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In the work presented the potential of a pyrometric process control during laser beam soldering will be enhanced. Primarily we have developed a processing head with an integrated up-to-date pyrometric sensor conditioned for the temperature range of soft soldering. Using high speed photography we have analysed the detected secondary emissions during laser beam soldering and correlated the acquired pyrometric signals of process emissions with processes sequencing. Finally we named different strategies and control methods to achieve reliable high quality solder joints implementing a pyrometric process control

Summary -- Reducing Market and Appropriation Uncertainty: The Twin Organizational Tasks of Entrepreneurship

One of the reasons entrepreneurs are motivated to action is their assessment of the potential profit associated with a particular opportunity to recombine resources from the factor market into a product (or service) that will be demanded in the product market. Entrepreneurial firm survival often depends on the creation and appropriation of this profit. However, this profit is uncertain ex ante as it depends on the ex post difference between the costs that must be paid for the factors of production and the prices that will be realized for the finished product. This paper explores the relationship between uncertainty and the creation and appropriation of profit by entrepreneurial firms

Stakeholders, Entrepreneurial Rent and Bounded Self-Interest

This paper examines how the change from an assumption of pure self-interest to an assumption of bounded self-interest alters basic propositions regarding the way entrepreneurs select, negotiate with and manage relationships with their initial set of stakeholders. Although a purely economic approach would focus on material cost as the sole consideration when conducting these activities, we argue that non-material factors such as reciprocity and fairness are potent forces during the initial resource acquisition process. We explain that non-material considerations are accounted for in negotiations with stakeholders and positive reciprocity is encouraged through openly sharing information with stakeholders about the value of their contributions to the venture. Furthermore, we expect that entrepreneurs do and should seek stakeholders with expectations about future outcomes that are complementary to their own. This analysis provides a new perspective on the creation of entrepreneurial rent that promises to provide an enhanced understanding of the resource acquisition process as well as guidance to practitioners and researchers

Summary -- Entrepreneurial Uncertainty: What Do Stakeholders Look For?

This paper proposes that in the early stages of a venture entrepreneurs can reduce uncertainty for stakeholders -- and raise the probability of attracting desirable stakeholders -- by exhibiting behaviors associated with fairness and justice. Actors base their reciprocal behaviors -- both positive and negative -- on their subjective perceptions of distributive, procedural and interactional justice. Thus, entrepreneurs can influence perceptions of fairness in early interactions with stakeholders. This paper extends the logic of reciprocity and fairness to the setting in which entrepreneurial firms are seeking to attract desirable stakeholders in order to commercialize innovations

How Much is Too Much? The Limits to Generous Treatment of Stakeholders

Firms must allocate some minimum amount of value to stakeholders in order to retain access to the resources they provide. Stakeholder theory suggests managers optimize firm-level performance by allocating more than this minimum amount. However, how much is too much? This article addresses the misleading notion that more is always better when it comes to the treatment of stakeholders and, in doing so, provides needed refinement of the boundary of stakeholder theory\u27s predictions. The upside for managers is guidance in distinguishing between the types of value-allocating behaviors that will lead to greater value creation in their firms and actions that are likely to reduce value overall

Poster Summary -- Alliances Between Newcomer Firms and Established Firms: A Sense Making Response Mechanism for Entrepreneurial Firms in Uncertain Environments

This study is organized around two basic research questions. First, how do entrepreneurial firms use their alliances with large firms to make sense of their world? Second, how does sensemaking in entrepreneurial firms impact their alliance success and ultimately firm success? In the tradition of a sensemaking perspective this paper seeks to understand how particular cues are singled out from other experiences (Weick 1979), how the interpretations and meanings of these cues result in certain behaviors leading to new firm success or failure

The Second Glass Ceiling Impedes Women Entrepreneurs

The glass ceiling phenomenon that impedes the advancement of talented women professionals into senior executive roles inside large corporations is widely recognized in society, studied in the management literature, taught in business schools, and tangibly felt by many women executives. Outside the corporate setting, we show that a second glass ceiling exists for women entrepreneurs and women small business owners. This second glass ceiling is a gender bias that obstructs women-owned small firms from accessing the financial capital required to start new firms and fuel the growth of existing firms. This paper (1) defines the second glass ceiling phenomenon, (2) provides evidence of its existence, causes and effects, and (3) proposes what both women entrepreneurs and financial capital managers should do to mitigate its deleterious effects

Managing for Stakeholders, Stakeholder Utility Functions, and Competitive Advantage

This paper integrates some of the central concepts of stakeholder theory with the literatures on organizational justice and trust to explain firm competitiveness. It provides a detailed explanation of factors that facilitate acquisition of knowledge about stakeholder utility functions. In addition, it offers a knowledge-based analysis of how firms that manage for stakeholders can enjoy sustainable competitive benefits. These explanations provide a strong rationale for including stakeholder theory in the discussion of firm competitiveness and performance

Anticipating, Preventing, and Surviving Secondary Boycotts

Even the best stakeholder-managed firms can suffer when they become the targets of a secondary boycott, as recent headlines attest. A secondary boycott is a group’s refusal to engage a target firm with which the group has no direct dispute in an attempt to sway public opinion, draw attention to an issue, or influence the actions of a disputant. This article provides a new perspective and tools for both scholars and managers concerned with this phenomenon. Building on a stakeholder theory foundation, we examine possible actions managers can take to avoid being surprised by a secondary boycott, propose conditions that raise the probability of becoming the target of a secondary boycott, and develop four alternative approaches for managing stakeholder relationships in a world of secondary boycotts, consistent with the underlying stakeholder culture of the firm