Journal of Entrepreneurship recent issues

Beyond Nongovernmental Development Action into Social Entrepreneurship

Chand, V. S. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:44:48 PDT

This article presents a reflective perspective on the scope that social entrepreneurship offers to non-governmental development work in the Indian context. Beginning with the early corporate efforts to do good to society, the article outlines the history of nongovernmental action through its charity, community welfare, developmental and mobilisational and ‘post-developmentalist neo-liberal political economy’ phases. It then reviews the concept of social entrepreneurship as it has developed in Western liberal democracies where a rethinking of the welfare state has taken place. While the ideology of social entrepreneurship seems to reside naturally in the current phase, only some of its aspects seem to offer growth trajectories for non-governmental work in the near future. Though the foundations and trusts that the early business entrepreneurs established did provide the initial stratum for future non-governmental work, in recent times the charitable-philanthropic orientation of business has evolved into a socially entrepreneurial form, often involving partnerships with the third sector. For the mix of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), especially those which have political goals like empowerment and social justice, social entrepreneurship, in its strict form, seems to have little to offer. But key features of the social entrepreneurial process, namely socially entrepreneurial behaviour, and more importantly social innovation—new ways of solving social problems, resourcefulness, larger scale and wider impact and solutions that are transferable, scalable and cost-effective—are important future directions for all kinds of NGOs, including those whose primary thrust is empowerment and social justice. However, non-governmental organisations need to reaffirm the primacy of the civic in their purpose constantly—aware and positively critical of the ideological undercurrents that influence and shape their responses.

A Dynamic Model of Technology-based Opportunity Recognition

Garcia-Cabrera, A. M., Garcia-Soto, M. G. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:44:48 PDT

Studies on the factors determining recognition of business opportunities are based on partial analyses of one or more of the variables that influence that process. But economic relationships between actors are conditioned by ongoing structures of social relationships. This work uses the cognitive approach and presents an integrated study of psychological and sociological variables, and of the interactions between these variables, both of which affect the opportunity recognition stage for technology businesses. The research makes use of a method based on a case study; the work provides a dynamic model in which the key interactions that explain the technology-based opportunity recognition are: (1) the interactions between entrepreneurs with complementary backgrounds, (2) the proactive management of involvement in networks, (3) the entrepreneurial-technological alertness and (4) learning and continuous evaluation.

Ownership Patterns and Ethical Practices of Small Enterprises in Kolkata

Dutta, S., Banerjee, S. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:44:48 PDT

The modern business environment is characterised by increased scrutiny of ethical practices. Given the ubiquitous role of small businesses and their expanding realm in the globalised era, it is becoming imperative that these enterprises reckon with the ethical dimension of business on a much more stringent basis. The issues of business ethics, which were primarily addressing problems of large corporations, are gradually encompassing the small enterprises. The objective of this research was to scrutinise the extent to which SMEs conform to ethical norms. With the use of empirical data, we tested whether proprietorship/partnership firms in the Kolkata district of West Bengal are more inclined to indulge in unethical practices in comparison with limited companies. There is clear support for the hypothesis that proprietorship and partnership firms tend to be more ethically infractious than the limited companies.

Motivational Orientation of Assamese Entrepreneurs in the SME Sector

Khanka, S.S. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:44:48 PDT

This article presents the findings of a study on entrepreneurial motivation based on a sample of 243 first-generation entrepreneurs in Assam in North-East India. The results clearly showed that the entrepreneurs were primarily motivated by the need for economic achievement, personal growth, autonomy and recognition. The desire to contribute to the community was not found to be an important reason to become an entrepreneur. No significant difference was found in the motivations of men and women entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial motivation also changed in the light of entrepreneurial experience. The most interesting finding was dramatic changes in autonomy and power motives moving down from third rank to the last (sixth) rank pursuant to entrepreneurial experience over time, implying a change in the role of entrepreneurs from doers to implementers as their enterprises grew.

Teachers as Educational-Social Entrepreneurs: The Innovation-Social Entrepreneurship Spiral

Chand, V. S., Misra, S. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:44:48 PDT

This article extends the ideas underpinning the concept of ‘social entrepreneurs’ to teachers who have created social value in the contexts of socio-economic and educational deprivation. Such teachers develop innovative practices that are tailored to their situations, in order to address issues like poor demand for education in the community; social barriers to enrolment, particularly of girls, social problems that spill into the educational domain; lack of resources for education and poor schooling environments. While the teachers do tend to form a new identity which is defined by a mix of educational and social leadership qualities, their social entre-preneurial and innovative behaviour tends to be circumscribed in its impact. A policy entrepreneurship focus that encourages diffusion processes, which are different from those of the innovation generation, allows the pooling and sharing of locally effective social entrepreneurship practices, and contributes to wider social impact.

Book Reviews

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:44:48 PDT

Tanzanian Micro Enterprises and Micro Finance: The Role and Impact for Poor Rural Women

Ssendi, L., Anderson, A. R. — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:13:16 PDT

This article explores the nature of micro finance, or micro credit, in rural Tanzania. It begins by examining the types of finance available to the poor who operate micro enterprises. We then consider the intended role and availability of micro credit in alleviating poverty. We find that most institutes which offer loan facilities operate mainly in urban centres, thus restricting accessibility for the rural poor. Moreover, the modest lending conditions have also created an obstacle for the poorest women. The empirical part of our study examines the impact of one institution, the SELF project which is specifically intended to address these issues. By means of a survey, we find that SELF loans have had some benefits in improving the profitability of micro enterprises run by rural poor women, but there seems to be little long–term effect as measured by increases in household assets.

The Conceptualisation of Growth: Are Employment and Turnover Interchangeable Criteria?

Janssen, F. — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:13:16 PDT

Many different variables have been used to measure the firm's growth. Employment and sales are the two most used criteria within the literature on growth determinants. Most of the time, researchers do not provide any theoretical justification for using one or the other criterion and appear to use them interchangeably, as if they constituted equivalent representations of the same observable reality, that is, the firm's size. Using a sample of Belgian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), we have tested the interchangeability of these two criteria. Our results show that these two types of growth are determined by factors that are largely distinct. Organisational growth is thus shown to be a multifaceted phenomenon that cannot be reduced to a single dimension. This also means that growth cannot be measured through composite indicators, mixing different variables like sales or workforce, because they do not measure the same phenomenon. From a managerial point of view, this means that the resources that are mobilised and the strategies that are implemented by a firm should vary depending on whether it wishes to attain one or the other type of growth.

Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, and Customer Loyalty in Indian Commercial Banks

Lenka, U., Suar, D., Mohapatra, P. K.J. — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:13:16 PDT

This article examines whether service quality of Indian commercial banks increases customer satisfaction that fosters customer loyalty. Data were collected from 350 valued customers of scheduled commercial bank branches in Orissa (India). A questionnaire elicited information on socio–demographic variables along with human, technical, and tangible aspects of service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. Results suggest that better human, technical and tangible aspects of service quality of the bank branches increase customer satisfaction. Human aspects of service quality were found to influence customer satisfaction more than the technical and tangible aspects. Customer satisfaction furthers customer loyalty. Increase in service quality of the banks can satisfy and retain customers. In the Indian banking sector, human aspects are more important than technical and tangible aspects of service quality that influence customer satisfaction and promote and enhance customer loyalty.

An Investigation into Innovations in SMEs: Evidence from the West Midlands, UK

Wang, Y., Costello, P. — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:13:16 PDT

This article focuses on innovation in small businesses. Specifically, the objectives of the paper are twofold: a) to explore the impact of individual features, business resources, organisational culture, structure and market dynamism on firm-level innovation; b) to develop insights into innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The research procedure follows Yin's (1994) case method approach. Two Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies, winners of various innovation awards in the West Midlands of the UK, participated in the case studies. Evidence from the studies shows that innovation intensity is dependent on the availability and sufficiency of financial and human resources. Furthermore, an organisational culture supporting new product development and an innovation-conducive structure/mechanism influences the innovation outcomes. Evidence also reveals that firm-level innovation will be influenced internally by senior executives’ experiences and externally by market dynamism.

Level of Formalisation of Human Resource Management in Small and Medium Enterprises in India

Singh, M., Vohra, N. — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:13:16 PDT

In this article, the current state of management of human resources in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India is explored. The owner-managers play important roles in managing human resources in SMEs. The direct involvement of the owner manager also leads to ad hoc and informal HR practices. However, formal HRM systems can help increase performance. This study specifically examines the level of formalisation of human resource management in small and medium enterprises in India. Formalisation is defined as the extent to which regular and written-up procedures exists, a stated policy is in place, and a specialist designs and executes the HR systems. Data were collected using a questionnaire from 89 small enterprises and 54 medium enterprises on the level of formalisation of twelve HR functions. It was found that the level of formalisation of HRM systems in SMEs was low and owner-managers played a central role in the HR functions of their enterprises. Compared to small enterprises, the level of formalisation was found to be higher for medium enterprises. The level of formalisation increased with increase in employee strength. An inverse relationship between the extent of involvement of the owner-manager in managing human resources and the existence of a formal policy for HRM was evidenced. Implications of decisions by owner-managers to keep HR functions informal or formal in small and medium enterprises are discussed. It is necessary for SMEs to find ways in which formal and flexible systems can co-exist.

Book Reviews

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:13:16 PDT

Role of Technological Innovations for Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship

Tirupati, D. — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:04:29 PST

In recent years, technological innovations have emerged as an important source of competitive strength, and firms in many industries have achieved success by competing through innovation. Taking the business perspective of a small enterprise with focused technological capabilities, we examine here the role of innovations for competitiveness. We present a framework that is useful for classifying and characterising different types of technological innovations and describe their impact on firms’ capabilities. The narrow focus of small enterprises enables them to develop into niche players with specialised capabilities; however, it often prevents them from offering complete products or services. In this context, we identify and discuss the needs of such enterprises for survival and growth and describe two alternative models of support to improve the success rate.

Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in a Developing Country: A Case Study of India

Koster, S., Rai, S. K. — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:04:29 PST

This article analyses the possible link between entrepreneurship and economic development for the case of India. This link has been studied extensively for developed countries, but less so for developing countries. Using the GEM-model as a reference, we expect declining rates of entrepreneurship, as economic development opens up employment possibilities decreasing the number of necessity entrepreneurship. This pattern, however, is not found in the Indian case. Rather, entrepreneurship appears to be an important driver of recent economic growth. This can be explained by the fact that India is very much a service-based economy that facilitates small-scale firms. Although the level of entrepreneurship is increasing over time, the quality of the small firms remains rather stable; the share of registered firms remains equal over time. Given the importance of high-quality entrepreneurship for economic development, it seems that increasing the quality of entrepreneurship should be the main focus of policy measures.

The Wealth Tax and Entrepreneurial Activity

Hansson, A. — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:04:29 PST

Entrepreneurship is often credited with generating important positive economic externalities, such as promoting innovation, discovering new markets and serving as a mechanism for knowledge spill-over. Governments increasingly view encouragement of entrepreneurship as an important policy objective. Economists have found taxation as an important determinant of entrepreneurship, particularly income tax and capital gains tax. One form of taxation that has not been considered so far is the wealth tax. The wealth tax is likely to influence entrepreneurship negatively by affecting the pool of capital available for start-up businesses as well as reducing the net return to successful entrepreneurs. This article illustrates the impact of wealth tax on entrepreneurship using a simple model of the choice between becoming an entrepreneur or an employee. Actual data are then used to investigate whether the wealth tax indeed has a measurable effect on self-employment in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. A differences-in-differences type estimator using the abolition of the wealth tax as a ‘natural experi-ment’ points to a consistent pattern of perceptible, but small impact.

Modelling Growth Strategy in Small Entrepreneurial Business Organisations

Majumdar, S. — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:04:29 PST

Growth is understood variously by entrepreneurs, and their attitudes influence the goals and ambitions concerning growth. Their actions in this regard depend on the contextual conditions. In this article a model on growth strategy in small entrepre-neurial organisations is presented and three propositions are made: (1) attitudes and vision of the entrepreneurs drive growth of small organisations, (2) entrepreneurs of small organisations conduct early search for strategic fit in the market and the environment, and (3) entrepreneurs of small organisations persist in their search for better fit in the market. The model reflects strategic and entrepreneurial dimensions of growth. The propositions can be tested in specific industry settings. First, the dimensions of growth as understood by the entrepreneurs should be analysed and then the process of finding a fit between the industry and its market opportunities should be mapped out to arrive at a robust strategy framework.

Socio-economic Background of the Entrepreneurs and the Industrial Climate of the Small Scale Sector Industries in Orissa

Meher, R., Sahoo, R. — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:04:29 PST

The article seeks to analyse the causes of low growth/failure of small-scale industries (SSI) in a poor and industrially backward state like Orissa, notwithstanding its rich mineral resource endowments and a good number of professionally qualified and well experienced people heading the SSI units of the state as entrepreneurs. Based on a survey of the SSI units and interview of Oriya entrepreneurs by using a structured questionnaire in three of the largest and important cities of Orissa, the researchers have analysed the social, cultural and political factors that have stifled the growth of a conducive industrial climate for the success of SSI units in the State. Also, the factors that are responsible for the deficiency of good entrepreneurial quality among the Oriya entrepreneurs of the SSI sector have been looked into from the political economy and socio-political angles.

Book Reviews

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:04:29 PST

Planning and Decision Making: Beware of Emotions and Illusions

Das, J.P. — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:22:12 PDT

Decision making no longer assumes a rational information processor, be it in business management or entrepreneurship. Emotions and conations interact with cognition. This is the received view. But what exactly are emotion and will? True to its title, this article begins by providing a firm grounding on emotions. Next, it considers conscious will: Is it a force or a feeling or is it an illusion? Moving on, this article briefly examines the complex concept of consciousness and its role in decision making from the Euro-American and the East Indian perspectives. Is there a little man, a homunculus, who makes decisions? It then considers an existing theory of planning as a cognitive process. The context for discussion is provided by a case history of an entrepreneur. It examines and highlights the infusion of emotional determinants at each step of the decision-making process. The final section of this article describes tests of executive functions that are biased towards analytic or synthetic aspects of planning.

Entrepreneurial Orientation among the Youth of India: The Impact of Culture, Education and Environment

Levenburg, N. M., Schwarz, T. V. — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:22:12 PDT

Expanding the level of entrepreneurial activity within all nations is an increasingly important political and economic goal, especially for developing countries. Literature suggests that culture, education and environment play key roles, yet these attributes vary greatly across nations. This study explores the level of interest in entrepreneurship among what may be India's next generation of entrepreneurs, namely undergraduate business students, and draws comparisons with students enrolled in the US. Despite a combination of social structures and cultural values within India that historically constrained entrepreneurship, a number of efforts in recent years seem to have significantly shifted the national mindset regarding entrepreneurship, particularly among India's youth who were found to demonstrate a significantly higher level of interest in starting new ventures than their US counterparts.

Small Business Considerations in Canada: The Resurgence of Regionalism

Ensign, P. C. — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:22:12 PDT

Regionalism has been evident throughout Canada's history. Economic policies and political conflicts have emphasised regional differences. Changes in the business environment have been dramatic with a shift to continental integration. This article explores the historical evidence of regionalism, Canada as a political community, Canada as an economic community and the changing scene for small business in Canada.

Organisational Conditions for Corporate Entrepreneurship in Dutch Organisations

Veenker, S., Sijde, P. v. d., During, W., Nijhof, A. — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:22:12 PDT

Corporate entrepreneurship is a topic of attraction for many managers in corporate enterprises. In the early 1980s, several researchers discovered the importance of entrepreneurship and its role in organisational renewal, innovation, risk taking and creation of new businesses. Corporate entrepreneurship became a subject of interest because of its beneficial effect on revitalisation and performance of the firms. Studies on this topic focused mainly on the organisational factors like freedom, organisational boundaries and management support which influence intrapreneurship. In the late 1990s, the popularity of this subject rose. This article focuses on the relationship between organisational characteristics and present conditions for corporate entrepreneurship in Dutch organisations. A questionnaire administered in Dutch organisations received 711 responses. In this article, the analyses of the questionnaire are presented via an exploratory factor analysis and a subsequent confirmation analysis. Four factors/scales were identified: centralisation (lpha = 0.75), cooperation between colleagues (lpha = 0.76), cooperation between departments (lpha = 0.77) and formalisation (lpha = 0.75). These factors are connected with the perception of corporate entrepreneurship. The respondents were asked about the level at which they found themselves entrepreneurial. The conditions and the perceptions taken together give a fair overview of the corporate spirit of an organisation.

Barriers to Development and Progression of Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan

Roomi, M. A., Parrott, G. — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:22:12 PDT

In Pakistan, women entrepreneurs do not enjoy the same opportunities as men due to a number of deep-rooted discriminatory socio-cultural values and traditions. Furthermore, these restrictions can be observed within the support mechanisms that exist to assist such fledgling businesswomen. The economic potential of female entrepreneurs is not being realised as they suffer from a lack of access to capital, land, business premises, information technology, training and agency assistance. Inherent attitudes of a patriarchal society, that men are superior to women and that women are best suited to be homemakers, create formidable challenges. Women also receive little encouragement from some male family members, resulting in limited spatial mobility and a dearth of social capital. The research suggests that in order to foster development, multi-agency cooperation is required. The media, educational policy makers and government agencies could combine to provide women with improved access to business development services and facilitate local, regional and national networks. This would help integration of women entrepreneurs into the mainstream economy

Environmental Initiatives Undertaken by Entrepreneurs in the Philippines

Rao, P. — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:22:12 PDT

Many factors motivate entrepreneurs to start and enhance their businesses. In the past, their primary concerns revolved around the bottom-line and survival strategies. However, with awareness of environmental impact of industry operations, entrepreneurs should have a much broader mindset. To determine the extent to which environmental sustainability has become a part of the planning horizon of entrepreneurs, we conducted research involving thirty-six Philippine entrepreneurs. In view of the limited sample size, the data analysis was confined to non-parametric tests of significance. The analysis established that if an entrepreneur has larger asset size or is advanced in age, one could expect the him/her to be more motivated to incorporate environmental initiatives in the enterprise, leading to better environmental performance. At the same time, when an enterprise is set up by an entrepreneur who is more professionally-oriented, the enterprise can also be expected to demonstrate better environmental performance.

Book Reviews

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:22:12 PDT