Entrepreneurial learning in multigenerational family business succession

The most significant challenge faced by family businesses is to survive and carry on the legacy from one generation to the next. Within the extant body of literature, little known as to how entrepreneurial learning process could potentially help in multigenerational family businesses to succeed. The main purpose of this study is to explore the role of entrepreneurial learning contributing to the multigenerational family business succession. This study illuminates the relationship between entrepreneurial learning processes that forester the succession of intergenerational transition of family enterprise. In addition, the concept of co-creation is introduced to this study in order to further investigate the family business succession based on social theories. Further investigation of how entrepreneurial learning process may differ across the family business life cycle, and how co-creation is the key driver to create and transfer knowledge and at each succession point. A conceptual framework of entrepreneurial learning in multigenerational family business proposal are based on life cycle process theory, which comprised of three major succession stages: Pre-succession stage, Planning and Managing succession stage and Post-succession stage. These three approaches will provide the theoretical lens to the understanding of the succession in multigenerational family business. To enhance the purpose of this research, Pragmatism has been chosen for this study. Thus, it allows the research to move beyond the conceptual constraint imposed by interpretivist, positivism and realism, and adopt the most effective way of analysing the research problem, outside of the philosophical debate. Not only the pragmatist focuses on whether a proposition fit a particular ontology, but also align with the purpose and enable solutions. Interns of research methodology, this study adopted qualitative approach to explore this phenomenon. Primary qualitative data will be collected from five families owned businesses through semi-structure in-depth interviews with the incumbent, successors and family members. Due to the deductive and inductive nature of this study, data were harvested and thematically analysed by coding into pre-existing categories suggested by the conceptual framework, whereas new themes have been emerged from these data. The study highlights the importance of exploring this phenomenon using successors as a unit of analysis, as opposed to the firm, in order to move the field forward. Future research should be testing the conceptual framework that emerged from this study in family business from other industries and context will lie within Asian culture countries. In addition, research on the interception between entrepreneurial learning and family business succession still nascent in developing country context. Hence, Thailand has been selected as the preferred research geographical area. Since family business contributes play an important role in Thailand economy with an issue of decline in family business transition succession. This issue has led to further investigation in this region. This has implications for the competitions of firm overtime and largely consequence on growth, survival and innovation and the succession of generational transition. In summary, the key finding shows that entrepreneurial learning is profound in family business succession process. Specifically, entrepreneurial learning activities derived from this research are demonstrated to be essential process in family business succession. Six fundamental entrepreneurial learning activities for multigenerational family business are discovered. By introducing a new concept such as co-creation into entrepreneurship and family business studies, it helps widen perspective in family business succession life cycle and process. Hence, this new concept will provide a powerful model to strengthen and support multigenerational family business transition in the future

A model for a student-centered teaching plan in basic business

The problem of this study was to develop a model for a student-centered plan of teaching Introduction to Basic Business at the secondary school level. The purposes were (1) to provide an alternative approach to teaching basic business so that the students and the teacher will be intimately involved in the learning process, (2) to propose a realistic plan that will provide a stimulating environment for cognitive achievement and positive affective development, and (3) to enhance the overall image of the basic business course. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant differences in student achievement in the student-centered class when compared to student achievement in the traditional class. A second hypothesis proposed that there would be a significant difference in positive student attitude in the student-centered class when compared to student attitude in the traditional class. Two secondary school Introduction to Basic Business classes, consisting of a total of forty-three students, participated in the study. The classes were randomly assigned as student-centered and traditional. The same teacher was responsible for both classes

A strategizing-as-practice perspective of the 'advice process' of small business owners.

This study examines the processes of advice seeking by small business owners and employs a Strategy-as-Practice perspective. The analysis of the data from 33 small business owners identified eleven factors that influenced the processes. These included: cost; proximity; technical skills and knowledge; business ties; similarity of goals; business savvy; appropriateness of advice; knowledge of the other; knowledge of the business and its context; personal relationships and trust. The extent of influence of the factors was shaped by the category of the advice provider as indicated by the type of relationship and the type and extent of trust in that relationship. This study makes two major contributions to knowledge. First, it highlights the fact that advice seeking is a practice within the broader practice of strategizing and shows the different roles advice plays in small business owner strategizing. Second, it develops a descriptive framework of the advice seeking practice of small business owners which shows that the small business owners practice of advice seeking is a set of open-ended activities which are cognitively ordered and spatially-temporally dispersed. High levels of trust and personal relationships are shown to create an advisory space in which the business owner is willing to be open and vulnerable to the advisor and so enables the advisor to gain knowledge of the business owner and his business which help shape the advice given

Huntsman Alumni Magazine, Spring 2011

Alumni magazine for the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/huntsman_magazine/1006/thumbnail.jp

Consciousness in Thinks... by David Lodge

El estudio de la conciencia ha sido objeto de debate durante siglos, especialmente en el campo de la filosofía. Sin embargo, el análisis de esta en el campo de la literatura es bastante reciente y por lo tanto, novedoso, puesto que su origen se remonta al siglo XIX. Dicho interés por el estudio de la conciencia en la literatura radica en la posibilidad de acceder a los pensamientos de otra persona, lo cual no es posible en la vida real. Así pues, el presente trabajo consiste en un análisis del concepto de la conciencia a través de la novela Thinks… del autor británico David Lodge.´ El trabajo comienza con una introducción en la que se define el concepto de la conciencia así como el contexto, su origen y sus aplicaciones, tanto en el ámbito de la psicología y la filosofía como en la literatura. A continuación, analiza a fondo el concepto de la conciencia temática y formalmente centrándose en la novela Thinks…. Por último, se estudian las técnicas narrativas utilizadas para la representación de la conciencia en la novela analizada. El trabajo concluye con la premisa de que es imposible acceder a la conciencia y los pensamientos de otra persona en la vida real, a menos que sea, por ejemplo, en una obra de literatura como es el caso de la novela analizada, Thinks…

Let\u27s Establish a Negotiation: The Influence of Ecuadorean SMEs Culture on their International Negotiations

The hackneyed phrase“to be or not to be” seems to apply to everything, and everyone. So deciding whether being a good global manager or not depends entirely on us.However, some of us think that this is an innate characteristic, and if one lacks it, there is nothing we can do about it. Luckily not everyone shares this ideology. According to Percy Barnevick, the CEO of the Swedish firm ABB said, “Global managers have exceptionally open minds. They respect how different countries do things, and they have the imagination to appreciate why they do them that way…Global managers are made, not born” (qtd. in House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, and Gupta 5). Having this in mind there is nothing that can stop someone from succeeding in the business world. Nevertheless, there are important things that one should take into consideration; even though at first sight they might seem unimportant actually they are essential. A good global business manager knows how businesses work. An excellent global business manager knows how to conduct, manage, and negotiate business across boundaries. He/she is an expert in differentiating and understanding cross-cultural factors. How can culture, business, and negotiations possibly be connected? Well, studieshave proved that cultural factors have a large impact on how to do business in each country. A major factor that we tend to oversimplify is MEDC’s and LEDC’s. Taking Ecuador as an example, just like other countries, it has its unique and different characteristics with a potential for success. However, not knowing which these are makes it hard for a business manager to deal with it. Even if Ecuador offers a lot of opportunities for great business deals, it can be an extreme challenge when it comes to try and understand this culture. Therefore, this thesis will serve as a guide and a reference for Ecuadorians and foreigners to understand its culture for a successful negotiation. Take into consideration: “The greatest barrier to businesses’ success is the one erected by culture” – Edward and Mildred Hall “International business is like international soccer games: The rules are internationaland just for all, but the games are local” – Geert Hofsted

Cognitive and cultural proximity between service managers and customers in cross border regions: knowledge transfer implications

Knowledge transfer between customers and managers is an important source of new ideas for innovation in the service industries. In cross border regions, inter-cultural interactions engender but also constrain knowledge transfers between actors even when actors share similar economic and technological knowledge bases. This theme is explored through an analysis of cognitive and cultural proximity between service managers and customers from “the other side” in a European cross border region where the constituent regions have broadly similar national cultures: Tornio-Haparanda on the border between Finland and Sweden. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with Swedish and Finnish managers of small and micro businesses serving customers from both sides were undertaken to gauge their perceptions of the impact of cultural and cognitive proximity to customers on learning interactions. The study adds to the emerging literature in this field by identifying seven elements of cognitive and cultural proximity including mentality, ways of solving problems, conservatism, shared language, focus on contextualized details, mentality and use of similar technologies. It is also original for the implications of perceived cultural and cognitive proximity on cross border knowledge transfer between customers and managers

Experienced newcomers : business professionals' identity development following a career change

This thesis studies the process of how experienced business professionals adjust to a new role. These experienced newcomers were Argentinean MBA graduates who made a career transition and were going through the first months at the new job. Through a grounded theory and constructivist approach, participants reflected on what was relevant to them during this period, in interviews and personal diaries. Developing the professional identity emerged as a strong theme, including how they developed relationships, how they managed conflict with colleagues and supervisors, how they changed their profiles to adjust, how they managed identity threats, how they experimented with possible selves, and how they constructed their dynamic professional identities. This doctoral project contributes to the understanding of how experienced newcomers socialise to a new role with a career perspective, considering both past experience and future aspirations. Data collection undertaken during four months for each participant enabled an understanding of process, especially in terms of how individuals develop relationships at work and ideas for possible selves, contributing to theoretical gaps in existing literature. In addition, it contributes to research on business professionals, and MBA graduates in particular, which is quite scarce in Argentina