The influence of individual characteristics,plan characteristics and work-related factors on salaried employees' attitudes towards profit sharing: a Canadian case

We examined the influence of individual and plan characteristics and work-related factors on salaried employees' attitudes towards profit sharing. Employees who were committed to their company, had a high work ethic, did not feel there should be a guaranteed minimum pay-out and who believed that there was a connection between exerting effort and their job performance as well as between their own performance and profit-sharing pay-outs had a more favourable attitude towards profit sharing in general. Employees who were committed to their company, had greater knowledge of their company's profit-sharing plan, preferred the cash bonus distribution scheme and believed there was a connection between their own performance and profit-sharing pay-outs had a more favourable attitude towards their company's profit-sharing plan. The results suggest that individual characteristics and work-related factors are as important to the successful implementation of a profit-sharing plan as the features of the plan itself.     

Entrepreneurship as foresight: A complex social network perspective on organisational foresight

This paper addresses the relationship between foresight and entrepreneurship. It characterises the foresight inherent in entrepreneurial activity as situated within particular discourses, or communities of practice (CoPs) in a range of structures. The argument is based on the use of complexity theory (CT) to provide insight into the dynamics of entrepreneurial activity. Complexity theories of entrepreneurship are grounded in empirical studies of entrepreneurial action. A multilevel model (MM) characterising emergent structures within the entrepreneurial domain is presented as an extension of existing CT, with entrepreneurship characterised as the practice of foresight relating to that structure. The model is grounded in two case studies of entrepreneurial ventures in high velocity business environments, airline services, and sound system accessories. An empirical model—EROS—Experiments, Reflexivity, Organising Domains, and Sensitivity—is developed to reflect entrepreneurial processes at the level of the individual, the firm, and inter-firm connections—and the interactions between them. The notion of the CoP is used to deepen the analyses, examining how the layers of the MM are constituted through the foresight inherent in entrepreneurial activity over time. As well as presenting a coherent theoretical understanding of the entrepreneurial landscape, there are practical implications for policy-makers and educators wishing to improve entrepreneurial foresight.     

Interactive strategies in supply chains–a double-edged portfolio approach to small-and medium-sized subcontractors’ position analyses

China is concerned to improve the technical capability of its industry. It has chosen Science and Technology Industry Parks (STIPs) as the model for incubating its R&D capability and driving its hi-tech policy. Against this background, the authors examine two main issues. First, we review assessments of university science parks in the UK and a wider context extracted from the literature before examining specifically China's R&D intensity and hi-tech policy. Second, we examine the performance of hi-tech companies situated on STIPs and those located outside STIPs, comparing their success in commercializing technology. We pay particular attention to the role of entrepreneurship in this activity by those engaged in it. Our findings are based on secondary quantitative data and qualitative data collected by means of interviews and focus groups in the Beijing and Shanghai areas in March 2004. From our research it is clear that China lags behind OECD countries in its R&D capability and the technology transfer rate is low, hampering China's hi-tech potential, although China is achieving some success in hi-tech exports, notably of ICT goods. Furthermore, innovation capability, locational factors such as being located in a regional industry cluster (in or outside STIPs), guanxi and networking opportunities, entrepreneurial skills, including international business experience and access to more financial sources and capital for developing the business, are essential for commercializing technology effectively in China. The role of entrepreneurship is evident. However, it remains still underdeveloped in China's STIPs.     

Sustaining entrepreneurial business: A complexity perspective on processes that produce emergent practice

This article examines the management practices in an entrepreneurial small firm which sustain the business. Using a longitudinal qualitative case study, four general processes are identified (experimentation, reflexivity, organising and sensing), that together provide a mechanism to sustain the enterprise. The analysis draws on concepts from entrepreneurship and complexity science. We suggest that an entrepreneur’s awareness of the role of these parallel processes will facilitate their approaches to sustaining and developing enterprises. We also suggest that these processes operate in parallel at multiple levels, including the self, the business and inter-firm networks. This finding contributes to a general theory of entrepreneurship. A number of areas for further research are discussed arising from this result.     

The role of community involvement and number/type of visitors on tourism impacts: A controlled comparison of Annapurna, Nepal and Northwest Yunnan, China

Tourism development in mountain regions is reported to bring economic growth to host communities. However, the literature reveals that the economic, environmental and cultural impacts of tourism development in these regions vary greatly and that a number of critical factors may explain that variability. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to explore the role of community involvement and number/type of visitors on tourism impacts in mountain destinations. The study followed a controlled comparison method [Eggan, F. (1954). Social anthropology and the method of controlled comparison. American Anthropologist, 56(5), 743–763] including field observations and individual and group interviews in two popular mountain destinations in Asia: Annapurna, Nepal, and Northwest Yunnan, China. The findings suggested that level of host involvement in management and number/type of tourists helped explain these destinations’ varying degrees of economic leakage, local control, and socio-economic inequity. Moreover, both destinations appeared to cope with their challenges through cooperative community efforts supported by non-governmental agencies.