Theories from the Lab: How Research on Science Commercialization can Contribute to Management Studies

Universities and research centres have long been used to study management issues. A growing body of research has focused on how science can be effectively commercialized, emphasizing technology commercialization activities, university–industry collaborations, and academic entrepreneurship. While much of this work has documented empirical relationships, our aim in this introductory article of the special issue is to show how research on science commercialization may yield conceptual contributions to the field of management. Hence, we first discuss the importance of context for theory development. We then review how the science commercialization context has been used for theory development, identifying two facets used to conceptualize science commercialization (i.e., managing the transition between institutional contexts, and the multiple goals and impacts of actors engaging in science commercialization). This forms the basis for discussing what makes this context suited for theory development in general management and for outlining a future research agenda. We conclude by summarizing the papers in the special issue.     

Knowledge spillover-based strategic entrepreneurship

Research on knowledge spillovers (KS) has each been the subject of much scholarly attention, but has mostly been considered independently rather than in combination with each other important issue – strategic entrepreneurship (SE). The purpose of this special issue is to integrate these two approaches and to develop theory in addition to empirically investigate the phenomenon inspiring future research on the topic. This paper draws on the knowledge spillover-based strategic entrepreneurship in a multilevel context, examines the logic of the approach, and introduces the special issue by summarizing the papers contributions. Future research suggestions from the papers included in the special journal issue are also discussed and explained.     

民营企业跨国并购战略的制度创业过程研究

本研究采用案例研究方法,通过对中国林德集团收购德国帕西姆机场过程的分析,探索了新兴市场企业在成熟市场跨国并购过程中通过制度创业实现资源整合从而创造竞争优势的过程。本研究从制度视角探索了跨国并购的制度创业动因、机制和资源整合路径。突破了以往基于成熟市场的交易成本理论和组织学习理论通过股东收益和组织学习能力获取的传统跨国并购理论认识范式。研究发现,制度环境会影响组织通过制度创业建构合法性从而获得竞争优势资源;企业决策者的创业意愿和能力会影响企业制度创业成果;决策者意愿和能力与制度环境的互动机制影响制度创业效率;企业场域位势的嵌入程度较低以及处于业务和制度边界交界地带的企业,会实施制度创业改变企业的场域位势;企业通过制度创业跨越制度障碍形成的合法性成为企业新的竞争优势资源。     

Stemming the gender gap in STEM entrepreneurship – insights into women’s entrepreneurship in science,technology, engineering and mathematics

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are notably important for innovation and technological development, which in turn are seen as drivers of social and economic growth. Hence, researchers and policy-makers have paid substantial attention to analyzing and promoting high-growth ventures in STEM fields. However, STEM fields are highly gender-skewed, regardless of whether the population considered is students, faculty members, graduates, top managers, or entrepreneurs. This is noticeable in the small number of women entrepreneurs with STEM backgrounds. This underrepresentation of women in innovation-driven business startups highlights existing gender biases and systemic disadvantages in social structures, making visible the double masculinity that exists at the intersection of STEM and entrepreneurship. This article addresses this issue by combining insights from research about women’s entrepreneurship and research about the gender aspects of STEM fields. We emphasize institutional, organizational, and individual factors influencing women’s entrepreneurship in STEM fields, laying the foundation for the articles included in this special issue. Finally, we discuss the way forward for research on the gender aspects of STEM entrepreneurship to help us create the knowledge needed to close this gender gap.

     

The impact of state legitimacy on entrepreneurial activity

The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of the state legitimacy on of the different countries’ entrepreneurial activity’s development, the opportunities’ perception and the entrepreneurship’s motivations. This paper is set into the research field which analyze how the institutional environment influence entrepreneurship in different countries. Research framework has been built based on the Institutional Theory. To develop the model we use a set of data extracted from the European Social Survey and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor about 28 European countries and we analyze them through Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling. Results show that state’s legitimacy influences the level of entrepreneurship in the different countries and the perception of the entrepreneurial opportunities and chances. Besides, the research shows that, in the scenario of the most legitimated countries, entrepreneurial activities is related to the need of self-employment. Based on the Institutional Theory, this research provide relevant contributions in the research field about entrepreneurship and countries’ institutions. From a practical point of view, the research shows ideas on how policymakers can improve entrepreneurial activity managing state legitimacy. Furthermore, the results provide new contributions in the research on the influence of the institutional context on the states entrepreneurial activity, providing an analysis and a comparison of the differences between countries, based on institutional theory.

     

Logics,Leaders, Lab Coats: A Multi‐Level Study on How Institutional Logics are Linked to Entrepreneurial Intentions in Academia

Situated in the context of academia, this study integrates ideas from institutional theory, person‐environment fit theory and leadership research to conceptualize and examine the cross‐level link between the organizational‐level institutional logic of research commercialization and the entrepreneurial intentions of researchers. Multi‐level analyses based on a sample of 254 researchers working for 85 research group leaders in 49 German research institutes reveal that two distinct attributes of research group leaders – that is, their track records of entrepreneurial behaviour and their entrepreneurial intentions – play a significant role in transmitting the organizational‐level logic to the individual level. We also observe a complementary interaction between organizational‐level commercialization logic and the entrepreneurial track records of leaders. We discuss how these findings advance our understanding of science commercialization through academic entrepreneurship and how they inform institutional theory and theory development in other domains of entrepreneurship research.     

Virtual teams in organizations

Organizations continue to widely adopt virtual teams as a primary way to structure work and the recent growth in utilization has outstripped theory and research on virtual teams. The explosive growth in virtual team use by organizations and the inherent challenges of virtual teams highlight the need for theory and research to inform organizations in designing, structuring and managing virtual teams. Therefore, the purpose of this special issue is to (a) advance theory and research on virtual teams, (b) offer new directions for research on the topic, and (c) contribute to efforts to enhance the effectiveness of virtual teams in organizations. Toward this end, in this introduction we provide a brief overview of virtual teams and present an input-process-output framework to contextualize and organize the eight papers appearing in this special issue.     

Emerging issues in theory and research on electronic human resource management (eHRM)

In the past several decades, technology has had a dramatic impact on human resource management (HR) processes and practices. For example, technology, especially the World Wide Web, has helped modify many HR processes including human resource planning, recruitment, selection, performance management, work flow, and compensation. These new systems have enabled HR professionals to provide better service to all of their stakeholders (e.g., applicants, employees, managers), and reduced the administrative burden in the field. Despite the widespread use of these systems, there has been a surprising dearth of theory and research on the topic. As a result, the purpose of this special issue is to (a) advance theory and research on human resource management systems (HRMS) and electronic human resource management (eHRM), (b) offer new directions for research on the topic, and (c) enhance the effectiveness of these systems in organizations. As a result, this article reviews the evolution of HRMS and eHRM, provides a brief overview of the existing literature, and introduces the articles in the special issue.     

Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: categories and interactions

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework to position sustainable entrepreneurship in relation to sustainability innovation. The framework builds on a typology of sustainable entrepreneurship, develops it by including social and institutional entrepreneurship, i.e. the application of the entrepreneurial approach towards meeting societal goals and towards changing market contexts, and relates it to sustainability innovation. The framework provides a reference for managers to introduce sustainability innovation and to pursue sustainable entrepreneurship. Methodologically, the paper develops an approach of qualitative measurement of sustainable entrepreneurship and how to assess the position of a company in a classification matrix. The degree of environmental or social responsibility orientation in the company is assessed on the basis of environmental and social goals and policies, the organization of environmental and social management in the company and the communication of environmental and social issues. The market impact of the company is measured on the basis of market share, sales growth and reactions of competitors. The paper finds conditions under which sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation emerge spontaneously. The research has implications for theory and practitioners in that it clarifies which firms are most likely under specific conditions to make moves towards sustainability innovation. The paper makes a contribution in showing that extant research needs to be expanded with regard to motivations for innovation and that earlier models of sustainable entrepreneurship need to be refined. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

地方高校女大学生创业意识调查及其培养策略

地方高校女大学生创业意识及其培养策略问题,是地方高校创业教育理论研究中的关键内容,也是理论研究的薄弱环节。对这一问题作进一步的深入探讨,不仅能满足时代发展的理论需要,而且能更新地方高校教育思想观念,创新教育理论。本文以宜春学院为例,对地方高校女大学生创业意识进行调查和分析,发现一些地方高校女大学生大多都有较强的创业意愿,但真正进行创业时又存在犹豫动摇、不敢行动、自信心不足、经验能力欠缺、融资渠道不畅等现象。对此,在深入调查的基础上就如何培养地方高校女大学生创业意识,从政府和高校层面提出了一系列培养策略。     

Entrepreneurship research in service industries: a literature classification and trend analysis

In this paper, the influence of entrepreneurship on service management research is examined. Entrepreneurship research occupies a central place in organizational theory and strategic thinking, but its theories and models have little influence on business management. Entrepreneurship research can have a better integration with other areas of management, but there is still certain isolation. This article reviews the emerging areas in entrepreneurship research that provides complementary theoretical framework to service business models. In order to determine the areas in service management research in which entrepreneurship theories can be useful, a classification of the papers published in the last 2 years in the JCR service management journals is carried out. The study concludes that innovation is the most outstanding priority in service management research that can be enriched by entrepreneurial theories. The entrepreneurial approach to networks and institutional environment are the theoretical frameworks that better suit to introduce entrepreneurship variables as antecedents in business innovation models.     

Pursuing sustainable development through green entrepreneurship: An institutional perspective

Pursuing sustainable development through green entrepreneurship has been advocated, conceptualized, and empirically examined in the recent environmental management and entrepreneurship literature. However, green entrepreneurs are embedded in institutional environments that may discourage them from embracing sustainable development because of the “paradox of embedded agency.” How can a firm overcome the liability of such an agency issue and escape what has become known as a “green prison”? This study proposes that, because international venturing exposes firms to foreign institutions, it provides them with opportunities for institutional learning. Thus, we examine how international venturing influences green entrepreneurship which, in turn, impacts firm performance. Specifically, based on institutional theory, this study develops a firm-level green entrepreneurship framework with three dimensions: green initiatives (a firm's active adoption of green practices), received government green support (benefits that a firm gains from the government by adapting to governmental incentives, programs, and policies related to green practices), and green political influence (a firm's attempts to influence legislation that enacts laws, rules, and regulations related to green practices). The results obtained by analyzing 152 firms that engage in international venturing activities and 151 firms that do not show that international venturing is positively associated with green initiatives and government green support while these two factors further directly enhance firm performance and mediate the effects of international venturing on performance.     

Showdown at Kykuit: Field-Configuring Events as Loci for Conventionalizing Accounts

abstract    Despite the centrality of fields as a concept in organizational research, the processes by which fields form and change have not been studied in great depth. By situating action in time and space, field-configuring events (FCEs) offer valuable settings for researchers seeking insight into such processes. This paper develops a theory of accounts as a way to understand a mechanism by which institutional entrepreneurs seek to shape fields and influence the institutions that govern them. Actors produce and distribute justified accounts – narratives that describe the way work in the field ought to be done – and attempt to persuade powerful actors in the field to adopt them as conventions. FCEs can thus be understood as loci for conventionalizing accounts. The theory of accounts and field-level change is illustrated with a case study of a turning point FCE during which competing institutional entrepreneurs in the field of 'non-profit technology assistance providers' present alternative accounts. Successful institutional entrepreneurship comes from recognizing political opportunities to align one's account with the dominant orders of worth in the field, thereby convincing powerful actors to accept one's account as convention.     

Contextual and Interactional Approaches to Advancing Leadership and Entrepreneurship Research

In this introductory article for the special issue of Journal of Management Studies, entitled ‘Leading Entrepreneurial Ventures: Individual and Team-Based Perspectives’, we leverage insights in the extant literature as well as those insights developed by the authors of the four articles published in response to our call for papers. Overall, we explore multiple nuanced questions with regards to research on entrepreneurship, research on leadership, and their intersection. Our goal is to begin to help guide research on entrepreneurship and leadership, and their intersection, for the next decade.     

CHALLENGES TO THEORY DEVELOPMENT IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESEARCH*

Why do some new ventures succeed while others fail? What is the essence of entrepreneurship? Who is most likely to become a successful entrepreneur and why? How do entrepreneurs make decisions? What market, regulatory, and organizational environments foster the most successful entrepreneurial activities? Entrepreneurship research is plagued by these and other fundamental unanswered questions, for which there does not exist a cohesive explanatory, predictive, or normative theory. In this article we identify major challenges for entrepreneurship theory development, and offer insights into promising directions for future research. Our conclusion suggests that it may be too ambitious to expect a complete and robust theory due to the interdisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship. However, we show that by integrating perspectives and by applying analytic, empirical and experimental tools from a range of fields, some of the fundamental questions can be answered.     

Fostering productive entrepreneurship in post-conflict economies: the importance of institutional alignment

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the impact of institutional development on entrepreneurship in post-conflict environments. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Kosovar entrepreneurs the article highlights how the experience of fostering entrepreneurship in a post-conflict, new born state is distinct from transition economies. The article finds that Kosovo has not encountered the same institutional challenges which have stymied entrepreneurship in transition economies which have been hampered by ‘path extension’ of institutions. Instead there has been a ‘path break’ resulting in a reshaping of formal and informal institutions as supportive of entrepreneurship. However, while positive, the prevailing nature of much entrepreneurial activity is localized with only a limited impact on economic growth. The article concludes by making a number of contributions to institutional theory and policy.     

Grand challenges and entrepreneurship: Emerging issues,research streams,and theoretical landscape

This study discusses how the role of entrepreneurship in addressing the so-called “grand challenges” (e.g., poverty, inequality, pollution, climate change) is evolving and could further evolve, based on the ongoing conversation in the scholarly community. To develop the discussion, we conducted the following steps: (1) a computer-aided semantic analysis; (2) an analysis of the evolution of literature streams; and (3) a network analysis of advocated theories and approaches. All three analyses were based on a selection of 358 publications retrieved via a keyword search and 27 further publications retrieved via an analysis of five recent and relevant special issues published by important scientific journals. Our results show that the call to address grand challenges, particularly after the publication of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is radically transforming entrepreneurship research, with new issues emerging and replacing traditional issues as core to the discipline, marking a rapid and complex dynamics of research stream divergence and convergence. Similarly, the network of theories and approaches advocated by recent agenda-setting articles depicts an emerging theoretical landscape that is highly innovative. This new theoretical landscape revolves around systems thinking and Ostrom’s theory of the commons as the two key poles, with the embeddedness, stakeholder, institutional, effectuation, processual, and design-oriented approaches being the cross-fertilizing forces linking these two poles. In the final section, we present the nine articles included in the special issue titled “Grand Challenges and Entrepreneurship: Emerging Issues and Research Streams” and briefly synthesize these in the light of the ongoing evolution of the literature.

     

Entrepreneurial orientation in sports entrepreneurship - a mixed methods analysis of professional soccer clubs in the German-speaking countries

In recent years, sports entrepreneurship has emerged as a promising discipline in the field of sports management research. However, the research field is still fragmented. This study gives an overview of sports entrepreneurship and coopetition research and is the first work analyzing EO and performance in professional sports. First, quantitative results about EO, organizational performance and coopetition of 22 professional soccer clubs were obtained. Following the mixed method approach, the data was then extended by qualitative expert interviews. Entrepreneurial orientation had a significant positive relationship with both financial and sporting performance of professional soccer clubs in German-speaking countries during the 2017/18 season. We suggest coopetition as a promising strategy for professional soccer clubs to succeed. Hence, our study fosters the concept of sports entrepreneurship and offers evidence that entrepreneurial orientation is a well-suited managerial approach to enhance organizational performance in professional soccer.

     

Epistemological foundations of international entrepreneurship

International entrepreneurship emerged in recent years as a promising research stream focusing on how firms explore and exploit opportunities across borders, creating customer value and anticipating competitors’ moves. This study addresses international entrepreneurship literature challenges by analyzing more than seventy studies from the last twenty-four years that deal with the international new venture’s phenomenon. Particularly this study discusses five literature challenges: the increased amount of international entrepreneurship content among different journals; the different types of research conducted in the international entrepreneurship field; international new ventures and high-tech industry; the controversy in the definition and the different labels given to the firms with international presence right from their birth or shortly after; and, the factors that characterize successful firm internationalization. The study findings offer a comprehensive review, synthesis, and organization in the field.