Student clubs: experiences in entrepreneurial learning

Student-led clubs that seek to enhance entrepreneurial learning can be found in many universities. Yet, like many areas of extra-curricular activity in entrepreneurship education, their role in supporting learning has not been researched widely. The paper introduces research that addresses this gap and investigates the nature of the learning process student's encounter when they take part in clubs. The study explores the literature on entrepreneurial learning; it examines the different concepts and considers their contribution to understanding student learning experiences. From the literature, a conceptual framework is presented, highlighting the key aspects of entrepreneurial learning relevant for the field research. The methodology is introduced, including a series of qualitative studies and a survey of students. The study focuses on two types of student-led clubs ‘entrepreneurship clubs’ and ‘Enactus clubs’ and provides a comparative analysis. The findings reported show a range of student learning benefits that simulate important aspects of entrepreneurial learning, such as learning by doing, learning through mistakes and learning from entrepreneurs. More nuanced findings are also presented showing differences in learning benefits between club forms and heighten benefits for students taking leadership roles. Ultimately, the paper contributes to research in entrepreneurship by illustrating how student clubs support entrepreneurial learning.     

Toward a theory of entrepreneurial behaviour; empirical evidence from Israel,Italy and Sweden

Translated versions of the Miner Sentence Completion Scale-Form T and of the Differential Attribution Questionnaire were administered to entrepreneurs and to managers, in Israel, Northern and Southern Italy and Sweden. The results of this research yield strong support for a framework that integrates affective and cognitive motivational factors. In particular, it found: (1) that the way entrepreneurs deal with negative outcomes explains their perseverance and affects their self-achievement; (2) a risk-avoidance rather than a risk-taking preference distinguishes them; (3) Self-Achievement; Risk-Avoidance and Personal Innovation appear to be major components of Task Motivation. This research appears to move closer toward a more parsimonious and clearer understanding of the behaviour of the central figure in wealth formation, thus providing a framework for the designing of entrepreneurial development programmes.     

Reinforcing collectiveness in entrepreneurial interactions within start-up teams: a multiple-case study

ABSTRACT

Using a qualitative multiple-case study approach and data from four high-technology team startups, we elaborate a theory on organizing entrepreneurial actions as team efforts and the kinds of interactions that reinforce collectiveness amongst entrepreneurial teams. Through systematic thematic analysis, we find that entrepreneurial action reinforces collectiveness through and during (a) the joint analysis and planning of entrepreneurial opportunities and strategies, (b) the joint decision-making and realization of opportunities and (c) the evaluation, feedback and sanction of entrepreneurial action. We analyse the dimensions through Giddens’s ideas on the duality of structures and agencies. We identify interactions that reflect a joint elaboration of opportunities, open and continuous sharing of knowledge and feelings, equality and democracy, joint effort and credit, informality and lack of bureaucracy, and feedback and helping. Our insights could be applied to create collectively entrepreneurial teams and to design education and training activities at a macro level to enable regional development.     

Leader Emergence in Nascent Venture Teams: The Critical Roles of Individual Emotion Regulation and Team Emotions

This study advances a theory of how different aspects of emotion regulation influence individual leader emergence in the intensely emotional context of nascent venture teams. Despite the growing amount of research on the role of leadership in the entrepreneurial process, the emergence of leaders in nascent venture teams has rarely been explored. Drawing on theories and research on leadership emergence and emotion regulation, we argue that the two aspects of emotion regulation (i.e., reappraisal and suppression) exert opposite effects on the degree to which nascent venture team members come to perceive an individual as a leader. We also theorize that team emotions arising from affective events moderate the relationship between reappraisal and leader emergence in such teams. Data from 103 nascent venture teams without prior leaders show a negative relationship between individuals’ trait disposition to suppress emotions and their emergence as leaders, and a positive relationship between their trait disposition to reappraise emotions and their emergence as leaders. Moreover, we find that negative team emotions magnify the positive association between reappraisal and leader emergence, while positive team emotions mitigate it. We discuss the implications of our findings for the literature on entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurial emotions, and leadership in general.     

Change and the development of entrepreneurial networks over time: a processual perspective

Although it is now well established that networks contribute to entrepreneurship by extending the individual entrepreneurial asset base of human, social, market, financial and technical capacity, little work, empirical or theoretical, has examined the dynamics of networking processes in a temporal framework. Drawing on evidence from three longitudinal case studies of entrepreneurs operating in the oil industry in the North East of Scotland, this paper presents an extensive empirical investigation into network transformation over time. We are thus able to chart networks in their historical contingency. This chronological lens allows us to view patterns in network continuity and change and enables us to develop a rich conceptual framework. The study demonstrates that networks are vital living organisms, changing, growing and developing over time. Yet set in their history, networks are much more than an extension of the entrepreneurial asset base. Our data shows how a reconceptualization of the nature of networking is called for; one which privileges an understanding of the relational dynamic as a structural configuration representing the social construction of the entrepreneurial environment. Thus our conceptualization proposes that networks actually create the environment, as it is understood and operated by the entrepreneur, and that consequently the networking process is the enactment of the environment.     

Evaluating the value of an entrepreneurial city with a spatial hedonic approach: A case study of London

This study assesses the value of a city by using the housing price function with a geographically weighted regression model, including various social, economic, and environmental factors. To assess these values, various specific data scores—such as those related to ethnic groups, green areas, crime rates, education, unemployment rates, number of entrepreneurs, and environmental quality—were considered in a case study of London. The results indicate that some variables such as time to city center and entrepreneurship have a positive impact on the local areas’ value in London, as shown by housing prices, while those related to unemployment have a negative impact. Moreover, although the London city center has benefitted more in terms of value than its outskirts have, a few specific policies related to startups and entrepreneurship have succeeded in connecting these areas to existing companies and entrepreneurs. In general, large cities may be better equipped to promote such startup and entrepreneurship policies under local industry plans for future development.     

Networks vs. market methods in high-tech venture fundraising: the impact of institutional environment

This study examines how institutional environmental factors, including cultural norm, state regulatory system and venture capital market, influence the high-tech entrepreneur's choice for using network vs. market methods when approaching prospective investors at the early stage of their new venture creation. We collected comparative data through on-site interviews and questionnaire survey with 128 high-tech entrepreneurs in Singapore (a newly industrialised economy) and 250 in Beijing, China (an emerging economy). Our findings suggest that a culture emphasising the value of social obligation, the under-development of the legal/regulatory system and the immaturity of the venture capital market increased the proclivity of entrepreneurs to use network methods. Moreover, entrepreneurs who value networks higher in social obligation than in information transfer are more likely to choose personal ties instead of business ties. This study enhances our understanding of how high-tech entrepreneurs in emerging economies choose between networks and market methods in venture fundraising, and offers suggestions on how public policy makers in these economies can improve the institutional environment of their regions to promote high-tech new venture creation.     

Introduction: Towards a Political Understanding of New Ruins

This debate section gathers together contributions from cultural historians, political geographers, urban sociologists and architectural writers on new forms of ruination in contemporary landscapes. Their case studies span examples of ruins in China, North America, Ireland and Ukraine, as well as reviewing cultural representations of ruined, remote and peripheral spaces in England and Greece. Many wider cultural representations of ruined landscapes are primarily visual; whilst these have great value in alerting wider publics to the debris of global capitalism, neoliberalism and state‐sanctioned processes of cultural imperialism, what is needed within academic contributions to the ruinology literature is a deeper understanding and articulation of the wider contexts within which ruination occurs. Therefore, several contributions supplement visual representations of ruination with ethnographic and first‐person accounts of places on the ground, whereas other contributions offer readings of ruined landscapes that are rich in political histories and policy details. Connections are made to wider contemporary debates around ‘forensic architecture’ and critical archaeologies of the present and recent past. What connects these contributions is a commitment to situating ruins within their historical, policy and social contexts, and working through ruination to open out political readings of landscape.     

Towards a real-time prediction of waiting times in emergency departments: A comparative analysis of machine learning techniques

Emergency Departments (EDs) can better manage activities and resources and anticipate overcrowding through accurate estimations of waiting times. However, the complex nature of EDs imposes a challenge on waiting time prediction. In this paper, we test various machine learning techniques, using predictive analytics, applied to two large datasets from real EDs. We evaluate the predictive ability of Lasso, Random Forest, Support Vector Regression, Artificial Neural Network, and the Ensemble Method, using different error metrics and computational times. To improve the prediction accuracy, new queue-based variables, that capture the current state of the ED, are defined as additional predictors. The results show that the Ensemble Method is the most effective at predicting waiting times. In terms of both accuracy and computational efficiency, Random Forest is a reasonable trade-off. The results have significant practical implications for EDs and hospitals, suggesting that a real-time performance monitoring system that supports operational decision-making is possible.     

Leveraging the employee voice: a multi-level social learning perspective of ethical leadership

Extending social learning theory to a multi-level perspective, this study proposes a theoretical model that investigates both individual and team-level mechanisms that mediate the effect of ethical leadership on employee voice. Specifically, in terms of an individual-level social learning perspective, we suggest that an ethical leader acts as a prototype of a moral person (i.e. an ethical role model). From a team-level social learning perspective, we propose that, as a moral manager, team ethical leadership will foster an ethical climate within the team which will create a moral context that impacts employees’ behaviors. In both instances, employee voice behaviors will be enhanced through these mechanisms. Evidencing the importance of the interaction between leader behaviors and context for leader effectiveness, we also show that employees are more likely to regard their ethical leaders as ethical role models in a team that highly values ethical conduct (i.e. high in ethical climate). Results obtained from 47 managers and 211 subordinates in China support our theoretical model. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are also discussed.     

Bringing Political Skill into Social Networks: Findings from a Field Study of Entrepreneurs

The authors integrate the entrepreneurship literature's sociological and behavioural perspectives and examine the processes through which entrepreneurs first build social networks and then use the network resources for enhancing venture performance. Field interviews of entrepreneurs during a six‐month period reveal that political skill is an important individual‐level factor that influences the construction and use of social networks. Theoretical and practical implications of the major findings are discussed.     

The regional variations of entrepreneurial dynamism: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT

Given that added knowledge and deeper understanding are needed with regard to regional variations in the creation of new firms, this study seeks to answer the following two research questions: What are the variables that explain entrepreneurial dynamism and how may they be apprehended under the four necessary and complementary dimensions of this phenomenon, namely the demand, supply, institutional and spatial dimensions? And how should the nature and interrelatedness of these dimensions and their associated variables influence regional policymakers and other regional stakeholders in their efforts to stimulate entrepreneurship in their region? In order to do so, we used mixed methods to collect and analyze regional data, first doing a regression analysis of quantitative data on 97 small regions in Canada’s province of Québec, followed by a qualitative survey of regional stakeholders on eight matched pairs of regions. A phenomenological qualitative analysis was then effectuated in order to gain a deeper understanding of the research variables’ effects and thus grasp the complex socio-economic reality of entrepreneurial dynamism in a region. The results of the study confirm the importance and interrelatedness of the four dimensions of entrepreneurial dynamism in providing new insights into these questions. Moreover, the findings that results from these quantitative, qualitative and holistic analyses have implications for the policies of regional authorities and for the actions of other regional stakeholders.     

The process of entrepreneurial action at the base of the pyramid in developing countries: a case of vegetable farmers in Benin

The assumption that entrepreneurship is a critical factor in expanding employment, creating wealth and contributing to poverty alleviation at the base of the pyramid (BoP) in developing countries has led to the development of many initiatives to strengthen the entrepreneurial activities of poor people. Despite the fact that entrepreneurship is seen as a strategy in combatting poverty, the process that leads to entrepreneurial action in a BoP context is still unclear. In this paper, we illustrate the possibilities a multi-layered perspective offers to understand the complexity of entrepreneurship in poverty settings. Based on five focus group discussions and 36 in-depth interviews with vegetable farmers in Benin, we examined the entrepreneurship of poor people. We learned that entrepreneurial action is the nexus of individual and exogenous factors in complex relationships. Based on this, we elaborate on the characteristics of the process model of entrepreneurial action. We provide a process-based view of entrepreneurship at the BoP, suggesting a need for consistency between individual, behavioural strategies and contextual elements. We discuss the implications of our findings for BoP practice and provide a framing perspective that we hope will encourage a greater focus on the complexity of entrepreneurship phenomenon.     

Attracting cross-border venture capital: the role of a local investor

Examining an increasingly prevalent but under-researched phenomenon, cross-border venture capital investments, it is observed that local venture capitalists typically invest first, followed by foreign venture capitalists in later rounds. A model is developed that explains the role of a domestic venture capital investor in attracting foreign investors and which also accounts for the impact of various circumstances on the importance of this role. In our model based on analysis of nine cross-border venture capital-backed companies, local venture capitalists have several important roles in increasing the venture's cross-border investment readiness including advice to operational management and contributing contacts and local market knowledge. The importance of these roles is mitigated if the entrepreneurial team is highly experienced or if the home market is not important for the venture. The prominence of the local investor has signalling value. Finally, the local investor's international social capital facilitates the formation of cross-border syndicates. Overall, the model developed in the paper contributes to a better understanding of cross-border venture capital and in particular to the division of labour between domestic and foreign venture capitalists in international venture capital syndicates. The paper also contributes to the emerging literature on international social capital.     

Entrepreneurial renewal in a peripheral region: the case of a winter automotive-testing cluster in Sweden

This research paper generates new insights into renewal processes that may occur in peripheral regions. Key findings are presented from an explorative study on a regionally clustered automotive-testing industry, located in northern Sweden. The findings suggest that despite theoretically unfavourable conditions it is possible to progress regional industry after a peripheral setting's socio-economic relapses. Moreover, this research shows how, notwithstanding the importance of profitable service offerings, an entrepreneurial environment can be encouraged within a peripheral region and subsequent renewal achieved by advancing local networks, improving internationalization and enhancing local infrastructures related to a service-based regional industry. Consequently this research offers us a glimpse into a pioneering service-based renewal case which, in essence, differs from previously reported entrepreneurship scholarship.     

Clarifying the effect of organization learning on service innovation: the mediating role of intellectual capital

Abstract

The study of intellectual capital has gained interest in today’s highly competitive landscape. Using intellectual capital as a mediator, this paper developed an integrated model to examine whether organization learning affects and increases the capacity for new service development (NSD). The results from the study of 598 hotel managers support this model across multi-dimensions of intellectual capital and show that intellectual capital plays a mediating role between organizational learning and NSD. This paper also finds exploitative organization learning enhances the positive effect of organization capital because it fosters a positive link between relational capital and human capital. The study also discusses how this intriguing pattern of mediation could be explained by using theory and research with a regulatory focus.     

The Experience of Untapped Potential: Towards a Subjective Temporal Understanding of Work Meaningfulness

In this paper, we propose that untapped potential acts as a subjective temporal meaning‐making mechanism. Using a two‐wave survey design, we examine the relationship between job characteristics, untapped potential, and work meaningfulness in a heterogeneous sample of 542 employees. We found that employees’ perceived amount of untapped potential mediates the effects of skill variety, autonomy, and job feedback on work meaningfulness. This mediated relationship was moderated by the valence employees attributed to their untapped potential. Moreover, decreases in the perceived amount of untapped potential over time were related to increases in perceived work meaningfulness. Our research shows that work that allows employees to move beyond the here‐and‐now by providing opportunities to realize future work selves is experienced as particularly meaningful. We conclude that, if we wish to understand what makes work meaningful for employees in the present, we need to know how it aligns with their self‐perceptions in the future.     

The embedding process of community ventures: creating a music festival in a rural community

Community entrepreneurship is a potentially powerful mechanism to improve the well-being of rural communities. To mobilize inhabitants for collective action, an emerging community venture must be embedded within a local community. Yet, the embedding process of community ventures is not well understood. Accordingly, this study explores how a community entrepreneur (CE) embedded an emerging community venture into a rural community and simultaneously stimulated social change in the community. Drawing on a longitudinal case study of a CE who created a jazz music festival in a rural Norwegian community, a dynamic conceptual framework was developed that highlights the roles and mechanisms that support the embedding process. The CE promoted social change by introducing external impulses to the local community and assumed a bridging role between the villagers and external actors in the embedding process. Some villagers assumed local embedding roles, while several external actors assumed external embedding roles. I identified four strategies that were used to increase the embeddedness of the community venture in the rural community and one strategy that was used by the CE to de-embed the venture in order to avoid constraints imposed by the local community. The importance of the different roles and mechanisms changed over time.     

Two Dimensions of Corporate Sustainability Assessment: Towards a Comprehensive Framework

Over the last years, many approaches have emerged that attempt to measure the contribution of firms to sustainable development, i.e. corporate sustainability. Our review of existing methodologies for the assessment of corporate sustainability reveals two major shortcomings. First, value creation as a core condition for sustainability as well as for further contributions to economic sustainability is often ignored in these assessments, suggesting that financial and non‐financial organizational processes are separable. Second, existing approaches fail to differentiate between the actual contribution of a firm to sustainability on the one hand, and governance‐related features aimed at attaining this contribution on the other. We argue that the implementation of sustainability‐oriented organizational structures and managerial instruments alone does not necessarily guarantee sustainability performance. Therefore, besides the dimension of current sustainability performance, we introduce the notion of sustainability governance as a second distinct dimension of corporate sustainability assessment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Effects of structural,relational and cognitive social capital on resource acquisition: a study of entrepreneurs residing in multiply deprived areas

ABSTRACT

Emerging research demonstrates that structural social capital facilitates the resource acquisition of entrepreneurs residing in multiply deprived areas. However, their usage of relational and cognitive social capital that translates to accessible resources is not well understood. We contribute to knowledge and comprehensively examine effects of structural, relational and cognitive social capital taken together on the resource acquisition of entrepreneurs residing in multiply deprived areas. Results from a national survey of entrepreneurs residing in multiply deprived areas across England show that large networks, bonding ties, trust, reciprocity, obligations and expectations, and shared language and codes facilitate their resource acquisition. Also, we demonstrate that they are reluctant or unable to bridge social distance and adopt narrative storytelling. Furthermore, the results indicate that entrepreneurs residing in multiply deprived areas in the most deprived regions suffer from less resource acquisition.