15 research outputs found
ENTREPRENEURIAL ALERTNESS THROUGH COGNITIVE SCHEMATA
This article is an investigation into the causes of entrepreneurial alertness, the ability of entrepreneurs to spot new business opportunities in the environment. By drawing from decision theory and schema theory, a model is developed to show how changes in the environment are mediated by entrepreneurial alertness and brought to the situated attention of entrepreneurs for evaluation. Entrepreneurial alertness is seen to be the application of unique schemata that allow the entrepreneur to impute meaning to environmental change that would not be imputed by other managers. It is argued that this arises from differences in schematic richness, schematic association, and schematic priming. These three antecedents may therefore form a basis on which enhanced entrepreneurial alertness can be developedEntrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial alertness, Opportunity spotting; Growth and innovation; SME development
Refining national culture and entrepreneurship: The role of subcultural variation
This study investigates attitudes towards entrepreneurship within a national culture. The effects of culture represent the most significant and unexplored factor in current theories of entrepreneurial intentions. The study uses Q methodology to conduct a hybrid qualitative and quantitative exploration of the attitudes about entrepreneurship that are present within the cultural discourse. Within one region of Canada, three distinct viewpoints are discovered which share many attitudes about entrepreneurship, but which also feature clear differences in their potential to positively or negative influence beliefs and attitudes of individuals. This study contributes to a theory by demonstrating that culture is multidimensional and heterogeneous in the way that broad constructs of "national culture" are translated into influences on individual traits and characteristics
Entrepreneurial Action: Enacting Buddhist Economics in the Small
This paper examines how Buddhist thought can be manifested in the entrepreneurial economic sphere, and particularly in the decision to exploit new business opportunities. It uses elements of diverse social theory to examine how entrepreneurs integrate their individualist roles as innovators and creators within preexisting social systems and structures, to enact a conception of entrepreneurship within the Buddhist doctrine of Right Livelihood. Empirical qualitative evidence from Buddhist entrepreneurs in Canada and Nepal is provided to support an interpretation in which conceptions of Right Livelihood play an important role in the evaluation and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities and in the day-to-day operations of the resultant new businesses
Mentoring Fit, Social Learning, and Venture Progress During Business Incubation
We explored how incubated entrepreneurs conceptualize mentoring, and how mentoring affects venture progress. This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 18 entrepreneurs incubated in four Canadian BIs. Interview data was transcribed and analyzed using NVivo software. The conceptual model suggests that the ‘fit’ between entrepreneur’s needs and the provided mentoring services matters to the outcomes of business incubation. Mentoring fit is conceptualized along three dimensions: content, quality, and availability. When fit is high, incubated entrepreneurs learn important lessons directly and vicariously from mentors. But when fit is low, it is inadequate to support social learning and will not have positive effects