BrewDog: business growth for punks!

This case study tells an atypical entrepreneurship story about two men and a dog. It explores the rapid growth of the phenomenon that is BrewDog plc - a company situated in the remote north-east of Scotland. What makes this case special is that the business, set up in 2007 by two university graduates in their early twenties with limited experience of the brewing industry, is now trading as a plc. From the outset they deliberately chose a strategy that flew in the face of accepted orthodoxy in the brewing industry. To industry experts, it made little sense because the remote Aberdeenshire town of Fraserburgh, with its peripheral location, would surely be the last place any rational individual would seek to start a new brewery. The story of how James Watt and Martin Dickie did so is uplifting and inspirational

Target highlights in CASP14 : Analysis of models by structure providers

Abstract The biological and functional significance of selected CASP14 targets are described by the authors of the structures. The authors highlight the most relevant features of the target proteins and discuss how well these features were reproduced in the respective submitted predictions. The overall ability to predict three-dimensional structures of proteins has improved remarkably in CASP14, and many difficult targets were modelled with impressive accuracy. For the first time in the history of CASP, the experimentalists not only highlighted that computational models can accurately reproduce the most critical structural features observed in their targets, but also envisaged that models could serve as a guidance for further studies of biologically-relevant properties of proteins. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

ENTERPRISING WOMEN: GENDER AND MATURITY IN NEW VENTURE CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT

This study examines the role that gender played in the entrepreneurial actions of mature women in the process of starting and developing their businesses. The literature indicates that the characteristics of entrepreneuse and their businesses can be usefully categorised in terms of push and pull factors. Motivational pull factors are seen as broadly universal, fitting both men and women, but push factors, such as flexibility to accommodate domestic roles are presented as more important for women, Consequently our study examines mature entrepreneuse, who might be expected to have reduced domestic responsibilities. A sample of ten mature female entrepreneurs was selected because the literature indicated that there were specific "windows of entrepreneurial opportunity" in women's life stages. Such a window of opportunity could be expected to open when the demands of childrearing reduce as children become older. The respondents were interviewed in depth to explore the ramifications of gender in the motivation, expectations, purpose, action and outcomes of their business activities. We found that gender, in particular gender expectations, continued to play a significant configuring role in the way that these respondents operated their businesses.

Using the constant comparative technique to consider network change and evolution

Developing greater understanding about if, how and why networks emerge, evolve and support growth has been recognized in the literature as an area for further research (Larson and Starr 1993; Uzzi 1997; Hite and Hesterly 2001). In this chapter we present data and demonstrate how the constant comparative approach can be used to develop theory and understanding about the entrepreneur and the practices in which he/she engages. This Chapter presents an unusual case, the emergence and development of a new network, where the unit of analysis is not the individual or the cluster, but the emergent network itself (Hite and Hesterley 2001; Hite 2003; 2005). In doing so, it demonstrates the usefulness and applicability of the constant comparative technique, how it operates and is used in practice, and its value to the field of entrepreneurship. The case itself draws on longitudinal observation, examination and analysis of network configuration, reconfiguration and change in an entrepreneurial network over a six-year period. Examining rich data about transformation enabled the purpose, content and objectives of entrepreneurial networking to be analysed using the constant comparison technique. From this analysis we propose that networking is fundamentally based on a social enactment of what it means to be enterprising (De Koning 1999; Hill et al. 1999; Singh et al. 1999). Hence, using the constant comparative technique shows that networks are not just about resource acquisition; but are more about softer, socialized issues such as social learning and confidence-building through interdependence and the sharing of experience

An entrepreneurial network evolving:patterns of change

It is now recognized that to broaden our understanding about networks more qualitative and longitudinal work is required that examines transformation and the change processes of networks; how they emerge and develop over time. The case study reported here deals with these issues. It considers the development of a network for new entrepreneurs first established by a local enterprise support agency in North East Scotland.This forum provided a near ‘natural experiment’ to chart network emergence, change and evolution. Employing participant observation, interviews and surveys, data were collected over a six-year period. This allowed the network to be mapped, and provided information about structural characteristics and in-depth detail about network dynamics and change processes over time. Findings show how network structure shifts from calculative to affective ties and demonstrate the importance of social ties for the operation of a network

Target highlights in CASP14: Analysis of models by structure providers.

The biological and functional significance of selected Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction 14 (CASP14) targets are described by the authors of the structures. The authors highlight the most relevant features of the target proteins and discuss how well these features were reproduced in the respective submitted predictions. The overall ability to predict three-dimensional structures of proteins has improved remarkably in CASP14, and many difficult targets were modeled with impressive accuracy. For the first time in the history of CASP, the experimentalists not only highlighted that computational models can accurately reproduce the most critical structural features observed in their targets, but also envisaged that models could serve as a guidance for further studies of biologically-relevant properties of proteins