Using Remote Control Systems for the Re-Commissioning of Heating Plants of School Building

The objective of this work is to develop a semi-automatic commissioning tool that can be implemented in Remote Control Systems to help building operators test the performance of heating plants in school buildings. The work was carried out with the city of Paris and the tool was adapted to the requirements of end-users who are operating more than 700 schools. This semi-automatic commissioning tool could help to reduce costs and time for commissioning tasks of a large number of buildings. It also helps to improve the commissioning process, to have a whole building functional testing approach and make the commissioning procedure available for different users with different skills. This work was carried out as part of an IEA Annex 40 research project, an international research group focused on energy saving technologies and activities that support their application in practice

Individual Entrepreneurship Capacity and Performance of SMEs

This paper analyses the importance of human capital and organizational capital on the determination of SME’s performance, by proposing and testing a conceptual model about Individual Entrepreneurship Capacity, and its impact both on non-economic and economic performance. This constitutes an innovative approach in the sense that uses information collected at the individual level, that is, the entrepreneur. Moreover, it constitutes a first attempt for facing the caveat in the literature on the relationship among types of capital and entrepreneurial performance. A model where the individual entrepreneurship capital is defined as a function of two types of capital: Human and Organizational; is proposed and empirically tested. For the Human Capital we consider three dimensions: (a) Individual Characteristics; (b) Managerial Push; and (c) Managerial Pull. As concerns the Organizational Capital, four dimensions are considered: (i) Individual Entrepreneurial Behavior; (ii) Collective Entrepreneurial Behavior; (iii) Managerial Practices; and (iv) Organizational Culture (in terms of the Superstructure and the Socio-Structure). The use of the stepwise method provides the selection of significant variables that impact on SME’s performance. When only non-economic indicators are considered for measuring the performance, in what respects the human capital we find out that the only significant variable is: enthusiasm at work. In what concerns the organizational capital the significant variables are: efficient organizational structure; participative management; incentives for interdisciplinary discussion and dialogue; and frequent meetings of working groups. For its turn, when economic indicators are considered for measuring the performance, we find out that the significant human capital determinants are: entrepreneur’s intuition; and propensity for innovating activities. In terms of organizational capital determinants we reveal that the significant variables are: efficient organizational structure; and use of external indicators for improving entrepreneurial performance. The main policy implication of the paper is the possibility of creating, at an individual level, new incentives and motivational tools based on the identification of the most important variables of human capital and organizational capital, for fostering SME’s performance

International Business as disciplinary tautology: an ontological perspective

The identity, legitimacy, and sustainability of international business (IB) as a research field are at stake. IB is being overtaken by the evolution of industries and technology, and critical voices challenge its distinctiveness and value. We identify IB’s ambiguous conceptual space, articulate the roots of the problem, and suggest a perspective for re-legitimizing the discipline. Specifically, we contend that redrawing legitimate knowledge boundaries for IB requires an ontological shift. In this respect, we promote a focus on the processual constitution of international entities across time and a reconceptualization of IB as the amalgamation of local and international forces. The perspective we advocate aims to counterbalance the disciplinary tautology suffered by current IB conceptualizations and to open up the discussion on boundary identification in the field

Defining family business: a closer look at definitional heterogeneity

Researchers have used a myriad of different definitions in seeking to explain the heterogeneity of family firms and their unique behavior; however, no widely-accepted definition exists today. Definitional clarity in any field is essential to provide (a) the basis for the analysis of performance both spatially and temporally and (b) the foundation upon which theories, frameworks and models are developed. We provide a comprehensive analysis of prior research and identify and classify 82 definitions of family business. We then review and evaluate five key theoretical perspectives in family business to identify how these have shaped and informed the definitions employed in the field and duly explain family firm heterogeneity. Finally, we provide a conceptual diagram to inform the choice of definition in different research settings

Les risques spécifiques des entreprises naissantes

Les entreprises naissantes sont souvent confrontées à de multiples risques mettant en cause leur survie à court et moyen termes. Dans ce cadre, cette communication s'intéresse plus particulièrement à la phase de projet des créations d'entreprises. Elle tente dans un premier temps une proposition de typologie des projets de création (notamment en fonction de leur valeur économique), et ce sans pour autant occulter la complexité du processus étudié. Puis dans un deuxième temps, nous identifierons des catégories de risques spécifiques aux types de projets précédemment évoqués et dans un troisième temps nous approfondirons les risques inhérents aux obstacles à l'entrée

Palaeobiogeography of the genus Latochara (fossil Charophyta) in the Upper Jurassic of Souther Europe. New data from Oléron Island (France)

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