three facilitators. In particular, trust plays a more influential role in stimulating creativity. While power is not significantly associated with any of the facilitators, its overall effect on creativity is negative.     

Bribes as entrepreneurial actions: Why underdog entrepreneurs feel compelled to use them

Entrepreneurs often need external resources to found their new ventures. These can be obtained from many sources, but government sponsored programs are an important and often desirable one because they do not require repayment of the funds provided. Resources from such programs should, in principle, be equally available to all entrepreneurs, but in fact, some entrepreneurs—ones often described as underdogs – have restricted access to them. This disadvantage stems, in part, from personal factors they cannot readily change (e.g., gender, age, race, ethnicity, current occupation, family background, experience). The negative effects of being an underdog are especially harmful to entrepreneurs in the context of poor economic conditions, when competition for available resources is intense. In order to overcome such adversity, underdog entrepreneurs offer bribes to persons who control these resources. We hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between the perception by entrepreneurs that local economic conditions are poor and their use of bribes, and that this relationship would be stronger for “underdog” entrepreneurs than for other entrepreneurs. We also hypothesized that the use of bribes by entrepreneurs and their perception that these bribes will be effective would interact to influence entrepreneurs' decisions to close their new venture. Specifically, bribes would influence such decisions only when they were viewed as effective. Results offered support for these hypotheses, thus providing new insights into why underdog entrepreneurs use bribes to overcome the adversity they face.     

Exploring creative marketing thought: Divergent ideation processes and outcomes

Most marketing professionals deem creativity vital to successful marketing performance. However, while previous research has advanced an understanding of creative organizations, much less is known about the cognitive processes that direct the creative thinking of marketing professionals. This article presents a theoretical framework, the Divergent Marketing Thought Model (DMTM), that explores the ideation modes, processes, and outcomes involved in the generation of divergent marketing thought. The proposed model, which is based on a synthesis of research from psychology, marketing, and creativity, offers insight into specific divergent ideation processes that mediate the generation of creative marketing thought. Informed by the DMTM, several formal research propositions are advanced.     

A Ricardian model of market sharing

The latest generation of multi-sectoral trade models has abandoned the conventional strategy that regards the similarly named exports of different countries as homogeneous products. Armington's assumption, that the products of different countries compete as imperfect substitutes, has become the theoretical rationale for an alternative, heterogeneous modeling procedure. This paper describes some problems with the assumption and develops a more rigorous framework for the heterogeneous strategy. The processes that lead to heterogeneity in trade are modeled explicitly: comparative advantage theory is applied at a sub-sectoral level to explain the detailed structure of international specialization. Implications of the new framework for empirical estimation are also explored.     

When consumers become project backers: The psychological consequences of participation in crowdfunding

Crowdfunding involves financing new ventures by relying on a large number of individual project backers who typically receive the venture's new product as a reward for their financial support. In three experimental studies, it is revealed that crowdfunding participation increases the extent to which consumers can personally connect to and identify with the focal venture compared to customers who merely buy the product in a classic market exchange setting (the baseline in our analysis). This identification process, which is rooted in the insight that one's financial contribution is perceived to be more meaningful to the focal venture, is also shown to trigger behavioral effects on important outcome variables such as increased subsequent consumption of the venture's products and more positive word-of-mouth behavior. The studies thus validate the idea that crowdfunding may be an effective tool to build strong(er) relationships with the venture's initial customer base. Hence, crowdfunding might not only answer the question “Where could I get funding from?” but also another: “Where can I effectively connect with my future customers?” The findings further point to interesting consequences for participating consumers: because the venture is more strongly perceived as theirs, this means that also the associations linked to it may rub off more strongly on their sense of self compared to customers who merely buy the same venture's product in a classic market exchange setting. Crowdfunding participation may thus more strongly effect a qualitative change in the consumer's self-concept.