Understanding venture idea newness, relatedness and change among nascent and young entrepreneurs

The entrepreneurial process involves all the functions, activities, and actions associated with the perception of opportunities and the creation of the organizations to pursue these opportunities (cf. Key, Foo and Lim, 2002). Shane and Venkataraman (2000) introduced entrepreneurship as a nexus between the opportunity and entrepreneurial individuals. Thus, opportunities are an important part and central to the entrepreneurial process. Following Davidsson (2003) we here use the concept ''venture idea'' rather than ''opportunities''. Venture ideas are ideas for new products or services or bundles; introducing new price/value relations; imitative entry and entering new markets (Davidsson, 2003). This implies that venture ideas are the core ideas of an entrepreneur about what to sell, how to sell, whom to sell and how an entrepreneur acquire or produce the product or service which he/she sells. Timmons (1994) states that the finding a good idea is the first step in the task of converting an entrepreneur's creativity in to an opportunity. Explaining the development of venture ideas or - as they are often called - 'opportunities' is regarded as a key research goal in entrepreneurship (Davidsson, Hunter and Klofsten, 2006). For example, since the ideas have differentiating effects on the discovery and exploitation processes as well as on profitability and potential market impact the identifying and selecting the right venture ideas for new businesses are among the most important abilities of a successful entrepreneur (Ardichvili, Cardozo and Ray, 2003) Even though the opportunity, its recognition and exploitation have been extensively discussed and researched among researchers around the world (Bhave, 1994; Casson, 1982; Davidsson, 2003; Kirzner, 1973; Sarsvathy, Dew, Ramakrishna & Venkataraman, 2003; Shane, 2000; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000; Venkataraman,1997) there is a scarcity of research carried out on the characteristics of those opportunities and how such characteristics affect, e.g., firm performance , growth or survival. The importance of investigating such questions is exemplified by Samuelsson (2004), who found that the gestation process and its determinants were vastly different for innovative vs. imitative ventures. In this research we investigate how three aspects of venture ideas affect the pace at which progress is made in the venture creation process. Bhave (1994) argues that the venture creation process is more complex or difficult for novel business ideas. For this reason we assess and estimate the effects of four aspects of newness: the procuct/service itself; the method for promotion and selling; the methods for producing or sourcing, and newness in terms what markets or customers are served or targeted. Shane (2000) demonstrated that prior knowledge of the founders is an important factor in venture development. Similarly, Sarasvathy's (2001) Effectuation Theory proposes a high degree of relatedness with founders' knowledge and means. Hence, we assess and estimate the effects of the degree of alignment of the venture ideas with the prior knowledge and skills of the founders as well as with the financial, physical and other resources they had access to. Further, since entrepreneurs operate in an environment of heterogeneous and uncertain, they have to change their original business ideas time to time (Davidsson, Hunter, Klofsten, 2006). Presumably, changes of the venture idea could either facilitate or complicate the gestation process. In order to explore this we also assess and estimate the effect of the extent of change of the business idea that have been made. We investigate this for the same four aspects as for which we assess newness. Methodology/Key Propositions For this study we will compare early findings from data collected through the CAUSEE. CAUSEE is a longitudinal study whose primary objective is to describe how new venture come into existence. Data was collected from a representative sample of some 25,000 households in Australia using random digit dialling (RDD) telephone survey interviews. Included in the study are the approximately 600 cases where the respondent is currently involved in a business start-up, and another 600 who are owners of an up-and-running firm started in the last three years, in both cases where the respondent is also willing to participate in the study. The unit of the analysis is the emerging venture, with the respondent acting as its spokesperson. The study methodology allows researchers to identify ventures in early stages of creation and to longitudinally follow their progression through data collection periods over time. Our measures of newness build on previous work by Dahlqvist (2007). Our adapted version was developed over two pre-tests with about 80 participants in each. The measures of relatedness and change were newly developed through the two rounds of pre-testing. The pace of progress in the venture creation process is assessed with the help of time-stamped gestation activities; a technique developed in the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED) (see Gartner et al., 2004). Results and Implications Data collection is under way at the time of this writing. The results will help develop better knowledge of the venture creation process and its success factors, enabling better theory as well as more adequate dissemination of practical advice through teaching and consultancy

Venture idea newness, relatedness and performance in nascent ventures

Principal Topic The study of the origin and characteristics of venture ideas - or ''opportunities'' as they are often called - and their contextual fit are key research goals in entrepreneurship (Davidsson, 2004). We define venture idea as ''the core ideas of an entrepreneur about what to sell, how to sell, whom to sell and how an entrepreneur acquire or produce the product or service which he/she sells'' for the purpose of this study. When realized the venture idea becomes a ''business model''. Even though venture ideas are central to entrepreneurship yet its characteristics and their effect to the entrepreneurial process is mysterious. According to Schumpeter (1934) entrepreneurs could creatively destruct the existing market condition by introducing new product/service, new production methods, new markets, and new sources of supply and reorganization of industries. The introduction, development and use of new ideas are generally called as ''innovation'' (Damanpour & Wischnevsky, 2006) and ''newness'' is a property of innovation and is a relative term which means that the degree of unfamiliarity of venture idea either to a firm or to a market. However Schumpeter's (1934) discusses five different types of newness, indicating that type of newness is an important issue. More recently, Shane and Venkataraman (2000) called for research taking into consideration not only the variation of characteristics of individuals but also heterogeneity of venture ideas, Empirically, Samuelson (2001, 2004) investigated process differences between innovative venture ideas and imitative venture ideas. However, he used only a crude dichotomy regarding the venture idea newness. According to Davidsson, (2004) as entrepreneurs could introduce new economic activities ranging from pure imitation to being new to the entire world market, highlighting that newness is a matter of degree. Dahlqvist (2007) examined the venture idea newness and made and attempt at more refined assessment of the degree and type of newness of venture idea. Building on these predecessors our study refines the assessment of venture idea newness by measuring the degree of venture idea newness (new to the world, new to the market, substantially improved while not entirely new, and imitation) for four different types of newness (product/service, method of production, method of promotion, and customer/target market). We then related type and degree of newness to the pace of progress in nascent venturing process. We hypothesize that newness will slow down the business creation process. Shane & Venkataraman (2000) introduced entrepreneurship as the nexus of opportunities and individuals. In line with this some scholars has investigated the relationship between individuals and opportunities. For example Shane (2000) investigates the relatedness between individuals' prior knowledge and identification of opportunities. Shepherd & DeTinne (2005) identified that there is a positive relationship between potential financial reward and the identification of innovative venture ideas. Sarasvathy's 'Effectuation Theory'' assumes high degree of relatedness with founders' skills, knowledge and resources in the selection of venture ideas. However entrepreneurship literature is scant with analyses of how this relatedness affects to the progress of venturing process. Therefore, we assess the venture ideas' degree of relatedness to prior knowledge and resources, and relate these, too, to the pace of progress in nascent venturing process. We hypothesize that relatedness will increase the speed of business creation. Methodology For this study we will compare early findings from data collected through the Comprehensive Australian Study of Entrepreneurial Emergence (CAUSEE). CAUSEE is a longitudinal study whose primary objective is to uncover the factors that initiate, hinder and facilitate the process of emergence and development of new firms. Data were collected from a representative sample of some 30,000 households in Australia using random digit dialing (RDD) telephone survey interviews. Through the first round of data collection identified 600 entrepreneurs who are currently involved in the business start-up process. The unit of the analysis is the emerging venture, with the respondent acting as its spokesperson. The study methodology allows researchers to identify ventures in early stages of creation and to longitudinally follow their progression through data collection periods over time. Our measures of newness build on previous work by Dahlqvist (2007). Our adapted version was developed over two pre-tests with about 80 participants in each. The measures of relatedness were developed through the two rounds of pre-testing. The pace of progress in the venture creation process is assessed with the help of time-stamped gestation activities; a technique developed in the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED). Results and Implications We hypothesized that venture idea newness slows down the venturing process whereas relatedness facilitates the venturing process. Results of 600 nascent entrepreneurs in Australia indicated that there is marginal support for the hypothesis that relatedness assists the gestation progress. Newness is significant but is the opposite sign to the hypothesized. The results give number of implications for researchers, business founders, consultants and policy makers in terms of better knowledge of the venture creation process

Two Dimensional Nano-Structures

The properties of a step-like defect on the surface of ultrathin topological insulator nanofilm have been studied. The reflectance of an electron from such a defect for different parameters of the nanofilm and the different parameters of the defect has been calculated. An electron incident on a steplike defect not only produces reflected and transmitted waves but also generates the modes, which are localized at the steplike defect. Such modes result in an enhancement of electron density at the defect by ≈ 60%. The magnitude of the enhancement depends on the parameters of the nanofilm and the height of the step and is the largest in the case of total electron reflection. Next, the quantum dots in 2D materials such as topological insulator nanofilm, germanene, and phosphorene were introduced. Intopologicalinsulator, We introduce a quantum dot as a bump at a surface of nanofilm. Such quantum dot can localize an electron if the size of the dot is large enough, ∼ 5 nm. The other type of quantum dot is created in germanene. The band gap of buckled graphene-like materials such as germanene, depends on the external electric field. Then a specially design profile of the electric field can produce trapping potential for electrons. Another type of quantum dot can be designed using phosphorene. Phosphorene itself has a band gap. By considering the piece of cylindrical phosphorene layer, an electron can be confined. We study the energy spectra of such defined quantum dots. The intraband and interband optical transitions within the dots have also been studied. The effects of the temperature and the substrate modify the model parameters and should not change the results considerably

Breaking the silence about institutional child abuse in Sri Lanka

Background: In Sri Lanka where seventy per cent of the population is Buddhist, there are more than twelve thousand Buddhist monasteries accessed by children for educational and religious purposes. Despite scandalous media reports on incidents of child abuse in Buddhist monasteries in Sri Lanka (BMS), no previous academic or public inquiry has been undertaken on this issue. Aim: The study set out to explore and describe the silence around child abuse in the monastic context at an interpersonal, institutional, professional and academic level. Method: Operationally defining the incidents of child abuse in the BMS as the case, an instrumental case study approach was employed (Stake, 1998). Using social constructionism (Burger and Luckman, 1967) and ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) as a theoretical framework, data were gathered from multiple sources including semi-structured interviews with four former monks who had experienced child abuse as novice monks, three senior monks who were familiar with and willing to discuss the issue, and three child protection officers with relevant work experience. Interview data were analysed using thematic networking (Attride-Sterling, 2001) and reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2019). Other data sources included a reflexive journal, and publicly available data such as policy documents, media reports and interviews. Results: Data analysis produced three thematic clusters: predisposing silencers, precipitating silencers, and perpetuating silencers. While survivors’ accounts converged on other data sources, accounts of monastic leaders and child protection officers contained a mixture of convergent and divergent views. Conclusions: Overall, the findings indicated that: the survivors silently absorbed the memories of abuse due to various interpersonal, social, and structural limitations, the monastic leadership remained reticent due to ignorance, interest in institutional power and reputation, while the child protection service towards children in monasteries was hampered by structural, cultural and policy limitations. The findings contribute to the existing literature by providing unique insights into the social ecological barriers to recognition, disclosure, and intervention of child abuse in loosely regulated institutions in developing countries

Investigation of hybridized polyurethane, glass fibre reinforced cement and steel laminate in structural floor plate systems

Sandwich components have emerged as light weight, efficient, economical, recyclable and reusable building systems which provide an alternative to both stiffened steel and reinforced concrete. These components are made of composite materials in which two metal face plates or Glassfibre Reinforced Cement (GRC) layers are bonded and form a sandwich with light weight compact polyurethane (PU) elastomer core. Existing examples of product applications are light weight sandwich panels for walls and roofs, Sandwich Plate System (SPS) for stadia, arena terraces, naval construction and bridges and Domeshell structures for dome type structures. Limited research has been conducted to investigate performance characteristics and applicability of sandwich or hybrid materials as structural flooring systems. Performance characteristics of Hybrid Floor Plate Systems comprising GRC, PU and Steel have not been adequately investigated and quantified. Therefore there is very little knowledge and design guidance for their application in commercial and residential buildings. This research investigates performance characteristics steel, PU and GRC in Hybrid Floor Plate Systems (HFPS) and develops a new floor system with appropriate design guide lines

Biology and control of foot rot of French beans

Imperial Users onl

Development and application of wetland zooplankton index to assess the degree of eutrophication in Sri Lankan reservoirs

Wetland Zooplankton Index (WZI) was developed for the low country intermediate zone of Sri Lanka using 20 reservoirs located between latitudes 7°20'22.081"N - 7°48'33.558"N and longitudes 80°1'44.55"E - 80°9'51.509"E. WZI ranged from 1.56 in Anukkane reservoir which is located in a low flat terrain in the midst of agricultural lands to 3.69 in Tampana reservoir which is located in a hilly area with a watershed mainly covered with forests. WZI showed a significant negative correlation with the Nitrate-N content (r = -0.797) and cumulative content of Nitrate-N and total phosphorus (r = -0.795) indicating that it can be used as an indicator of the degree of eutrophication of inland reservoirs in the low country intermediate zone of Sri Lanka

Can the ‘Dark Triad’ traits be a predictor of cyber hate speech?

Peer reviewed short articl

Pathogenicity and Reproduction of Isolates of Reniform Nematode, Rotylenchulus Reniformis, From Louisiana on Soybean and Utility of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms to Evaluate Genetic Variability

Experiments were conducted to evaluate soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., responses to indigenous isolates of the reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) in Louisiana and to understand the genetic variability of these native isolates. Microplot and greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the comparative reproduction and pathogenicity of single egg-mass populations of R. reniformis isolated from West Carroll (WC), Rapides, Tensas and Morehouse (MOR) parishes of Louisiana. Data from full-season microplot trials, displayed significant differences in reproduction and pathogenicity of the nematode with the commercial soybean cultivars REV 56R63, Pioneer P54T94R, and Dyna-Gro 39RY57. Significantly low population density was observed in the isolate from the MOR parish compared to that of the least reproducing WC isolate. The MOR isolate was also the most pathogenic and resulted in significantly less soybean plant and pod weights compared to the control. In 60 day greenhouse trials, susceptible cultivar Progeny P4930LL and the resistant germplasm lines PI 90763 and PI 548316 were added together with the same cultivars used in the microplot trials. Similar to the microplot trials, the MOR isolate had the least level of reproduction compared to that of WC and presented the greatest level of pathogenicity. In both microplot and greenhouse trials, the soybean cultivar REV 56R63 had a significant reduction in reniform numbers compared to cultivars Pioneer P54T94R and Dyna-Gro 39RY57. The second set of experiments were conducted to understand the amount of genetic variability present in the 13 reniform nematode isolates from Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Carolina and Georgia with the use of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Thirty one chosen SNPs were tested against the reniform nematode isolates using kompetitive allele-specific PCR genotyping assay. Out of the 31 SNPs tested, 26 SNPs amplified genomic DNA of the reniform nematode isolates. Four SNPs out of all tested were able to distinguish genetic differences between and among tested geographic isolates of reniform nematode from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Even with limited numbers of samples, a genetic variability was observed with 3 SNPs between South Carolina, and Georgia isolates. The results obtained in this study might be extremely useful in resistance breeding programs as well as providing soybean cultivar recommendations for growers in different geographical locations