The growth of business groups by habitual entrepreneurs: the role of entrepreneurial teams

Previous research demonstrates that entrepreneurial processes underpin the growth of business groups. A business group is a set of companies controlled by the same entrepreneur. Case studies of portfolio entrepreneurs suggest that one of the main reasons for business group formation is the need to create an entrepreneurial team, which is achieved by giving minority shares in the new ventures to others, mainly former employees. This enhances the portfolio entrepreneur’s ability to grow and diversify the businesses under their control. The paper identifies and discusses the different types of entrepreneurial teams developed by portfolio entrepreneurs, and their dynamics.Business groups, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial teams

What Explains Small and Medium-Sized Business Groups? Comparing the Financial and the Entrepreneurial Perspective

The paper contrasts two theoretical perspectives that account for business group formation in the small business sector: the financial perspective and the organizational/entrepreneurial perspective. Two main hypotheses are derived from these perspectives: the first hypothesis concerns capital and knowledge intensity required by the business; the second one refers to the entrepreneur�s ownership of firms in business groups. The empirical results show that the financial and the organizational perspectives are both relevant in explaining business groups in the small business sector, but the entrepreneurial perspective is more appropriate when explaining the ownership structure of firms within an entrepreneur�s business group

Effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation on repetitive finger movements in healthy humans

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a noninvasive neurophysiological technique that can entrain brain oscillations. Only few studies have investigated the effects of tACS on voluntary movements. We aimed to verify whether tACS, delivered over M1 at beta and gamma frequencies, has any effect on repetitive finger tapping as assessed by means of kinematic analysis. Eighteen healthy subjects were enrolled. Objective measurements of repetitive finger tapping were obtained by using a motion analysis system. M1 excitability was assessed by using single-pulse TMS and measuring the amplitude of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs). Movement kinematic measures and MEPs were collected during beta, gamma, and sham tACS and when the stimulation was off. Beta tACS led to an amplitude decrement (i.e., progressive reduction in amplitude) across the first ten movements of the motor sequence while gamma tACS had the opposite effect. The results did not reveal any significant effect of tACS on other movement parameters, nor any changes in MEPs. These findings demonstrate that tACS modulates finger tapping in a frequency-dependent manner with no concurrent changes in corticospinal excitability. The results suggest that cortical beta and gamma oscillations are involved in the motor control of repetitive finger movements

How the reverse supply chain contributes to a firm’s competitive strategy: a strategic alignment perspective

The ongoing transition to a circular economy is changing the shape of supply chains. They are becoming more ‘Closed-Loop’, combining forward and reverse flows of products and materials. Reverse supply chains (RSCs), originally considered as a solution for handling waste or recovering residual value, can play a pivotal role in determining the competitive advantage of the firm. Firms do not always exploit the potential of the RSC, and the conditions allowing the exploitation remain unclear. This paper explores the alignment between the RSC and the competitive strategy of the firm. Results from seven case studies, focusing on original equipment manufacturers, show how the RSC can play a strategic, tactical or operational role for the firm. The paper applies for the first time the concept of strategic alignment to the RSC, and practitioners can use the proposed framework to analyse the role of the RSC within their firm

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Project-Based Engineering Education

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143092/1/6.2017-1377.pd

Late Cenozoic diversification of the austral genus Lagenophora (Astereae, Asteraceae)

Lagenophora (Astereae, Asteraceae) has 14 species in New Zealand, Australia, Asia, southern South America, Gough Island and Tristan da Cunha. Phylogenetic relationships in Lagenophora were inferred using nuclear and plastid DNA regions. Reconstruction of spatio-temporal evolution was estimated using parsimony, Bayesian inference and likelihood methods, a Bayesian relaxed molecular clock and ancestral area and habitat reconstructions. Our results support a narrow taxonomic concept of Lagenophora including only a core group of species with one clade diversifying in New Zealand and another in South America. The split between the New Zealand and South American Lagenophora dates from 11.2 Mya [6.1–17.4 95% highest posterior density (HPD)]. The inferred ancestral habitats were openings in beech forest and subalpine tussockland. The biogeographical analyses infer a complex ancestral area for Lagenophora involving New Zealand and southern South America. Thus, the estimated divergence times and biogeographical reconstructions provide circumstantial evidence that Antarctica may have served as a corridor for migration until the expansion of the continental ice during the late Cenozoic. The extant distribution of Lagenophora reflects a complex history that could also have involved direct long-distance dispersal across southern oceans.Fil: Sancho, Gisela. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Plantas Vasculares; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: De Lange, Peter. Ecosystems And Species Unit. Department of Conservation; Nueva ZelandaFil: Donato, Mariano Humberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Barkla, John. Otago Conservancy; Nueva ZelandaFil: Wagstaff, Steve J.. Allan Herbarium; Nueva Zeland

Unpacking the productivity narrative in manufacturing organisations

This paper explores the narratives around productivity in UK manufacturing firms. Whilst we hear a lot about the UK’s poor productivity from politicians and economists, this paper explores the conversations within manufacturing firms. Initial evidence from a project funded by the ESRC through the Productivity Insights Network is presented. It appears that there are many different narratives around productivity and often the conversations in the manufacturing firms bear little resemblance to the productivity statistics being presented by politicians and economists. The work is innovative in that it moves the conversation from the economists, politicians and statisticians to the manufacturing workplace

Light spectra of biophilic LED-sourced system modify essential oils composition and plant morphology of Mentha piperita L. and Ocimum basilicum L

Investigating morphological and molecular mechanisms that plants adopt in response to artificial biophilic lighting is crucial for implementing biophilic approaches in indoor environments. Also, studying the essential oils (EOs) composition in aromatic plants can help unveil the light influence on plant metabolism and open new investigative routes devoted to producing valuable molecules for human health and commercial applications. We assessed the growth performance and the EOs composition of Mentha x piperita and Ocimum basilicum grown under an innovative artificial biophilic lighting system (CoeLux®), that enables the simulation of natural sunlight with a realistic sun perception, and compared it to high-pressure sodium lamps (control) We found that plants grown under the CoeLux® light type experienced a general suppression of both above and belowground biomass, a high leaf area, and a lower leaf thickness, which might be related to the shade avoidance syndrome. The secondary metabolites composition in the plants’ essential oils was scarcely affected by both light intensity and spectral composition of the CoeLux® light type, as similarities above 80% were observed with respect to the control light treatments and within both plant species. The major differences were detected with respect to the EOs extracted from plants grown under natural sunlight (52% similarity in M. piperita and 75% in O. basilicum). Overall, it can be speculated that the growth of these two aromatic plants under the CoeLux® lighting systems is a feasible strategy to improve biophilic approaches in closed environments that include both plants and artificial sunlight. Among the two plant species analyzed, O. basilicum showed an overall better performance in terms of both morphological traits and essential oil composition. To increase biomass production and enhance the EOs quality (e.g., higher menthol concentrations), further studies should focus on technical solutions to raise the light intensity irradiating plants during their growth under the CoeLux® lighting systems

An entrepreneurship perspective on the formation and growth of business groups in the small business sector

This thesis is a contribution to our understanding of business groups in the small busi-ness sector. Specifically, its aim is to verify to what extent the consideration of entrepre-neurial processes can advance our understanding of this phenomenon. A ‘business group’ is a set of companies which are legally distinct but belong to the same person or people. Despite the significant presence of business groups in the small business sector, most of the literature on business groups addresses large groups. This study demonstrates that the available theories of business groups – the financial and the diversification theories – are not able to explain the presence and characteristics of business groups in the small business sector. Given the little work done on the issue, the research strategy involves the use of both, quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods are used to test propositions deduced from available models of business groups; qualitative methods, based on case studies and direct interviews, are used to get new insights about the phenomenon and develop theoretical propositions. Quantitative analyses refer to the population of Italian business groups; case studies and interviews refer to a sample of business groups in the Marche region (Italy). The business group is an organizational form used by portfolio entrepreneurs to grow and diversify the businesses under their control. By using cross sectional and longitudinal analyses this study shows that in the small business sector diversification is a substitute strategy for growth in the original business. Moreover, this study demonstrates that the diversification theory is not able to explain the setting up of a business group as in most cases the degree of diversification observed in small groups is very low. The thesis demonstrates that entrepreneurial processes associated with the exploitation of new business opportunities by portfolio entrepreneurs play a crucial role in explaining the formation and characteristics of business groups. The start-up phase is critical for the success of a new business as it requires complete dedication of time and attention by the entrepreneur to continuously adjust the planned actions to the unforeseen events and un-predictable contingencies that are typical of this phase. The legal autonomy granted to the new venture helps focus resources and monitor results. In addition to this and more than anything else, legal autonomy allows entrepreneurs to modify the ownership structure of the new business and give minority shares to people involved in the start-up. The financial explanation of business groups stresses the importance of legal autonomy as a way for manipulating the ownership structure of new businesses, to raise outside equity. The thesis demonstrates that the causal relationship is the opposite of that hypothesised by the financial explanation: it is not so much the aim of raising outside equity that determines the involvement of external shareholders as the need to involve and motivate people in the start up of the new business that induces entrepreneurs to sell minority shares in it, thus enlarging the entrepreneurial team. By involving other people in the start-up of new ventures, portfolio entrepreneurs enhance their ability to enter new businesses while retaining ownership and control of the ones already established. The empirical analysis revealed the existence of three different patterns: joint venture with established entrepreneurs, employee involvement and intrapreneurship. The first is when new ventures are set up with other established entrepreneurs. The second is when the entrepreneur gives a share of the new company to an employee to secure his/her involvement in the start-up of a new venture (employee involvement). The third is when the new business is established as a result of the inspiration of an ‘intrapreneurial’ employee who takes major responsibility for the development of the business. As well as the discovery and analysis of these three forms, the thesis provides a theoretical explanation of entrepreneurial team development in business groups, based on the problems faced by portfolio entrepreneurs in allocating time and attention between the running of established businesses and the exploitation of new business opportunities. By integrating the latter explanation with other models of business groups the thesis provides a more general framework for understanding the formation and dynamics of business groups in the small business sector. The thesis also provides contributions to explain the formation and dynamics of entrepreneurial teams in a multi business context and in situations where there is a ‘dominant’ or ‘lead’ entrepreneur and one or more ‘associate’ or ‘sub’ entrepreneurs. Studying the formation and evolution of business groups poses several methodological problems, as groups are complex systems, characterised by the presence of several companies, different architectural structures and a multi-business context. The thesis provides methodological contributions on the ways to represent the current structure of business groups and on how to analyse their evolution over time.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo