From Rational to Wise Action: Recasting Our Theories of Entrepreneurship

In this article, I argue that if we challenge some tacit assumptions of narrow rationality that endure in much of entrepreneurial studies, we can elevate entrepreneurial ethics beyond mere external constraints on rational action, and move toward fuller integration of ethics as an intrinsic part of the process of value creation itself. To this end, I propose the concept of practical wisdom as a framework for exploring entrepreneurial decision making and action that can broaden the scope of our research to recognize entrepreneurship as an inherently normative enterprise. Specifically, I suggest that a framework built upon a concept of practical wisdom enables us to adopt a richer and more complex view of entrepreneurial decision making that is well suited to the dynamic and uncertain context of entrepreneurship. Further, this framework enriches our view of entrepreneurial ethics to include consideration of the personal character, values, and purpose of the entrepreneur. By examining entrepreneurship through a lens of practical wisdom, we can open up new avenues of fruitful inquiry for scholars of entrepreneurship.     

Introduction to Institutions,Entrepreneurship and Firm Growth: From Sweden to the OECD

Small Business Economics -     

From Resource Access to Use: Exploring the Impact of Resource Combinations on Nascent Entrepreneurship

Although prior research primarily has investigated the independent financial, human, and social capital effects on the decision to create a new venture, little research has investigated the combined effects, leaving potentially meaningful interdependencies less well understood. This study addresses that void explicitly by investigating both the independent effects and the combined effects of human, social, and financial capital influences on the new venture creation decision. The results of the study suggest a change in focus from resource access to resource use and produce important theoretical and practical implications.     

返乡创业支持网络与创业获得感:基于资源、规模和经验的综合视角

基于江苏、安徽、四川、湖北四个省份517名返乡创业人员的问卷调查数据,构建了创业支持网络与创业获得感的理论关系模型。研究结果显示:创业支持网络对创业获得感、创业资源的获取均存在显著的正向影响;创业资源获取在创业支持网络与创业获得感之间起部分中介的作用,创业正式网络对于创业资源获取的影响更大;创业规模对于创业非正式网络与创业资源获取的关系具有倒U形调节的作用,随着创业规模的不断扩大,非正式网络对创业资源获取的支持力度将先增强后减弱;进城打工经历对于创业资源获取与创业获得感的关系具有调节作用,低收入-岗位组对创业资源获取有着更强的获得感。     

What happens to international new ventures beyond start-up: An exploratory study

Since its inception, research in international entrepreneurship has focused mainly on how and why international new ventures internationalize early on. To date, there has been hardly any research regarding the issue of continuing corporate growth in such ventures beyond their start-up phase or initial internationalization. Theoretically, we ground our study within the dynamic capabilities view of the firm and through an inductive theory building research explore how and whether international new ventures made-it beyond the start-up phase, aiming to generate early theoretical constructs to guide international entrepreneurship research in this substantive area. Grounded in data, we develop the following constructs related to made-it points: strategic experimentation, tensions in organizational gestalt, and legitimacy lies. To get to a made-it point, entrepreneurs experiment with their venture at several levels: organizational, business model, and operational. These experimentation efforts are fueled by tensions that exist in the organizational gestalt, such as ownership structure, business proposition to the market, and product development process. To legitimate themselves and their venture in the stakeholders’ eyes, entrepreneurs may tell legitimacy lies. We maintain that international new ventures do not reach a made-it point if they only manage to develop substantive capabilities to produce desired outputs at various levels within the venture but fail to create dynamic capabilities to change and reconfigure existing substantive capabilities.     

Alternative Investment Market: A Way to Promote Entrepreneurship

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between firm performance after the IPO and its entrepreneurial orientation (EO). In our work we want to test if entrepreneurial oriented firms show a better market performance signalling that investors valuate it positively. To this purpose, we focus on a particular sample of entrepreneurial firms, i.e. companies that went public on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) through IPO during the period from 1995 to 2006. Along the lines of Miller (Manage Sci 29:770–791, 1983), Covin and Slevin (Entrep Theory Pract 16:7–25, 1991) and Lumpkin and Dess (Acad Manage Rev 21:135–172, 1996), firms’ entrepreneurial orientation is measured in terms of risk taking, innovation and proactivity. Following the literature in management on investor valuation we use the percent price premium as dependent variable of our model. Our findings confirm a positive impact of entrepreneurial orientation on investors’ valuation. The results of this work underline the relevance of secondary markets, such as the AIM, as a valuable alternative to traditional financial institutions in providing capital to small and entrepreneurial companies.     

Entrepreneurship as a solution to poverty

Individuals living in poverty remain a critical issue. This special issue focuses on how entrepreneurship can help to solve such poverty. Rather than viewing those in poverty as a market for goods, the solution lies in understanding how to help those living in poverty create their own businesses. Ultimately, entrepreneurship among those in poverty will create a long lasting solution to their poverty. Herein, we initially examine the extant knowledge about entrepreneurship. We then examine where future research on this important topic should move. Finally, we introduce the five articles that make up this special issue. These five articles came from the initial 71 submissions and enhance our knowledge about entrepreneurship as a pathway to reducing poverty.     

From customer motivation to corporate performance. The role of strategic factors and distribution channels of financial service firms

This research analyzes the relationship between strategic factors and distribution channels and the performance of financial service firms, based on the theory of distribution channels and the resource-based view. Using structural equation modeling, the study examines a sample of 252 insurance firms operating in the Iberian Peninsula. The empirical analysis provides conclusive evidence that strategic factors have an influence on the firm’s distribution channels and performance. It also confirms that internal and external determinant factors as well as customer motivation have an influence on strategic factors.     

Entrepreneurship: skills and financing

This article analyzes an occupational choice model with risk-averse agents who are heterogeneous in terms of skills and wealth in a setting with financial frictions. We show that high- and middle-wealth individuals endowed with a balanced portfolio of skills upgrade their skills so that the resulting portfolio of skills is more balanced and choose entrepreneurship. In contrast, middle-wealth individuals endowed with an unbalanced portfolio of skills and low-wealth individuals specialize in the skill in which they have an absolute advantage and choose paid employment. Deeper financial development, a more balanced portfolio of skills, lower entrepreneurial risk, and a higher liquidation value for projects result in more entrepreneurship and higher welfare, while wealth redistributions and financial subsidies to entrepreneurs have an ambiguous effect on welfare.     

To formalize or not to formalize: Entrepreneurship and pro-market institutions

In this paper, we examine the effects of pro-market institutions on both formal and informal entrepreneurship. While formal entrepreneurship has long been studied in economic literature, informal entrepreneurship has been less frequently discussed. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is not only to examine the impact of pro-market institutions, but also to foster a better understanding of, and introduce a method to measure, informal entrepreneurship. For the purpose of this paper, pro-market institutions are broken into their two main components: economic liberalization and governance levels. The arguments posit that economic liberalization positively impacts both formal and informal entrepreneurship while governance levels have a positive impact on formal entrepreneurship but a negative effect on informal entrepreneurship. Furthermore, governance levels reduce informal entrepreneurship to a greater extent than they increase formal entrepreneurship, resulting in a net reduction in entrepreneurial activity. The analyses of a panel covering 51 countries from 2002–2009 provide robust support for these arguments.     

Entrepreneurship in the EU: To Wish and not to be

The entrepreneurial capacity in an economy is a key determinant of economic growth and productivity improvements. This paper uses survey data from the 15 EU Member States and the US to investigate two aspects of entrepreneurial capacity: latent and actual entrepreneurship. Latent entrepreneurship is measured by the probability of a declared preference for self-employment over employment. Other than demographic variables such as gender, age and education level, the set of explanatory variables used includes country specific effects, the perception by respondents of administrative complexities and of availability of financial support and a rough measure of risk tolerance. The most striking result is the lack of explanatory power of the perception of lack of available financial support in the latent entrepreneurship equation.     

The Economics of Entrepreneurship Policy: Introduction to the Special Issue

This paper introduces the special issue on the economics of entrepreneurship policy. It is argued that important differences in the perspective on and approach to entrepreneurship policy that are found in the literature are rooted in different conceptions. The Schumpeterian conception of entrepreneurship that provides a focus on innovation and firm growth is the most useful definition for entrepreneurship policy in developed countries. In addition focused summaries of the contributions are presented. The paper concludes by emphasizing the main contributions of economics to the study of entrepreneurship policy.     

Incubators: Tool for Entrepreneurship?

One of the biggest barriers for the development of incubators in Europe is the lack of entrepreneurship and the underdevelopment of seed financing and business angel networks. While incubation is increasingly being used as a tool for promoting entrepreneurship and start-ups, leading to new policy incentives, the content of the concept is becoming more and more polysemic. Completely different approaches tend to be associated with the incubator concept, which hence becomes more of an umbrella concept. This paper aims to combine a conceptual analysis with an analysis of economic reality, both in the U.S.A. and in Europe. It warns against non-accurate evaluations of the impact of incubators if one does not take into account the different types of incubators. The paper focuses on the dynamic process of incubatio and concludes by underlining the importance of close links between incubators and business angels networks.     

Correction to: From the Editor

Business Economics -     

从跑马圈地的广域覆盖到定位明确的有效覆盖——卫视频道经营策略的新研究

<正>目前多数省级卫视都已经达到一定程度的全国性覆盖,但是在这一过程中也遇到了很多大的问题,如覆盖成本越来越高而难以承受;所覆盖的某些城市只有很低的收视率而没有广告的回报,从而在总体上无法达到收支平衡;许多广告公司,尤其是大的4A公司并不按照待评估卫视的覆盖效果,而是按照收视效果来决定投放。     

Lijiang： From Brand to Strength

The tourism industry is facing unprecedented challenges after the financial crisis. During this ＂financial winter＂, how much influence has Lijiang＇s tourism, the one that has been the pillar industry of Lijiang and important economic growth point received？ And how does the government of Lijiang deal with this？ How to transform it from ＂Brand Lijiang＂ to ＂Strength Lijiang＂？ Member of National People＇s Congress, Lijiang＇s deputy secretary of municipal party committee, and Mayor Wang Junzheng accepted an exclusive interview with our reporter.     

Social Entrepreneurship: The Role of Institutions

A relatively small segment of business, known as social entrepreneurship (SE), is increasingly being acknowledged as an effective source of solutions for a variety of social problems. Because society tends to view “new” solutions as “the” solution, we are concerned that SE will soon be expected to provide answers to our most pressing social ills. In this paper we call into question the ability of SE, by itself, to provide solutions on a scope necessary to address large-scale social issues. SE cannot reasonably be expected to solve social problems on a large scale for a variety of reasons. The first we label the organizational legitimacy argument. This argument leads to our second argument, the isomorphism argument. We also advance three other claims, the moral, political, and structural arguments. After making our arguments, we explore ways in which SE, in concert with other social institutions, can effectively address social ills. We also present two examples of successful ventures in which SEs partnered with governments and other institutions.     

Social Entrepreneurship: The Role of Institutions

A relatively small segment of business, known as social entrepreneurship (SE), is increasingly being acknowledged as an effective source of solutions for a variety of social problems. Because society tends to view “new” solutions as “the” solution, we are concerned that SE will soon be expected to provide answers to our most pressing social ills. In this paper we call into question the ability of SE, by itself, to provide solutions on a scope necessary to address large-scale social issues. SE cannot reasonably be expected to solve social problems on a large scale for a variety of reasons. The first we label the organizational legitimacy argument. This argument leads to our second argument, the isomorphism argument. We also advance three other claims, the moral, political, and structural arguments. After making our arguments, we explore ways in which SE, in concert with other social institutions, can effectively address social ills. We also present two examples of successful ventures in which SEs partnered with governments and other institutions.     

Entrepreneurship and Ethics: A Literature Review

During the past twenty years, there has been an explosion of new interest in entrepreneurs and their activities. Yet only recently has serious research attention been devoted to the ethical problems encountered by entrepreneurs and their organizations. Entrepreneurs face uniquely complex moral problems related to basic fairness, personnel and customer relationships, distribution dilemmas, and other challenges. This essay surveys contemporary research in entrepreneurial ethics, examines the kinds of ethical dilemmas entrepreneurs confront, identifies major research topics and methodological approaches, and discusses possible directions for future research.