DISCOtech 2018 Summary Report

On August 10, 2018, DISCOtech (Development of International Scholarship Collaboration Opportunities and the techniques) was organized for the third consecutive time as an annually recurring social event at the AOM annual meeting. DISCOtech aims to grow global entrepreneurship scholars. Globalizing entrepreneurship research has the potential to enhance its scientific rigor and practical utility. Cross-national collaborations encourage scholars to critically reflect on the historical and social embeddedness of their topics and concepts, the applicability of their methods across situations, and the cross‐national generalizability of their findings. DISCOtech aims to empower scholars to connect to individuals from other countries and to develop broad collaborations that cross national, methodological and disciplinary boundaries. In order to reach this goal, DISCOtech provides scholars the opportunity to meet face‐to-face in an informal setting and to share ideas, expertise and experience

Passion for work: Work engagement versus workaholism.

Introduction: Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) Is passion needed for excellent performance? The question of what predicts outstanding performance at work remains timely and relevant. The term “passion for work” emerged from qualitative research on entrepreneurs’ motivation, and has been defined as a selfish, passionate love for the work (Shane, Locke & Collins, 2003). Passion for work has been proposed as key to understanding entrepreneurial behavior and performance. Passion is “… the enthusiasm, joy, and even zeal that come from the energetic and unflagging pursuit of a worthy, challenging and uplifting purpose” (Smilor, 1997, as cited in Shane at al., 2003). However, few attempts have been made so far as to operationalize the construct, let alone relate it to entrepreneurial behaviour. The current chapter aims to fill this void, by focusing on work engagement and workaholism as two motivational concepts indicating “passion for work”

Mood And Decision-Making

The purpose of this diary study with a three-month follow up among 67 business starters was to test the influence of positive and negative mood on self-reported decision effectiveness and goal attainment. Intrinsic motivation and scope of attention were included as possible mediating variables. Results of mixed linear model analyses showed a strong positive relationship between mood and motivation at the time of decision making. However, no relationship between motivation and decision effectiveness or goal attainment was found. Only negative mood, and not positive mood, related to entrepreneurs’ scope of attention. As predicted, negative mood narrowed the scope of attention. However, a broad scope of attention during decision-making negatively influenced decision effectiveness and goal attainment as assessed three months later, on top of a concurrent positive relationship between positive mood and self-reported decision effectiveness and goal attainment at the time of follow-up

Comparison of perceived barriers to entrepreneurship in Eastern and Western European countries

This qualitative study among 591 business students from four European countries investigated cross-country differences in the kind of barriers people perceive to business start-up. In line with institutional theory, the most important perceived barriers in all countries related to regulative structures (lack of money) and cognitive conditions (lack of skills). Normative structures, defined as national culture, did not explain cross-country differences in perceived risk as start-up barrier. In Norway and The Netherlands, students reported risk perceptions more often than in Romania and Russia, whereas the latter countries are known to be more uncertainty avoidant. These results aid in developing a theory of entrepreneurial barriers, which could be used to extend current entrepreneurial intentions theories in order to predict actual start-up behaviour better. Concerning practical implications, results indicate that business start-up can be stimulated through improving regulative and cognitive institutional structures, but national differences need to be taken into account

Work Engagement and Workaholism: Comparing the Self-Employed and Salaried Employees

Abstract: This study among a Dutch convenience sample of self-employed individuals (n = 262) and salaried employees (n = 1900) tested to what extent workaholism and work engagement relate to self-reported work performance. After controlling for measurement inequivalence, results of structural equation modelling showed that the self-employed score higher on engagement and working excessively then employees, but not on working compulsively. In addition, work engagement related positively to task performance and innovativeness for both groups. However, engagement only related to contextual performance (performance beyond role requirements) for employees. Workaholism had positive and negative relationships with self-reported performance. Working excessively related positively to innovativeness for both groups, and to contextual performance for the self-employed. Working compulsively suppressed this positive relationship between excessive working and innovativeness in both groups, and between excessive working and contextual performance for the self-employed. In contrast to our expectations, working compulsively related positively to contextual performance for employees

Businessman or Host? Individual Differences between Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners in the Hospitality Industry

Prior research has identified individual characteristics that distinguish business owners from non-business owners. We tested our contention that not every successful business owner can be characterized by such typical “entrepreneurial” characteristics. Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) on a unique dataset of 194 business owners in the hospitality industry revealed that several individual characteristics discriminated between entrepreneurs and small business owners. Entrepreneurs possessed higher levels of independence, tolerance of ambiguity, risk-taking propensity, innovativeness, and leadership qual

Financial hardship and well-being: a cross-national comparison among the European self-employed

Based on data from the 2004 and 2010 European Social Survey, this multidisciplinary and cross-national comparative study investigates the relationship between financial hardship and subjective well-being among 9,755 self-employed individuals from 31 European countries. It also aims to identify potential mitigating factors in this relationship on both the individual and the country level. Multilevel regression analyses reveal a strong relationship between financial hardship and impaired well-being, explaining about 36% of variance in well-being between conditions (countries and time periods) and 8% of variance between individuals. In other words, economic conditions matter significantly. Additionally, education and social trust act as important buffering factors for individuals, and the relationship between financial hardship and impaired well-being is somewhat weaker for self-employed persons living in countries with a more supportive social policy in the form of unemployment allowance. Entrepreneurs can hence mitigate the consequences of financial hardship by protecting social resources, and policymakers can be advised to invest in education and social security

After the fire: New ways of working in an academic setting

Abstract Purpose – This paper presents the research findings of a Post-Occupancy Evaluation of new ways of working at the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of Technology and the lessons learned. Design/Methodology/Approach – The article is based on an internet survey among daily users, additional interviews with decision makers and other participants involved in the implementation process, analysis of documents and personal observations. Findings – The new office plan scores high on possibilities to meet other people. Work spaces are considered to be functional. On the other hand, employees reported a lack of spaces suited for confidential (telephone) conversations and insufficient visual and auditory privacy. Employees can insufficiently control the climate of their direct work environment and the way the environment looks like. Safety of the workplaces is rated below average. People want more rooms equipped with doors, and doors that can be locked. Finally, an important complaint was lack of personal and collective filing and storage possibilities. Research limitations – There was no opportunity to conduct a zero measurement ex ante; long term effects on use and experience are not known yet, nor the effects of improvements that are being implemented this year. Practical implications – The results can be used to support decision ma