Understanding take-up of broadband by small and micro-enterprises: a case study

The paper examines patterns of broadband take-up, implementation and effects within small and micro-sized enterprises. The research focuses on the ‘onlincolnshire’ initiative, a local government-led programme which aims to encourage broadband take-up through provision of connection subsidies to SMEs in rural areas of Lincolnshire

An evaluation of the economic impact of broadband in Lincolnshire: updated final report

The Lincolnshire Broadband Initiative, ‘onlincolnshire’, was launched in 2003 to bring a range of broadband supply and demand stimulation activities to businesses across the county. The initiative has used £15 million of European funding, together with matched funding from Lincolnshire County Council, to support a series of significant Information and Communication Technology (ICT) interventions to provide support and financial assistance to eligible Lincolnshire businesses. The ‘onlincolnshire’ initiative has four long term strategic objectives. By 2010: • Lincolnshire will be the foremost rural County in the UK, with regards to ICT usage and skills and will have a commercial environment that embraces ICT; • The main employment sites and premises will have attracted increased and more diverse investment; • ICT will have made a major contribution to business competitiveness, expansion and diversification of the economy – measured through an increase in ICT related employment and a range of ICT based activities; • To have engaged individuals and employers in improving ICT skills to increase local competitiveness, raise the standards, participation and achievement in ICT throughout the County

The creation of a new product development capability in UK manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)

This is a study of how manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) create a new product development (NPD) capability in the UK. The UK’s innovative and productive performance remains a subject of considerable concern, not least because of its increasing productivity gap, but also because of concerns relating to the manufacturing industry’s reliance on gaining process efficiencies. Indeed it is believed that to remain competitive a move up the value chain is a necessity, through the likes of new product development. This exploratory research has adopted a qualitative approach, through interpretative means, allowing a rich and in-depth understanding to be gained. The study incorporates four detailed case studies on UK based manufacturing SMEs. A number of research methods were employed to aid triangulation of the data, including unstructured and semi-structured interviews, observation and documentation, such as company brochures and website material. The thesis makes two contributions to new knowledge and understanding. Firstly, the strategies that are employed and found to enable the creation of a NPD capability are identified; these include external involvement with other organisations to access resources and skills not possessed by the firms themselves. These outward facing strategies incorporate the use of strategic alliances, licensing of technology and ideas, and outsourcing elements of the NPD process. In addition, an internal, in-house development process was utilised. This offered the firms control of the process and the opportunity to capitalise on their own unique knowledge and skills which provided them with a competitive advantage. Secondly, this study provides a unique insight into the factors that are required for SMEs to create a NPD capability. Interestingly, this research indicates that these factors are not created simultaneously; rather, they occur at different rates and as such were categorised as ‘enablers’, i.e. those factors already enabling the creation of a NPD capability. The second group of factors, ‘qualifiers’, were found to be important to the creation of a NPD capability, but were not fully developed and were not enabling the process. However, the research identified the potential of ‘qualifiers’ to become enablers over time

Climbing the value chain: strategies to create a new product development capability in mature SMEs

PURPOSE. Increasing productivity gaps and declining manufacturing bases create complex challenges for mature small to medium enterprises (SMEs). One solution advocated by academia is to reposition along the value chain – moving to a position of greater value. The purpose of this paper is to examine strategies used by firms to reposition through creating a new product development (NPD) capability. In doing so, the paper seeks to resolve gaps in extant literature on NPD in mature SMEs. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH. An exploratory approach is taken, analysing in‐depth case studies of three mature UK manufacturing SMEs. FINDINGS. Four strategic approaches to enable the creation of a NPD capability (strategic alliances, licensing key technologies and ideas, outsourcing and deploying an internal development process) are found. Each may facilitate an SME to reposition but the findings highlight that these strategies are not mutually exclusive as different combinations were employed to accelerate and leverage change. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS. Limited number of case studies constrains wider understanding despite providing richness. The findings highlight four different strategies for repositioning but there may be other routes. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS. Deeper understanding of how to climb the value chain, providing valuable lessons for mature SMEs facing a need to reposition to generate new growth opportunities. ORIGINALITY/VALUE. The paper provides an understanding of how mature manufacturers utilise different strategies to overcome resource constraints and generate a NPD capability to assist in repositioning. This resolves weaknesses in current literature that so far have not adequately examined the process of shaping a NPD capability and the strategies used to reposition

Understanding university technicians’ role in creating knowledge exchange routines and capabilities: a research agenda

Knowledge exchange (KE) is becoming a strategic imperative for universities globally. Research examining KE has tended to focus on a limited and select group of stakeholders. This paper builds on calls for a wider consideration of KE activities and other contributors to the KE agenda. The technical community is one such group that has received little attention or acknowledgement of their part in KE. We argue that the technical community makes a significant yet overlooked contribution to a broad array of KE activities. Technicians are problem solvers that often undertake work that their academic counterparts could not do—as users and managers of complex equipment to enable innovation. To date the literature provides limited understanding of the technician’s role and a lack of conceptualization of the contribution of technicians in KE. Adopting a micro-foundation approach, we present a conceptual framework which draws on the multi-level categories of individuals, processes and structures. We take a broader perspective of KE by including activities such as working with external businesses, enabling access to facilities and providing analysis, and contributing to public engagement and training. By synthesizing contemporary research with recent policy work we reveal the potential contribution of technician’s talent, know-how and boundary spanning activities. We conclude with a structured agenda and conceptual framework to help guide future research, showing how investigating the integration of individual, process and structural factors affecting technicians can help reveal new insights into KE capability development at the university level

Developing entrepreneurial competences in biotechnology early career researchers to support long-term entrepreneurial career outcomes

This paper explores how early career biotechnology researchers develop entrepreneurial competences through participation in a bespoke entrepreneurship education competition and whether this affects their longer-term entrepreneurial actions. Specifically, we discuss the pedagogy and evaluate the short-and long-term impact of a long-running entrepreneurship competition, where biotechnology doctoral and postdoctoral researchers address societal and environmental challenges through hypothetical new venture creation. We present evidence regarding the efficacy of this experiential education, where online mentoring is blended with a team-based residential competition utilising inspirational speakers, practitioner support and peer learning in encouraging ECRs to consider commercialising their research. We conclude that long-term entrepreneurial career outcomes can be fostered through tailored short-term interventions

UK family businesses: industrial and geographical context, governance and performance

This report investigates family businesses in the UK and focuses on their incidence, industrial and geographical context and their governance and performance relative to non-family businesses. The sample includes near population UK data for the period 2007 to 2009 of privately held incorporated firms (excluding listed/quoted firms) and analyses around 3 million firm-year observations. The report compares and contrasts family businesses with non-family businesses with reference to governance and performance during the current recession. Family businesses that are structured with 'family trusts/settlements' are considered as an important sub-sample of family businesses in the report. The analysis highlights important differences between family and non-family firms across a number of dimensions of governance and firm performance

From venture idea to venture formation:The role of sensemaking, sensegiving and sense receiving

This article explores the sensemaking processes entrepreneurs use when transitioning between venture ideas and venture formation. Adopting a sensemaking/sensegiving approach and utilising an interpretivist methodology, we use sensemaking to analyse the entrepreneurial journey of four diverse entrepreneurs. In so doing, we make three contributions: first, we locate the early stages of the entrepreneurial context as a primary site where sensemaking occurs as entrepreneurs deal with the differences between expectations and reality. Second, we show how sensemaking occurs when entrepreneurs build a causal map of the problem they wish to address and how social exchanges are crucial as entrepreneurs then refine that idea with other sensegivers. Finally, we extend scholarly understanding through explaining the ways in which sensemaking, sensegiving and sense receiving contribute to the entrepreneurs' decision to act and create a new venture

Prior knowledge: the role of virtual worlds in venture creation

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Making sense of identity transitioning within the new venture creation process

Purpose: This study explores how aspiring entrepreneurs navigate between their own individual self-concept and the organisational identity of the new venture during the process of new venture creation. Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on three cases of aspiring entrepreneurs within a UK-based university incubator in the process of 'becoming' entrepreneurs. Semi-structured interviews and secondary data were collected and analysed using a flexible pattern matching approach. Findings: The data illustrated parallel identity and sensemaking processes occurring as the aspiring entrepreneurs navigated towards new venture formation. For the organisatio na l identity process, three key stages were found to occur: referent identity labelling, projection, and identity reification. Concurrently the sensemaking process made up of creation, interpretation and enactment were seen to enable identity transitioning mechanisms: cue identification, liminal sensegiving and recognition of formal venture boundaries, which led to the organisational identity being formed. Originality: By extricating the stages of organisational identity formation, often hidden within the new venture creation process, this study has framed new venture creation as a limina l experience and a visible site of identity work. This study presents a process model of the key identity transitioning stages and mechanisms in new ventures, by illustrating how aspiring entrepreneurs' sensemaking influences identity transitions during the process of venture creation