International Entrepreneurship as a Dynamic Adaptive System: Towards a Grounded Theory

This paper is based on a primary assumption: That the internationalizing smaller firms are different from large international firms, such as multinational enterprises (MNEs); and therefore, the process of internationalization and growth of smaller firms may not follow processes stipulated in the extant theories of MNEs and international business processes (IBPs). Even the primary orientations and theoretical constructs used in IBP and the theory of multinationals are different from those in entrepreneurship: While the former focuses on the institution of the “firm” the latter concentres on the “entrepreneur” as internationalizing entities. This paper will suggest a theoretical framework capable of integrating this prevailing fragmentation. The framework is based on the tenets of dynamic open complex adaptive system (DOCAS), comprising three layers, reflecting entrepreneurs (or entrepreneurial teams), firms and markets to reflect their own dynamics as well as the inter-relations and interactions of entities within and across layers within the framework. After a brief review of the basic characteristics of a simple DOCAS and the major attributes of entities populating each layer in the framework, the interdependencies and interactions within and across layers are highlighted. This framework presents a coherent and comprehensive structure capable of housing the next six papers contained in this issue. They are reviewed and highlighted from the perspective of the proposed framework. These papers support the proposed framework substantively. The proposed grounded framework appears to lay the foundation for the research and theory necessary for enhancing our understanding of IBP and internationalization in smaller firms. Conclusion and implications of the papers are presented at the end.     

A Positive Theory of Social Entrepreneurship

I propose a theory aimed at advancing scholarly research in social entrepreneurship. By highlighting the key trade-off between value creation and value capture and explaining when situations of simultaneous market and government failure may arise, I suggest that social entrepreneurship is the pursuit of sustainable solutions to neglected problems with positive externalities. I further discuss the situations in which problems with externalities are likely to be neglected and derive the central goal and logic of action of social entrepreneurs, in contrast to commercial entrepreneurs. Overall, this article provides a conceptual framework that allows understanding the growing phenomena of social entrepreneurship and its role in the functioning of modern society.     

Entrepreneurship in the Theory of the Firm

This paper develops micro-economic foundations for a theory of entrepreneurship and growth, focusing on innovation and opportunity as intermediate linkages between the two. Expanding upon points of tangency between Schumpeter and Coase, the paper argues that transactions costs are the glue that holds together entrepreneurial “new combinations.” Technological/organizational complexity of production is defined as the extent to which a technical decision by one unit within the firm affects the productive efficiency of other units. Where decreasing transactions costs tend to pull incumbent organizations apart, the possession of difficult to imitate production practices by the same organizations keeps them together. The dissolution of incumbent firms creates opportunities for entrepreneurs; the prospect of Schumpeterian rents provides the incentive to realize those opportunities.      

以知识观企业理论为基础的多国企业理论

多国企业理论近10年的发展是基于对内部化和交易成本方法多国企业理论的批判,以资源观多国企业理论的兴起和发展为代表。然而,该理论在完整性和成熟度上的不足体现为它同交易成本方法在综合上遇到的困难。本文通过引入专业化的企业理论观点作为综合的平台,并进一步将知识观的企业理论应用于多国企业理论的发展,一方面解决了上述综合的困难,另一方面明确地在生产维度和组织维度发展出更为完善的知识观多国企业理论。     

Developing an Interdisciplinary Major in International Business

ABSTRACT

Since the change of the accreditation standards by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) requiring internationalization of the business school curriculum about twenty years ago, different models of internationalization have been developed and tried by different types of business schools across the nation. However, no single model has emerged as an ideal model suitable for all kinds of institutions, large or small, urban or rural. At small and rural universities, internationalization efforts pose some extra challenges because of the general lack of global exposure and practices among its faculty and students, lack of adequate resources, financial crunch and locally centered vision of its leadership. This paper describes how a small and rural university has successfully implemented its own model to internationalize its business programs in spite of all the financial and non-fiscal challenges. Such a model could be emulated by similar small and rural institutions across the country.     

The Knowledge Network of International Entrepreneurship: Theory and Evidence

The knowledge network associated with the young and emerging field of International Entrepreneurship is defined through a Bolean search progression of key words on the SSCI data bases from 1992 to 2000. The knowledge network of an applied field portrays, and usually follows, the actual developmental path of its corresponding field. Some 287 articles document the early emergence of International Entrepreneureship as a field of scholarly inquiry. When a field is young and in need of theoretical foundations, the knowledge networks of other fields may provide for those early needs. This is the case of International Entrepreneurship. The rich theoretical foundations of the two fields of International Business and Entrepreneureship, among others, have nourished and accelerated the internationalization process of entrepreneurship. A detailed analysis of 7,651 citations contained in the contributions of the 287 documents reported here traces International Entrepreneurship's rich, yet young, developmental path. This analysis reveals a wealth of information, for example the lists of highly-cited books, articles, authors and their affiliated institutions presented here.     

Towards Normative Theories of Social Entrepreneurship. A Review of the Top Publications of the Field

Journal of Business Ethics - In this article, we apply deductive content analysis to the 100 most influential publications in the field of social entrepreneurship (SE) to identify...     

Towards a General Theory of Harm for Consumer Law

Journal of Consumer Policy -     

基于扎根理论的产业集群嵌入对创业的影响研究

产业集群对创业活动具有明显的促进,但现有研究并没有揭示产业集群对创业活动的影响机制。使用嵌入理论可以将产业集群这种宏观抽象的环境因素对创业的影响分解为创业者及其新创企业与集群内其他机构主体的嵌入关系。采用扎根理论方法研究发现,产业集群对创业绩效的影响,即产业集群嵌入,可以分解成三种不同层次的嵌入:制度嵌入、网络嵌入和个人关系嵌入。     

Undivided Corporate Responsibility: Towards a Theory of Corporate Integrity

In the years since Enron corporate social responsibility, or “CSR,” has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in both research and business practice. CSR is used as an umbrella term to describe much of what is done in terms of ethics-related activities in firms around the globe to such an extent that some consider it a “tortured concept” (Godfrey and Hatch 2007, Journal of Business Ethics 70, 87–98). Addressing this skepticism, I argue in this article that the focus on CSR is indeed problematic for three main reasons: (1) the term carries a lot of historical baggage – baggage that is not necessarily conducive to the clarity of the concept; (2) it is the object of increasing ethical instrumentalism; and (3) given the multiple ethical challenges that corporations face, and given the fact that the “social” responsibilities of business are but one set of corporate responsibilities, a suitable term would have to be more inclusive and integrative. I therefore suggests moving instead toward a sound definition of corporate integrity and aim in this article to develop a working definition by fleshing out “7 Cs” of integrity: commitment, conduct, content, context, consistency, coherence, and continuity. I then discuss how these 7 Cs impact our understanding of CSR or, more broadly, corporate responsibility in general.

Towards an economic and monetary union

One of the most important results of the Paris Summit of the nine EEC-members was the decision taken to establish a European Monetary Union until April 1, 1973. Will the Economic Union be now approached more rapidly than in the past?     

Towards an identity-based brand equity model

In the context of increasingly interchangeable product and service offerings, brands are crucial drivers for product purchasing and usage decisions. Thus, they constitute a substantial intangible asset for most companies. In order to maximize this asset, current research has developed various brand equity models. However, the majority of these base their approach on an outside-in perspective by focusing on buyer perceptions of the brand and their related buying behavior. An integrated approach including for example employees as an important internal source of brand equity, has so far received little attention. The following paper aims to close this gap by developing a new integrated brand equity model. This research explores the sources of brand equity from both internal and external perspectives at the behavioral and financial level in order to achieve a more accurate and sustainable brand equity measurement approach.     

中小企业创业环境评价模型及实证研究

本文在问卷调查的基础上筛选了中小企业创业环境评价指标,以模糊综合评价法为理论基础构建了中小企业创业环境综合评价模型。实证分析结果表明,该评价模型可以科学地对特定地区的中小企业创业环境进行评价并发现创业环境构成要素中的不足之处。文章认为,中小企业创业环境评价指标应包括自然环境、社会环境、经济环境三大环境系统及政策法律、金融服务、智力技术、社会服务、产业等五大支撑体系。     

Towards an agent middleware framework for e-commerce

A number of challenges face the developers of distributed agent-based solutions. This is especially true for those developing agent-based solutions for electronic commerce. Key challenges include secure and efficient software agent deployment, secure communications and the difficulties of developing and monitoring agent systems deployed across a network. This paper reports on the development of a Java-based agent distribution framework which provides the following advantages for developing agent-based electronic commerce applications: (1) a secure agent dispatch mechanism based upon agent authentication and role-based security levels, (2) inter-agent communication means that include peer-to-peer communication via its own published objects as well as a multicast event service, (3) encrypted object streams for unicast and multicast communications, (4) reflective communication monitoring for agent system development and visualization, (5) mechanisms for efficient agent distribution, and (6) an easy-to-use environment for making small footprint agents. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Towards an Integrative Model of Small Firm Internationalisation

Firm internationalisation has long been regarded as an incremental process, wherein firms gravitate towards psychologically close markets and increase commitment to international markets in a gradual, step-wise, manner through a series of evolutionary stages. However, much of the recent literature provides clear evidence of rapid and dedicated internationalisation by born global firms. Typically, these are smaller entrepreneurial firms that internationalise from inception, or start to shortly thereafter. Their main source of competitive advantage is often related to a more sophisticated knowledge base. In addition, the authors have found evidence of firms supporting this born global pattern of behaviour but also evidence of firms that suddenly internationalise after a long period of focusing on the domestic market. These born-again globals appear to be influenced by critical events that provide them with additional human or financial resources, such as changes in ownership/management, being taken over by another company with international networks, or themselves acquiring such a firm. Based upon the extant literature and our own research, we propose an integrative model that recognises the existence of different internationalisation pathways. We then explore differences in behaviour due to the firm's internationalisation trajectory and discuss the strategic and public policy implications.     

世界体制下的供应链安全

美国的集装箱安全倡议（CSI）是最早实施的安全机制之一。它提供了高风险集装箱的识别方法、可疑集装箱的非侵入式检查方法（X光）,同时引进了所谓的“智能集装箱”——安装在集装箱门上的特殊安全设备可对集装箱进行分类。