Towards a New Theory of Entrepreneurship in Culture and Gender: A Grounded Study of Thailand's Most Successful Female Entrepreneurs

This paper explores the phenomenon of Thailand's female entrepreneurs and account for some of the cultural drivers in the way in which Thai women operate to be the leading country in the world for female entrepreneurship in terms of entrepreneurial activity. Based on interviews, media reporting, event attendance, and presentations collected during the annual conference for Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World (LWEW) in Bangkok, Thailand. We report the ways in which the leading Thai female entrepreneurs and male senior government officials explain the role of culture in legitimatising entrepreneurial activity. We develop a picture of the female entrepreneurship is harmonious with Thai cultural and religious models of appropriate female behaviour and so provides some insights into the cultural reasons for prevalence of female entrepreneurial activity

Indirect Internationalization of New Ventures: A Development And Test of Two Theories

This paper develops resource dependency and institutional theory arguments for explaining SME involvement in direct and indirect (via intermediaries) export activity. Based on resource dependency theory, we argue that a desire to leverage resources in a favorable home market may explain SME direct and indirect export activity. Building on institutional theory, we argue that SMEs operating in an organization field that is perceived as becoming more international will be more likely to export, either directly or indirectly. The theory arguments are tested using a sample of 871 Dutch SMEs. Results from binomial and multinomial logit regressions indicate the following: firms in the production industry are most likely to use export intermediaries, as are firm that face favorable home-country access to investors and banks and favorable home-country government regulations for businesses. In line with institutional theory arguments, firms are most likely to export, directly or indirectly, when the organization field is characterized by domestic competitors and customers who increasingly operate abroad and by an increased use of foreign suppliers. Compared to the direct mode, firms pursuing indirect modes are more likely to perceive favorable national finance market access and less likely to perceive favorable national production costs

Foreign Direct Investment and Indigenous Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Wales and Ireland

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an important role in the economic development strategies of several countries. FDI inflows bring in the latest technology, create employment and lead to tradable goods. FDI not only enables the transfer of intangibles to another country but also makes knowledge spillovers possible and therefore may play a major role in indigenous entrepreneurship. These knowledge spillovers can lead to the establishment of new indigenous enterprises in the host country leading to further economic development (Young, Hood & Peters, 1994). However, not all types of FDI have the same potential for knowledge spillovers. The potential for knowledge spillovers is related to the type of FDI and the level of human capital in the host country. FDI in high technology industries is more likely to generate knowledge-intensive spillovers (Buckley, Newbould & Thurwell, 1988). High levels of human capital (formal education, on-the-job training including industry, management and business development experience) make it easier for entrepreneurs to start high value-added firms. Individuals working in MNEs obtain higher levels of training and development than in local firms (Chen, 1983; UNCTAD, 1994) and wish to obtain the best returns for these skills. Individuals may feel unable to realize appropriate returns in the existing firm or may believe that the bureaucratic MNE does not value this knowledge, and seize the opportunity to create a new entity (Acs & Varga, 2004). While several studies examine the relationship between formal education and FDI (OECD, 2002), and other studies are concerned with the relationship between human capital and entrepreneurship (Bates, 1990), very few studies explore the relationship between FDI, human capital and entrepreneurship. Using a combination of case studies and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) population surveys in four regions, we explore how the link between FDI spillovers and indigenous entrepreneurial activity varies by human capital and cultural context in Ireland and Wales

Institutional Logics: Gender and Business Creation Across GEM Countries

Building on theories of practice, cultural difference and institutional welfare regimes, we explore how gendered entrepreneurship rates are affected by both soft (values, beliefs, and expectations) and hard (institutionalized norms and practices) measures of culture. Using 2001 GEM data, we examine how institutional arrangements related to women’s employment (role of occupational segregation, gender wage inequality, female business leadership and public childcare support) interact with individual-level perceptions in ways that increase women's start-up across thirteen countries. Results suggest that gender wage inequality has a direct effect on the decision to start a business, while industry structure and the presence of childcare may influence the decision to start a business indirectly through perceptions and gender

Entrepreneurial Career Capital, Innovation and New Venture Export Orientation

This paper explores the role of entrepreneurial human capital, entrepreneurial social capital and innovation in explaining new ventures' levels of export orientation. We use Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data from 9,342 early-stage venture entrepreneurs in 36 countries. Our results suggest that both entrepreneurial human capital and entrepreneurial social capital are important in explaining new ventures' export orientation. Entrepreneurial human capital increases the probability for new ventures to offer new products or services. New ventures with unique products or services are more likely to export, indicating that entrepreneurial human capital both has a direct positive relationship with new ventures' export and an indirect positive relationship through the venture's new product or service offerings. We also find that compared to moderate exporters, new ventures with higher export orientation levels are more likely to possess entrepreneurial human and entrepreneurial social capital and to be more innovative.

SME Choice of Direct and Indirect Export Modes: Resource Dependency and Institutional Theory Perspectives

This paper develops and tests resource dependency and institutional theory arguments for explaining two choices facing SMEs: the decision to export or not, and, in case a firm has decided to export, the choice between exporting directly or indirectly. We test four hypotheses using a sample of 871 Dutch SMEs and applying multinomial and binomial logistic regression analysis. Our results suggest that institutional theory perspectives may be mainly relevant in explaining the choice of whether or not to export, while resource dependency theory arguments may be particularly relevant in explaining the choice between direct and indirect export modes. Our findings have important implications for policy and research

The state of gender representation on corporate boards around the world

Siri Terjesen takes stock of increasingly researched international initiatives to bring gender equality in the top echelons of corporation

The Entrepreneurship of Mega-sporting Events: An Analysis of the 2006 IAU World Cup

In October 2006, Misari, South Korea, takes the world stage in athletics, hosting the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 100km World Cup [hereinafter IAU World Cup]. The IAU World Cup is the leading global ultrarunning championship and is sanctioned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the international governing body for the sport of athletics, and is expected to attract over 300 athletes and managers from 40 countries and another 10,000 local runners, spectators and volunteers are expected to participate. Ultrarunning, also termed ''ultradistance'' or ''ultramarathoning,'' describes any event longer than the traditional 42.2 kilometers marathon distance, and is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, particularly in Asia. Each year, over 100,000 people around the world complete an ultramarathon, including an estimated 2,000 in South Korea's twenty ultramarathons. The IAU World Cup is an example of a truly entrepreneurial endeavor in the Asian sports industry. As yet, however, there has been little research on ultrarunning (outside kinesiology journals), and entrepreneurship in the sports industry, particularly in Asian environments. This article proceeds as follows. First, the context of Korea, mega-sporting events and ultrarunning is reviewed. A theoretical framework for new venture development, based on entrepreneurial behaviour, opportunity recognition and resource accumulation is put forward. Based on a longitudinal case study and interviews with key IAU World Cup organizers and stakeholders and observation at the World Cup, this paper details the entrepreneurial development and professionalism of ultrarunning in Korea, culminating with the 2006 hosting of the IAU World Cup. We conclude with implications for the future of mega-sporting events in Asia and future research directions

Knowledge Management at Accenture - Case Study

Accenture is the world’s leading management consulting and technology services company with more than 75,000 employees in 47 countries. (See Appendix A for a comparison with other management consultancies.) The company generated net revenues of US $11.6 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2002. Accenture split from Andersen Worldwide in August 2000. Accenture went public in a$1.6 billion initial public offering in August 2001, and trades as ACN on the New York Stock Exchange. Accenture consultants work in eight service lines: Strategy and Business Architecture, Human Performance, Customer Relationship Management, Finance and Performance Management, Supply Chain Management, Technology Research and Innovation, Solutions Engineering, and Solutions Operations. These capabilities are then matrixed across five operating groups: Communications and High Technology, Government, Financial Services, Products, and Resources. Careers are stepped in a five-tier hierarchy: Partners, Associate Partners, Managers, Consultants and Analysts. Accenture’s Knowledge Management (KM) organization mirrors the consulting practice, but has different promotion time frames and fewer top executives. Partner Jill Smart reports directly to Gill Rider, Chief Leadership Officer and Managing Partner, Human Resources on company KM efforts (See Appendix B). Accenture has invested fifteen years, countless people hours, and over US $500 million to support the KM strategy’s technological and organizational aspects. According to Chairman and CEO Joe Forehand, The execution of our business strategy is dependent on how we create, share and protect knowledge. Knowledge sharing is the essence of how we bring innovations to change the way the world works and lives. The company estimates savings each year, but does not have quantified benefit data. Moreover, the vast KM databases and people networks give Accenture an edge over competitors and a platform for the future. Thomas Davenport, director of an Accenture research center and a frequent author on KM, shared "Companies have come to realize that there is a benefit to effective and explicit management of knowledge and that the opportunity cost-- e.g. the cost of ignorance -- is even harder to quantify than its benefits.

Exploring the Individual Mind: The Functions of the Epistolary Form in The Color Purple and The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Denne masteroppgaven tar for seg de to romanene The Color Purple (1982) av Alice Walker og The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) av Stephen Chbosky, som begge er skrevet i form av brev. Målet med oppgaven er å utforske hvilken rolle brevsjangeren spiller når det kommer til leserens oppfattelse av hovedpersonenes personlige utvikling og økende grad av selvrealisering. Brevsjangeren innebærer verk som er skrevet som en serie av dokumenter, oftest brev, der disse utgjør en handling, og er skrevet til en mottaker. Sjangeren har lenge blitt neglisjert, men det virker som at det nå har oppstått en fornyet interesse i den, noe som kan være et resultat av dens unike evne til å la leseren utforske individets psykologi. Jeg argumenterer for at oppfattelsen av hovedpersonenes økende selvrealisering og personlige utvikling er tett knyttet til brevsjangerens karakteristikker. Disse karakteristikkene definerer jeg i det første kapittelet, og de fungerer som grunnlaget for analysen videre. Der argumenterer jeg for at begge hovedpersonene, altså Charlie i The Perks of Being a Wallflower og Celie i The Color Purple, skriver brev som et forsøk på å håndtere sine lidelser. Begge karakterene er ofre for seksuelle overgrep, dog på svært ulike måter. Disse traumatiske opplevelsene er hovedgrunnen til karakterenes lidelser, og brevskrivingen deres hjelper dem med å finne en slags indre ro, og dermed utvikle seg psykisk. Jeg argumenterer for at dette ikke bare er synlig gjennom romanenes handlinger, men mer spesifikt gjennom hovedpersonenes diskurser i brevene deres. Dette kan for eksempel ses i form av at grammatikken og syntaksen deres utvikles, og gjennom deres økende evne til å artikulere sine tanker og følelser mer bevisst. Alt i alt argumenterer jeg for viktigheten av brevsjangeren når det kommer til disse oppfatningene, noe jeg også forsøker å demonstrere ved å diskutere hva som går tapt dersom brevaspektet forsvinner.Engelsk mastergradsoppgaveENG350MAHF-LÆFRMAHF-EN