Investigating and Communicating the Uncertainty of Effects: The Power of Graphs

Entrepreneurial activities are inherently risky and related outcomes uncertain. Consequently, empirical studies to build entrepreneurship theory need to investigate not only the direction and average size of effects but also the uncertainty of these effects. Current research published in academic entrepreneurship journals tends to focus on dichotomous likelihood evaluations employing statistical significance tests. This editorial argues that graphs communicating the distribution of observed effects offer a far more useful way to communicate, evaluate, and discuss uncertainty. Publishing such graphs will support theory building and offer more meaningful guidance to practitioners and policy makers

Learning from broadcasts of project participation: selection of second-tier actors during project-venture formation in the movie industry, 1931—40

The disintegration of project ventures after task completion creates challenges for the retention and transfer of knowledge to future projects. Consequently, it is not clear to what degree and under what conditions learning across projects occurs in project-venture settings. This study argues that the industry-wide broadcasting of project participants’ identities plays a key role in supporting performance-outcome learning during the formation of project-venture teams. In a stratified random sample of 233U.S.movie projects between 1931-1940, performance-outcome learning affected the selection of second-tier participants. Such learning, however, was conditional on the industry-level availability of both project participant information and project performance for prior projects. Industry-wide broadcasting of participants’ identities by individual projects in the form of on-screen credits was sufficient to enable this form of performance outcome learning in the movie industry. The emergence of the internet has created similar industry-wide broadcasting opportunities for other project venture systems

Why All Researchers Should Report Effect Sizes and their Confidence Intervals: Paving the Way for Meta-Analysis and Evidence-Based Management Practices

The growing body of empirical entrepreneurship studies and the advent of meta-analytic methodologies create new opportunities to develop evidence-based management practices. To support research on evidence-based practices, empirical studies should report meta-analysis relevant information, such as standardized effect-size measures and their confidence intervals. The corresponding changes in reporting practices are simple and straight-forward – yet, they promise strong contributions to the systematic accumulation of entrepreneurship knowledge over time

Researchers Should Make Thoughtful Assessments Instead of Null-Hypothesis Significance Tests

Null-hypothesis significance tests (NHSTs) have received much criticism, especially during the last two decades. Yet, many behavioral and social scientists are unaware that NHSTs have drawn increasing criticism, so this essay summarizes key criticisms. The essay also recommends alternative ways of assessing research findings. Although these recommendations are not complex, they do involve ways of thinking that many behavioral and social scientists find novel. Instead of making NHSTs, researchers should adapt their research assessments to specific contexts and specific research goals, and then explain their rationales for selecting assessment indicators. Researchers should show the substantive importance of findings by reporting effect sizes and should acknowledge uncertainty by stating confidence intervals. By comparing data with naïve hypotheses rather than with null hypotheses, researchers can challenge themselves to develop better theories. Parsimonious models are easier to understand and they generalize more reliably. Robust statistical methods tolerate deviations from assumptions about samples

Institutional Environment and IPO Strategy: A Study of ChiNext in China

Taking an institution-based view, we investigate how entrepreneurs respond to immature regulatory environments in order to be listed on stock markets in countries with an emerging economy. Unlike stock markets in developed countries, in emerging markets, gaining government approval for listing is a critical and more unpredictable process for entrepreneurs. Hence, entrepreneurs who are preparing for a public offering might give substantially discounted shares to venture capital (VC) investors. This will lead to higher investment returns in pre-IPO deals than those at earlier stages, which distorts the risk-return tradeoff found in developed markets. In particular, the VC investors affiliated with powerful organizations that can promise entrepreneurs preferential access to stock market gatekeepers will gain even higher pre-IPO investment returns. The associated additional institutional rents earned by VC investors, however, are expected to decrease over time, as the stock markets mature. Related hypotheses with regard to the investment timing, VC firm affiliations with government agencies, securities traders, and universities are tested using data from ChiNext in China (2009–2013). This study highlights that institutional factors impact the behavior of participants in emerging markets. It extends current theories derived almost exclusively from developed markets

Managerial Gender Diversity and Firm Performance: An Integration of Different Theoretical Perspectives

This study examines the relationship between managerial gender diversity and firm performance. It outlines how extremely low and extremely high levels of managerial gender diversity can trigger group processes that can impede the attainment of the performance benefits associated with moderate levels of managerial gender diversity. Findings from a longitudinal panel data from financial service firms in Portugal suggest the effects of managerial gender diversity on firm performance are best captured by a nonlinear function with two breaking points. This study introduces a framework that combines different theoretical perspectives focused on tokenism, sub-group formation, divergent thinking, and other group processes linked to positive and negative gender-diversity consequences. Corresponding overall firm-performance outcomes are contingent upon the level of managerial gender diversity

Incorporation in vivo of 14C-Labelled Amino Acids into the Proteins of Mitochondrial Ribosomes from Neurospora crassa Sensitive to Cycloheximide and Insensitive to Chloramphenicol

Radioactive amino acids were incorporated in vivo into Neurospora crassa cells, and the mitochondrial ribosomes were isolated. The incorporation of radioactivity into the proteins of these ribosomes was inhibited by cycloheximide, but not by chloramphenicol. It is therefore concluded that these proteins are synthesized on the cycloheximide sensitive and chloramphenicol insensitive cytoplasmic ribosomes

A New Methodological Frontier in Entrepreneurship Research: Big Data Studies

The emergence of \u27big data\u27 and related analytic techniques are creating opportunities to advance empirical entrepreneurship theory and practice. This editorial focuses on the implications for the design and execution of empirical studies. It offers guidance on how to navigate related methodological challenges and outlines what editors, professional associations, research-method teachers and administrators can do to enable high-quality big data research