Born to be green: new insights into the economics and management of green entrepreneurship

While the number of green start-ups has steadily increased around the world in response to the environmental problems demanding immediate solutions, there are several unresolved questions on the behaviour and performance of such ventures. The papers in this special issue shed light on these issues by underscoring the role of several factors, such as industry life cycles, knowledge spillovers, institutions, and availability of external finance, in shaping decision-making and firm behaviour in green start-ups. This paper highlights the state-of-the art developments in the literature, discusses the key contributions of the papers put together in this special issue and presents a future research agenda for scholars interested in green entrepreneurship

Strategy-making process and firm performance in small firms

This paper argues that individual small firms, just like large firms, place differing emphasis on strategy-making and may employ different modes of strategy-making. It offers a typology of the different modes of strategy-making that seem most likely to exist in small firms, and hypothesises how this typology relates to performance. It then describes the results of an empirical study of the strategy-making processes of small firms. The structural equation analysis of the data from 477 small firms with less than 100 employees indicates among other results that the simplistic, adaptive, intrapreneurial and participative modes of strategy-making exist in these SMEs. Of these modes, the simplistic mode exhibits the strongest relationship with firm performance

Networks, effectuation and innovation performance

Please help populate SUNScholar with the full text of SU research output. Also - should you need this item urgently, please snd us the details and we will try to get hold of the full text as quick possible. E-mail to [email protected]. Thank you.Ekonomiese En BestuurswetenskappeOndernemingsbestuu

Examining the effects of Referent Power on Intrinsic Motivation in organisations: a self-concept based approach

Using a self-concept based approach we examine the literature for evidence of effects, induced by referent power, on the intrinsic motivation of employees. We propose that the subject of a referent power relationship will be intrinsically motivated to affirm, or enhance their self-concept, in relation to characteristics of a referent agent. Hypotheses were developed and tested using data from 311 employees of a large consulting firm. We found empirical support for the view that referent motivation leads to behaviour in individuals that is in accord with characteristics of a referent agent, with this behaviour resulting in affirmation or enhancement of their self-concept

Networks, Effectuation and innovation performance

No abstract available

Learning capabilities, human resource management innovation and competitive advantage

The growing literature on innovation pays limited attention to the role of human resource management (HRM) innovation in creating competitive advantage. This paper adopts a knowledge-based approach to examine how firms design and implement HRM innovations (HRMIs) and how such innovations support competitive advantage. Drawing from multiple streams of literature and qualitative evidence from Australian manufacturing and service firms, our findings reveal that human resource (HR) functional-level learning capabilities, through which HR professionals build and nurture new knowledge configurations, facilitate the design and implementation of HRMIs. The findings also reveal that HRMIs, when coupled with top management support, can play a vital role in firm competitive advantage. Addressing the limitations of the term radical innovations to fully capture HRMIs and based on our findings and extant literature we propose a new classification that will capture the unique nature of HRMIs. In addition to contributing to theory, our paper provides valuable insights to practitioners for building and nurturing learning capabilities for HRMI-related competitive advantage. © 2016, © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Competitive advantage through HR innovation

Despite great recognition for human resources (HR) as a source of value addition within firms, HR innovation remains poorly understood. Providing practical examples and evidence from our work in Australian manufacturing and service firms, this paper attempts to explore how firms can gain competitive advantage through HR innovation

Entrepreneurial behaviour: A new perspective on the role of the HR professional

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and validate a scale to capture entrepreneurship behaviour at the human resource management (HRM) functional level. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing from the HRM and entrepreneurship literature, this paper first conceptualises and operationalises entrepreneurial behaviour at the human resource (HR) functional level. Second, it uses a multi-phase, systematic scale development procedure to design a two-dimensional scale of entrepreneurial HRM. Finally, the scale is validated by testing its relationship with HRM innovation. Findings: The findings suggest that entrepreneurial behaviour at the HRM functional level is characterised by innovativeness, pro-activeness, risk-taking and consensus-building behaviour. The scale shed new light on the roles of HR professionals. Research limitations/implications: This paper highlights the need for HR professionals to demonstrate entrepreneurial behaviour in HRM value addition. The scale development process, while providing a detailed understanding of the entrepreneurial behaviour at the HR functional level, will facilitate future research. Practical implications: This scale provides HR professionals with the means to measure and improve entrepreneurial HRM, leading to higher levels of HRM-based value addition. Originality/value: This is the first known attempt to capture entrepreneurial behaviour at the HRM functional level. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited