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InterICSB 2008
Letter from the President
“Continuous pursuit of improving our global knowledge…”
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 2008 issue of the Inter-ICSB. The inaugural Inter-ICSB was launched at the 2007 ICSB World Conference in Turku, Finland and is modeled on the highly successful Inter-RENT developed by the ICSB European Affiliate (ECSB). Congratulations to the editors, authors, and reviewers on assembling this outstanding collection of research and knowledge.
The members of ICSB owe a debt of gratitude to both the editors, Pasi Malinen (Finland), Claire Massey (New Zealand), and Dylan Jones-Evans (Wales), as well as the authors who completed and presented their research at the 2008 ICSB World Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Both the editors and authors have volunteered their time and talents that allow ICSB and it nearly 2,000 members worldwide to participate in and fulfill the mission of Inter-ICSB – “The continuous pursuit of improving our global knowledge.”
It is noteworthy that the conference papers selected for this issue were regarded as the best in their respective tracks at the 2008 ICSB World Conference. Post conference, the authors were invited to submit their papers to the Inter-ICSB process which required each of the participants to review each other’s papers twice. This allowed the author (or authors) to further develop their papers according to the suggestions received. Please join me in congratulating the authors as well as thanking them for their willingness to be such an important part of ICSB’s global knowledge mission. As you read through these papers, I think you will agree, ICSB members are on the forefront of SME knowledge creation and dissemination.
The next Inter-ICSB process will be continued at the 2009 ICSB World Conference in Seoul, South Korea, June 21-24. I invite you to join in and be a part of this exciting and valuable “global knowledge, global network” activity as a researcher, presenter, and active learner.
Best regards,
Charles H. Matthews, Ph.D.
President, ICSB
2008 ABSTRACTS
University-Based Firms vs
Independent: What Makes the Difference?
by Damiano Bonardo, Stefano Paleari, and Silvio Vismara
We study the companies that went public in Europe in the last decade and find that 143 are university-based firms. This sample is compared to an equivalently matched sample of independent firms to investigate the effects of university affiliation on the characteristics and performance of firms. Top Management Teams members of university-based firms are characterised by a superior educational prestige and are more interconnected with the institutional world. University-based firms are also more innovative, in terms of both research inputs and outputs. Nonetheless, they face difficulties in translating these competitive advantages into long term performance gains as they do not outperform their independent counterparts over the three and five-year period after their IPOs. Yet, the presence of venture capitalists and independent directors with a business orientation has a significant positive impact on performance of university-based firms, more so than in independent companies.
Are Potential Female Entrepreneurs
in the UK Financially Constrained?
By Caleb Kwong and Piers Thompson
Using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) adult population data for the UK from 2005, this study attempts to identify whether female working age adults in the UK feel constrained in being able to start a business due to an absence of available funds, and what factors and characteristics are more likely to make women feel this is the case. Logistic regressions are used to determine whether being female increases the probability an individual feels difficulty obtaining finance is a barrier to starting a business, after controlling for personal characteristics. Gender interaction terms with the personal characteristics are also introduced in order to determine to what extent these characteristics’ influences vary with the gender of the respondent. The findings suggest that a greater proportion of women are solely constrained by financial barriers than their male counterparts. The logistic analysis showed that this is not simply a reflection of differing personal characteristics, with a pure female effect found to act upon the probability that an individual was financially constrained.
To Find or not to
Find: How Do Opportunity Identification Cognitions Differ by Task?
by V. Gustafsson, J. Smith, and R.K Mitchell
Opportunity identification is considered to be the most distinctive
and fundamental of entrepreneurial behaviors (Gaglio, 1997; Venkataraman,
1997, Shane and Venkataraman, 2000). Opportunity identification has
been also assumed a cognitive task and cognitive explanations have often
suggested that entrepreneurs operate a distinctive set of perceptual
and information-processing skills (Gaglio & Katz, 2001).
Cognitive psychologists have identified three types of decision-making
cognitions: analysis, quasi-rationality and heuristics. According to
correspondence-accuracy principle (Hammond et al., 1987), in order for
a decision to be adequate these cognitions would vary depending on the
cognitive properties of the task. One of the most powerful moderators
of a task’s cognitive properties is uncertainty. According to
Sarasvathy et al. (2003), based on Knight (1921), opportunity identification
process can be characterized by any level of uncertainty, starting from
ultimate to moderate to low. Our study addresses the following research
questions: a) whether different types of opportunity identification
(Sarasvathy et al., 2003) would induce different cognitions; b) whether
opportunity identification cognitions differ when used by expert entrepreneurs
compared to novices, and c) if entrepreneurs use different cognitions
depending on whether they were able or unable to identify opportunities.
The Influence of Personal
Background and Local Environment on the Phenomenon of Habitual Entrepreneurship
By Jari Huovinen and Hannu Littunen
The aim of this study was to find out what kind of personal background factors and features of the local environment clarify the concept of habitual entrepreneurship. So far, relatively little is known of the influence of the operational environment and the line of business on the occurrence of habitual entrepreneurship. Especially the meaning of subregions and subsectors in habitual entrepreneurship is still partially unclear. Moreover, the novelty of this study lies in the contingency approach which is unique in the field of habitual entrepreneurship research. The study was conducted out in the region of Northern Savo in Eastern Finland, and the target group was the entrepreneurs in this region. The results revealed differences as well between habitual and first-time entrepreneurs as between serial and portfolio entrepreneurs. Habitual entrepreneurship was more common in the service sector than in the manufacturing industry. The results also revealed that habitual entrepreneurs have a higher level of education than first-time entrepreneurs, among whom there are more entrepreneurs without vocational education. The educational background also separates serial and portfolio entrepreneurs, among whom the lack of vocational education was more common. In addition, serial entrepreneurship was common in the service centre of the region, whereas portfolio entrepreneurship was most common in regions with a smaller number of inhabitants and enterprises. The firms of portfolio entrepreneurs reached a bigger turnover than those of serial entrepreneurs. In the whole the results suggest the multiplicity of habitual entrepreneurship and the fact that the group of serial and portfolio entrepreneurs can not be considered homogeneous. This study offers new information especially for regional development and for entrepreneurial educators.
Effective Entrepreneurs
Build Cultures That Lead To High Performance Outcomes
By Ayman El Tarabishy, Marshall Sashkin and George Solomon
Two crucial questions for research in entrepreneurship are, first, “Do entrepreneurs actually affect organizational performance?” and, second, “If so, how does this happen?” This study tested the hypothesis that in entrepreneurial organizations the culture entrepreneurial leaders construct leads to performance outcomes. Data on entrepreneurial leaders’ culture-building actions were obtained from organization members. The measure of culture, using a well-validated assessment, was obtained from leaders. A year later, these CEO leaders provided performance data. We then tested whether the culture mediated the effects of leaders’ culture-building actions on organizational performance. The mediating analyses conducted support a causal path suggesting that in entrepreneurial organizations the entrepreneurial culture constructed by the leader’s actions mediates the effects of those actions on organizational performance outcomes.
Playtime is Over? –A
Deconstructive Reading of Shane and Venkataraman 2000
by Steffen Korsgaard
In the last two decades the field of entrepreneurship has seen a strong trend towards closure of the field. This trend argues that ‘playtime is over’ and that we need to settle on a unifying theoretical framework, if the field is to develop and gain legitimacy. This paper examines this claim through a deconstructive reading of a key paper in the trend; Shane and Venkataraman’s “The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research”. The reading displays how the closure suggested by Shane and Venkataraman is counteracted in the text itself, exposing both the impossibility and undesirability of closure. Instead an agenda of continued playtime is proposed, arguing that the field would benefit from variety and diversity in the field e.g. through continued transformation of the individual-opportunity nexus.
Policy Support for Fostering
Entrepreneurship in India: Experiences of Support Initiatives
in Three States
by Abhishek Nirjar
Entrepreneurship plays a critical role in furthering the economic progress of a nation. The literature review conducted to assess the responsiveness of policy support measures adopted by various governments indicates that these policies aimed at macroeconomic environment or at micro level supporting individuals or those concerned with creating an enterprise culture have all contributed significantly in fostering entrepreneurship.
This paper sets out to assess the impact of policy support measures for fostering entrepreneurship in India with specific reference to the ease of entry and early growth. It analyses the new support measures adopted by three north Indian state governments namely Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand which earlier lagged behind in entrepreneurial activities and are now witness to enhanced entrepreneurial initiatives. The impact of these support measures was assessed through a combination of secondary information and semi-structured interviews with stake holders, policy-makers and entrepreneurs. The study revealed that the support initiatives and incentives are essential to simplify the process of starting a business and ensuring its growth potential. The study also indicated the necessity to improve things further in partnership with the entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Perceptions of Prejudice
and Discrimination of Roma Entrepreneurs in Finland
by Ritiva Anttonen
The purpose of this paper is to describe and to gain an understanding of the prejudices and discrimination faced by Finnish Roma entrepreneurs in business activities. The starting point of this phenomenographical research is a social marginality, for the population of the Roma is still at the margins of Finnish society. The entrepreneurs interviewed had experienced prejudice and discrimination in interactions with revenue offices, TE-Centres (Employment and Economic Development Centre), city councils, banks, insurance companies, suppliers, retailers, customers and with competitors.
Value Innovation in Multi-Unit
Franchising: Implementing an Entrepreneurial Relationship
by Stephen Spinelli Jr. and Christine M.A. Lentz
Drawing on the value innovation literature and using qualitative research methods, this paper investigates the franchisor and multi-unit franchisee relationship. Theoretical literature including principles from agency, transaction cost economics, and relational exchange theories, suggests ways of working and configuring the relationship that may facilitate entrepreneurial behaviour among franchise executives and managers. Propositions concerning these work and governance mechanisms, as well as theoretical, methodological and practical suggestions are made to motivate research and spur implementation of entrepreneurial management in franchising.
The Fast and Early Internationalizing
Firm (FEIF): A Literature Review of the Concept
by Vinciane Servantie
This study is the result of a critical review of 131 academic papers published between 1992 and 2007 on the topic of companies that internationalize very early in their life cycle with an accelerated process. A general overview of the articles reviewed is given along with information on the networks of scholars who have worked on the topic. We analyze the terms used in the literature to describe the phenomenon of accelerated internationization and track the evolution of various definitions. The need for a common terminology and definitions is apparent, and we propose “Fast and Early Internationalizing Firm” (FEIF) as a useful construct for an encompassing conceptual framework.
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