Innovation resources integration pattern in high-tech entrepreneurial enterprises

This paper discusses the innovation resource intergration pattern of high-tech entrepreneurial enterprises formed through integration of internal and external innovation resources in the face of demand change and continuous competition. The study finds that the core of the high-tech entrepreneurial enterprise’ sustainable growth is the effective integration of internal and external innovation resources, and the effective pattern of innovation resource integration is group polymerisation and chain integration. These two innovation resource integration pattern either substantiates the traditional theory of innovation resource integration and offers a guidance for growth practices of high-tech entrepreneurial enterprises in China.     

The Effect of a Market Orientation, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Technological Capability on Innovativeness: A Study of Young Biotechnology Ventures in the United States and in Scandinavia

Previous research suggests that in order to excel in innovativeness, a firm should simultaneously be market oriented, proactive, and willing to take risks, as well as have access to superior technological assets and capabilities. However, the contribution of these factors on innovative outcomes has seldom been assessed in one study. This study investigates influences of market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and technological capabilities on technology ventures' innovativeness. Data for this study were collected through personal interviews in biotechnology startups in the United States, Finland, and Sweden. As expected, results indicate a significant link between technological capability and product innovativeness. However, neither market orientation nor entrepreneurial orientation is related to product innovativeness in this empirical context where firms typically aim at launching radical, disruptive innovations. The drivers of capital investments, however, are different from the antecedents of product innovativeness. Differences between the Nordic and U.S.-based biotechnology ventures are also identified.     

Relationship commitment and value creation in sponsorship relationships

Purpose: The sponsorship industry has evolved considerably in recent years due to the strategic business opportunities that it provides. Despite increased interest in sponsorship, analysis of the relationship between relationship commitment and value creation and of relationship commitment as comprising multiple types or components in the context of sponsorship relationships is lacking. To address these gaps, this paper analyzes relationship commitment (in terms of affective commitment and value-based commitment) as a significant mediating variable, and value creation in the context of sponsorship relationships.

Methodology/approach: A questionnaire was sent to Swedish Hockey League sponsors to collect data and to verify the study’s conceptual model and relationships. The response rate for the survey was 19.8%, that is, 122 completed questionnaires out of 616 sent. The respondents represented the most common industries in Sweden, but most of them belonged to the construction, repair, and electronics industries (18.0%), manufacturing and production industry (13.1%), and commerce industry (11.5%). Most sponsoring companies (30.3%) were categorized as medium-sized (50–249 employees). Most respondents (38.5%) had invested EUR 4300–15,000, whereas 11.5% had invested less than EUR 4300. Moreover, we found that most sponsors had been in their sponsorship relationships for more than 10 years (32.8%). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for the data analysis.

Findings: This study demonstrates that relationship commitment is an important driver of value creation in sponsorship relationships. Furthermore, the various forms of affective commitment and value-based commitment should not be considered merely components or forms but distinct types. Certainly, there is interaction between the two types, but sequentially in such a way that affective commitment is a prerequisite for value-based commitment. This means that a sponsor must have an emotional relationship with the sponsee in order to understand, perceive, and calculate the sponsorship relationship’s future business value in terms of profits and other benefits. This study also finds that value-based commitment is the most significant type of commitment in sponsorship relationships.

Research implications: The study demonstrates that shared values, trust, and affective commitment are fundamental conditions for value-based commitment. If the parties agree on how they should behave in the relationship, the rules and objectives that apply lead to the emergence of mutual trust, which in turn makes the parties want to continue the relationship for emotional reasons. But this is not enough for value creation; they must also see that there are future business benefits from the relationship. Therefore, the parties more or less explicitly make calculations. If the calculations indicate that the long-term benefits of the relationship outweigh the short-term sacrifices, they are prepared to invest in the relationship, and this may lead to value creation. In other words, there is both interplay and tension between shared values, trust, and affective commitment, on one hand, and value-based commitment, on the other. Another theoretical contribution is that previous research has considered the links between relationship commitment and value but has ignored the different types of commitment that play key roles in the value-creation process; this study has addressed that oversight. The study demonstrates that affective commitment and value-based commitment have different roles and meanings. Affective commitment indirectly affects value creation, while value-based commitment directly affects value creation. Affective commitment has the role of partial mediator, while value-based commitment has the role of full mediator. Furthermore, they differ in their basic characteristics: affective commitment is an emotional aspect, while value-based commitment is a calculative aspect.

Originality/value/contribution: Previous studies have not analyzed the relationship between relationship commitment and value creation. However, this study demonstrates that relationship commitment is an important driver of value creation in sponsorship relationships. Furthermore, most previous research argues that relationship commitment consists of various components or forms that interact in parallel with each other. However, this study demonstrates that the various forms of affective commitment and value-based commitment should not be considered merely components or forms but distinct types. Certainly, there is interaction between the two types, but sequentially in such a way that affective commitment is a prerequisite for value-based commitment. Furthermore, previous studies have consistently noted that affective commitment is the most important component, form, or type of relationship commitment. However, this study finds that value-based commitment is the most significant type of commitment in sponsorship relationships.     

产业并购危机管理中的人力资源整合模型构建

当代全球并购交易频繁情况下,人力资源整合关系到企业并购的成败.本文分析了全球产业并购危机管理情况下的人力资源整合模型的研究现状,结合我国实际建立了适合我国本土文化风俗、法律及管理控制技术的人力资源整合模型,此外,文章提出了"和谐整合"是产业并购中人力资源整合管理中的至高境界.     

From feminism to FemInc.ism: On the uneasy relationship between feminism,entrepreneurship and the Nordic welfare state

Feminism in the Nordic countries was primarily formulated in terms of ‘state feminism’. The women’s movement cooperated with feminist government officials and politicians, resulting in societies that can be considered to be the most gender-equal societies in the world. Historically, the state provided for a large publicly-financed welfare sector which made it possible for many women to combine work and family through the state’s implementation of family-friendly policies, while simultaneously providing employment opportunities for many women. However, since the financial crisis of the 1990s, there has been a political change influenced by neo-liberal thought, in which politicians have handed over the welfare state’s responsibilities to the market, and, instead, the politicians have encouraged entrepreneurship, not least among women. Further to this development, there has been a change in emphasis from entrepreneurship (understood as starting and running a business) to entrepreneurialism which, in addition to a belief in the efficacy of market forces, also contains a social dimension where individuals are supposed to be flexible and exercise choice. In this article, we ask whether this entails a change in the feminist project in the Nordic countries, and if so, what the likely consequences are for this project, both in practice and in research. In order to answer this question, we reviewed existing Nordic research on women’s entrepreneurship and examined how this body of work conceptualizes entrepreneurship, gender, the state, and equality. We also considered whether any trends could be identified. We relate our findings to recent changes in government policy and conclude that the current discourse on entrepreneurship challenges, and possibly weakens, state feminism, but we also conclude that this discourse may also provide space for new forms of feminist action, in market terms. We coin the term FemInc.ism to denote feminist action through enterprise and we discuss a number of important challenges that research on this phenomenon is faced with.     

E-Business Adoption by SMEs--Prerequisites and Attitudes of SMEs in a Swedish Network

The context for this research is the transformation process of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from traditional (t-) businesses toward e-businesses and the accompanying development of the knowledge and competence among employees. SMEs constitute a great part of the Swedish industry and economy. This and the fact that they have special prerequisites concerning human and technology resources makes SMEs an interesting research focus when looking at the transformation process toward e-business. The aim of this research is to investigate SMEs with the purpose of designing, implementing, and evaluating information technology-supported activities that will allow SMEs to approach e-business. This article presents results from parts of an ongoing study, that involves seven SMEs. This study will be conducted in two main phases: first, informative and preparatory activities and second, business transformation and competence development activities. This article focuses on the first phase of the study, but an insight in its current status and further research is given. The underlying prerequisites for SMEs as well as the research approach are described. A working model is presented that illustrates stages of maturity for taking an enterprise toward e-business. The last sections present the research design, that is, planning, actions, observations, and reflections of the study up until now. New actions to take are discussed at the end of this article.     

Predictability of future index returns based on the 52-week high strategy

In a landmark paper, George and Hwang (2004) show that a stock's 52-week high price largely explains the momentum effect and that a strategy based on closeness to the 52-week high has better forecasting power for future returns than do momentum strategies. We find that the 52-week high strategy is unprofitable when applied to emerging markets indices, and that it is significantly less profitable than the corresponding momentum strategy. Overall the 52-week high effect is not as pervasive as the momentum effect.     

A note on rational call option exercise

Using Swedish equity option data, the rationality in the exercise of American call options is analyzed to see how well it complies with the theoretical exercise rules. Although the exercise behavior appears to be rational overall, several cases of both faulty exercise and failure to exercise are found. Almost a third of the early exercised calls are exercised at other times than predicted by theory. Several of these exercise decisions could potentially be explained by transaction costs, indicating that market frictions do affect the exercise behavior. However, over two thirds of the faulty exercises cannot be explained at all. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 22:471–482, 2002     

Clinical and economic impact of mirabegron compared with antimuscarinics for the treatment of overactive bladder in Canada

Background: The β₃-adrenoceptor agonist, mirabegron, and antimuscarinic agents provide similar efficacy for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB), but mirabegron appears to be associated with better persistence, perhaps due to an absence of anticholinergic side-effects. This study estimated the expected costs associated with the management of OAB in Canada from a societal perspective by utilizing real-world evidence.

Methods: An economic model with monthly cycles and a 1-year time horizon was developed to depict a treatment pathway for a hypothetical cohort of 100 patients with OAB. At model entry, patients receive mirabegron or an antimuscarinic. Patients who do not persist may switch treatment, undergo a minimally invasive procedure, or remain symptomatic (uncontrolled). The model includes direct costs (e.g. physician visits) and indirect costs (e.g. lost productivity). A one-way univariate sensitivity analysis assessed a ±20% variation in each of the key model inputs.

Results: At 1 year, a greater proportion of patients persisted on treatment with mirabegron compared with antimuscarinics (33% vs 15–23%), and a smaller proportion switched treatment (17% vs 20–22%). The number of healthcare visits (292 vs 299–304), pads used (74,098 vs 77,878–81,669), and work hours lost (4,497 vs 5,372–6,249) were all lower for mirabegron vs antimuscarinics. The estimated total annual cost of treatment per patient with mirabegron was $2,127.46 Canadian dollars (CAD) ($5.82 CAD/day) compared with $2,150.20–$2,496.69 CAD ($5.89–$6.84 CAD/day) for antimuscarinics. The one-way sensitivity analysis indicated the results are robust.

Conclusions: Improved persistence observed in routine clinical practice with mirabegron appears to translate into benefits of reduced healthcare resource use, and lower direct and indirect costs of treatment compared with antimuscarinics. Overall, these data suggest that mirabegron may offer clinical and economic benefits for the management of patients with OAB in Canada.